# First time milk - Questions and Observations



## Lstein (Oct 2, 2014)

So on Tuesday Sophie had her first set of babies, twin doelings, and they are both spunky and doing good. I decided to give milking her a go, which went great for the first time I thought. No cancan or foot in bucket. But actually going through the motions bought up some things I need to get clarified haha.

I was able to get two cups from her (I wasn't expecting that much with her being a FF and with the babies being with her), is it ok to be taking this much? Her udder was full but not like tight or anything. I plan on just milking once a day, she has the babies with her 24/7, and once they are two weeks old I'll separate at night.

It also dawned on me that I didn't have an udder wash or anything, so I did a quick search and found one that was a Qt of water, a drop of dawn dish soap, and 1 oz Clorox bleach. Think this will suffice or should I do something different? This was also said to act as a teat dip, should I do that too even if she is with the babies? 

I do have a bag balm that I picked up from TSC, same thing, should I put this on her while she has kids? I don't want to turn them off or anything&#8230;.maybe put it on the udder but avoid the teats? Not sure&#8230;..

A couple other observations were: 

I need to stick some rocks in her trough because she was like a vacuum and had most of her grain was gone by the time I got her brushed and her udder washed&#8230;though I only put maybe 2 #'s in there, didn't want to overload her right away.

All assistants, feathered and furred alike, get banished during milking time.

Paper towel rack needs to be installed above the milking stand or close by.

Grow an extra arm.


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## GoatieGranny (Jul 26, 2013)

Hi Levi. Do you plan on drinking the milk right away? There is probably still colostrum in it, so it might taste bad. But if you are doing it to train her or freeze the milk for future kids, it's ok to take a bit of milk from her now. Otherwise, you can wait till the kids are off her over night and start milking then. It sounds like it went great. 

I don't know about the udder wash. I use a home made recipe with water and essential oils. I can leave it on her or wipe it off because there is nothing in it that can hurt the kids. (If you use EOs and want the recipe, just let me know.) 

Also, I don't know what's in the udder balm....are there chemicals in there? I use a home made organic salve that I can leave on the udder and teats. It has peppermint in it and the kids love it. LOL. Silly peanuts. If there are chemicals in the Udder Balm, I would just put it on the udder but keep it off the teats. Opinions may vary on this, but I would error on the side of caution. 

One of our does vacuums up her food, too. It's unreal how fast they can scarf that stuff down! LOL. I still need to put rocks in there to slow her down, but I keep forgetting. 

Paper towels will be handy. I'm sure the goats would enjoy them too, if you don't put them up high enough. lol. Oh, they are mischief makers! 

When we milk, the cats rush us and wait at our feet for those first few squirts off each teat that they get to drink. We keep a little bowl at our feet for this. 

If you find a recipe to grow that extra arm, please share. 

Oh, and best of all...Congratulations on the two new kids! Did you post pictures yet?


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## Lstein (Oct 2, 2014)

Thanks for the tips, I was just doing it to freeze some colostrum and to get ahead on having some milk on hand for the inevitable bottle babies to come. It was going really good until one of the chickens decided to fly up on her and try to get the sunflower seeds in her trough.....she lost all patience after that and basically said "I'm done"...after trying to bite the offending chicken. Other than that the only thing that went kind of haywire was my aim, I think the babies have been favoring the one side and that side had erratic squirts that went every direction lol. We've been practicing getting on the stand for a few months now, but this was the first actual milking into a pail.

I don't use EOs at the moment but I do plan on getting more into soap making so would probably start getting into that also. (every time someone hears that I have goats they ask if I have or make soap, must have been in the contract?) That'd be great if I could get the recipe from you. I'll take a closer look at the bag balm this evening and find out exactly which one it is.

I don't have many pictures of her babies, they accidently goat deleted. But I'll be adding more when I get them, in my kidding thread.  Going to go wild on photo taking this weekend, just not enough time in the evening it seems.


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## GoatieGranny (Jul 26, 2013)

LOL. I can very well picture the chicken scene! And the aim issue.

Once you've tried home made goat milk soap, you will never go back to Ivory! There is nothing like it.

Teat spray:
2 oz spray bottle
clean water to rounded part of bottle
1/4 tsp. isopropyl alcohol (or not)
20 drops of grapefruit essential oil or extract
8 drops of tea tree essential oil
5 drops of lavender essential oil
1 drop of clove essential oil

Shake gently before using. I spray it on a washcloth, both sides, and wash teats before milking. Or you can spray it right on the teats and let air dry.

