GOATS IN BRITAIN

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 187, 25 August 1937, Page 13

GOATS IN BRITAIN

Good Milkers, But They are Not Popular > Nobody knows how many goats there are in Britain. There are 1000 breedors of the pedigreo Taggenburgt Nubian, Saanens and Alxfiue breeds, now established as British breeds although originating from imported stock. Cottagers and small hcdders are using goats more and more to supply their households with milk. Goats' milk ha3 fine vitamin content for babies and young children. Well-bred maiden goatlings yield milk naturally from a very early age. Ewe goats, after beariug kid, can be milked for two yeaip and more. The best milking strains give as much as two gallons daily. Despite this goats are not popular in the countryside. Careful management is needed. Goats need a good eupply of fresh food, but must not have too much, or their milk yield drops. They require far less food to keep them going than sheep. Goats produce more milk in proportion to hodily weight than cows.. They produce much more if persuaded 10 drink more by .being given drinks flavoured >vith salt or condimeuts. Very quickly they adopt this ' ' cocktaii ' ' habit. There may be 2,500,000 goats in Britain. Comparative figures are: — lndia — 40,000,000. Turkey — 9,OUU,OUO. Soviet liussia — 5,000,000. U.S.A.— 3,000,000. Switzerland — So many that nobody has bothered to count them. A well-bred goat of good millciug strain costs about £7, but, as is pointed out in the British Goat (Society 's Ycar Book, issued iu March, unless you liku goats it is much better to buy a scythe or a lawn-niower to keep down the rank grass and weeds, which make such lush growth in gardens, lawns and orchards, and to go on buyiug cow's milk ih bottles.