What does your milking goat range on? Brush or grass.

Reason why I ask this is cause about 3 summers ago when I first put up a fence and got a few goats they were eating lots of brush and wild weeds. When my first doe kidded I started milking her with the thought that we could start drinking goat milk. Blah! After several weeks I decided that drinking goat milk just wasn't for us. One reason why it tasted bad is cause that first year on the range there was lots of wild garlic growing and no telling what other bad tasting weeds. So I'm asking is those of you who milk and drink goat milk what kind of range are they on?

[Sondra Peterson]

yes garlic will most deffiently come off in the milk
Mine are on mostly coastal burmuda fields and I feed everyday with alfalfa pellets and grain and grass hay. Of course there are some weeds in the pastures but things like dandelions etc. Garlic is very good for the goats and I do give them garlic but not the ones that I use for drinking milk.

[Stacy Adams]

Mine are on a bit of both.. lots of woods, poison ivy, honey suckle, and whatever else is growing out there that they like. They also have access to pasture that's growing giant bermuda, regular bermuda, johnson grass and a variety of weeds..
In the morning when I milk, they've been in the barn all night and are munching on hay when I greet them. I'll be milking for the firt time in the evenings this spring, and the plan is to have them in the barn munching hay/alfalfa at least an hour before I milk.. I've heard that it helps with the off flavors some weeds give. I'll let you know

[Vicki McGaugh TX Nubians]

Our girls really don't graze the grass until it is belly high, they prefer the youpon leaves, blackberry, poison ivy, small pines, oaks and hickorys coming up, any kind of weed and wild onions, wild comfrey, and any leaves they can reach on the trees, they get alfalfa pellets 24/7 and grain on the milkstand.

It rarely is about the diet, it is about health of the doe, health of the udder and cleanliness of milking. After being on the boards for awhile now with your girls in better nutritional shape do to being on better minerals, I would bet their milk would be better now than before...try again? Vicki

[Baaa]

Vicki,
Do you leave the Alfalfa Pellets out at all times for them to eat as much as they want year round ?

Do you give them the 12% Pilgrams grain on the stand only ?

and then the does eat hay and pasture ... right ?

and I know this is along with free choice minerals and baking soda .