Different tasting milk?

Patty Meyer August 13, 2013 at 10:05pm

Wow! The gal I got my Nubian doe from basically picked her out as a doe that would most likely be a good one for adding to a Nigerian herd. She must have been right, because Twist is not a pushy girl, isn't generally loud (but "talks" more than the Nigerians do), and she's not at all mean to her herd mate Nigerians. So far, neither of her kids are showing signs of being bad herd mates either. However, the kids do jump up on us more than the Nigerians have, and it's been a lot more work teaching them not to. They also seem to "nibble" on us more, and that's also been harder to teach them not to do. So, yeah, I get it. The buck kid was wethered and is growing for meat. Hopefully the doe kid grows up as sweet as she seems now. I'm also really hoping one of my bucks will be able to breed the Nubians somehow. I'm really wondering how... :)

Rachel Whetzel at MigMog Acres August 13, 2013 at 2:19pm

Yeah!! As an individual, she was AWESOME. SUPER friendly, easy to walk on a lead... but in the herd setting, she was a TERROR.

Deborah Niemann-Boehle August 13, 2013 at 8:34am

I quote a woman in my book who has had Nubians for 20+ years, and she says that she likes what most people hate about Nubians -- and then she gives Rachel's list -- they are loud and pushy and bossy. She also uses the word fearless, which sounds slightly more positive -- until you ask yourself if you really want a fearless goat.

Rachel Whetzel at MigMog Acres August 13, 2013 at 1:04am

My Nubian was SUPER pushy. I don't know her history, but I suspect she was a bottle baby. She would bowl me over all the time trying to get to treats. Which, the Nigerians do too, but being smaller, I don't end up on my arse as often with them. lol Also, my Nubian was aggressive with my Nigerians. She would chase the one down relentlessly. All day long, and slam her into the ground constantly. Also, the Nigerian buck I had access to at the time couldn't reach, and she was really large for transporting to her dates.

Patty Meyer said:

I am milking 2 Nigerians and 1 Nubian right now. I haven't actually tasted the Nubian's milk by itself, but I can say that I never detected any difference when I started milking her and adding it to the Nigerian milk. It tastes as wonderful as ever.

I currently have three Nubians, one doe and her 4 month old twins. So far, I like them (though I have almost no experience with them except for having these since April), but I'm curious about what people don't like about them?? I do know that mine are much quieter than many I've seen. Is it the noise that bothers people? I've heard a lot of people say they don't like Nubians, so I'm curious about what I might have gotten myself into if any of the things people don't like about them pop up in the future.

Patty Meyer August 12, 2013 at 11:17pm

I am milking 2 Nigerians and 1 Nubian right now. I haven't actually tasted the Nubian's milk by itself, but I can say that I never detected any difference when I started milking her and adding it to the Nigerian milk. It tastes as wonderful as ever.

I currently have three Nubians, one doe and her 4 month old twins. So far, I like them (though I have almost no experience with them except for having these since April), but I'm curious about what people don't like about them?? I do know that mine are much quieter than many I've seen. Is it the noise that bothers people? I've heard a lot of people say they don't like Nubians, so I'm curious about what I might have gotten myself into if any of the things people don't like about them pop up in the future.

Melissa Johnson August 11, 2013 at 11:38am

I used to put my milk in the freezer for bout 20 minutes to chill - now I dont bother as soon as it is strained I put it in the coldest part of the fridge and never have a problem. Course, better safe than sorry. ^^
Glenna Rose said:

I had never considered goat milk because I had heard it tasted bad. However, about the time my middle son realized he was lactose intolerant (in his 40s), we were working on updating our urban livestock code. It was my good fortune that one of our CSA farmers was also on the committee and is an N.D. advocate, pointing out that a family can have two milking ND does, half a dozen chickens and a garden and produce most of their own food in their own yard. I posted on our local sustainable living group asking if someone had NDs as I would like to visit some. Joann responded and invited me to visit hers. I fell in love. Then, that day, she gave me a glass of ice cold milk. It was, without question, the most delicious milk I had drank since I was in high school; it matched our wonderful old cow's milk. It was then that I decided I wanted two milking does and slowly worked that direction. Joann did not have any for sale yet, she had been keeping all hers at that point. Later, when she did have a pair for sale, she contacted me and now I have my own tiny herd.