I usually buy my essential oils from www.mountainroseherbs, but I plan to buy some from Cathy here on the forum next time I need any. (Happy Bleats) Even though I love the MRH EOs, (got that?), I'd like to give Cathy the business since we know her and she's so helpful to everyone.

I'm looking forward to seeing the pictures! I know what you mean about time.


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## Lstein (Oct 2, 2014)

I tried making soap once, just the basic oatmeal and honey. But it didn't have any milk in it (though I used the goat milk mold with the goat on it.... very deceiving) It might have gelled a little bit in the center though and a couple of the goats may not have got limbs...... but I think it turned out pretty good lol. I made all kinds of mistakes as far as cooling it and what not. Down to the last bar of that so the timing is pretty good, I'd like to make one to use as a body wash and one for shampoo...though I think they are the same thing anyway?

I have this to make a batch. Though I'm not to familiar with adding scents and stuff. You would use that vs EO or can you use either? Last time I used a oatmeal and honey fragrance oil not sure how much I actually put in or what the general rule of thumb is there though....

Would also like to add colors but there again, still newb haha.

How long does all the EO last you? Does it make quite a few rounds of teat spray?


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## GoatieGranny (Jul 26, 2013)

Goat milk soap without the goat milk is an interesting concept! LOL. At least you tried, right? 

I would be curious to know what is in the fragrance oil. It says it's not safe to use with lip balm, so I would question it's use on our skin since our skin absorbs whatever is put on it. 

Oh yes, the EOs last a long time! You only use a few drops here and there. It's powerful stuff. I go through lavender more than any other, so I buy that in larger bottles. Tea Tree is another one I use a lot.


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## Lstein (Oct 2, 2014)

So you would use the EO for everything then? Sorry I know next to nothing on this stuff lol. A lot of info sites are pretty vague for someone like me who needs step by step info...with picutres! :slapfloor:


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## GoatieGranny (Jul 26, 2013)

Oh yes. I use it every day for many things. Even cleaning. You can make "perfume" with it by adding a few drops of rose EO to water. It smells heavenly. Or at night before bed, have a spray bottle with a couple drops of lavender EO in it, and spray your pillow, or your face for that matter. Lavender is calming. It's also an antibiotic. You can use a scent you like a put a drop in your clothes dryer. It will make your clothes smell nice. Etc.

Here is a website that might help you. I don't know if it promotes one brand over another or not, but it will give you some basics about EOs.: http://www.sustainablebabysteps.com/uses-for-essential-oils.html


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## GoatieGranny (Jul 26, 2013)

Not that you wear perfume or anything. LOL!!


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## Lstein (Oct 2, 2014)

:rofl: 

I'll have to maybe get those instead of the fragrance oils then, for when I get more into the soap making.


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## Lstein (Oct 2, 2014)

So round two went just as well if not better, no chickens were involved, though the rocks didn't slow her down a whole log...I think I need bigger and a few more. I did only get one cup, same thing though, the right side was mostly empty and the right side is where I got all the milk.

How much grain should I start off giving her? I think it was a about 1.5# last night, I use Happybleats mixture of 6 parts barley, 4 parts oats, 2 parts BOSS. Didn't want to overload her..... And how much should I increase it every day/week?


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## GoatieGranny (Jul 26, 2013)

I go by cups, so I'm not sure how many pounds. Just increase slowly, like 1/2 cup more every few days. That is how I do it and it works out fine. 

Glad the chickens were better behaved today. It reminds me of a story involving our youngest son. I think he was about 3 years old at the time and misbehaving in some minor way. I told him to behave himself and he replied, "I'm having!" (Long a there, like behave without the "be" in front.) I thought it was so cute.


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## Lstein (Oct 2, 2014)

GoatieGranny said:


> I go by cups, so I'm not sure how many pounds. Just increase slowly, like 1/2 cup more every few days. That is how I do it and it works out fine.


I'd say it was about three or four cups...but she's been getting about that during "practice", so i'll maybe stick with that for a few days since she's been getting much more alfalfa now.



GoatieGranny said:


> Glad the chickens were better behaved today. It reminds me of a story involving our youngest son. I think he was about 3 years old at the time and misbehaving in some minor way. I told him to behave himself and he replied, "I'm having!" (Long a there, like behave without the "be" in front.) I thought it was so cute.


LOL!


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## AncientBlue (Dec 21, 2014)

Your teat spray sounds so nice, GoatieGranny, I may just have to give that a try. I'm just using a drop of dish soap with hot water and a washrag. 

