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Comment by escherplex | Hacker News Reader

Dogs, chickens, and goats are a good mix from personal sustainability standpoint. Particularly nutritious milk plus eggs to supplement produce. Cows are way too ungainly. Wondered though whether there were particular goat breeds with more docile dispositions than the ones I've seen which also don't exhibit a wanderlust.

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My goats are a Nubian/Alpine mix. They produce a fair amount of milk, are good browsers (they're part of our crop rotation plan) and a few shakes of a bucket of grain is all it takes to get them to come in. We have perimeter fencing as there are some things in the garden that would be poisonous for them to eat, and I don't want their snacking to cut in to our floral arrangement sales profit.

With a small herd of just 4 milkers (last springs' kids were given to another farm business who make money leasing goats as natural weed trimmers) they are incredibly friendly, like a strange type of dog. They respond to their names and love a good back scratch from their people!

Now if only the laws in my state (NJ, USA) weren't criminally restrictive when it came to selling raw milk products.. well, more chevre for me!

A good read. Thanks for sharing the information. NJ always seemed like a micromanaging politico's paradise. Ever consider relocating to PA, which seems to have no farm raw milk sale restrictions, or even FL along the Gulf? North of Tampa there is a raw goat milk dairy farm which goes by the name 'Fields Place Goats' and maintains the same breeds as yours.

URL: http://www.fieldsplacegoats.com/lineage.html

Just a few idle thoughts. Good luck with your animal husbandry! (and whip up some gourmet Bleu du Bocage for your friends over the winter, but age for a few months before serving)

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