Ch. 10 Goats, Cows, and Home Dairying #3

Hi Carla, I'm going to cover all the topics you listed, probably one every day or two. Someone else should do the bottle feeding part though- I haven't had a lot of success with it. Lambars are a 5 gallon bucket with nipples sticking out from the sides (they're special lambar nipples, you get them from Caprine Supply). I'll show you ours when you come here. There are tubes that run from the nipple into the bucket full of milk. There are two methods of using the lambar: some people keep it full of cold milk at all times, with ice bottles floating in it during hot weather. The kids sip small amounts frequently, which mimics dam raising. The other way is to fill it with warm milk two or three times a day, and they'll gorge themselves on it. I don't like this: they mob you whenever they see the bucket coming. Kids who have a constant supply of milk in front of them don't get frantic and annoying.

This brings me to another method- I never approved of it before because I felt it was vital that a kid drink with her head up. The kid I'm raising now was on a bottle until she stuck her head in a fresh bucket of milk and drank it eagerly. I began leaving a large bowl of milk for her in a shady place. She drinks it in small amounts whenever she wants to, doesn't jump all over me to get a bottle, and is growing better on a constant supply of milk than she did before we started this. I don't think it'd worj with a group of kids. They'd step in the milk and get it dirty unless they had to stick their heads through a stock panel and drink from a trough. This is much easier to clean and keep up with than washing out bottles or lambar tubes. I just give her a fresh bowl or bucket full of milk at each milking- so simple!

You see, the reason dam raised kids grow so well is that they have milk available free choice. Their stomachs aren't designed to take in a quart or two of milk twice a day. Any artificial system that provides free choice milk will have more success than one that doles it out a few times a day, IMHO.

 

Hi Carla,

Heres the recipie for the Goats milk Velvetta like cheese. I recently tested this again and found this to be more of a soft chevere blob than a chunk of Velvetta. If you like the bright yellow color of Velvetta then I would add food coloring to it. Monitor this cheese for it does swell readily especially in hot weather if you have no air conditioning. It needs some flavoring too so suggestions are: crushed fresh garlic, dill, herbs of choice, etc. I haven't done the Fromage Fort nor the Tupi' yet. I'll work on that when we get the next cool spell.

Bernice

Here it is for any of you brave souls out there!

Make cheese curds, use your favorite recipie for making the curds.

Then fill a QUART canning jar 1/2 full with curds.

Pour just alittle bit of olive oil over the top, til it just glistens.

Stir it up. Then take a strelized lid and screw ring, tighten down the lid VERY TIGHTLY as its going to swell. Let it sit on your counter for 2-3 weeks.

For the adventerous:

Fromage Fort: A European Style:
Use any combination of soft fromage and grate in some aged hard goat cheese to add some flavor. Then.....
at the end of a couple of weeks when it has swollen and doubled in size..............open the lid, add any liquoir. The Spanish version is called Tupi'

Now the directions state here to leave at room temp for about 2 weeks.

 

I have a recipie for powdered goat's milk if you are interested. I will have to test it though to see if the recipie works.

Bernice

 

Many eons ago we had a Nubian doe who decided to dine on my Rhododendron bush. I had never, and I mean never.... seen in my life a animal as sick as she was. She was vomiting a brown frothy substance and had the runs. YIKKS!!!! What to do? I called the vet, thankfully he was doing a farm visit at the neighbors a mile away. He managed to save her. I have been fortunate that I haven't expereinced my goats eating anything poisonious since we have moved south. I came upon these 2 remedies on the internet back in 1998 when I got my first computer. I saved it to a file and have sent it to folks needing help. Their responses back were that it worked great!

Bernice

RECIPE #1: Dose for Adult Goat (1 year up)
15 mls Renco (junket rennet, though cheese rennet will do)
15 mls Mylanta (milk of magnesia)
5 mls brandy (sherry will do)

Mix all together, and drench the goat slowly (take 15 minutes if it is vomiting a lot).

RECIPE #2: Adult Dose:

1/4 cup cooking oil
1/2 cup strong/strong cold tea (6 to 8 bags removed) "English" tea

1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon baking soda

MIX ALL TOGETHER and drench the goat

 

I didn't see a goat colostrom formula anyplace in the last edition or the new chapter sent. So, if there has been one posted or given please excuse this oversight. Here it is just in case:

Goat Colostrum Formula:
You want to make 26 ounces of this by mixing together:

1 and 1/2 canned milk to 1/2 water
1Tbsp. castor oil or cod liver oil
1Tbsp. glucose or sugar
1 beaten egg yolk

For the first two days, 1 1/2 to 2 ounces at a time the first day allowing about two hours between feelings.

If its at all possible try getting goat's milk if not, use evaporated milk.

Day 2: You can now begin increasin gthe amount of the formula to 3 ounces per feeding or to 4 ounces for a larger kids.

Day3: Make the formula without the egg yolk and sugar, and oil can be reduced to 1 teaspoon in the 26 ounces of milk.

I am unsure of the source of this recipie, I found it posted on a goat talk list at yahoogroups.