Congratulations on having a FF not do the cancan, tap dance or sit on your head during the first milking. Wish I could say the same. Mine looked more like this: :dancedgi: ...and she was a 2F at the time. All has calmed down since.


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## Lstein (Oct 2, 2014)

I think I caught miss Sophie at the wrong time last night, I was able to get about three light squirts from her (after rubbing her udder with a warm wet rag) I'm assuming this is normal when she's not separated from her babies? They are growing like weeds so I'm pretty sure they're just taking it and she's not sick or anything (hope not anyway). I also think she (accidently) lets some of the other little ones nurse. I think the little ones have some kind of competition going to see who how long they can swipe someone else's milk before they're little tushy chased after. (bouncing away merrily of course)

I did start separating her (with babies) away from my other does at night, to give her as much alfalfa as she wants in the evening and at night. They all get unlimited alfalfa during the day in a large communal hay manger, they just get pushy with my poor hornless Sophie. She also gets her grain separate about 2 cups in the morning and about 1.5-2ish #s in the evening.


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## Lstein (Oct 2, 2014)

So tonight I just got maybe a quarter cup.....is this normal? Thinking I should maybe try in the morning?


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

With nursing all those kids, I wouldn't milk more than once a day.


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## Lstein (Oct 2, 2014)

ksalvagno said:


> With nursing all those kids, I wouldn't milk more than once a day.


I was thinking maybe just the one time in the morning, instead of the evening.


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## Lstein (Oct 2, 2014)

So today was day two of milking Sophie in the morning, with her babies separated. She hasn't been thrilled with this new arrangement and yesterday she really let me have it. It was quite the task to get her milked, I did end up with a quart which I was quite pleased with; with weaving the bucket through legs and out of the way of stomping hooves. Last night I had my first sip of it and it was strange, you could taste the very sweet milk but it just had a ....not sure how to describe it, like a "smelling taste" that was off. It smelt great but there just a taste on top of the sweet milk taste that I couldn't get over. (if that makes any sense at all lol) So I ended up making cajeta with it, first time, it ended up the consistency of caramel when I was aiming for more of a syrup but it still tastes great. 

I did have it setting on the table in the barn though, with a towel over it, while I played midwife to one of the other goats that just popped one out out of nowhere....which turned into a probably 20 min ordeal. And it was raining all day yesterday so everything was just damp, the air, everything. Hoping that this would be what the off-ness was?

This morning, things went much better. Sophie was still a bit upset about her babies being so close yet so far (other side of the gate). But we got through it with another quart and minor stomping. I think there was probably some more in there but she just stopped eating grain and wanted her babies. This time I rushed it into the house (I just let her babies out and left her on the stand, they started eating right away and so did she), filtered it into the big measuring cup, then filtered it again through a new filter into the glass milk jar, stuck it into the freezer for the 30-45 min while I went out to finish chores, and then put it into the back of the fridge. So I guess I'll find out tonight if that made the difference, I sure hope so.

I do plan on moving the glass jars into the freezer tonight, and just store them in there. Maybe that will help out also.

Any other things that it could be that I'm not thinking of?


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## CritterCarnival (Sep 18, 2013)

It's only been a couple weeks, so the aftertaste may still just be colostrum. I know I have to wait almost a full month before drinking the milk from my girls...I am very taste sensitive and I just can't get past that last little bit of "bitter" taste until it's ALL gone. The rest of the family think I'm nuts (but that's a whole 'nother story!!) and they say they can't taste anything bad.


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## Lstein (Oct 2, 2014)

That could be it too


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## Lstein (Oct 2, 2014)

Just tried this mornings milk, same thing, though maybe slightly less strong.....

Just in case it's not colostrum, what are some other things it could be or that I should be doing. 

I'll take a big swig here to see if I can get a better...description? Lol really getting worried about this


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## Lstein (Oct 2, 2014)

Well, I still can't really describe it, but that taste just starts in my mouth. Disappointing because the milk even smells good! Like sugar cookie dough almost or something.


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## Lstein (Oct 2, 2014)

Is it maybe because milking in the barn? Does colostrum have a bad aftertaste?


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## Lstein (Oct 2, 2014)

Is it because she is a FF maybe..... :-? Just not sure what else I could do different. She's gets nice alfalfa, a mixture of boss/oats/barely, hasn't been on pasture yet (first day was this evening). Milk outside? Any advice most appreciated! 

Maybe I should try milk from one of my other does, which are all boer/Nubian cross for the most part...some savanna in a few....see if it's the same result?
Does it take longer for a FF to lose colostrum?


