Any body have a milking goat?

Happymummy · **Any body have a milking goat?**

DH wants to buy a milking goat so we can have our own milk and make our own cheese but I have heard goats are a lot of work and can be more of a pain than what they are worth. Anyone got one or had experience with one? Have I just heard this from someone who had a bad goat?

When we moved here I wanted property so I could have a paddock with a couple of miniture cows in it but DH had to have his moutain so now all we can have are goats if I want to have our own milk.

calimari · 02-08-2008, 03:46 PM

I nominate this for "best subject title of 2008."

Happymummy · 02-08-2008, 03:55 PM

thought it would be a laugh...

but I can't find anyone in my socail circle (very small at moment as new to town) who has had one and DH wants to go down and make a paddock!!!!

calimari · 02-08-2008, 03:58 PM

I stayed at a llama farm bed & breakfast and I recall the owner telling me the goats were very easy to keep, but that's all I know.

Kimberley · 02-08-2008, 07:43 PM

they are easy to keep i have two goats. but if your going ot milk a goat you will want more than one because they don't make a whole lot of milk. and they would be difficult to milk, they don't stnad still very much when people are around. and you have to give them medicine for worms every spring, and oyu have to trim their feet, make sure they have the right feed, as well as keep an eye on them to make sure they don't get any cysts anywhere that will need to be drained, and you don't want it to have horns or it can seriously damage you. they can be expensive to maintain. they need mineral and baking soda to keep their digestive system healthy, as well there are alot of things that are deadly to goats, they cannot eat anything and everything contrary to popular beleive. you need to make sure that their area that they will be staying in is clear of any and all poisonous plants to them, also you need to have their area fenced in with page wire you would be surprised at how low a goat can go to get under fencing. then you need to decide what kind of goat you want. really do your research on goats. they are not a simple easy animal to take care of. they are work. and one goat doesn't produce much milk.

Lancelotacres · 02-10-2008, 12:17 PM

We raised goats for several years, and just sold our goats this last fall. I milked for several years and it's not easy in any way.

Previous poster hit a lot of true points and I'll try to hit a few too.

Special feed, hay, straw, minerals, baking soda, wormers, misc meds for misc ailments...everything adds up $$ wise. Once you have everything, it's not very expensive to maintain, but starting off is pricey.

Poisonous plants are important, goats will eat them and become sick or even die.

Good fences are a must. Goats can jump very high, and crouch very low. They are very smart and will do their best to find a way out.

They need a good, draft-free shelter available at all times.

Goats are a herd animal and do best if there is more than one living together.

Goat milk is delicious if handled properly, disgusting if handled wrong. Strong plants can make your milk taste funny, having a doe and buck together while she's in milk will make your milk taste like the buck smells (and trust me, this is NOT a good thing). Several other factors go into the taste of milk. Milk has to be cooled properly. We always pasteurize our milk, so we heat it up right after milking, then it has to be cooled own quickly. Just putting it in the fridge doesn't cool it fast enough. I always put it in quart jars and set the jars in bowls of ice water to cool it quickly. I can't remember how quick it should cool to what temp, but that's available online I think.

I am sure there are people that don't do it quite like that, but we found that our milk was delicious when we followed the guidelines, and didn't taste so great when we winged it.

On milking. A doe has to be bred and have a baby before she'll give milk. You can keep the baby or sell it. If you sell it, then the milk is all yours. You should at least consider giving baby the milk for the first 2-3 days, as the colostrum is very important for them and too thick/sticky to drink (there are custards and such made from it though).

If you keep the baby there are several options. You can let the mom feed the baby for the first 3 months, then wean baby and keep the milk for yourselves.

You can separate mom and baby for 12 hours per day, milk mom, and then let baby in to nurse for the other 12 hours.

You can separate them from the beginning, milk mom, and bottle-feed baby with her milk. You can milk mom, keep the milk for you, and bottle-feed baby formula from the store. We haven't had good luck with the formula, babies just do better with their mom's milk, or milk from another mom.

Milking is a big commitment. I always milked twice a day. 5AM and 5PM. You don't have to be right on the dot, but it should be close, as goats get mastitis just like people do. They are also uncomfortable when their udders get full and they get a bit ornery. Some people milk just once a day, but I found that I got more milk if I milk twice per day.

Goats are in milk for different periods of time, depending on the goat and her experience (and yours). I had a goat that I had to dry up or she would keep milking through the winter, I had another goat that dried up on her own after 3 months of milking.

Goats usually kid in the spring. Ours would usually kid around Easter and I'd milk until about Thanksgiving. I'd milk two or three goats but I'd always be down to just one at Thanksgiving, she was my power milker. You can breed them while you are milking and milk while they are preggo for the first few months. I don't like to milk in the winter, so I always dry them up in the fall, and it gives them a break from milking while preggo too. Some people do milk through the entire pregnancy, but that seems trying for the goat to me.

Goats need to be handled often, or they can become agressive. Even without horns, goats like to butt things to show dominance. This is not so cute when you have children around.

'Storey's Guide to Raising Dairy Goats' by Belanger is a great book to have. Maybe check it out from the library if it's available. It has a lot of important factors and I have used it for reference A LOT to various problems I encountered while milking.

I'm sorry if this doesn't make sense, I'm trying to type fast and think of things as I type. LOL

I'm sure there is more, but that's all I can think of right now.

We plan to purchase new dairy goats this spring so I'll be milking again this summer. I'm looking forward to it, and I love having goats. They are so funny and full of personality. They are a lot of work though, but well worth it in my opinion. We love the fresh milk that's organic, hormone-and antibiotic-free. We know where it came from and how the animal that gave it to us was/is treated.

Let me know if you have any more questions and I'll try to answer them for you.

Hugs, Lisa