Goats are incredibly versatile animals with many uses.
Whether you want dairy goats for milk, handsome pygmy goats for companionship, or a strong, muscular buck for meat, one breed of goat or another will have you covered.
Alpine goats will produce good quality meat, but they will produce less of it than other breeds.
Alpines will, however, produce better milk than most meat breeds would.
So, it really depends on what you’re looking for.
Alpines produce high-quality meat but in smaller quantities.
Before you buy your goats, decide what you’re looking for.
Whether it’s milk, meat, or both.
There will be a breed out there to satisfy your needs.
Let’s look then at what makes Alpine goats great for keeping on your farm or homestead.
What are Alpine goats good for?
Alpine goats are very heavy milkers.
They have been extremely popular in the dairy industry not just for their rich and high yield milk production, but also because they have such docile temperaments and lactate for so long.
Alpine goat milk has a lower fat content than other breeds, at an average of around 3.4%.
Alpine goat’s milk does contain higher levels of sugar than typical cow’s milk, but the protein levels balance that out.
Cow’s milk is usually higher in protein levels, which means a higher calorie level.
This milk can be made into all sorts of dairy products like butter, cheese, soap and ice cream, or indeed virtually anything that might normally be made from cow’s milk.
As long as the goats have good nutrition, reproductive management, disease control and effective and proper milking procedures, they yield a very high quantity and quality of milk rivalled only by the Saanen and Toggenburg breeds.
If you are planning to keep milking goats for your homestead, be aware that the high yield of Alpine goats can mean that the milking process takes a long time.
Milking does must be milked usually twice a day, and this can take a long time with Alpine goats.
Make sure you have the time to put aside.
Can you eat Alpine goats?
You certainly can eat Alpine goats.
They have a relatively low yield, but one forum user mentions that they slaughtered a seven-month-old Alpine goat which only yielded 15 pounds of meat.
The meat, however, was high-quality, low-fat and delicious.
So, for your own use, an Alpine goat will produce great meat.
So, you can eat Alpine goats and they will taste great and produce a yield big enough for family meals.
Even at sale, given the high-quality nature of the meat, you could sell it for a higher price to make up for the smaller yield.
It will be totally organic, after all.
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Which goats are best for meat?
Alpine goats are more popular for dairy, then, though they will produce high quality meat.
But, if a meat goat is what you want, you’re probably wondering what breeds are best.
The Black Bengal goat is a less commonly known of species, but is widely considered the best goat breed in terms of meat quality.
It fetches high prices and is of great quality, and the goats themselves are relatively small and easy to care for.
Purchasing Black Bengal goats can be very expensive, though, so there are more commonly and widely available meat breeds.
The Boer goat is a close second to the meat quality of Black Bengal goats.
They are also much, much larger—indeed they are perhaps the largest widely raised breed, sometimes growing as heavy as 340 pounds.
They are short and very stock, their strong muscles yielding great meat in high quantities.
They grow extremely fast and are highly resistant to weather and disease.
Their large size can make them more difficult to handle on a homestead, however.
Smaller species like the fainting goat also produce high yields of high-quality meat, making them a great option for a homestead.
They are widely known for their unusual reaction to stress, which is where they get their name, but they make great meat goats for your home.
Other popular meat breeds include the Nubian goat, Rangeland, Sirohi and Verata goats, which all produce excellent quality meat.
Wrapping up, then, Alpine goats certainly are a good meat breed of goat, depending on what you’re looking for.
If you just want a good cut of meat as well as some good, fresh milk for your homestead, an Alpine goat will be a great choice.
If you want a high meat yield to make a profit, you’re probably better off looking into a different breed.
That said, the meat of Alpine goats is of very high quality, and though they are normally thought of as dairy goats, it’s probably better to think of them as all-rounders.
More in Alpine
- How Long Do Alpine Goats Live?
- Are Alpine Goats Good For Meat?
- How Much Does An Alpine Goat Cost?