So last year we used blue seal dairy goat feed mixed with alfalfa pellets and boss. The feed store I longer carries blue seal so we are having to use purina goat chow and we are still mixing with the alfalfa and boss. My doe had twins and is milking okay but her production isn't great and she is giving me really goaty flavored milk. I am cleaning with a hot soapy washcloth and putting the glass quart jar in the freezer for 45 min after filtering through a coffee filter. It tastes so bad that I am just freezing all our milk for soap but my freezer is full and I am sick of buying organic milk. What can I do? Our hay is not the best quality this year but it was all we could get around here. I am getting ready to get some better quality hay and hopefully it will help. We just sold her buckling so she is only nursing the one baby now. After separating her all night I am just barely getting 1 1/2 cups at the morning milking and about a half cup or a little more in the pm with the doeling on her all day. Can I mix my own feed or do something differently? Getting whole grains here is near impossible but I can buy whole oats at tractor supply. The alfalfa pellets are Standlee. I want to drink her milk but it really does taste like I am licking a goat. :(
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:) WOOO HOOO!! I love it when my gut tells me something sensible! I really do think that was the case. This year, her milk is great, and she has no off flavor, and for part of the time, I was feeding her exactly the same. If I had this issue again, I would try peppermint oil on the udder.
Was flipping through Diseases of the Goat by John Matthews and happened to notice a flow chart on milk taint. It differentiates between milk that is goaty as soon as milked or develops over time. If there is a goaty flavor immediately, it could be a sign of subclinical mastitis. Never heard that before, but good to know! So, Rachel, your hunch could very well have been correct that your doe had a low-grade infection.
I had this happen to me last year, with one of my does. She had a tough birth, and I'm not 100% sure that she didn't have a low grade infection from it. This year, her milk is fine, and I started out with similar feed to the Purina goat chow, but I have since changed to using barley and oats with Black Oil Sunflower seed. Her milk this year was fine.
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:) WOOO HOOO!! I love it when my gut tells me something sensible! I really do think that was the case. This year, her milk is great, and she has no off flavor, and for part of the time, I was feeding her exactly the same. If I had this issue again, I would try peppermint oil on the udder.
Was flipping through Diseases of the Goat by John Matthews and happened to notice a flow chart on milk taint. It differentiates between milk that is goaty as soon as milked or develops over time. If there is a goaty flavor immediately, it could be a sign of subclinical mastitis. Never heard that before, but good to know! So, Rachel, your hunch could very well have been correct that your doe had a low-grade infection.
I had this happen to me last year, with one of my does. She had a tough birth, and I'm not 100% sure that she didn't have a low grade infection from it. This year, her milk is fine, and I started out with similar feed to the Purina goat chow, but I have since changed to using barley and oats with Black Oil Sunflower seed. Her milk this year was fine.
That sounds dreadful! Are you putting a few squirts into the cat dish or a strip cup before starting to milk her into the bucket for your milk?
Is this a Nigerian that is giving off tasting milk?