They're finally here....

What the heck have I gotten myself into??? LOL

Last nights milking was an adventure to say the least. Bered, a usually calm and easy milker, freaked out and refused to get up on the milk stand. After a 2 hour struggle my husband got home from his softball game and picked her up for me. She milked out a pint and then stepped in it....oh well, the chickens and ducks are really happy this morning.

This morning's milking went way better...only took me about 45 minutes and most of that was getting her to stand still while the other two goats bleated at her from the pasture. She also had her babies on her until yesterday too so she keeps calling for them. I got 2 cups out of her before she started kicking and bucking on the stand and she still isn't eating any feed. She's eating hay and drinking water and her poo looks good but she just isn't interested in her feed. I'm not feeding her anything in between milking so she knows that she'll only get it when she's on the stand.

I'm hand milking for now....until she gets used to the stand and her new home and then I'm gonna try the Henry Milker on her morning milking and hand milk her in the evenings when my husband can help. She has fantastic teats....I actually can use all my fingers to milk her.

I'm trying to upload a picture but we'll see how that goes....I have had 3 emails fail to send with pics this morning. I'm happy they are here but we are going to have to tweak a few things....we made the milk stand waaaaaay too wide and she is trying to lay down on me.

I'll see if I can get the pics up, bear with me. I decided to go with one in milk and then our special needs girl Tally, and Bethoron who is a beautiful younger doe that has gorgeous teats and will be bred in the fall. I'm glad I only went with one in milk for now....I think two would have killed me.

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I switched to a spray bottle and she still hates it but it isn't as messy as the dip cup. I am making my own too and I am using tea tree oil as a substitute for GSE until I can find it somewhere. She seems to be okay so I don't worry about it too much for right now.

My new problem is that her milk seems to have a weird aftertaste to it. It looks fine and smells fine but has a slightly off aftertaste to it. I'm doing a strip cup now, and everything looks fine and I'm still getting around 10-12 oz from her after the strip cup. I'm getting a good layer of cream after just one day and if I let it go for 3-4 days it is ridiculous. I made vinegar cheese and it tastes like, well, bland feta cheese. Not much flavor at all but I probably needed to add some more salt to it. It has a slightly weird after taste....kinda like feet LOL. I used it on a pizza last night and with all the other flavors everyone ate it without complaining but if I just had to spread it on a cracker or crumble on a salad I don't think they would go for it.

I would love to make mozzerella. Are there any ways I can make the milk taste better? She is eating Blue Seal Dairy Goat pellets and alfalfa pellets thrown in sparingly plus orchard grass/clover hay with free choice Manna pro goat minerals and baking soda. She has lost some weight (which is a good thing, she previously looked like she swallowed a watermelon) but is in good shape. They love oak leaves and willow oak leaves, I pulled a few maple branches sparingly this morning and they ate some of those and I also cut some pine or cedar here and there. I was thinking of adding some beet pulp pellets and maybe some BOSS here and there but would that help the flavor of the milk?

Replies

Lori Adams May 26, 2011 at 8:17am

That is probably it cause sometimes I do get some on my hands....I'm a messy milker....*drops head in shame* LOL

I do wash her udder thoroughly with soapy water and a washcloth and I milk out a test strip on both teats first so it could be from it getting on my hands, any time I try to add my pinky finger to the mix I end up dribbling the milk down my hand and into the jar. Dang pinky finger....*giggle*
Rachel Whetzel at MigMog Acres May 25, 2011 at 6:27pm

Anna, I think that's part of it. "I thought it was more that I wasn't used to such creamy milk and it left a thick coating on my mouth." I realized that even my cow milk has after taste... but not as strong, and I think it's the butterfat that makes it taste that way...