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## Lstein (Oct 2, 2014)

Day 3, same results. This morning I hauled the milking stand out into the yard and milked right there out in the grass. Gave it a quick taste before putting it in freezer and . So I think that picking up any smells can be eliminated.....

After doing a bit more research, isn't colostrum supposed to be a more sweet taste?

:anyone:


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

When was your last copper bolus?


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## Lstein (Oct 2, 2014)

4/18, with the ultracruz she got two of them. I did worm them then, I just realized. With this dewormer, could that still be affecting taste? I had thought that that was 3 weeks ago.....looking back at my records though, she only gave birth 4/14 and was wormed/bloused on 4/18. For whatever reason I'm two weeks ahead in my mind. :GAAH: :hammer:


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## CritterCarnival (Sep 18, 2013)

To me, the colostrum leaves a taste that is hard to describe. It's kind of a bitter after taste. While drinking it, it seems OK, but the taste left in my mouth AFTER is just...sharp, bitter, cloying...:scratch::shrug:

I tried copper bolusing, selenium supplementing, checked out the pasture for noxious weeds. I changed my milking routine, changed my udder wash/teat dip, milked inside, milked outside, literally RAN with the milk to get it into the freezer within minutes of milking, nothing changed the aftertaste. I was getting really disappointed, I was close to selling the goats, thinking it was "just how goat milk tastes" and wouldn't go away.

Then about 3 weeks later, I decided to try just one more time...huzzah, sweet tasting milk with NO aftertaste!! 

All 4 kiddings since (4 different does) have been the same, "yuck" taste for almost a month, then good to go. I guess I just seem to have some taste buds that are super sensitive to colostrum. 

Hang in there and give it time. :hug:


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## Lstein (Oct 2, 2014)

CritterCarnival said:


> To me, the colostrum leaves a taste that is hard to describe. It's kind of a bitter after taste. While drinking it, it seems OK, but the taste left in my mouth AFTER is just...sharp, bitter, cloying...:scratch::shrug:
> 
> I tried copper bolusing, selenium supplementing, checked out the pasture for noxious weeds. I changed my milking routine, changed my udder wash/teat dip, milked inside, milked outside, literally RAN with the milk to get it into the freezer within minutes of milking, nothing changed the aftertaste. I was getting really disappointed, I was close to selling the goats, thinking it was "just how goat milk tastes" and wouldn't go away.
> 
> ...


 I'm sorry, for whatever reason I though I was on week 3-4 of her milking and was freaking out thinking the colostrum should be gone by then for sure, then now looking at my calendar....well of course, she's only on day 15.

This month has just been a blur....haha

_"I tried copper bolusing, selenium supplementing, checked out the pasture for noxious weeds. I changed my milking routine, changed my udder wash/teat dip, milked inside, milked outside, literally RAN with the milk to get it into the freezer within minutes of milking, nothing changed the aftertaste. I was getting really disappointed, I was close to selling the goats, thinking it was "just how goat milk tastes" and wouldn't go away."
_
^ Describes what I have been doing and feeling perfectly. I'll give it another try on Tuesday. By then she should be around week three for real, and then just give it a weekly taste for the next couple weeks. By then the wormer should be out of her system too if that's effecting it at all.

Thank you very much!


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## milk and honey (Oct 31, 2010)

Ditto...I've been disappointed lately with the milk taste...but it got better with time . Keep trying!


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## Lstein (Oct 2, 2014)

Does anyone else's does just frantically have to have their babies in the morning and wont stand. Sophie let me get almost completely done, with a little stopping and crying out, then just stopped eating and refused to stand still. I got a nice hoof in my bucket, twice, for my efforts. She doesn't really jump around anymore, just moves forward to back...long skinny neck I guess. I might have to great some kind of block so she cant back up so far.

But the main thing is her babies start calling for her, then she just stops eating and gets fidgety, and wont even finish. It's quite odd since she's such a piggy normally, especially in the evening when she's on the stand eating, when I just sit next to her snuggling her babies (Tuddles and Muggles, first babies to get names this year :-D.) They're my favorite snugglers, probably going to keep them since I just love my 50/50 boer/Nubian does and they're quite large compared to everyone else) 

Maybe if I made some kind of box or something to put them in so that she can see them next to the stand, while I'm milking? I'd let them run around like normal, but at this point I'd rather not have extra assistance. Another thing I noticed is she absolutely does not like them to drink from her when she's on the stand, she seems to like them close, but skyrockets if they try to drink. :shrug: Once she's off the stand, everythings back to normal.


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