I don't/haven't shaved the Alpine's udders. I also don't "wash" the udder with water - brush clean, predip, milk, post dip.

 

I don't shave mine either.

Kaza

 

Don't shave and don't wash unless necessary and then with unscented baby wipes or water and paper towel.

 

I don't in the winter, I figure they need all the coat they can get. Especially poor Penny, scrawny little nubian that she is. She is not meant for cold temps.

 

Milking six un-shaven goats, no complaints from me or them.

 

I dont shave the goats. I have some hairy ones. I dont have shaver thing. Oh well. It works fine for me..

 

No shaving here... for a while I thought we were 'supposed' to... but I couldn't figure out how to do it without a knick here or there... and since there was no hair from the teats getting in the milk, why worry!

 

I shave everybody. In winter I don't shave their udders all the way, just enough to get the fuzzies out of the way. I like shaved, though, because then I know I'm getting the udder clean when I wash it. I would NEVER milk without washing first as I can't tell you how often I hear goat's milk is nasty... the slightest bit of contaminant can make it that way, so I will do all I can to prevent that occurance. It's not like it's difficult, and i make the teat dip/udder wash fiasco farm makes which is nicer to the goat's udder and cheaper than the commercial dips/washes.

 

I do not shave udders and I milk by machine or by hand. Most does lose most of the hair on their udders during the warm part of the year. Even the hairy ones are not a problem. A hair or two in the milk is not about to taint the flavour if its strained and chilled quickly. I should know, I am terribly aware of milk flavour.
I also do not wash the udder. Just brush it off and milk. Water makes the perfect conducter for bacteria, so I see no need unless the doe is truly dirty......which I never see as goats are very clean and unlike cows do not lay in muck. If you do choose to wash, make sure you dry very carefully.

 

Interesting about the not washing part!
I have one little girl that is very hairy around the udder. I was thinking of giving her a slight trim, just because I keep pulling it accidently.
Other than that, I will not shave, it makes me nervous.

Tell me more on the brushing thing, what sort of brush do you use?
I have been washing/drying the udders, but if it isnt necessary, I would like to stop! They are only dirty on rare occasions.

 

I don't shave either. I just brush my girls off with my hand. I also don't post dip in the winter. At 20-30 below zero, it just seems a bit much. I know what I'd do to somebody who tried to do that to me!

 

I don't shave either. I use unsented baby wipes to wipe the teats then milk and strain.

 

no shaving. unscented wipes.

 

I don't shave either but I clean maniacally. ;-)

 

I don't do a darn thing, don't shave, don't clean. I strain with cheesecloth, or a clean t-shirt. I get it cold as soon as I can, but I don't put myself in a hurried rush to do it. Never made me sick and the milk tastes wonderful!

 

None of my girls are very hairy so shaving would be a waste of time. I use a clean wipe cloth for each teat (baby wipes are cheap). The milk is strained thru a clean cotton dish towel, poured into 20 oz bottles, then cooled.

 

I put on clean cotton work gloves, then sitting besides her I start up high behind, then around the sides, then to the front - just doing a light brushing motion. I do the teats last. This both preps the udder and causes milk let down. I use a nice clean wheat straw in the goat shed, topped up weekly - it's quite thick and cushy now - so there isn't really any dirt, as in soil, just pieces of straw. I also feed their hay afterwards so they continue to stand for at least 15-20 min. after milking - this is suppose to be the period when the teat orifice can constrict and eliminate bacterial problems.

 

I don't have very many goats...

When I was milking last season.. I was milking 2 goats. I just brushed them down with a horse "Body" brush all over, then I use the Fiasco Farms teat dip recipe, then milked... strained with a clean t-shirt, and refrigerated. Most of the time, the milk was used up before I could get it cold!
I swear, I could probably put my daughter under there to actually nurse! *sigh*

Cricket

 

I put on clean cotton work gloves, then sitting besides her I start up high behind, then around the sides, then to the front - just doing a light brushing motion. I do the teats last. This both preps the udder and causes milk let down. I use a nice clean wheat straw in the goat shed, topped up weekly - it's quite thick and cushy now - so there isn't really any dirt, as in soil, just pieces of straw. I also feed their hay afterwards so they continue to stand for at least 15-20 min. after milking - this is suppose to be the period when the teat orifice can constrict and eliminate bacterial problems.

Wow! ok, something new for me to try! I have a lot of straw in there right now too. Last summer they were on dirt a lot, but I don't like that, just doesnt seem 'right' to me. lol!
Very interesting about the 20 min after milking. I usually clip the girls to the fence after milking (so they are on straw), so the ones not in milk have a chance to feed. Guess I am doing that right!

I have forgot to wash them before, and just sorta wiped the udder, and the milk was fine. Very good information!
Thnx!

 

We don't shave or wash. Part of the premilking is a quick rub down by hand to knock loose things off.

And flying in the face of all my training, we do not use any form of post dip and haven't had a bit of trouble in 2 years.

 

I only shave udders for the shows in summer. It is just too cold here to shave part of the year. I will clip a little bit around the vulva and tail come kidding time, but otherwise think the goats need their hair. They get cold. Buttercup was shivering this morning when I milked her because she was the first doe and my hands were still cold. Likewise with washing. When it's cold, I brush the udder off. Otherwise I use wipes.

 

I have been hand milking two to six goats for 31 years, for our homestead consumption. And I am sensitsive to off flavored milk, I don't like off flavored milk. I have never shaved, washed, dipped an udder or teat. I do trim hairs close to the teat if I am catching them in my grip of the teat. I knock off any loose stuff before I milk out the first squirts for the cat. I use a hooded milk pail and dump all collected milk into a 2 gallon lidded ss pail. When I am done with the goat chores I walk to the house and strain the milk into a gallon glass jar with the normal goat strainer and milk filters. My milk tastes sweet and fresh for at least 7 days and starts to develop an off flavor around day 9.

 

I don't shave either but I am a nut on cleanliness in the barns/pens. I clean pens three times a day and stalls twice. But don't expect that in my house!

 

I don't shave until show time. I would highly recommend using some type of wash or dip however....really helps against mastitis. You will get more hair in the milk without shaving.

 

Thank you all for all the info! Most goat-know-how sites make shaving seem like a must...SO, thanks to the great responses, I am thankful I won't have to use my brother's razor on my goat. hehe