I also know that Deb's info is good too, because I've had milk from people that don't handle their milk as "cleanly" as I would, and it tastes off to me... but that flavor I can actually taste in the MILK. It's not after so much as during flavor. lol
Deborah Niemann-Boehle May 25, 2011 at 4:07pm

Does it taste goaty? If yes, are you wiping the udder with a washcloth or udder wipe before milking? If no, that will help. If yes, are you getting a lot of milk on your hands when you're milking? If yes, the flavor is probably coming from the goat's skin because your hand gets wet and rubs the teat and gets more bacteria off the skin, which mixes with the milk on your hands, and it gets into your milk. It's a completely harmless bacteria, but that's what causes goat flavor. I'm afraid the only answer is to improve your milking technique so that your hands stay dry.
Anna Cummings May 25, 2011 at 2:49pm

Are you new to drinking goat milk? I noticed my milk had a strange aftertaste that I had to get used to. It wasn't a bad taste, though. I thought it was more that I wasn't used to such creamy milk and it left a thick coating on my mouth.
Lori Adams May 25, 2011 at 9:43am

I switched to a spray bottle and she still hates it but it isn't as messy as the dip cup. I am making my own too and I am using tea tree oil as a substitute for GSE until I can find it somewhere. She seems to be okay so I don't worry about it too much for right now.

My new problem is that her milk seems to have a weird aftertaste to it. It looks fine and smells fine but has a slightly off aftertaste to it. I'm doing a strip cup now, and everything looks fine and I'm still getting around 10-12 oz from her after the strip cup. I'm getting a good layer of cream after just one day and if I let it go for 3-4 days it is ridiculous. I made vinegar cheese and it tastes like, well, bland feta cheese. Not much flavor at all but I probably needed to add some more salt to it. It has a slightly weird after taste....kinda like feet LOL. I used it on a pizza last night and with all the other flavors everyone ate it without complaining but if I just had to spread it on a cracker or crumble on a salad I don't think they would go for it.

I would love to make mozzerella. Are there any ways I can make the milk taste better? She is eating Blue Seal Dairy Goat pellets and alfalfa pellets thrown in sparingly plus orchard grass/clover hay with free choice Manna pro goat minerals and baking soda. She has lost some weight (which is a good thing, she previously looked like she swallowed a watermelon) but is in good shape. They love oak leaves and willow oak leaves, I pulled a few maple branches sparingly this morning and they ate some of those and I also cut some pine or cedar here and there. I was thinking of adding some beet pulp pellets and maybe some BOSS here and there but would that help the flavor of the milk?
Deborah Niemann-Boehle May 22, 2011 at 10:34am

Woo hoo! Congratulations! Just this year, I started to use teat dip on one goat. It's one of my la manchas. She got mastitis a couple of times, so I figured I should use it on her, even though I've never used it on any goat. She hates it! She kicks every time I do it, so I quit doing it. And she hasn't gotten mastitis again either.

Lori Adams said:

Things with Aliana are working out much better. She is eating well and playing like she's a baby even though she's six. She is giving me about 12-13 oz per milking consistently and only really fights me when SHE is done on the milk stand. She also hates the teat dip and that is an adventure. She kicks like the dickens when I go to dip her teats. She loves animal crackers though....pretty cute. I have to bribe her sometimes but she is great!
Lori Adams May 22, 2011 at 9:06am

Things with Aliana are working out much better. She is eating well and playing like she's a baby even though she's six. She is giving me about 12-13 oz per milking consistently and only really fights me when SHE is done on the milk stand. She also hates the teat dip and that is an adventure. She kicks like the dickens when I go to dip her teats. She loves animal crackers though....pretty cute. I have to bribe her sometimes but she is great!
Lyn Adams May 21, 2011 at 6:43pm

Congratulations, sounds like your going to be busy. LOL
Anna Cummings May 20, 2011 at 1:40pm

Oops, I didn't notice that there was more than one page of comments! Glad you are getting things worked out!
Anna Cummings May 20, 2011 at 1:30pm

I am so sorry you are having such a hard time!! I can feel your pain! My first experience was horrid! I was milking two FF and in the end, they won. I was getting only tbls from my one goat and no more than a cup from the other one. We tried holding one leg, two legs, a hobble... nothing worked. This time around, I am trying one of those goats again, and she is still giving us problems. BUT at least we are getting 2 cups out of her. I have decided to sell her, though, because it just isn't worth it. I have another goat I am milking, a FF, and she is a DREAM! She is so scared to death of me and very unfriendly, but she will stand still!!!! She has only kicked twice on the milkstand and once was because she had run out of food. She hates being touched, so she spreads her legs out nicely for me! LOL!

I hope you figure something out! Goats can be so infuriating yet lovable! :-)

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