I've pretty much reached the end of this milking season. Daphne is already dried up and just this week Juniper's supply has dropped dramatically. She's down to about 10-12 ounces per day and once I get the last of my soap and hand cream orders finished this week I'm going to quit milking. So my season lasted about 8 months, which I feel like was pretty decent for a first time. I'm sure Juniper could have gone longer but she's due the second week in April and during last week's cold spell and storms I went to just once a day milking, which of course slowed things down.
I'm not sure how much this will last through the years, but for the most part I absolutely loved milking. There's something so real and substantial about it because for me, it's a deeply purposeful activity. Since I don't work outside the home due to health issues, this is the first time in a long time that I've felt like I was truly contributing to my household through my activities. Not just because of how great it feels to bring in a jar of milk and immediately start cooking with it, but I was lucky enough to make a bit of money selling soap, cajeta, and hand cream that I'd made with the milk. I was quite surprised to see how much people love those products. The credit there goes to the high quality of the Nigerian Dwarf milk, in my opinion. It's so rich and creamy that it's almost like working with cream. So when I wrote out my labels, I always put the goats' names first because they deserve the real credit. All I did was follow the recipe.
So now it's looking forward to spring and the new season. I've only bred Juniper this year because of Daphne's kidding problems. But since it will be her second freshening and I'm more experienced, I expect her supply will be enough for our needs. Like we all do, I'm crossing my fingers that she gives me at least one doe, preferably one just like her. She's got the magic milk!
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Mutual!
Thank you Naomi, your support means a lot to me. I learn a lot from you. :-)
Thank you for sharing your experience, Julieanne! It's so cool that in your first season you already got a market for great milk products. Good luck with your next season!