Milking Question

[Goat Freak]

Hi everybody. For the last 3 weeks or so I have been milking our mutt goat, Clara, and I finally have her to the point where she is used to it, waits for me to milk her, does not make a fuss, and does not step in the milk or kick dirt in it anymore. Also I have started giving the milk to my dog, but now my mom says that if I milk her one more time I have to drink it! By the way I already milked her withought drinking it, but that is because I plan on telling my mother that I will do it tomorrow once I have everything ready. I'm actually alright about drinking the milk, it's just that I want to make it clean first, I do not plan on pasterizing, as I have heard you do not have to, and would rather not deal with it. So I need to know how to clean her udders, i heard that you can not do it with water, and I need to know how to keep the dirt and prevading floaties out. I really will appreciate any help or advice, Thank you Bye.

P.S. If any one can tell me how to make butter and or cheese that would be great too. Thanks.

[sheep tamer]

I like things simple, and do not like to use
cleaning products on the udders. I use a
slightly damp paper towel, one for each goat,
and just wipe the lower udder and teats
with it, then the under belly where bits
of dirt and hair will come loose. As soon
as possible, I strain the milk into jars and
leave it in the freezer *top-less* a good
hour. Works well for us.

There are links for cheese recipes at the
beginning of this forum.

[Goat Freak]

yeah but I heard not to clean their udder with water, because it can cause matsis, not sure if I spelled it right. Plus I think somone said in a previous post to use coffee filters, is that true and if so how many?

[Caren]

I use antibacterial baby wipes the walmart brand. Then I scrub off the udder with a dry paper towel.

I think you could use coffee filters if you put one over the top of a mason jar and then screwed a band on it. (To hold the filter in place.) I'd fold the filter first in to quarters to make it sort of stick down in the jar.

I bought a milk filter system through caprine supply. don't buy one from them. There are better ones out there.

Hope this helps.

Also I had some one tell me that you can contine to milk all the way through the pregnancy until she dries up on her own. I bought a doe that might be bred back already and was worried that I may dry her up then find out she was never bred so then I would be out that milk!

So here we are still getting a quart a day from my dear sweet Abigail... I only milk once a day.

Caren

[sheep tamer]

Originally Posted by Goat Freak

yeah but I heard not to clean their udder with water, because it can cause matsis

Never had case one of mastitis in many, many
years of goat keeping. I'm using a *barely*
damp paper towel, so by the time I'm beginning
to milk out, the teats are already dry.

[suzyhomemaker09]

I use the teat dip soloution from here... http://www.fiascofarm.com/goats/teatdip-udderwash.html
I put it in a spray bottle and spray well then wipe dry with paper towels. I can never recall seeing anything about water causing mastitis in goats..they don't usually like being out in the rain but they will get wet...if getting wet in nature caused it I'm sure there would be more of a problem .

[Kathy'sKID]

We started out using fiasco farm's solution for udder/teat cleaning but have now switched to peroxide instead of the bleach. No problems here. I bought filters from Hoeggers along with the funnel. Works great! But if you don't want the expense then you could use coffee filters. You could get a regular stainless funnel (found in the canning section) for using with wide mouth mason jars. Then I'd take two filters and put them on the outside of the funnel and try to attach using a rubberband around the outside. Does that make sense? If you put it directly on the jar you'd have to pour really slow and you would probably still get some running off. I've never tried it this way but if I didn't have the setup I have that is what I would try.

[westbrook]

using a clean cloth, place over milking bucket. Use elastic or a rubber band (if large enough) to secure the cloth over the bucket... guess a string would work too.

This will keep out any of the dirt and hair out of the milk, this is a prefilter.

[Goat Freak]

Hey is ther any way hat I can filter the milk after I milk her, She is kinda short and does not like tall things under her. Thant's why right now I am using a pan. I really would like to filter once the milk is away from her, I tried using a bucket and she would have nothing to do with it, too tall.

[lgslgs]

Pasteurizing really isn't very difficult.

Set yourself up with a double boiler so you don't have to worry about burning the milk or having to watch it so closely. You can make a double boiler by taking one pot and putting a couple of inches of water in the bottom, and then just set a metal mixing bowl in the pot opening so the steam will heat the bottom. Boil the water and it heats the milk. Just let it get to the right temp (you'll need to check the web, but I think it is about 170) and hold it there for the right length of time (just a minute or two). Then pack it up, let it cool and put it in the fridge.

Goat milk ice cream is SO good. If you have an ice cream maker, follow the instructions. If not, do a web search for "ziplock ice cream" to find a recipe that just uses ziplock bags.

You could also make your own yogurt. We're not milking our goats, but we make homemade yogurt using our double boiler to heat it up, a dab of live yogurt to start the batch, and a big insulated drink container (an old Pizza Hut special, but Walmart caries stuff like this) to keep the temperature even while it sets up. This is great when you sweeten the yogurt, ad a dab of vanilla, and freeze it in popsicle molds. Do a web search for more detail on yogurt making.

If you haven't made goat ice cream yet, you really should.

Lynda

[Goat Freak]

Hey Thanks for the info, I think I will make some goat milk icecream. I don;t think I will pasterize though, I am too simple minded in some ways, I can't really do something unless someone shows me how, I'm a visuyal learner when it comes to making stuff. Ohh well thanks for the info.