What to do with all the milk!

[Mosherd1]

I will be honest, I do not own a dairy goat and I did not go through all of the posts to see if this topic has been covered so forgive me ahead of time. From the reading I have done on goats, being social animals you should get two of them or more. My question is that my family of four would not drink enough milk from one goat let alone two or three. Is this a common problem to have and if so how do you all get around it? Do most people just have one goat lactating at a time and let the others be just companians? Thanks!

[sammyd]

there is always cheese to make.
We used our excess to raise calves and pigs.

[Ford Zoo]

Yes, it would be fine to only have one milking at a time. Wethers make sweet companions too. But beware, 2 goats are never enough!!

[Alice In TX/MO]

There are just two humans here, but I usually milk three goats. Yes, you can just let come raise their kids and not milk them, or milk just once a day.

You can make:
chevre (soft goat cheese)
cajeta (goat milk caramel sauce)
goat milk fudge
cheddar, mozzarella, gouda, brie, camembert, etc.
soap

You can use it for fertilizer and a compost additive (in small amounts.)

You can give it (and the kitchen products) away, and people will LOVE you.

[Zilli]

I am just milking one doe and it is just myself and my youngest son here. Neither one of us are big milk drinkers.

At this point, I'm not making cheese or soap but I do make a batch of yogurt once a week or every other week. I also make pudding occasionally, and of course, I use it in cooking.

Otherwise, the dogs get a lot of it (I'm rather ashamed to say) and the cats get some. I actually had to cut my cats back a little from what I was giving them because I ended up with several cats with diarrhea, even after being thoroughly wormed.

When I raised pigs, they would get the extra. In fact, I used to know some people who got into raising and showing Saanens in a big way and they actually started raising a bunch of pigs to sell every year as a result of having so much milk - kind of a by-product, I guess you could say, of their goat business.

I also used to give it to the turkeys and Cornish Cross chickens that I used to raise every year. Once they got used to it, they LOVED it - their whole heads would disappear in the milk. lol

[Backfourty,MI.]

Originally Posted by Alice In TX/MO

There are just two humans here, but I usually milk three goats. Yes, you can just let come raise their kids and not milk them, or milk just once a day.

You can make:
chevre (soft goat cheese)
cajeta (goat milk caramel sauce)
goat milk fudge
cheddar, mozzarella, gouda, brie, camembert, etc.
soap

You can use it for fertilizer and a compost additive (in small amounts.)

You can give it (and the kitchen products) away, and people will LOVE you.

OK Alice, Goat milk fudge is a new one for me. Is it just fudge made with Goats milk instead of store milk or is it different than that?

[Hollowdweller]

I work full time and it's really hard for me to do anything with the milk during the week.

I'm milking 5 and getting about 5 gallons a day right now (3 have been milking since 4/11)

So what I do is I have some big pans and put it in there. I have chickens, guineas, ducks and then my dog and they consume it all and then on the weekend is when I do the cheese and stuff.

But if I go over that amount then I'm wasting it.

My wife is supposed to retire in about a year and we want to try to rig up a chicken tractor to raise some broilers on grass and milk. Also hoping with her doing some stuff around the house will give me time during the week to make more hard cheese.

[Alice In TX/MO]

http://www.everything-goat-milk.com/...ge-recipe.html

[trimpy]

Originally Posted by Ford Zoo

Yes, it would be fine to only have one milking at a time. Wethers make sweet companions too. But beware, 2 goats are never enough!!

I can confirm this. Got 2 goats to start. 1.5 yrs later I have 9 and am expecting 4 sets of kids next year. Its an addiction.

[topside1]

Makes great garden fertilizer, there is always a use...Oh, chickens love it too.

[mygoat]

Milk shares if it's legal in your state. Give it away, or outright sell if it's legal in your state. Sometimes outright sales of 'pet milk' is legal.

Crafts, cooking, cheeses.

Raising goat kids, calves, hogs, chickens.

Freeze some, can some (For cooking, though I've used it to feed baby goats too! doesn't take up freezer/fridge space, stores well for up to abt 6 mon)

You can just get one doe and a wether. Or two does, and stagger them so that as one's production is decreasing for the year, the other freshens. You can let them raise their kids themselves, milking 1x per day once the kids are 2 weeks old, and continue milking 1x per day after kids wean at 2-3 mon of age. This would work great if you bred the does to a boer buck. Doelings would be registrable at 50% boer (if buck is fullblood/purebred and registered), and both sexes would be great for freezer meat anyway. Hefty dam raised chunky kids! Much chunkier than dairy wethers/kids.

[Minelson]

I wonder if you got one Nigerian Dwarf doe and one wether that might not be as much milk. But then you would have to find a buck to breed.
I don't even know why I'm commenting...I have no experience! Just writing down thoughts

[Zilli]

Originally Posted by mygoat

Freeze some, can some (For cooking, though I've used it to feed baby goats too! doesn't take up freezer/fridge space, stores well for up to abt 6 mon)

I have frozen it with great results. If I had room in my freezers, that is exactly what I would be doing instead of giving so much to the dogs.

I have also left my name and number with a few vets in case anyone is looking for goat milk for kittens or puppies, but no one has taken me up on my offer to donate for that purpose.

[mygoat]

Oh, I've frozen it too - but it IS easier to store on a shelf downstairs, instead of in our (often crowded) freezer.

[Ford Zoo]

Originally Posted by mygoat

Oh, I've frozen it too - but it IS easier to store on a shelf downstairs, instead of in our (often crowded) freezer.

How do you can your milk? ANy additives or just a good pressure cooking?

[Rockytopsis]

Originally Posted by topside1

Makes great garden fertilize

Tell me more about how to use this in the garden please.

Nancy

[topside1]

I mainly pour it full strength on tomato and cucumber plants, some folks mix with water and broadcast spray the entire garden before planting. Topside.

Here's one link
http://www.appalachianfeet.com/2010/...ildew-disease/

[topside1]

http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/gard...fertilizer.htm

[mekasmom]

Goat milk can be canned in jars at 10lbs for 10 min pt/15min qt.

[Zilli]

Originally Posted by mekasmom

Goat milk can be canned in jars at 10lbs for 10 min pt/15min qt.

How does it come out?

Is it suitable for drinking or just for cooking or for bottle feeding kids?