bitter/goaty milk - nutritional help

I am going to go run under a chair after I post this...but, I think the milk tastes better (sweeter) with a little molasses in the feed. I feed a local feed that a goat breeder has mixed for her. It's wonderful and has molasses in it. Not enough to make it sticky, but enough to make it sweet.

ROFL. Yup get the chair/hidey hole ready. There have also been folks on the board who found that molasses was the *problem* with nasty tasting milk.

I add just a little bit of sweet feed to my mix. The purpose is spoiling my goats.

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Alice
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"No great thing is created suddenly." ~Epictitus

I know LOL but its working for us. And I feed 50:50 goat chow to mare&foal--the mare&foal contains no molasses, its just a pellet. But the beet pulp also has some molasses....anyway, obviously something is right with this because this is the first year out of 3 I have had super awesome long-lasting delicious milk....I can even make butter now! Last few years no way. By the time I would let the milk sit in the fridge long enough to collect the cream, it tasted like goat. I couldnt even put fresh milk in my coffee--the goat flavors would come out with the heat of the coffee. Something caused the milk last year to break down more easily to produce those flavors. The only change around here is time and diet.

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Chris

2 dogs, 1 parrot, 2 horses, colorful flock of egg-layers, peafowl, dairy goats, porchful of hummers, and a garden full of monarchs

Well, there's only one thing left for you to do: Take them goaty goats and start changing their feed around! Wait about a week, and then change it again. Works for us! (Sometimes...)

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I'm an environmentalist, left wing, Ron Paul loving Prius driver with a farm. If you have a problem with that, kindly go take a leap.

I haven't read the other posts, haven't had the time, but wanted to post this really quick.

We have two refrigerators. One in the garage and one in the kitchen. The garage fridge keeps the milk really really cold. The one in the kitchen gets opened a lot more and doesn't stay as cold. This morning I drank some milk from the garage dated 4/10/11. It was really good. Not even a milk aftertaste. My dd got some from the same goat from the kitchen fridge dated 4/12/11. YUCK! The kitchen fridge just doesn't keep it cold enough for it to taste good. Is this possibly part of the problem?

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Avatar & SIG art by Incredible Daughter , RandomGal. http://random-gal.deviantart.com/gallery/

Goats aren't the only mammals that can have high lipase levels effect milk taste. Happens to some humans too.

My DH's aunt has Nubians, and said she does not feed grain to them on the milk stand or for at least 30 minutes before milking. Apparently that can cause more lipase to be produced or something? I need to call her this weekend and see if there's still any way to get that buckling from her, I'll ask her about this as well.

-Sonja

The fridge temperature could very well be a large part of the problem. Also, if it's not keeping your milk cold, it's not keeping your leftovers cold enough to be safe to eat, either.

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Alice
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"No great thing is created suddenly." ~Epictitus

As a fussy milk drinker I can tell you different goats produce different flavored milk. I have had Toggs, Alpines, Nubians, Oberhalsis, and Nigerian Dwarfs. Loved Nubian milk until I had Niggie milk. It is by far the closest to Jersey cow milk I have ever had.

HAH! Thanks, Alice. I have been nagging dh for a new fridge. He says the problem is that the milk is kept in the door. I will put a thermometer in the fridge & then see if I can get him to get me a new one. ;o)

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Avatar & SIG art by Incredible Daughter , RandomGal. http://random-gal.deviantart.com/gallery/

Well, he's partly right. The door is the WORST place to keep milk.

The coldest place in the fridge is the LOWEST spot toward the back.

To check your refrigerator's temperature, set a thermometer in a glass of water in the center of the lowest shelf. Read the thermometer first thing in the morning after the fridge has been closed all night.

Target temp is about 35 to 37. Just above freezing!

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Alice
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"No great thing is created suddenly." ~Epictitus

I know the door is the worst. Especially goat milk because it gets shaken just by the door being opened and closed. It is the only place in our fridge that the milk fits. I don't like that fridge very much.

I didn't know that was how to take the temp. Thanks. I will do that tonight.

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Avatar & SIG art by Incredible Daughter , RandomGal. http://random-gal.deviantart.com/gallery/

I like this milk container.
http://www.amazon.com/Luminarc-Quadr...p_ob_k_title_2

I don't like my fridge, either. I think I need one that's BIG. Walk in. ROFL.

