"I get immense pleasure." Cameroonian goats settled in a Belarusian village
Liana Stanislavovich planned to take up farming in retirement, but dwarf goats burst into her life earlier. Today, she milks four Cameroonian goats, gets milk with a fat content of up to 10%, and makes cheese from it right in the village of Ptich, Minsk district, writes pristalica.by.
Photo: pristalica.by
How the Cameroonians ended up in Ptich
The family moved from Minsk to the village 10 years ago. Now Liana has four favorites – Milochka, Senya, Laktyusha, and Lira. And it all started simply with the search for delicious goat's milk.
One day, Liana saw an advertisement for milk from unusual Cameroonian and Nubian goats and suggested her husband try it.
"We went for milk, and came back with the understanding that we would have our own little goat," she recalls. "My husband joked in the car: 'Well, are we going for a goat tomorrow?' A week later, we actually bought the first one – Stesha."
But Stesha gave little milk, so over time she moved to an eco-park as a decorative pet. However, the owner now knew exactly which qualities to pay attention to when choosing thereafter.
Today, Liana has a small but friendly herd. An interesting detail: three of the goats, although bought from different farms, are full sisters by their father, a purebred buck with American roots. Such bucks are imported from abroad, carefully selecting the breed for milk yield and health.
Why Cameroonian Goats Were Chosen
They look like toy goats, but in terms of milk quality and quantity, they are not inferior to large breeds, yielding up to several liters a day at peak lactation.
An important detail: the milk of this breed does not have the characteristic "goaty" smell.
"By taste, it's sweetish, creamy, closer to cow's milk," Liana explains. "The fat content reaches 8-10%, essentially almost cream. But the fat is distributed differently, so there's no sharp aftertaste, and the milk is easier to digest."
How the Goats Are Cared For
Liana and her husband Dmitry built the goat shed themselves. Hay is stored in the garage, and the animals live in the warm section.
"Dwarf goats tolerate humidity and drafts poorly, but are calm about frosts. We close them in at night, and during the day they play for a long time in the yard under supervision," says the owner.
Diet: good hay (2-3 kg per goat per day), brooms (bundles of branches), grain mixes, fresh vegetables, and fruits. Liana annually prepares about three hundred brooms – from birch, maple, and other trees.
All goats had their horns removed for safety: the animals are very active, butt a lot, and can injure each other during play.
Each goat knows its nickname, commands like "home," "play," "treat" — and its place in the milking queue. If someone tries to cut in line, indignation begins.
"They need to be milked twice a day, taking 3-5 minutes per goat," Liana details the process. "I get immense pleasure from both the process and communicating with the goats. The only downside is there's almost no opportunity to go away for a long time: care and milking are mandatory every day."
The couple drinks the Cameroonian goats' milk fresh every day and treats their neighbors with it. Liana also makes homemade soft cheeses, cottage cheese, yogurts, kefir, butter, and even condensed milk from it.
She is confident in the benefits of such products:
"I know grandmothers who kept goats all their lives and remained vigorous centenarians with clear minds. I always thought: this is how my old age will be. I already notice a positive effect, plus it's simply delicious."
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