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Welfare is a Top Priority

Delamere Dairy operates a strict, independently monitored, Farm Assurance and Welfare Code which means you're guaranteed the best milk from the healthiest, happiest goats. Most of the goats producing our milk are white British Saanens, a really good milking breed. They're also very good natured, inquisitive and playful which makes them fun to work with (it's tempting to say they like to kid around - ouch!).

The milk is not classified as organic but all our farms operate low input systems in terms of fertilisers. For example, all the goats' manure is spread back on the land. We also treat sick animals with antibiotics, but only if absolutely necessary.  

Of course, we're still a relatively young industry so we're perfectly placed to learn from mistakes made in other areas of livestock farming, then make sure we don't repeat them! For example, we don't push the goats for every last drop of milk or place them in stressful environments, keeping veterinary problems to a minimum.

We are the first branded goats' milk dairy to have all its British goat farms approved by Red Tractor. Red Tractor Assurance, formerly Assured Foods Standards, aims to provide retailers and consumers with confidence about product quality attributes of the milk leaving the farm premises, including food safety, animal welfare and environmental protection.

Home Sweet Home

Our goats enjoy all of life's home comforts in airy, draft-free, barns with a deep bedding of straw and plenty of space for 'getting away' from the group - standards closely monitored by the Welfare Code. These groups are decided according to when the goats are going to kid. We don't mix the groups either, simply because goats develop a strong social hierarchy.

Every goat is individually identified and a good herdsman knows them all, often by looking at their udder rather than their face! If you're wondering why they're not commonly kept outdoors, that's easy. They don't have the oil in their coats that sheep do to protect them from the wind and rain. The big softies like it indoors, although some farmers allow them to 'summer' outdoors, but still leave the barns open for them!

Food Glorious Food

It's a goat's life! Waited on hand and foot, with 'room service' delivering the perfect menu of food for them to browse and eat as they choose. Forget the idea of goats eating everything from the washing to a prickly hedge. Given the right feed, they meticulously pick out all their favourite bits. They're also browsers, not grazers, so could survive on rough scrub.

In these pampered conditions, a typical diet consists of silage, hay and straw with a blend of cereals to balance their nutrient intake. Perfect for delivering the fresh milk that tastes so good on your cereals. 

In these pampered conditions, a typical diet consists of silage, hay and straw with a blend of cereals to balance their nutrient intake. Perfect for delivering the fresh milk that tastes so good on your cereals.