Let’s face it – goats are cute. It’s fun watching the kids (also known as baby goats) leaping and playing. The adults have interesting personalities as well. These are just a few of the reasons why many people have them on their homesteads. There are plenty of others. If you’re considering adding a few goats to your brood and need some help convincing your significant other, here are seven practical reasons to have those animals around.
1) They Are Fun to Watch
We’ve already mentioned this, but goats are quite entertaining. Some of them will do things that make you burst out laughing. Others are just plain fun to watch. Like other animals, goats have personalities all their own. You’ll have odd nicknames for yours within a few days of adopting them, and will be excited to see what kind of antics they get up to next. Goats are really fun to have around.
2) You Can Make Things Out of Their Hair
Not only are goats entertaining, but they have very useful hair. It can be shorn, just like with sheep, and woven into yarn. From there, you can turn it into comfortable blankets, sweaters, and more. If you get really good at weaving and knitting, you might even be able to turn your goat-fur endeavors into a revenue stream. Or you can just make them for your own personal enjoyment. There’s nothing wrong with that.
3) Goat Milk Is Highly Useful
Have you ever drunk goat milk? It’s a good alternative to cow’s milk, although the taste is a little different. When you have a lot of goat milk, you can turn it into soaps and other body care products. You’d be surprised at the moisturizing properties of goat milk soap! On top of that, you can cook with goat milk, make it into cheese, and do a number of other highly useful things. It’s incredibly good to have around your homestead.
MIT Device Cuts Power Bills By 65%
4) You Can Eat Goat Meat
Many people shy away from eating goat meat. They prefer to use the hair for certain products and the milk in their kitchens, both of which don’t harm the animal at all. With that said, there’s nothing wrong with eating goat meat. In some countries, it’s considered to be a delicacy. Plus, an important part of homesteading involves having animals around that have more than one use – even if it seems a little unusual.
5) Goat Hides Make Great Leather Products
The goats that you butcher for meat can be skinned. Goatskin leather is used for shoes, book covers, wallets, belts, and plenty of other things. No part of the animal is ever wasted this way. Once you’ve learned how to tan and process goat leather, the sky’s the limit. You can use those same methods on other forms of animal skin as well.
6) They’ll Take Care of Your Weeds
Goats eat any number of things, including the weeds in your yard. They will also eat your plants, so you need to be careful and train them a little, but once you do, you’ll have an army of weed-eating machines on your homestead. Goats will do all of that hard work for you and won’t complain one bit, because they like the taste of the weeds.
7) They Can Pull Carts
If you have heavy items located all over your homestead and would prefer to move them around via cart instead of a motor vehicle, then you need a goat or two. They can pull carts, making your life easier. Plus, you won’t have to rely as heavily on fossil fuels, since you have goat power.
This Backyard Miracle Farm Will Change Our World Forever
