# Can You Milk Boer Goats???



## goatnutty (Oct 9, 2007)

My does won't freshen untill Oct.-Nov. but I was just curious.So here are my questions: 1.Can you milk Boers? 2.If you can is it ok to milk them once a day? 3.Does their milk taste ok?


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## enjoytheride (Oct 5, 2007)

A lady here does it every year- she makes cheese out of it. She just picks the best milking udders- the only trouble is that they do not stay in milk as long as a dairy would and their milk is high in fat. So best for cheese she said. 
But unless they are full blood they may have enough dairy in them to be ok for anything.


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## goatnutty (Oct 9, 2007)

The does are 90 something percent boer and the rest nubian.


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## gnomes'n'goats (Oct 8, 2007)

You can milk anything and the milk will taste like milk.
Whether they give much milk or not and for how long is the question.

I've milked rabbits.

Seriously.

Its true!!! :greengrin:


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

Never tasted the milk so I don't know that one, I'm sure you can milk a Boer..even though they are a meat goat...I was told I couldn't milk a pygmy because it was a meat goat...well I've been milking them for 6 years and the milk is sooo good! 

I think the fact that most Boers are bred for meat and not milk makes the udders at times looking bad...and the fact that most Boers have extra teats can make milking difficult and to milk once a day would be fine, leave the kids with them thru the day and separate at night once they turn 2 weeks old and milk in the morning and let the kids back with their moms.

As ETR said, a percentage may have a better udder than a pure blood and they won't stay in milk as long as a goat bred for milk.


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## gnomes'n'goats (Oct 8, 2007)

I have a question: If a boer has say, three or four independent teats, will the extra teat function? If so, maybe people could breed for boers with four functioning teats and then breed them into dairy goats and get a dairy goat with four functioning teats like a cow.
Or is that too weird?


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## goatnutty (Oct 9, 2007)

I would milk them once in the evening because I can't in the morning.I think I will try it and see how it goes!


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## SDK (Jun 26, 2008)

gnomes'n'goats said:


> I have a question: If a boer has say, three or four independent teats, will the extra teat function? If so, maybe people could breed for boers with four functioning teats and then breed them into dairy goats and get a dairy goat with four functioning teats like a cow.
> Or is that too weird?


HAHA YES lets do it!! we'll make miniature goat-cows


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

The once in the evening may work IF the teat taping works for you. If you can ,tape her teats after each milking....you may not get as much as you would with 2x a day milking, but she may surprise you with the Nubian in her.

The 4 " functioning" teated goat idea is funny, though I don't know if it would work...goats naturally are "halved" and not "quartered" like a cow...but I bet it would be a fun project if someone put their mind to it. :greengrin:


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## goatnutty (Oct 9, 2007)

I don't need a whole lot because I'm the only one that will drink it.(unless i make ice cream with it.)So we will see how it goes. A goat w/ four functioning teats?LOL


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## enjoytheride (Oct 5, 2007)

Actually around here there seems to be three teat camps amoung the Boer people - the two teater (Tim and Redbud are clear twoers,) the four teater (on the premise the more spigots the better,) and the teat explosion group (pretty much anything that works.)
It doesn't seem to matter much, except I would think that more teats (if they work) with multiple births would be less hard on the teats if the kids will spread themselves around.
However one lady I know had a doe with two fishtail teats plus innumberable clusters of others and she raised two kids this year without any problem.


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## AlaskaBoers (May 7, 2008)

i milk my boer doe, her milk is awesome, i don't get as much , but i was great.


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