# Nobody told me...



## Di (Jan 29, 2008)

how much I was going to enjoy milking my goats! This is so great. I love milk, but, I was apprehensive about drinking goat milk. So many stories about how it smells bad or tastes funny. I'm milking Taylor and Carly (NDG), both had kids on till they went to their new homes. They may have been starting to dry up. But I decided to try even though neither had ever been on the milking stand. Now 3 weeks later, they both jump up on the milk stand and happily much grain till I get done. I'm getting about 12 ounces x2 each. Very good, almost a little sweet! I love it.

One of the gals that purchased some kids from me had an alpine doeling for sale, so I bought her. She's not registered, but, her mom gives 1 1/2 gal./day. I'm going to breed her to my NDG buck and hope for doelings.

Going to get Angel and Bambi on the milk stand. Going to have to get a milking machine though, arthritis is a challenge with me. :leap:


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

:hi5: :thumb:


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## peggy (Aug 11, 2010)

Milking the does is one of my favorite things. Love the milk, too....


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

I grew up with the milk of a few standards like Nubi, Saanen, Alpine...but I can honestly say that none of those does had the milk that compares to ND...I love the fact that I can slug down a cold pint and it's got a touch of sweetness and it doesn't have a gummy after taste. :wink: 

The enjoyment of sitting down to milk is something I love and really miss doing when my girls are ready to dry off.


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## Tenacross (May 26, 2011)

I'm getting a kick out of milking mine too, Di. I bought my white girls to breed and raise kids, but since they were milking, I decided to give it a go. The milk is way tastier than I thought it would be. My main trouble is figuring out what to do with all the milk. My does are at the low end of production for what I heard Saanens can do and I only milk them once a day, but I still get a gallon and a half per day. I've been searching this forum and there is a wealth of info about cheese making. That looks like the ticket to blow through some of this milk. Just wanted to add. This forum is pretty cool.


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## SpringhawkFarm (May 22, 2011)

I've been having fun milking mine also. I just made yummy sherbert last week!  Can't wait to try cheese!


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## milkmaid (Sep 15, 2010)

Woohoo! Milking is great! :shades:


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## Stacie1205 (Mar 26, 2011)

I know what you mean. I really enjoy the time I have milking my 4 girls I just wish I had a better set up and system for doing it. This is my first year for milking too and I have made 2 batches of ice cream so far and 4 batches of soap. I tried some easy cheese recipe but it didn't have any taste to it so I ordered so cultres to try. Just waiting on them to arrive. I am not a big milk drinker but everything else I have made has been good. :thumb:


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## Di (Jan 29, 2008)

I just got my cream separator, so I'm going to try that tonight. I probably will purchase a milker, arthritis, and I want to start milking two more girls. 

Do you really think NDG milk is better then other breeds? I just got an alpine bottle baby and am looking for a Saanen too, I'm all over this milking thing!


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## Mini Goat Lover (May 4, 2011)

liz said:


> I grew up with the milk of a few standards like Nubi, Saanen, Alpine...but I can honestly say that none of those does had the milk that compares to ND...I love the fact that I can slug down a cold pint and it's got a touch of sweetness and it doesn't have a gummy after taste. :wink:
> 
> The enjoyment of sitting down to milk is something I love and really miss doing when my girls are ready to dry off.


I agree that Nigerians have the best tasting milk. My Nigerian does milk is super sweet and has no after taste at all.


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## Catalytic (Jun 8, 2011)

Tenacross said:


> My does are at the low end of production for what I heard Saanens can do and I only milk them once a day, but I still get a gallon and a half per day. I've been searching this forum and there is a wealth of info about cheese making. That looks like the ticket to blow through some of this milk.


If you have chickens or pigs, you can use the excess milk, and whey from cheesemaking, to feed them.


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

The whey is also good for vegetable plants in the garden! Tomatoes thrive on a little extra boost of calcium too so adding a bit of milk to the whey helps keep blossom end rot under control.


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## Di (Jan 29, 2008)

I just can't believe how busy I've been lately...could be because I was milking 5 goats! I just dried them off last week. I really hated to...but...time was a problem. So, I really loved it, and everyone got used to jumping up on the milk stand and the whole program. So, we all learned and are anxiously waiting for breeding season. LOL.

Liz, thanks for that tip...I have a problem with blossum end rot...I'll try that next year.

Thanks to all for posting...I love the goat spot and will try to be here more often.

I did get an EZ Milker, it didn't make the milking faster as I'd hoped, but it did make it easier on my hands. All in all I was OK with it. I didn't think I could justify a milking machine with a gallon a day. Maybe next year when Lucy (alpine) freshens I'll be able to afford it.

Thanks again! :hi5:


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## RMADairyGoats (Jun 20, 2011)

I glad you enjoy it! I too love milking my girls! :thumb:


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## megan (Aug 25, 2011)

I look forward to my morning routine with the girls also. It is so relaxing for me. The Gourmet Sleuth website has a recipe for beginners goat cheese that only uses vinegar. It is really bland by itself, but I mix in herbs, spices or salad dressing mixes and it makes a really yummy spend for crackers. I also put it in salads.


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## WarPony (Jan 31, 2010)

I miss milking my girls. I have one girl who is dried up because she putting all her effort into baking the buns in her oven, lol. Then I sold my two 50% Boer cross does and bought two American Toggenburg doelings. So they will be bred later this year to freshen in the spring. When i got the goats I was worried i would hate milking them. Now I have none to milk and I miss it sooo much! Luckily I froze some milk to use for cheese before they dried up, yay!!


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## Frosty1 (Jul 12, 2011)

So glad your enjoying it! I just love the cheese I can make with my milk! Do ND's really taste better than other breeds? I know that my LaMancha's have a bit of an aftertaste to their milk. Has anyone else run into this?


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## Di (Jan 29, 2008)

I don't know about other breeds regarding the taste of their milk. I have NDG's and that milk was just great...actually...we miss having it...it made my coffee taste wonderfully creamy. I will find out "hopefully" next year. I purchased two little alpine doelings this year. I'm hoping one is going to be big enough to breed this year. But, she needs to grow some more. Maybe by december, don't know if she'll come into heat in january. She's growing pretty fast. The other one is a cross alpine/oberhasli. She's quite a bit smaller, although, only a month younger then Lucy. We'll see, I will be breeding them to my NDG bucks. Let's hope I can sell the "mini alpines". :thumbup:


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