Which goat has the best milk?

[ShellCreekRanch]

I've tried Saanen milk but it was also a goat that runs anywhere and eats anything and the milk was nasty. We've never owned goats and want to get 2 in the spring. I'm leaning towards Nubian goats. I also want to learn to make soap and butter with the milk's goat.
Thanks!

[Wendy]

My choice is Nubians first, Lamanchas second. Both make great ice cream!

[moosemaniac]

I vote for Alpines!!!!!!!! Delicious!

Ruth

[Corky]

i vote alpine also but that is because mine has great tasting milk.
It has a lot to do with how you handle it also.
I also had toggs and I treated the milk the same way and I personally do not like togg milk but there are those that love it.
Cleanliness is tops. Cooling the milk fast is also very important.
I am forgetful so I put my milk in quart glass jars and put it in the freezer right away and then forget to take it back out before it is frozen so I just let it freeze(leave ring off of jar till frozen to prevent breakage).
We just make sure we have enough frozen jars put in the back of fridge thawing to keep us in fresh milk. I shake them good after they thaw because the cream thaws first and rises to the top. You could spoon that off to collect for butter if you wanted. I don't like goat milk butter. I have not tasted butter that didn't taste goaty to me.

[susanne]

nubian milk is richer because of the higher butter fat. i heard that the milk from saanen is easier influenced by what they eat.
some breeds are breed for stronger flavor. if i remember right that are the toggs? some people like the goaty flavor in the cheese.
my choice would be nubian.

[Vicki McGaugh TX Nubians]

Pick a goat you love, whatever breed it is, a healthy goat with excellent consistant care, clean milk technique and disease free is going to give you the best tasting milk. I love Nubians, and because of this my customers of course think their milk is the best! But the same can be said for LaMancha's which we bred and milked for 8 years. The same can be said for Alpines, in fact all my spring cheese was made with Alpine milk, the yeild was incredible, and the higher protein milk made my body builder clientel happy. I am sure Saanens have good milk, allbeit thinner, and if the doe you saw had a more adequate diet for a milker her milk would have been better.

Most poor milk taste is nutrition and cleanliness.

Make your purchases wisely. Vicki

[Teacupliz]

My favorite goats are the Nubians but on our farm the Lamancha milk taste the best.

Liz iN NY

[Hank - Narita]

We have Alpines but have had the other breeds in the past. All had good tasting milk because of what they ate and how the milk was handled. We milk into stainless utensils. Then strain and put in glass jars for about 90 minutes in the freezer. You can't let them near the bucks either; otherwise the milk will taste goaty.

[ShellCreekRanch]

Thank you for your help. Say, I do take a cup and milk her and taste it right then, having never done this before, will I be in shock (of the taste) after having drunk cow milk (from the store) my whole life? I've never had raw milk...yet. The milk from the saanen was when I was little. My grandfather had goats and his ran around wild. Nasty milk!

Just out of curiousity, how did you all choose goat milk over cow milk?

[Jillis]

Speaking of nutrition (I got the cleanliness part), what should you or should you NOT feed or allow your goats to eat that would give you good-tasting milk?
Jillis!

[Corky]

I chose goat milk by accident. I had goats I was raising to sell and I had a bottle baby that could not nurse. I was milking the mom and keeping milk for the little one. The kid died (expected) and I still had milk so I decided to try it in my morning coffee. It was good so I milked her to do that. Then one morning I was sleepwalking (not wide awake) and I poured a cup of milk instead of coffee. I thought nothing of that. I would just drink the milk down to the level I needed. I did. Then I poured my coffee and suddenly realized.. HEY! THAT WAS GOAT MILK AND IT WAS GOOD! Then I wondered why I was paying $3.00 a gallon for milk at the store when I had free milk in the barn. It took DH a lot longer to be convenced but now we only buy milk once in a while when our doe is dry or we have picky company comming.

[crazygoatgirl]

I vote for LaManchas...but I am bias...that is what I raise!!! I love their milk and I like the consistancy that it gives cheese. Also I love their personality!!!

[RedEarth]

I picked Nubian for the creamy milk. I am more interested in butter and cheese than the milk. With butter, I have found that if I skim the milk off within 24-48 hours and then freeze it in a pint jar, adding to it each time I have more, untill the jar is half full, then let it warm to room temp (58 degrees works great) and either shake or mix in blender, I get a nice mild pleasant butter. My first batch I let milk sit as long as 4-5 days before skimming, and the flavor was stronger, I didn't like it so much.

My Nubian's milk has been making great cheese. This week I took one gallon and made a batch of basic hard cheese. I got 1 3/4 pounds. Then I made Norwegian whey cheese out of the whey, and I got 3/4 pounds of Mysost. So I got a total of 2 1/2 pounds cheese out of the one gallon of milk. My understanding is that most breeds would have lower yields of cream for butter, and cheese per gallon.

[Laura Workman]

Nobody has yet mentioned the hands-down winner for rich, creamy (high butterfat), sweet milk - Nigerian Dwarf! No kidding. You don't get a lot, but what you do get is about like half and half. I have Mini-Manchas, which are 50/50 Nigerian and Lamancha. Not quite as rich as Nigerians, but lots more of it, and still much creamier and sweeter than the Lamanchas I've tried.

I just did some looking. Breed average butterfat percentage for Nubians is 4.8 percent. For the other five Standard breeds, it ranges from 3.2 percent to 3.9 percent. For Nigerians, the tested range is 6 to 10 percent. I couldn't find an overall breed average.

[crazygoatgirl]

My LaMancha girls must be special then!! Their BF runs between 3.9 and 4.8%

[Rachel K.]

Go with the breeds that you like best. Or perhaps try two diffrent breeds and see which milk you like best.

The Milks taste is really due to Cleanness and Proper cooling. If your Goats aren't well cared for and the Milk isn't clean and cooled proper then you are going to get nasty tasting milk. If its done right then the Milk shouldn't taste a whole lot diffrent then Cows Milk.

I haven't ever tasted Goat's Milk. I have a Doe but she isn't producing. I might be getting a Oberhasli Doe this spring however who will be in milk production. Maybe I can have my chance then.

My favorite breeds are: Alpine. Oberhasli. Nubian. And Saanen.

All four are wonderful Dairy Goats.

[pookshollow]

I've only tasted Saanen milk - Polly is a good producer and we like her milk. We have two doelings, an Alpine and a Nubian cross, who will be going to the buck in a month or two, so it will be interesting to see what their milk tastes like.

We have two Nigerian Dwarfs, one had kids in September but I'm letting her nurse them. With the Saanen giving me 3-4 quarts a day, it's not worth the effort of dragging Bronwyn onto the milkstand, listening to her scream while I try to milk her with my thumb and forefinger!

I always wanted goats, for years and years now, so when we finally got a milking goat, it didn't make sense to keep buying milk from the store - and we think "our" milk tastes better anyway!