We did it. Two kiddings and we needed the vet only for the first one--at 5 AM--Two bucklings and a doeling; all are doing fine, now. My questions for all of you are:
What works for you when milking to stop the foot into the milk pail? (Right now I'm just learning to milk so taking a bit so the kids have most of it.)
How do you know when you have emptied the udder?
How are you keeping the milk clean and what are you using to strain it? Coffee filters don't work well for me--they clog up.
I don't know how to put photos on the web, but they are MIGHTY cute.
Any advice and suggestions will be very appreciated.
Barb Rondine
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Just for an idea of what I use, I use this coffee filter: http://amzn.com/B0001YJ5EW
And I got something like this at the thrift store: http://amzn.com/B00RDDKVVA
This size fits great over a wide mouth mason jar, which I can see being a troublesome thing like Emily said if the system is much different that that!
Congratulations! Looks like everyone else has already answered your questions, so I just wanted to reassure you that needing to have the vet come out is really rare, so hopefully you got your bad luck out of the way and won't need to do that again for a very long time. And hopefully he or she explained everything, and you learned a lot. I always view my vet bills as educational expenses.
I also use a milk strainer and disposable filters. I also like the pop up udder wipes - I think I got mine all from Caprine supply.
I have arthritis in my hands so we got a Babson surge milker and converted it for the goats. I milk into a bypass half gallon jar. My goats never balk at the milker but don't like hands on. I do have pictures and prices to convert one on my webpage. Windingrvrfarm.com '
Now I am used to milking with that I prefer it to any hands on. I have never had so much as a hair in the milk filter, I feel like it keeps the milk as clean as I can get it. My goats seem to like it best that way. Never a kick.
I'm still new to milking myself but I'll tell you what I do anyway :)
I had to use a hobble to milk my doe at first because she would kick me, kick over the bucket and stick her feet in it. Holding her leg up wasn't working for me so I made a hobble out of a goat leash and used that for about two weeks. I would start without the hobble and when she would kick the first time I would put it on. She HATES the hobble. We JUST had our first successful milking where she didn't kick me at all without the hobble. Progress!
I'm still learning on how to tell when I've emptied the udder. I usually have to stop and massage her udder several times which helps get the last bit out, but my doe has a very meaty udder so it's still really hard for me to tell if she's just holding out on me or if I actually got everything.
I shaved my doe's udder and belly to help stop the hair from getting in the milk while I'm milking. I also purchased an actual milking strainer and disposable filters from hoegger supply which work wonderfully. Until I got my milk strainer I was using a metal mesh coffee filter like Rachel and it honestly worked just as well for me. I like the milk strainer though because it fits better in my mason jars than the coffee strainer I was using.
CONGRATULATIONS!!
What works for you when milking to stop the foot into the milk pail?
Keeping feet out of the pail is a tough one. When I first started milking, I used a small glass jar, and held it in one hand while I milked with the other... holding it made it so I could keep it up close to the teat, and not worry about aiming and feet. Now that I've been milking for a while, I have a milk pail, and I'm usually fast enough to pull the pail before anyone steps in it. You can also buy/make hobbles for their feet to keep them from stepping on the stand.
How do you know when you have emptied the udder?
For me, it varies from goat to goat, but you'll start to figure it out. The squirts get tiny, and very slow. This is why it's nice to have babies until you learn your does. They will take care of whatever you miss until you get the hang of it.
How are you keeping the milk clean and what are you using to strain it? Coffee filters don't work well for me--they clog up.
I use a metal mesh coffee filter for a single cup. Works really well, and doesn't clog.