Bernice

 

Here is a very easy to make and efficient electrolyte recipie to use for not only goats but calves/cows as well. Use this recipie when the need arises such as with scours or weak kids.

In a Quart Jar Mix:
2 tablespoons of Honey:
1/2 teaspoon of Salt:
1/4 teaspoon Baking Soda:
Mix all these ingredients in a quart jar of warm water.
Recipe by Dr. Samuel Guss, noted Goat Vet and passed to me thru the Nubian Talk list in June 2001

Bernice

 

Disbudding buck kids is a little more tricky than doe kids. The reason is they have more of a base than does and hence if not entirely burned off will result in later scuring. Scurs can grow in length to the size of a regular adult horn. Use a calf dehorner on kids vs a goat dehorner, the reasioning is the base of a calf dehorner is larger. Also, never, ever, use an extension cord either, the dehorner will not get as hot.

Scurs can also curl around and grow into the head or neck and cause serious problems and even death. We bought a Alpine buck several years ago, he had a huge, "ram like" horn on the one side, the other was fine. This scur curled about just like a male sheep or ram horn. We knew the removal of this scur was going to be tricky so we had our vet dehorn him. The vet put him to sleep and then worked away to remove it. The end result was a huge hole in his head that you could see into his sinus cavity. We had the procedure done in early spring before the flies were a problem. Care for him afterwards consisted of taking penacillian for a week, twice a day cleansing with hydrogen peroxide and applying Dr Naylor's Blue Koat spray. Then applying a light gauze dressing over the hole so nothing got into it such as hayseeds, etc. It took 2 months to entirely heal over so it was solid again. We also had him isolated for over 2 months so he would not butt heads with anyone until he healed.

Here is the technique to use for disbudding a buck kid. If they are a Swiss breed, Saanan, Toggenburg, Alpine, or Oberhasli, then your timespan is between 2-5 days, those buds grow fast. Horn buds on buck kids are not round they are an upside down teardrop shape, with the point angled
in toward the forehead. The disbudding burns have to be elongated to include that extra section of tissue. Thats why I suggested the calf disbudding iron, you have more of a base. Our vet mentioned this too when he did "Stinky's" scur.

Bernice

 

Many folks ask the question, "How do I know when my doe is finished with delivery or kidding?" There is a simple technique that you can do called the, "Bounce Method" Here is the Method:

To tell if there are more kids in there after she has had one or two? From outside the doe. With the doe standing, stand next to her facing her tail. Circle her barrel with your arms, and push up on her belly with your hands right in front of the udder. If all you feel are squishy things, she is done. If you feel knobbly things, those are kid legs and she is not done.

Bernice

 

This is a really wonderful and lifesaving technique I found out about after I lost one of my beloved does to a bad kidding. The kid presented with the neck bent, unfortunately the vet was out of town and we had to rely on our neighbors for assistance. Afte rmany hrs of struggling we finally got the baby out, a big buck kid, born obviously dead. The doe died almost 36 hrs later due to internal bleeding. I cried so hard over this as she was a very sweet and loving doe. I always post this at the beginning of every kidding season in hopes it will spare someone from the heartache. Heres the Technique:

If the kid is presenting with a bent neck the easiest solution is to go with gravity. Take the doe and lift her back legs up, higher than her head, its easiest if you have 2 people back there to hold the legs, but one will do in a pinch. Then you will need another person to support and hold the doe's head, the position she will be in will look like a wheelbarrow.

If at all possible have the person who will enter into the doe wear a non-latex glove with a lubricant on it such as KY Gel or mineral oil. Then have someone enter into her and push the kid back in and turn it then once this is done, pull out the kid by the front feet. Since I have found out about this technique I have not had to use it, however, I have suggested it to several folks who have and each has said it worked successfully. My husband assisted a neighbor with a goat delivery and the bent neck was the problem, he used it on the doe and it worked.

Bernice

 

Got another one for you too. This is a remedy I am presently on for a bout of Diverticulosis that landed me in the hospital for a few days. Take warm goats milk, add cinnamon and honey, then pour in a little of the following herbal liquid called: Acidophilus. It seems to be helping. I decided it was high time I practiced what I preached about the wonders of goat milk for health, especially stomach troubles.

Bernice

 

Hi,

I'm still here, and about done with the section on feeding kids. I had to re write it as my computer crashed and I had to get a new one. Did I ever post the recipie for the Velvetta like goat cheese? If not I will, and I also tested it too, it needs some tweking. What else needs to be covered, researched or tested? I am waiting for something to write. Take care.

Bernice

 

Interestingly in The UK there is actually a brand of butter made with olive oil which markets itself on the health benefits of having a combination of butter and olive oil. It is actually quite nice and only has a very slight olive taste as they us a pretty mild tasting olive oil (you can get loads of different flavours of olive oil depending on where it comes from - they have olive oil tastings in the Mediteranean like we have wine tastngs. I have one single estate olive oil for making salad dressings which tastes incredibly smooth and delicate).

In cooking the olive taste which is minor to begin with completely dissappears.

