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I am fortunate where I live to have convenient access to high quality, farm fresh milk from both cows and goats for reasonable prices. My family enjoys both types of dairy although each member of the family tends to have a preference if given the choice of one over the other.
One of my kids asked me the other day about goat milk versus cow milk and which was better than the other. Great question!
Goat Milk Advantages
The most significant difference between goat milk and cow milk is that fresh, unpasteurized cow milk forms a distinct creamline at the top and goat milk does not. The reason is that goat milk is naturally homogenized which means the fat molecules are smaller than in cow milk and so remain evenly dispersed throughout the milk. Incidentally, sheep milk is also naturally homogenized.
The smaller size of the fat globules seems to make goat milk more digestible for some people but not all.  I personally find no difference in digestibility between the two.
While the protein structure of cow and goat milk is fairly similar, goat milk is missing an alpha casein present in cow’s milk. In addition, when you drink a glass of goat milk and it reacts with the acid in your stomach, the protein curds that precipitate are smaller in size and a bit softer than the ones that form with cow’s milk. This is another reason some folks find goat milk to be more easily digested than cow milk.
Cow Milk Advantages
Cow milk is higher is vitamin B12 which so many people are severely deficient in. Goat milk also lacks folic acid making cow milk more suitable for homemade infant formula in the event the mother cannot breastfeed.
Cow milk is also higher in B6 making it a better choice for pregnant mothers who have morning sickness.  I myself suffered from B6 deficiency morning sickness and so found sipping fresh cow milk during the first trimester to bring immediate and welcome relief. Incidentally, B6 is destroyed by pasteurization so any sort of heat treated or pasteurized milk will not help in this regard. The milk must be farm fresh and preferably grassfed.
The Weston A. Price Foundation recommends adding 2 teaspoons organic raw chicken liver, frozen for 14 days, finely grated to each batch of the milk based formula if goat milk is used and encourages egg yolk feeding for babies to begin no later than four months old.  If cow milk is used, egg yolk feeding can be started later if desired at 6 months.
Cow milk is usually more readily available than goat milk and is typically a lower cost per gallon making it more suitable for tighter budgets.
Sometimes I’ve heard folks say that they prefer the taste of cow milk because goat milk tastes goaty, but in my experience, goaty tasting goat milk is more a result of quality than anything. The goat milk I buy doesn’t taste goaty unless it is more than a week old (and then it only gets a slight goaty taste) and is generally very similar in taste to cow milk.
Goat Milk vs Cow Milk?
Ultimately, the choice of whether to drink fresh cow or goat milk is a personal preference. In my home, I have both available and while I prefer cow milk, I do enjoy goat milk kefir for my smoothies just to mix things up a bit and provide more variety to my diet. For straight drinking, my husband prefers goat milk but loves cow milk cream on his fruit. My kids generally prefer cow milk although they don’t mind a glass of goat milk when it is really fresh.
So what did I answer my child when he asked whether one milk was better than the other? I told him that it was kind of like the difference between turkey and chicken. They are both yummy and healthy and it’s perfectly ok to prefer one over the other or even drink both if you want to!
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist
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Sources and More Information
Goat’s milk has about twice as much lauric acid as cow’s milk…Lauric acid boosts the immune system, as it has anti-bacterial/fungal/viral properties.
Unfortunately my homestead is not big enough to support a milk cow, but we do have enough for goats. Thank you so much for the information on the nutritional values of the two in contrast. I’ve taken note, and I will make sure that we find those lacking nutrients through other sources. Thank you for your research!
I recently discovered your blog, and I’m very glad! I’ve actually found many more sources for raw goat milk in my area, but haven’t switched yet from commercial milk. We’re also considering getting some dairy goats of our own.
ps it is said BCM 7 can be found, though smaller percentages in A2 cows…
I just love that your child is asking which is healthier. It gives me great hope that those of us out there feeding our children well, may be inspiring a new generation of healthy eaters, despite the overwhelming numbers of obese, and generally un-healthy people in the US.
Hi April, I agree that we parents who are making the effort to teach our children today will in fact change the food system tomorrow because our children will demand it and changes come more easily to a later generation for some reason. Our healthy children will also be the leaders of tomorrow as many children raised on junk today will be too sick to be productive citizens. Sad but true.
Really great info. Thank you for this article, I would only add:
Relative to the A1/A2 cow controversy, there is an amino acid called BCM 7 causing the opiate effect to both cows and humans in A1 cows and related to a host of illnesses/issues and is not found in goat’s milk.
Hi Laurie, this A1 issue may actually be related to holsteins that are fed grain. According to Mark McAfee, owner of Green Pastures Dairy, holsteins that are grassfed do not have this issue. I have a video on the A1/A2 issue and Mark McAfee wrote a fantastic comment on that blog if you want to check it out:
https://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/2010/09/video-a1a2-factor-in-raw-milk/
The organic dairyman I know started switching his cows over due to this A1/A2 thing. All I could smell was a money trail so I tried to follow it and this is what I found. There is a company in Australia, a biotech company that is held by stockholders. If what I read was correct and I may be entirely off base and wrong here, but this compnay was having financial issues and then all of a sudden “discovered” these differences in cows. Well now they have developed the genetics to correct this “problem”. The writings I found all stemmed from this company in one way or another. I’m very leary of this thinking regarding the genetics of the cows. If I’m wrong here, someone please correct me.
