Milk animal poll

We don't like goat milk. Per my daughter, after the first day, it tasted too "goaty." We've only tasted Nubian goat milk though. A milk cow sounds great but that's a lot of work. We have to go out of state occasionally for medical care so....

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Moms don't look at things like normal people.
-----DD

I have cows and a goat but they're all retired now.

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"I love all of this mud," said no one, ever.

3 Jersey girls here. I love their milk. When my kids were little, we did goats, I had Nubian, Toggenburgs, Alpines and La Manchas. I never aquired a taste for none of their milk even after trying for several years. But the kids loved it. So I went for Jerseys and it took me several months to get them to drink cow milk. They fought it tooth and nail. But since Momma milks, Momma gets to pick who she milks. Except now, dh milks, I'm only a relief milker.

We milk 3 Saanen dairy goats and one dairy cow, she is a mixed dairy breed but gives alot of cream in her milk, which we love. We make butter and cheese and have more than plenty to drink. Occasonally we raise bottle calves from the extra milk. The milk from both is excellent, the trick is to chill it down very fast after straining, we put ours in the freezer for an hour or so.

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Gee Creek Farm

Interesting on the milk taste. We used to milk a Dexter and goats and I did a taste test from friends and family and no one could ever tell the difference. The only "goaty" tasting milk I have ever had came from someone else. It was so bad I literally spit it out. I have had Alpines, La Mancha, Nubian and crosses and never had anything but sweet tasting milk here. I buy cow's milk right now from a local guy and I have had some pretty strong tasting stuff from his cows.

I don't know if it really tastes "goaty" as much as it just tastes different. One thing I've never been able to get past is warming goat milk up, just can't do it, but cow milk tastes great warmed up. I also think some of us are more sensitive to taste in general, personally I can tell the difference, not like goat milk is bad or anything, but different for sure.

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Idleness is leisure gone to seed

I voted both, but my Dexter cow has only just freshened, so I am not actually milking her as yet. I have milked my Nubians and my Nubian/Boer though, and love fresh, raw milk. Can't wait to try my hand with the cow. It will be interesting to see the difference in the cheeses...

Mary

Usually the problem with "off" tasting goat's milk is that the goat is lacking in minerals. Copper deficiency and Cobalt deficiency will both cause the milk to taste sharp.

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I believe in God's willingness to heal.

Cyngbaeld's Keep Heritage Farm, breeding a variety of historical birds and LaMancha goats. (It is pronounced King Bold.)

I voted neither right now but want to get me a milk cow next year if I can an some goats as well but my goats will be used for brush control an meat not big on goats milk myself........

Ah... Maybe that is why one of our new goat's milk taste simply horrid! What's worrisome, though, is that the goat lady, when asked, said it tasted great to her!

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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.

Had to vote neither We had a large purebred Nubian herd for years. We did shows and all of that when the kids were young.
My small pasture is being overused by three horses and two mules now.
When we get moved to the new "farm", I want a FEW goats and a pretty, doe-eyed Jersey to milk.

We drank goat's milk for years and liked it. I do think it is a little different in taste than cow's, but not in a bad way. We did keep the bucks at a good distance from the girls though.

I'm very picky and taste everything. If it is the least bitter or goaty, I won't drink it. As long as I make sure their minerals are correct, the milk is sweet and tasty.

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I believe in God's willingness to heal.

Cyngbaeld's Keep Heritage Farm, breeding a variety of historical birds and LaMancha goats. (It is pronounced King Bold.)

I find that when it tastes goaty then the biggest culprit is not handling the milking and milk properly.

#1 shave the udders, especially if they are super hairy, hair in milk = goaty
#2 wash the udders well before every milking
#3 make sure you are only milking into stainless steel
#4 as soon as you milk, bring the milk in, strain it through a milk filter, and put the milk into ice water, immediately. We use 1/2 gallon canning jars to store the milk.

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Idleness is leisure gone to seed

I don't shave the udders. I brush off loose material before milking. I do not wash the udders. I do not use teat dip. I milk into a clean (not sterile) stainless pail. Usually don't strain. Store in clean canning jars in the fridge. Sometimes forget to put the milk in the fridge right away. I don't set the jars in ice water.

If the minerals are correct the milk is sweet and tasty.

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I believe in God's willingness to heal.

Cyngbaeld's Keep Heritage Farm, breeding a variety of historical birds and LaMancha goats. (It is pronounced King Bold.)

Same here, I have forgotten to put the milk in the fridge for a couple of hours before even and still no "goaty" taste. We do feed a high quality mineral though. And they have plenty of browse so they can eat what they need and get a wide range of nutrients.

Well, sometimes people have different taste levels too, I could tell, trust me.

I had friends that had horrifically bad drinking water, terrible sulfur, they were like "what sulfur", man you couldn't barely fill your cup out of the facet without gagging.

If she is having troubles tasting goaty, then handing the milk differently WILL make a difference.

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Idleness is leisure gone to seed

Same here, kinda odd it can sit out that long. (That's only happened a couple times, namely when we were first getting the big De laval cranking and running around the kitchen with our heads cut off; WHAT DO WE DO NOW??)

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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 honestly don't think so. I have extremely sensitive smell and tastebuds and trust me I can catch an off flavor a mile away. I have tasted "goaty" milk and I have tasted strong cow's milk and I have never had strong milk from either my cows or my goats and the only thing I can say I know is different from a lot of others is I invest in high quality minerals. So I think there is something in that suggestion. Not saying that it won't help to refrigerate it quickly and such just that I think it may be more complex.