 

G'day Carla

We have a Jersey cow. It doesn't taste real odd just a bit different. We use a milder olive oil .... if you can say such a thing. We also keep plain raw butter in the fridge for cooking .... sometimes I will put it out early enough to spread on our bread for a different flavour.

Sandra

 

G;day

I was just reading through butter making pg760 version 9 and on the "Electric Mixer" ..... I use my electric mixer with the old fashion kind of beaters, not the whisk, to make my butter from start to finish at around speed 10. I make sure the butter is room temp (leave it out for 2-3 hrs) pour it in the large bowl, beat using a spatular as it "turns" and turn it off when it is splaterring buttermilk all over the walls and big clumps of butter are stuck on the beaters. I strain, wash it by using cold water, pushing the butter to the bottom of the bowl and tip out (this about 6 times or until the water is clear). I then return it to the beaters with salt and up to the same amount of olive oil. This makes it spread better from the fridge (no broken bread) and it lasts longer with all our bodies eating it.

Regards from down under

 

Comments on "basic farm cheese" p 753 (9th ed.). Plus some
other comments, which may be out of date...

I started off using Fankhauser's cheese site - it has pictures
and lots of "what if" and detail.
http://biology.clc.uc.edu/Fankhauser/Cheese/Cheese.html
I've made the "basic hard cheese" 4 times. I use half raw
goats milk, half store bought milk, since our goat doesn't
produce enough
This recipe is very similar to your basic farm cheese.

Step 1.5: I innoculate the milk with yogurt about 8-12 hours
before cheesemaking, and let it sit out (covered). I've used
both store bought and homemade yogurt. In your recipes later
such as colby and cheddar, you have them pasturize the milk
before adding the culture - I don't think that's neccessary or
useful. When I get some fancy specialty cheese culture,
I'll use that, but the natural organisms in the milk will add to
the complexity of the flavor... well, I think, but I'm a total
beginner here! Anyway, I add the yogurt starter so I don't
rely on the "luck" you mention in your discussion on culture
on page 752.

Step 3: "real" cheesemakers imply that it's critical that you
buy proper cheesemaking rennet. I've been using the junket
rennet tablets which are less strong. The difference was
very confusing to me as a beginner. I use 1/4 a junket rennet
tablet for 1 gallon milk. I believe you recommend 1 tablet for
2 gallons milk. Mine sets in about 1 hour, step 4 says 20
minutes. Next time I'll try 1/2 tablet (your ratio) and see
what difference it makes.

Step 6 - 9: I heat directly on the stove, over low heat, in a
heavy bottom pot, stirring constantly very gently. I count
my time from the time I turn the heat on low.

I heated to 98 and the total heating and holding time was
40 minutes, and I got that rubbery stuff. We'll see how it
turns out in a couple of months...

BUT for a couple of the cheeses I only heated to 95, and
the total heating/holding time was just 20 minutes, and the
cheese has a firm but creamy texture right away... it's quite
eatable fresh. We just age it a week or so. Not ultimately
as good perhaps but good for the impatient.

Step 10 - you can make ricotta out of the whey. It's a miracle.
This clear liquid and yet hiding in the whey from a gallon of
milk, is about 5 oz. ricotta.

Step 11 - Fankhauser has 2 teaspoons of salt for 1 gallon milk.
Your recipe calls for 6 teaspoons for 2 gallons. Not sure on
this... I'd have to divide a batch in half and compare
side-by-side.

Step 12 - I only let it drip a little while, maybe 20 minutes
(while I get the mold ready)

Step 13 - For a mold I use the cut-out barrel of a 2 liter pop
bottle. A 1lb. coffee can fits perfectly in it too. I put the
contraption in a big pot in the fridge.

Step 14 - Fankhauser has you salt the outside of the cheese.
This might keep mold off...
I press in the fridge, and dry in the fridge.


Ricotta

Again, I refer you to Fankhauser's site. I've read the recipes
a couple of other places but this is the simpliest.

1. Let the whey sit out overnight (to get more acid).
2. Heat slowly to about 180 degrees, not letting it burn.
3. Strain out the ricotta.

It takes forever to heat, perhaps since I worry so much about
burning it; a double boiler would be a good idea.
You have to be careful stirring as the ricotta magically appears
not to break up the curd.
It may help to cool the ricotta/whey before straining, I'm
usually too impatient.
It's really fine particles and annoying to strain, takes forever.

We use the ricotta on pizza, yum! Also made rolls filled with
ricotta, turnip greens and garlic. And we used some in a
pasta dish, with spinach, gave it a creamy texture/flavor.
So far I think we enjoy the ricotta more than anything else!

Feta

My next plan is to make Feta. I believe this is very easy,
and the recipe is almost the same as the basic cheese,
except you don't heat the cut curd. And of course you put
it in salt water to cure. Hopefully I'll someday get my
chapter and find there's a feta recipe already there for me
to review

 

We bought a very large bale of alfalfa from a neighbor who grows hay for a living. The price was half because it was a broken bale. We hand loaded parts of it in the pickup and are feeding twice a day from that. Not a good idea as it falls apart easily. Went back to pellets for feeding at night in stalls.