We own a Jersey and she is totally amazing in milking. I also milk goats, Nubians. I chose the animals for the higher butterfat content. I do prefer the cow’s milk over goat, but as long as the goat milk is less than a week old, it’s very good. I hate that goaty taste and that will be found in all store bought goat products. I even tasted a local goat creamery cheese at a farmer’s market here and it was disgusting. I find it so distasteful, that I throw it away. So I make my own goat cheese and the family cant get enough of it. I miss my butter from the cow, though.
I am curious about your egg recommendation for babies starting at 4 months old. Most babies do not tolerate solids until 6 months or later b/c their system is set up to only receive breastmilk until that time. Why would anyone suggest feeding a child younger than six months a solid food, especially one that can trigger severe allergies? I am not sure there would be any benefits to this at all. Better to breastfeed until babies tongue thrust instinct goes away and he/she is ready to eat solids on his own.
egg yolk soft boiled isn’t solid.
Neither is rice cereal but it’s the most commonly recommended first “solid.” Solid foods are any food besides breastmilk (or formula).
Melanie, I know it can seem hard to believe, but a GREAT first “food” for babies 4 months and up is liquid egg yolk (egg added to boiling water for 4 minutes and liquid yolk spoon fed or added to bottle). This is due to the fact that liquid egg yolks are easy to digest, loaded with DHA, choline, vitamin A, vitamin D, and cholesterol which are all critical for brain and nervous system development of babies. A very important note, I’ve noticed babies CAN have reactions to egg yolks at 4-7 months depending on the hen’s diet. The least allergenic eggs are from pastured hens fed NO soy or gmo-corn. This means buying “organic” eggs is not sufficient. You’ll need to look for a farmer or a co-op in your area who pastures his animals and ask about their diet. You can read more about “sacred traditional foods” for babies in this WAPF article:
as well as this article on First Baby Foods: http://www.westonaprice.org/childrens-health/317-nourishing-a-growing-baby
Personally I would only try egg yolks if my baby didn’t show any signs of food intolerance (reflux, blood in stool, colicky or very gassy) and I, as the mother, didn’t have any history of food intolerances, allergies, eczema, digestive troubles, etc. I have friends who used that as their baby’s first food at about 7 months old with no problems. I also have a nephew who had all sorts of food intolerances while breastfeeding and when starting solids. After a year old he had a small sip of some chicken bone broth that I’d made with egg shells (pastured) added with the bones and broke out in a rash around his mouth. Another friend of mine has been to the emergency room twice with her son and carries an epi pen everywhere because of his egg allergy. My friend eats well and doesn’t have any apparent food issues of her own but does struggle with environmental allergies and occasional eczema. I would not want my first attempt at solids to involve an ambulance ride to the ER. I realize it’s rare, but it’s definitely worth really looking at your health and your child’s health and considering if you have increased chance of reaction before offering a food that is on the list of top food allergies.
Right, Annika. Raw eggs yolks are very easily assimilated by the body and require almost no digestion. Hence their use, along with pre-chewed raw liver, as baby’s first food by populations around the world for eons.
We are planning (this year MAYBE but probably next year) to plant the sorghum and harvest it by chopping it down at the ground by hand with a machete’. Dont have the big equipment…just a large family & circle of friends. Intend to cut it down by hand and feed it thru a wood chipper to make the silage. We are going to pack it into 55 gallon food-grade (lined) barrels. But here is an article that uses just Wal-mart like bags to pack away a days supply at a time for 1 dairy cow. Pakistan & Nepal…the mechanics of ensiling on a small scale & improve the nutrition of farmers’ milking animals for one dairy cow. During winter the major fodders were crop residues and poor quality hay, but green fodder was needed to enhance rumen function. Plastic shopping bags were available, used to make silage, one cow could be fed one bag a day in addition to existing feeds as a green fodder supplement.
ou cut corn, stalks & all when the ears are JUST ripe…cut wheat when the seed heads are JUST matured…you could even make native grass into silage, though it wouldnt have the higher protein count of the corn or wheat. It ferments…like “Kritter Kraut”!!!Im told the animals like it better than bagged feed…how cool is that :o) And FINALLY, a good use for all the Wal-mart bags that blow up against our roadside ditches & fences!!!
Sorghum bicolor,[1] is an important world crop, used for food (as grain and in sorghum syrup or “sorghum molasses”), animal fodder, the production of alcoholic beverages, as well as biofuels. Most varieties are drought and heat tolerant, and are especially important in arid regions, where the grain is staple or one of the staples for poor and rural people.”
….the growing gluten-free market has found a new use for “sweet” sorghum, as a popular ingredient in gluten-free flour and baking mixes. The type of sorghum used in gluten-free mixes is creamy-colored, usually milled to a soft, fine flou…r. Adding slightly more oil or fat and eggs to recipes prepared with sorghum blends can improve moisture content and texture. Apple cider vinegar or ascorbic acid can also improve the volume of doughs made with sorghum flour blends. http://glutenfreecooking.about.com/od/glutenfreeingredien2/p/sorghum.htm
I dont have a problem with either one..as long as they are grass-fed. I think MOST everyone supplements. Im finding commercial feed for dairy animals to be like fast food is to people though and its just not good for them. Im looking into making winter silage out of Sweet sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench)…technically a grass. Neat article about it here: Its like kraut for kritters :o) I dont think the choice of animals is the issue. I think its the diet of the animals that makes the difference. I KNOW goats milk is naturally homogenized and that there ARE differences…just not differences that are more profound than the commercial feed issue.