![]() ![]() Chickens, on the other hand, are much less fussy and are more than happy to clean up any leftover or spilled ration. For more on deer worm in sheep and goats, see the Sept/Oct 2015 issue of C ountryside.Ĭhickens also enjoy playing keep-away with any hapless mouse that might be attracted by the nesting possibilities provided by hay, as well as free meals of goat chow. Another way chickens discourage mice is by cleaning up spilled goat ration.ĭairy goats, being notoriously finicky eaters, may suddenly turn up their noses at the same goat chow they’ve been bolting down for months. Chickens help reduce the resulting population of flies and other pesky bugs. And they will eat any slugs or snails that wander through the grazing area, helping protect the goats from the nasty parasite known as deer worm. My goats, in fact, will come in fresh from the pasture and promptly “do their duty” the moment they step inside the door - the more so if the stall was recently cleaned. To my knowledge, no one has found an easy way to “housebreak” goats so they don’t mess up their bedding with manure and urine. The fines are nutritious, the fermented milk is nutritious, and the combination helps reduce the cost of buying commercial layer ration. As tempting as it smells, I’ve never tasted it, but my chickens mob me when they see the milk bucket coming. By morning it has turned to a soft cheese-like consistency with a divinely herbal odor. Whenever I have extra milk, I mix in a handful of fines and let the milk ferment overnight. Whenever I clean out the goats’ manger, or hay feeder, I save the fines - those bits of plant leaves and seeds that accumulate at the bottom of the manger. So what do I do with the surplus? I feed it to the chickens. Even at once a day, I get more milk from our Nubians than our family can use. Since a doe’s body produces milk in response to an empty udder, more frequent milking results in more milk. Most goat keepers milk twice a day, and some milk three times daily. I, along with a lot of other goat keepers, milk once a day. To keep up milk production, goats must be milked every day. Let’s look at the pros and cons of keeping goats with chickens. But as picturesque as it may be to keep chickens together with goats, housing them together may not be the greatest idea. Now maybe you’re thinking about getting dairy goats to round out your backyard homestead and start raising goats for milk.Ī lot of people, including me, keep both chickens and goats as a significant step toward self-sufficiency. So you’ve had chickens for a while and are enjoying those awesomely flavorful homegrown eggs. ![]() Keeping goats with chickens is possible and can benefit both species. ![]()
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