Goat Disease that Harms Humans

Keeping goats, drinking goat milk, and making a number of products from goat milk is tremendously appealing, and I'm all for it.  However, you do need to be aware that there are some diseases that can harm humans, and while a goat may be infected, the signs and symptoms are so slightly, you may never know that the goat is sick.

Unless you routinely have your goats tested by your vet, and can guarantee that your goats are healthy, you'll want to pasteurize your milk if you plan on making soft cheese, yogurt, or ice cream.  This means heating milk to 185F, or heated for 40 seconds between the temperatures of 160 to 165F.

The long ripening time required by hard cheese kills the bacterial agents, so they can absolutely be made with raw milk.

Here is a short list of the most common infections your goats can contract:

• Rabies - Yes, your sweet goats can be bitten by a rabid animal and contract rabies. Because this is so dangerous to humans, if you suspect your animal is infected, contact your vet immediately.
• Toxoplasmosis - While this is typically considered to be a disease carried by cats, goats can also carry it. Adults are impervious to any problems unless one is a pregnant woman.  Babies and young children are also susceptible, and should probably not drink raw milk from an untested animal.
• Brucellosis - This disease is most commonly found in underdeveloped countries, especially in the tropics and subtropics.  It is not as likely to be found in developed countries like the U.S., but it is still a concern.  The goat may not ever show signs of illness, but it can be  contained in the milk.
• Tuberculosis - Fortunately, this has been all but eradicated in most countries, but it is transmitted through the milk.

This information is provided exclusively for your information.  In my research about the "raw milk" issue, transmission of disease is the most common concern.  You can manage these with information and a sensible approach to how you use the milk from your own goats.

Information is empowering, not frightening.

Dairy Goats

If you want an easy way to have your very own dairy animals, you may want to consider dairy goats.  All you need to keep your family in milk are two female who have kidded (otherwise they won't have milk).

Your biggest consideration, however, is time.  Goats must be milked morning and evening.  You can't skip a milking.

If you think that keeping goats is a distinct possibility for you, then I want to encourage you to take that step. Goats are good natured, gentle, and relatively easy to care for. They don't take as much room or feed as a cow would. Best of all, they love spending time with humans.  They are as faithful and gregarious as a dog.

What can you do with goat milk? Obviously, you can drink it, and for those who are lactose intolerant, you'll be glad to hear that goat milk is often tolerated by people who are lactose intolerant. Goat milk does contain lactose, but many people are able to tolerate it.

This means you can have milk, yogurt, ice cream, cream, and cheese all made from goat milk. 

Making basic cheese is a pretty simple process, and is a long honored tradition of taking the nutritional value of the milk and putting it in a form that is more easily stored. We'll be looking into some of the cheesemaking techniques in upcoming posts for you to try at home.

What type of goat should you get?  If at all possible, visit people who keep goats and become acquainted with them, their size, personalities, and to see first-hand the kind of work that will be involved.  During your visit, talk to them about the variety of goat they keep, and ask them why.

What you'll find is that there are a couple of breeds that are best for dairy production, among them are the Nubians which are considered to be the very best dairy goat because their milk has an exceptional butterfat content.  Another really good dairy goat is the  La Mancha goat.

However, any goat that kids will provide milk, and if you fall in love with a completely different variety, you'll make it work, but you'll find that their milk production tapers off more dramatically than that of a good milk goat.

Need helping locating a goat breeder?  Go to Goat Finder for help.  For more information, please see my article in Acreage Life Magazine.

The Raw Milk Question

I'm actively engaged in my cheesemaking education.  This is an endlessly fascinating subject, and will certainly be the focus of a number of posts in the future.  However, I'm running into questions about what kind of milk to use (and I don't mean sheep vs. goat vs. cow milk).

The most common question is, "Should I use raw milk to make my cheese?"

Ideally, raw milk is the very best raw material for cheesemaking.  However, unless you have your own dairy animals, getting raw milk isn't as easy as it sounds.  In fact, it has become something of an underground movement because the government has stepped in to regulate the dairy industry to keep our milk supplies safe for overall consumption.

Unfortunately, the government may not have taken everything into consideration.  They believe that pasteurization and homogenization will make our milk supply safer.  Proponents of raw milk consumption maintain that the very act of drinking raw milk makes each individual more able to withstand disease and illness.

David E. Gumpert wrote The Raw Milk Revolution, shown here, that looks deeply into the issue of total control over our food supplies.  Are we really ready to give up all our freedoms in this way?  I didn't realize how important and critical an issue this was until I started into my cheesemaking foray.

We'll handle questions about your best milk source for your cheesemaking endeavors.  Briefly, you can make cheese out of milk you buy in the grocery store.  However, if you have the opportunity, you may want to try raw milk cheese, following all safe food preparation techniques.

I don't want to overshadow our cheesemaking adventures with this debate, but I can't, in good conscience, completely ignore the issue.

I am wondering if I can convince my homeowner's association that two dairy goats really are "pets"...I'm not holding out much hope.  I might just have to move to a different neighborhood!