Advantages of Sheep's Dairy over Cow and Goat's Dairy

[van]

When my goats were in milk and I practically got most of my calories from it,  I found when the grass here in Northern Ca. would turn brown, and especially in the autumn before the rains would come to green up everything once again, that I would get mucous and a cold (mucous) like symptoms.  I became convinced it's all about what the animals eat which determines whether we do well on their milk.  If the sheep are primarily eating hay right now, my guess is that's what's going on with you.  Might be a good time to eat more of the animal than their milk.

[svrn]

I would say that the negative symptoms you are experiencing are detox. I always feel better than I did before when I let these thigns run their course.

How else do you expect your body to push out toxins? There is no easy way, it has to come out somehow.

Also I dont know if youve been drinking milk constantly this whole time or just started up again but you need to build up to the ability to drink lots of milk, you cant just jump right into a half gallon a day.

[van]

I had goats and drank their milk for well over ten years, always on green pasture, never any grains except seven day sprout grass,  I think my experience speaks for itself. 

[svrn]

The question was actually directed at vigna. Sorry I should have been more clear.

[PaleoPhil]

Hi Everyone,

I've been working mostly on dairy farms in Italy for the past nine months so I thought I'd add my two cents. 

Sheep produce significantly less milk than do goats or cows.  Nobody that I know on a sheep farm sells the milk; they use all the milk for cheese and, maybe, yogurt.

Yup, I haven't seen anyone sell the milk either, and I have seen it reported by multiple sources that sheep do indeed produce much less milk than cows or goats.

[svrn]

its true, the only reason I dont get sheeps milk is because it costs 4 times more than cow.

[cherimoya_kid]

its true, the only reason I dont get sheeps milk is because it costs 4 times more than cow.

You could buy fresh sheep's milk?

[Inger]

We have sheep. In spring when the lambs got born I tried to milk the mama... but I can tell that is way more difficult than a goat, and I have milked goats this summer too by the neighbor. I got a tiny amount of colostrum from her though, that I enjoyed right there.. I can tell it was extremely delicious... like the softest most heavenly tasting HWC

I believe sheep milk is the very best if any.

And. I do believe it is unnatural to get milk in winter, or say, then they get hay and as Van experienced, it will not be the same. IDK if they are able to give milk all winter long with only hay either. The neighbor alwasy feed them oats (in addition to the hay) to his goats so they give him milk.

I know for many animals the products they give are seasonal. Also our hens will not lay eggs in winter if we do not feed them special feed. Not even oats will do. In the nature everything has its seasons. Just meat and fish and that kind of things you will always find present, every season.

[svrn]

You could buy fresh sheep's milk?

yes its always available from the dairy club and is quite heavenly.

[cherimoya_kid]

yes its always available from the dairy club and is quite heavenly.

Have you ever made your own butter/cheese from it?

[svrn]

No. Iv had sheep cheese though and it was just as heavenly as the milk.

I dont think id make the butter as iv always had zero issues digesting any amount of raw butter even from the very first day i started consuming it.

[svrn]

We have sheep. In spring when the lambs got born I tried to milk the mama... but I can tell that is way more difficult than a goat, and I have milked goats this summer too by the neighbor. I got a tiny amount of colostrum from her though, that I enjoyed right there.. I can tell it was extremely delicious... like the softest most heavenly tasting HWC

I believe sheep milk is the very best if any.

And. I do believe it is unnatural to get milk in winter, or say, then they get hay and as Van experienced, it will not be the same. IDK if they are able to give milk all winter long with only hay either. The neighbor alwasy feed them oats (in addition to the hay) to his goats so they give him milk.

I know for many animals the products they give are seasonal. Also our hens will not lay eggs in winter if we do not feed them special feed. Not even oats will do. In the nature everything has its seasons. Just meat and fish and that kind of things you will always find present, every season.

what would these animals eat in the winter then if no hay? What do such animals do in the wild? Eat the leaves off twigs?

[van]

Very few animals keep providing their young milk through the winter.  Most are born in the spring, when the grasses are the greenest and healthiest,  and are weened by the fall.  Nature works.   Another thing to look at if you're drinking milk year round. 

[svrn]

what im asking though is what the animals eat to survive the winter. Surely they dont fast all winter?

dont goats prefer the types of tough weeds and young shoots that are around in the winter?

what about the nenets and chukchi people of siberia where there is always snow? They do not feed hay yet I see videos of them milking their reindeer in the snow where I see almost no plant life around.

[van]

there's obviously enough food to keep them alive till spring, but that's about it (keeping them alive).  If they were in milk, it wouldn't have the nutrition (fatty acid profile for instance) of milk from animals eating green spring grass shoots.  Hence the idea as to those who 'keep' cows in milk over the winter can only feed dried food stuffs (that's why they created silage) and the milk is less than second rate to milk from green food.  Hence my story of repeated cold like symptoms for the years I kept goats (milked them into the winter) into the fall where green food was scarce.

[Vigna]

Hi,

Thanks for the replies.  I do suspect that, compared to the fresh alpine-grass eating goat's milk I spent the summer drinking, the hay-eating (and 'feed'-eating) sheep's milk I'm drinking now is inferior.  Still a million times better than supermarket milk!

what im asking though is what the animals eat to survive the winter. Surely they dont fast all winter?

dont goats prefer the types of tough weeds and young shoots that are around in the winter?

what about the nenets and chukchi people of siberia where there is always snow? They do not feed hay yet I see videos of them milking their reindeer in the snow where I see almost no plant life around.

A couple of years ago I saw the BBC documentary about life in Yellowstone.  The bison are rooting around under the snow for bits of dried or frozen grass and almost starve.  I assume that only the strong survive the winter.  This may work for wild animals who are just staying alive, but not for a farm that needs to keep a flock healthy and producing milk. 

As for the question about butter: I don't think butter can be made from sheep's or goat's milk.  Cow's milk will separate into cream and skim, and butter is then made from the cream.  Sheep and goat milk is naturally homogenous. 

[cherimoya_kid]

As for the question about butter: I don't think butter can be made from sheep's or goat's milk.  Cow's milk will separate into cream and skim, and butter is then made from the cream.  Sheep and goat milk is naturally homogenous. 

I can't speak for sheep's milk, but I know you can make goat butter.  It requires a special cream separator machine. I think it's mainly just a centrifuge-type machine.  You can get them on Ebay.

[paper_clips43]

I ordered sheep butter from Millers a while back and it was the most delicious butter I have ever tasted. It was not salted either.