It's getting goaty - the milk that is

[kidsngarden]

I'm a first time milker here. I have a La Mancha in her first freshening with no kid nursing her. She's together with 2 other does and a doeling. I do not pasturize. I've been finding her milk having a strong goaty after taste unless it's VERY fresh. Even a day and it's seems goaty. I shaved her teats and udders thinking that was the problem (it was not goaty when we first got her - but the hair grew in so I thought that was it). Any clues about this?
Most of the time we freeze it in quart jars right away, then defrost it in the fridge.

kidsngarden

[Sarah J]

Are you straining the milk through a milk strainer, several layers of coffee filters or muslin fabric? If it isn't getting strained at all it could be getting some bits of hair in it - ONE hair on a goat from her underbelly or sides or wherever can make a goaty flavor. I am super sensitive to the taste and I can't stand it if the milk is more than 24 hours old. Last fall I was getting it goaty almost immediately.

Try milking through the butter muslim or other straining device. Also, if you put a frozen bottle of ice in the bottom of your milk pail it cools it that much faster - even putting it directly into the freezer can sometimes be too long - chilling it FAST is a big key to the flavor lasting. Try to get it down to 40* in half an hour or less. Cold water surrounding the pail, plus the ice bottle in the milk itself and stirring the milk ought to do it. I can get my 165* pasteurized milk down to 50* in 15 minutes doing it this way...and when the kids are no longer needing it, I'll milk through the strainer and into the pail with the ice bottle and keep it raw.

Are there bucks anywhere near by? Is one of the other does in their heat cycles? (seems odd for this time of year, but some goats DO cycle at this time and hormones can play a role).

The other possibility is an infection. Have you tested for mastitis yet?

-Sarah

[kidsngarden]

I strain the milk, but after it's all in the pail and I take it inside to store it. Were can I get a bucket with a strainer already on it? I think that would be the problem.

I don't think any does are in heat and there are no bucks around.

No signs of mastitis at all.

kidsngarden

[APPway]

hello What are you using to strain the milk? I would use Milk filters as they are throw away after use. and a regular strainer can contain bacteria. as they can harbor milk solids. also if you are milking into plastic or straining into plastic that can also retain odors that are passed to the milk

Appway <- Found out first hand

[Wendy]

Milk into stainless steel or glass. Strain right away & put into a sink of ice water. That will cool it down the quickest. Make sure your hands are clean, the udder is clean, & bleach all equipment when done so it is clean for the next milking. Has she had any feed changes? That will change the flavor also. Maybe a weed she is getting now that spring is here??

[moosemaniac]

I strain the milk and put it in the freezer for about an hour. It usually stays pretty fresh tasting for a couple of days, but that's longer than I need to keep it. After a day or two it goes for soap or cheese. Longer than that and the chickens have a treat.

Ruth

[homebirtha]

Is it getting warmer where you are? I noticed the milk started tasting different and I realized we had gotten a little lazy about chilling it over the colder months. You know, letting it sit in the barn for a few more minutes while we gave out hay, or whatever. That doesn't matter much when it's 30 in the barn, but when it's 80, it makes a difference.

[goatkid]

How long has she been fresh? We notice more of a goaty flavor in later lactation. If she is allowed out to browse, the flavor of the milk my be affected by what she is eating.

[chamoisee]

What are you using to strain it, what kind of filter, I mean? Cloth isn't good, IMHO. Also, what are the conditions like where she beds down? Is your milking area clean? Do you milk with clean hands, before doing other goat chores? When you milk, do you make an effort not to let the stream of milk touch your hands? These are a few factors that can make a difference.

[kidsngarden]

I strain through coffee filters sitting in a mesh strainer. ( they laughed at me at the dairy store when I said I had just one goat - so I haven't been back) I never use the strainer again until after it has gone through the DW ( we have several strainers) I wash my hands and milk into stainless. I wach her teats, udder, and stomach with hot water before milking (don't have a special wash) I'm a frist time milker and often the milk does touch my hands. She sleeps on hay. It is dry, etc.

Boy, this is a lot to factor in!

I have a question about using the frozen water bottles - Do you put them in with the milk? It seems like they would harbor bacteria that way unless you thawed, washed, and sanitized after every use.

kidsngarden

[fricknfarm]

After three years, I'm having the same problem this spring. I'm doing everything exactly the same. My goats are out browsing, but they were other years too. Could it be that some kind of browse that's usually not available this time of yesr is this year because of the warm winter??? Anyone else having this problem??

[homebirtha]

Run them through the dishwasher after each use.

Originally Posted by kidsngarden

I have a question about using the frozen water bottles - Do you put them in with the milk? It seems like they would harbor bacteria that way unless you thawed, washed, and sanitized after every use.

kidsngarden

[Wendy]

Run them through the dishwasher after each use.

What if you don't have a dishwasher? I often thought the idea was good, but I don't have a dishwasher & I think putting the bottles directly into the milk is rather nasty. They don't reccomend re-using the bottles to even drink out of, so I don't think I would want them in my milk.

[gccrook]

You could freeze some water in glass bottles, if you are very careful not to fill too much, or in ziplock bags. Plastic bottles can be cleaned with bleach, and then reused. They recommend not reusing them to drink out of, because their lawyers said so. They do not want any liability for them. They also make some refreezable things to use in lunch bags etc, and they would work. We have found that if we set our gallon glass jars in a cooler with some ice water around them, that it cools the milk real good. We milk into smaller (quart or pint) glass jars, and then pour that throught the strainer into a gallon glass jar.I can get glass jars much cheaper than stainless, and it sanitizes just as well.