Milk Taste Help

Oklahoma:
We got our goats from Jennifer Stultz in Hillsboro, KS.

Well, I said we were going to milk this morning, but we wormed everyone last night since the grass is getting short and they're grazing pretty close to the ground now. So, I'm waiting until I know there's not going to be any wormer in the milk. I don't know what the withdrawal time on Ivomec is, the package doesn't mention milk withdrawal time.

http://fiascofarm.com/goats/wormers.htm

You might find this website useful. I do a seven day withdrawal for ivomec. Fiascofarms says they withdraw 4.

How do the rest of y'all do it?

mary

hmm, hold off drinking the milk for about a week. then try again. i always just used it in a few days

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Let a smile be your umbrella against the thunderstorms of life.
have a great day.
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You wont believe this but since all farm kids get worms (and if you dont believe me I'll send you pics of my kids covered in poo) and my doc REFUSES to test them (so they can be treated) I always make sure to feed my kids (and the rest of the family) the milk after I use ivomec to deworm the milkers, because thats what they use to deworm people in 3rd world countries!!! Just my personal 2 cents!

Joy

p.s My kids are 4 and 6, and are very dirty, happy little country kids. I probably wouldnt give it to a newborn, myself, but the rest of us older, poop covered silly people benifet from it every once in a while, I feel.

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Joy Alba
Oak Hill Ranch
since 1834
Bedias, Texas

We did four days when we used ivermectin. It's pretty safe because it's used on humans all the time. But if you're wanting to increase milk production, you need to get into a regular milking schedule and not skip milkings. How old are the kids? The does will start drying off and you won't get that production back if you don't get going on the milking quickly.

midkiffsjoy, i believe it, cause i did the same thing about twice a year, just didn't pull the milk. never hurt any of us. and we rarely get stomach bugs around this house.....

__________________
Let a smile be your umbrella against the thunderstorms of life.
have a great day.
when i call on Jesus, all things are possible.

Does the Ivomec make the milk taste funny? Since we're trying to narrow down on what's making the milk taste bad, I wanted to know if that will.
We haven't taken the kids off yet and they still nurse all the time, in fact we have Boer babies that were born the first of February that are still nursing! My husband's getting ready to pull them out. The dairy babies are only 6 weeks old. We put them up at night and milk the does first thing in the morning. I would rather milk in the evening just because I am not a morning person, but I feel the young goats need to be out with the rest of the goats during the day learning to be goats.

We have been milking for seven years. We have never pasteurized. We have five children the youngest is seven and has had raw goat milk his entire life. We never drink pasteurized milk of any kind if we can help it. Our goat milk tastes great. We have four Alpines, one Saanen, one Sable and one Nubian. In the past five years we have NOT had even one doctor's offfice visit or emergency room visit for sickness. The raw milk can actually help build up the immune system. We once had one goat with a bad taste. We never could figure out what caused it. We changed the grain mixture we were feeding and use alfalfa pellets. The taste of our milk is so sweet that people who taste it have commented that it is the best they have ever had. We prais God for that. One time one of our does got into some garlic and her milk tasted awful for about two days. So if the lily is from the onion family that is probably the culprit.

i never noticed the ivomec making the milk taste off. my best guess would be either the lillies, or something health related with the goats themselves. but, you do need to milk them daily, even if you just feed the milk to the dogs.

__________________
Let a smile be your umbrella against the thunderstorms of life.
have a great day.
when i call on Jesus, all things are possible.

One more question and I'll leave everyone alone.....Is there a special grain mixture that we should be feeding? We get a grain mix at the co-op that a mixture of oats, milo, corn, alfalfa pellets, mollasses and bean meal. It's about 14%, but they also have a protein block that's 28%. Oh and they get BOSS. Is there a better mixture for dairy goats?

I don't know enough about feed ration to comment on the grain. Is it labeled for goats? (My only real surprise was the milo.)
I don't think they really need the protein block, but they should have loose minerals.
mary

may be there's too much molasses-how sticky is it? i'm not sure about that protein block either....you might ask on dairy goats plus, that link i gave up above-the 14 % is ok. a mineral block may be better than the protein block.

__________________
Let a smile be your umbrella against the thunderstorms of life.
have a great day.
when i call on Jesus, all things are possible.

