New Zealand Dairy Goats

December 2016 -- We visited several dairy goat farms during my 3 week sabbatical tour of Australia and New Zealand. All of the farms we visited were on the North Island of New Zealand. Several of the farms were visited were part of New Zealand's Dairy Goat Cooperative. Farmers have to follow specific codes of practice to sell milk to the cooperative. The milk is made into powder for infant milk. 

Mostly Saanen does

Farmer showing off his buck

Green feed for the goats

How high can she reach?

In all the farms we visited, the goats were housed. This seems to be common worldwide. They goats were housed in open-sided buildings, with natural lighting. The barns were deep-bedded. It was free-style housing. The goats were free to move about and express their natural behaviors. Like any goat farm, the does were eager to interact when you walked down a fenceline or approached a fence. No farm animal is more friendly than a dairy goat.

Open sided buildings

Free style housing

Milking parlor

A disagreement

Different breeds

If the farm was part of the coop, the goats had to be fed fresh green forage. The farm we visited that was not part of the coop fed silage to his goats.

Enjoying their ration

Mixer wagon

Feeding silage

The goats are fed grain, too.

Double stanchion milk parlor

Full udders

Goat housing

Hiding place

Multiple buildings

There's an app for that.

New Zealand dairy goat farmer

Three heads are better than one.

Carousel milking parlor (watch video)

Growing forage for goats

Kathy looking over replacement does