The cheese, ice cream, etc., will be as good as your milk. The flavor will be dependent on what they eat as well as whether bucks are around. I share milk and cream cheese and ricotta with family and friends and have several friends very spoiled for purchased products. One time, my doe's milk tasted "off" which caused me to stop and think - I had given her a bundle of lilac clippings! No wonder it tasted different. A diet of good grass, grass hay and good grain should give you the best milk you have ever had. Of course, the individual doe and her bloodline has a bearing on it as well.

My goats' milk is so good that I would never drink anything else and wish I had not deprived myself of it the first 60+ years of my life. Our ND does give the best milk ever!

(Be sure to get your freshly milked milk cold as fast as possible. Many/most of us, set the container in ice water until it is strained and in the fridge. I put my ice water container in the fridge as well after being reminded that it will cool even faster. Some of us put it in the freezer for half an hour or so before into the fridge.)

Melissa Johnson August 11, 2013 at 11:36am

The Nigerian milk does not have any off taste whatsoever. I compare it to half and half - I have been making soft cheese from culture - if I didnt add jalapenos (my favorite right now) or something to flavor - it would taste like cream cheese. no kidding.

Rosalyn Abbott said:

I'm sort of bringing up a very old thread here, but I'm interested in the turn it took with "goaty" milk giving that tang to all the products made with it. I have never had a drink of goats' milk in my life, although I am fully planning on buying NDs in the next year or two (probably two). I'm super excited about it, and I have read all sorts of things that describe how beautiful their milk tastes. However, I really don't like goat cheese from the store. Even the milder ones, I can taste "goat" really clearly. Almost like I licked a rather odiferous buck or something. What I'm wondering, is if I made soft cheeses like mozzarella or cream cheese, or yogurt, from fresh, home-raised, clean, away-from-the-bucks, well-fed ND milk, will I notice it? Will it be a bit icky?

When I was nursing my daughter, she was intolerant to the protein in cow's milk (not allergic, but had many, many uncomfortable symptoms because of it) and I went completely dairy-free for the first six months, until she began to tolerate it. So when I introduced yogurt into her diet, I bought organic goat yogurt at our local grocery store. I should mention that we are limited in dairy options in our area, the goat products are brought in from Quebec from large dairies, I assume. Raw milk is illegal in Canada and even small dairies that pasteurize really have a difficult time getting on the market and competing. Anyway, she didn't like the yogurt even though I mixed it with pureed/strained strawberries. Then I tried it and it tasted like the goat cheese I don't like, only a bit more tangy, because it WAS yogurt.

So I have this little fear in the back of my mind that I won't like the products made from my darling goats' milk in the future, and my husband is already VERY leery of even trying it when we do get them. He's on board for me being a crazy woman who wants goats, but is insistent that he won't drink it (I fully intend to hide it in cow's milk cartons from the store and tell him later...!)

So can someone who was perhaps a reluctant convert from cow's milk share with me how you found the transition? Will I notice a big difference or can I learn to love that "aromatic" edge that I've noticed before?

Melissa Johnson August 11, 2013 at 11:34am

Good point - someone here in town has Nigerians, but keeps Nubians just for that reason - if she needs extra milk for her Boer babies... ^^

Kelly Wood said:

Looks like I will go ahead and keep the Alpine for awhile anyways. Without her I would not have enough real milk to feed my bottle babies. And, if I mix her milk with some of my ND's milk, it tastes better. :-)

Melissa Johnson August 11, 2013 at 11:32am

I had Alpines for my first goats. No one would drink the milk - it had the "goaty" taste you hear about. They are the only ones I know about - someone did tell me they had Nigerians, but didnt like the tiny teats and not enough milk. The sold them and got Nubians and were happy with them, however, I have never tasted their milk.

Rosalyn Abbott August 9, 2013 at 5:45am

Thanks Deborah, I did trust you ladies when I read that you loved the flavour of your milk and your cheeses and whatnot but I wondered if perhaps you had liked goats milk products already and these just upped the ante. I have a really, really sensitive sense of smell and I think that has probably been the issue with any goat cheese (or strong cow's milk cheese) that I've tried in the past!

Can I ask how far you keep your bucks from your does? I know you've mentioned they are about 100 yards from your house, so you don't smell them with the windows open, but how far are they from your girls?

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Different tasting milk?

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