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Alice
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"No great thing is created suddenly." ~Epictitus

i breed nubians and love the milk. it still will taste very sweet and good after two weeks in the fridge( have not tried longer yet)
when we were a bit short in mil, i bought an alpine doe because she was an incredible good milker (miserable udder, but was just for milk anyway)
she got the same diet as out nubians and nobody in the house wanted to drink the milk. it just did taste off.
maybe you should try either nigerian, nubian or lamancha. those breeds are known for better tasting milk

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Susanne Stuetzler
Ain-ash-shams
Nubian Dairy Goats

please visit us at
http://www.ain-ash-shams.net

Alice, I LOVE that container, too! I get them at WalMart for under $5.

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http://mmsmiracle.com/EnjoyBetterHealth

I would like to add this.
Did you say your hay was 30% moisture?
That could also be a problem, not just for the taste of the milk but in warm weather that hay is going to mold super fast and moldy hay can kill.
We feed round bales but they run about 10% moisture. I will feed up to 20% but that's pushing it. If it has fermented that could cause the milk to taste funny.
I would not feed fermented hay to goats.

I would suspect sub-clinical mastitis could be the problem. Otherwise it just may be Alpine milk in general. It sounds like you are doing everything else right!

Chris

I use baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) sprinkled over the feed at a rate of 1 tablespoon per day. I'm very new to milk goats (1 year) but have been milking cows for over 30 years now and it does work. I've not found anything scientifically to prove or disprove what it really does, but it's a safe product for humans and worth a try. An elderly lady told me about when I complained to her that, "I hate the goaty flavor of goat's milk".

It took about three days to do the trick. Now, I don't give baking soda daily. (Just when I think about it. Probably every three-four days.)

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Francismilker

"The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much" James 5:16

The only time I ever got bitter milk was when the goats were eating ragweed.

Yes, the hay is 30% moisture and I can ONLY use it during the cold months because of mould. I'm of course watching it like a hawk but it's still cold here - 50's today.

I'm currently sitting eating farm fresh eggs and milk - and the milk is sweet. I started chilling it in my barn fridge. I've got some milk from 4/13 pm and it's still good, too... The experiment continues but at least it's improving.

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Dona Barski

"Breed the best, eat the rest"

Caprice Acres

French and American Alpines. CAE, Johnes neg herd. Abscess free. LA, DHIR.

I don't think you need to change much of anything. But here is what I know about this, and you can try a few things and see if it works.

For one, I would not use that udder wash, not because of the milk but because it can actually spread germs around. You have to understand that bleach has to sit on something for 10 minutes to be effective. Here is what we do, we have betedine mixed with water to look like weak tea. We spray this on teats, all the way around, and our hands. Then we use a new paper towel to completely dry each teat and the hands. When we are done, we respray the teats well, and our hands. Let the spray on the teats air dry.

Now, your milk taste....it's be vitimins. Give those does 5 cc of b complex for full sized does in the AM and you will have different milk by PM. The taste from b deficiency is metally, metallic or chemically. The taste from handling is goat flavored.

The problem is actually caused by cobalt def. The goats utilize the cobalt to manufacture their own B vitimins. A cobalt block is the best thing ever, but they can be hard to find. Cargill makes one, and American Stockman.

You can give 1 teaspoon of diamond V yeast, baking yeast each day(do NOT give more as you can get phospherous poisoning) to maintain the b vitimins until you get a cobalt block. I have been giving Bcomplex pills to one doe, but I am not convinced she is utilizing them, could be the rumen is not processing them.

I am actually contemplating making my own cobalt blocks in the cheese press because I can't find one that has a good amount in it, 100 - 200 ppm is the most you can get.

Since I have put the cobalt block out, does put weight back on, worm loads reduced and the milk is very good. Milk should keep and taste good for about 5 - 7 days. Sometimes longer, but I have a delicate taster so I only like it for a few days.

Only one doe is now b deficient, and maybe she doesn't eat the cobalt block, I don't know. Edema of the udder, low milk production and off tasting milk are three symptoms of cobalt def. Anemia, high worm loads and low response to worm medications can also indicate a need for more cobalt.

Hope this helps!