I agree that you need to clean the udder with warm soapy water rinsed off well and dried. Keep her from your bucks.
I didn't see where anyone mentioned sweet feed. I always give my female sweet feed and alfalfa while I milk. It helps sweeten the milk, I think.
The other thing is that we are usually immune to the bacterias in our home. We don't get sick from our own enviroment, we get sick from other people's germs. I never pasturized and fed my own babies goat milk. I was just clean handling the milk and cooled it as soon as possible. I never used it after three days.

The feed doesn't have hardly any molasses in it, just enough to sweeten it up I think. 25# is a half a ton.
We did milk them again and unfortunately, Tabatha stepped in the bucket and ruined that one, so we gave it to the bottle baby goat around here. The other doe behaved herself and we got about a pint and while it tasted slightly better than last time, it was still terribly bitter. I looked up a picture of ragweed, and now that I know what it looks like, we are loaded with it. It grows everywhere around here. So, that could be it? Next year we are going to put the dairy goats in a separate pen. I feel sorry for them not letting them out to pasture. They do so enjoy it, but killing all the ragweed would be next to impossible and I don't think I can get use to that taste. So, this year is lotion and soap. I'm not giving up, at least not yet. LOL

Yes, according to my weed book, eating ragweed causes bitter milk in dairy cattle. I expect that's your problem. (And mine, too. ) DH is considering getting an applicator's license eventually to spray our fields. Maybe you could have someone spray a pre-emergent next year?
mary

When I got my Saanen her milk tasted awful, dusty. I thought oh,no what have I gotten into? I tried it when I was still feeding her the feed from her previous owner. I slowly switched her over to a higher quality goat feed (she was feeding 16% creep feed) and started giving her alfalfa hay as well twice a day. She is allowed to browse during the day but I put her up at least 3 hours before I milk her at night.
This has made a huge difference in the way her milk tastes.

I would go to Fiasco Farm website and read the milking technique section and see if you're getting it right...seems like you should get more than what you are. It's how I learned. I also use her dip recipe as well.

Cara

Well, I probably would get more if......
1.) I could milk faster and finish milking before they finish eating. They're not real patient with me as soon as they're done. In fact, they kick.

2.) I'm right handed, but I milk better with my left hand. When I try to milk with my right hand I always squeeze the tip of the teat right into the palm of my hand and I get more milk running down my arm then in the bucket! I am definately NOT graceful! LOL If their teats were longer I'd have an easier time and when I get quite a bit of the milk out and the bag gets softer I have an easier time. I can't even imagine trying to milk a dwarf dairy goat!

Oh well, we'll get it right. I have to praise these two LaMancha's as they are very patient with me and put up with me quite well, especially since one of them, this is her first freshening. They are just the quietest, sweetest girls.

Can anyone recommend a really good dairy mix?

I don't care what the animal eats, ragweed, garlic,ect. Let them stand one hour before milking and you will get rid of the taste.Believe me,I grew up on a dairy farm and at 60 am still milking.Now it's goats(lamanchas)
Being a newbie at the milking game,by the sounds of your problems it must be a three ring circus getting the job done!
Just practice and feed the cats and critters for a while
I clean the udder and teats with warm water and dish detergent and milk into a mason jar to make a smaller target for falling hair, mine or the goats!
Take a couple of squirts to clear any dirt/bacteria that may be lodged in the orfice.And if you notice clumpy or off colored milk you could have mastitis.
I put the milk into a half gal milk jug in a bucket of cold spring water and when I get them all milked it goes in the house to be strained.I use bag balm on the teats to fight germs and keep the teats soft and from chapping.
DO NOT put a lid on the milk untill it has cooled off or animal odor/taste will not be able to escape!
I keep a fridge in the basement for milk,watermellons, and extra space needed now and then.
A large stainless pan of cold water chills milk faster than a freezer.
And of course we have never pasturized a drop in my life.
Once I thought it was time my kids learned responsability,so they got introduced to milking.A couple days later as I took a swig of milk I made the remark that the milk tasted like a goat had been standing in the bucket of milk.
Then noticed I was the only one with a glass of milk and a lot of snickering was going on
Anyhow don't give up,it will all come together with time and practice.
Chas

6e_ I know what you mean about milk getting on your hand! I have found if I sit on my doe's left side I put my left hand on the teat closest to me and my right hand on the far teat. I've had much better luck since starting that for some reason.

Cara