Got Milk?

[moosemaniac]

So how's everyone doing with milk production this season so far? How much milk are you getting? What are you doing with all of it?

I'm averaging 6 gallons daily. We drink a lot of it. I've been making a lot of cheese. I make Feta, but that's gone as soon as it's ready to eat. DH loves it. Fresh cheese I take to work with me to share and it's gone quickly as well. I currently have about 16 pounds of cheddar in the fridge aging. Can't eat that until at least the end of July.

I've got to get busy making soap as well. We have goat festival scheduled in July, and I want to have soap ready for sale.

If only there were more hours in a day. Then I might be able to sleep now and then.

Ruth

[steff bugielski]

I sell mine sometimes as it is coming out of the goat. It does not even have a chance to cool. I have a large Hassidic community her and they come in the morning to watch me milk so that they are sure it is pure, I know there is a term for it but I can only say it not spell it.
I pretty much sell all that I can produce. I have 18 milking does, many still have kids on them during the day. Right now I get 6-8 gallons a day.

[pookshollow]

How many goats are you guys milking?!?

I've just dried off my big Saanen, and my other two are nursing, so right now, my Alpine gives just over 2 quarts in the am, (she has one buckling) and my NubianX gives about 1 1/2 quarts in the am (she has twins - and they're getting big!). Since I'm still bottle-feeding the Alpine's doeling, we're drinking most of the milk. I might have enough extra this weekend to make cheese - good thing, I'm running low. I'll be weaning their kids in about 4 weeks - they're 8 weeks old now.

My Saanen yearling is due to kid in about 3 weeks, and if she's as good as her mother . . . (and she's bred to a Nigie, so the kids won't drink that much), then the big Saanen is due end of July. I'll be making lots of cheese then!

[moosemaniac]

I'm milking 9, so I'm disappointed in the amount I'm getting. But one freshened in October, so she's tapering off now and another is something of a peanut that I should have culled, but she's a favorite of mine. Doesn't give a lot of milk, but I'll never sell her and I'll only sell her kids for meat...unless I breed her to a Nigie next time. Most of mine are first fresheners as well, so I guess I shouldn't complain.

[CountryHaven]

I dried off my LaMancha who had dropped down to about a half-quart per milking. My hands cause me a lot of pain, and to live with it, I require a lot more than that. LOL

I have a 50% Nubian (I always want to think she's 3/4 I don't know why. I just looked at her papers though... 50%. I think it's her puppy dog ears that make me think she has more Nub than she does. Then again, her mom was just registered grade so who knows?) Anyway, she's giving me a gallon a day of great tasting sweet milk.

My purebred Alpine just freshened 9 days ago. She's nursing a doeling and giving me a half gallon, of wonderful milk a day. I've only been able to drink it for about 2 days now. It seemed to take forever for the colustrum to go away even though I was milking her twice a day. The barn cats didn't mind though. They had a real treat for a little over a week. It's her first freshening but she's a real trouper on the stand. I'm proud of her. I had to laugh the other day though when I was milking one teat and the baby jumped up and started nursing the other side. haha Too Cute.

I am not selling any right now. I'm using all the milk for drinking (when hubby's home we go through a LOT), or for cheeses. I have cottage cheese I made yesterday that's half gone already, and a pot of chevre on the counter setting. I had a few ruined attempts at mozzerella this year. I REALLY don't know what's going on there. I remembered it as a really fun easy cheese to make, but it just simply won't work for me this time around. I've been having fun with the chevre and cottage cheese, pudding, and yogurt though.

[Spinner]

I feel lazy, I'm only milking 1 doe. I haven't used her milk to make cheese and I don't sell milk, yet. I'm still in the learning stages with the goats. I don't feel confident enough to sell the milk, yet. All that is in plans for the future, but I'm going slow so I can get used to it all and be sure I'm doing things right.

[MoCrafter]

I am milking 2 first freshener Saanens. I just took their boys away from them to wean them. They are 3 months old. I am getting 2 gallons a day from my two. I am making lots of cheese. I am so happy with my 2 girls.

Winona

[HomesteadBaker]

I have 3 does, all first fresheners, all with kids on them during the day (seperated at night). I milk once a day, in the morning.

The Nubian freshened 3/14/07 with a single doeling. It appears she is weaning her doeling, but her production has dropped. She was averaging about 2#, now only about 1# 6 oz. My husband thinks she may be self-suckling.

The Saanen/ "who knows what" cross freshened on 4/8/07 with twin buckllings (one died). She appears to be starting to wean her buckling. I call her "My good little Saanen cow", she averages about 3# a day.

The Alpine/"who knows what" cross freshened on 5/2/07 with a single doeling (she is my "is she or isn't she pregnant?" goat). She is my most patient goat on the stand, producing more than the Nubian but less than the Saanen, and averages about 2# 8 oz.

I have not yet made cheese or anything else.... my son and husband like to drink the milk too much!!!!

[BlueHeronFarm]

We're getting about 25 pounds a day almost all of which goes to hungry babies. Stupid, cute kids. I almost feel guilty when I steal a gallon to make cheese.

[moosemaniac]

I spread out my kiddings so I have plenty of milk as long as possible so the kids can share with us. I had one doe kid last October. I'm hoping to pull that trick off again this year.


Ruth

[BlueHeronFarm]

This is our first year with goats - they were all knocked up when we got 'em last winter. No choices there.

This will probably be the last year we raise so many kids, though. We are doing it now because we do not yet have our milk and cheese licenses in place - so might as well raise doelings. Greedy, greedy doelings.

[Patty0315]

I am milking 5 and get about 5 gallons a day. It feeds the baby goats bottle baby lambs chickens pigs and us. Also make cheese , soaps and lotions.

I am waiting on 2 more to freshen.


Patty

[cmharris6002]

I'm milking 6. My 2 sr does have been fresh since mid December and my four FF's freshened in April and May. I'm getting a little over 5 gals/day. I sell it, use it for soap and lotion, and make cheese.

Christy

[wildhorse]

Im still waiting I should have a milker by spring

[Alice In TX/MO]

We are rookies, too. We are milking one doe, an Alpine, that we got from OzarkJewels. She has only one functioning teat, but we get between three and four quarts per day.

We are making yogurt, yogurt cheese, mozzarella, and freezing the excess for use this winter. I'm trying to make hard cheeses, too, but that's a LONG process.

[DocM]

Milking 4 pb lamanchas and one alpine/lamancha cross. 3 first freshners. Everyone's giving at least 9 lbs. I attribute it to management changes, the copper bolusing and switching from lackluster sit-on-the-shelf goat feed and powdery alfalfa bales to chem free horse feed (fresh milled multi grain stock pellet, very little corn) and alfalfa pellets. Plus all the lush browse they can eat in 12 hours a day. I pulled them off the pasture and fenced in about 3 acres of very thick oregon coast range brush. Their coats are so shiny you can see yourself in them... They've never been healthier.

[HaysFarm]

Don't feel bad wild, Were in the same boat.