# Cream Separator



## bee_pipes

My goodness, you folks have really the information. I've been chasing down links you have supplied, visiting your websites and just doing a lot of reading up in general. In particular, thanks eliya - you make a really strong case for mini-nubians.

Does anyone use a cream separator? Do you need one? I understand that goat's milk does not separate like cow's milk - the fat is supposed to hang onto the protien better? So it's like homogenized already?

Maybe a better place to start would be asking what kind of goats are you milking and what's your routine? What sort of steps/processes do you go through on a regular basis?

Also, what sort of products are you making? Butter, cheese, soap, etc...

Thanks again for all the help!

Regards,
Pat


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## goathappy

Yes, goat milk is natural homogenized already, fat globules in goat milk are smaller than cows milk, therefore, when consumed they do not sit in the stomach. The body converts the fat in goat milk to energy, where with cows milk the stomach just makes the fat fat basicaly.

You can get cream off of goats milk, if you let it sit in a wide container for a day or two in the fridge you'll get about 1-2 cm of cream that floats to the top. I skim that off with a spoon and put it in a jar. I freeze my cream while I gather it, because it takes so long to get enough. We haven't made ice cream with it, but our customers have.

I personally would not want to separate the cream from goats milk with a manual separator. 1. I don't like skim milk(personal preference) 2. if you are going to make cheese the cream should be left with the milk, and 3. the cream is just as nutritious and delicious as the rest of the milk.

We are currently milking LaManchas(well, they are getting dried off now) and one Saanen. THe LaManchas are known for their consistent lactations, good butterfat, protien, and they are known for producing adequate amounts of milk. My girls range from 8-12 lbs at their peak, and range for when they level off is 7.5-9.5 lbs, all through the lactation.

Our routine for milking is we first wash their udders with warm water with a bit of dish soap in it, then we dry them off really good. Then we take a strip cup and milk the first 3 squirts from each teat into that cup(the first squirts hold the most bacteria, and I"ve found that if we don't do this the milk will turn goatier faster) Then we milk. After milking, the milk is weighed, recorded, then dumped into a tote. In the summer time, we keep this tote in a bucket of cold water so the heat doesn't change the quality so much. After the doe has been milked, she gets sprayed with Fight Bac, so prevent mastitis and to 're-seal' the teat. After we are finished milking all the does, the milk is taken into the house, strained into half gallon jars to remove any hair, dirt etc, from the milk then it is immediately put into an ice bath. Ideally, you want to get the milk down for 35-40 degrees within an half an hour to an hour of leaving the goat, to get the best quality milk. We rarely get 'goaty' milk and the milk will stay for up to 10 days without turning. this is raw, btw.

We do this everyday, twice a day, sometimes three times a day on our heaviest milkers after they have kidded.

For products, my mom is the cheese maker. She makes yogurt, kefir, and all kinds of goat cheese. She makes chevre, feta, farmers, mozzerella, ricotta and cheddar. I'm not a fan of the goat cheese(love the milk though), my mom is more into that  We haven't made butter(not enough cream for it) and we haven't made soap yet either.

Hope that helps


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## goathappy

Oh, I forgot to mention, that is handmilking that we are doing. *Hopefully* this spring we can get our parlor set up then we will be milking by machine.

We milked 7 or 8 does this year, and we'll have around 15 next year.


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## bee_pipes

goathappy said:


> ... get about 1-2 cm of cream that floats to the top. I skim that off with a spoon...


So, if it is run through a separator, you get skim milk? And if you skim the top off, that's the equivalent of 2% ?



goathappy said:


> I personally would not want to separate the cream from goats milk with a manual separator. 1. I don't like skim milk(personal preference) 2. if you are going to make cheese the cream should be left with the milk, and 3. the cream is just as nutritious and delicious as the rest of the milk.


I can drink skim milk, but prefer 2%. Took me years to get off of whole milk. Found the 2% lasted longer in the fridge (cow milk)



goathappy said:


> ...Hope that helps


Tons! Thanks for the rundown. I appreciate you taking the time to run me through your routine. Do you even think about it anymore? Or is it automatic?

Can goats be milked once a day like cows?

Regards,
Pat


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## liz

I have a Nigerian Dwarf and 2 ND/Pygmy cross does. I milk 1x a day as my work schedule allows this. I start with a wash then a dry and a strip then milk both into a small pail. This freshening will be my first with my purebred. I skim as the cream "rises" and save it in the freezer til I have enough to make butter. Usually takes about 3 weeks to get almost a quart of cream, my girls will give a quart and a half a day at their peak. I freeze alot of milk so I have it for when my girls are pregnant and not milking. I have made cheese, fudge, ice cream and soap for personal use and as gifts to friends and family. It really helps that my hubby made me a milk stand that fits my minis to a "t".



> Can goats be milked once a day like cows?


Yes they can be , provided that they are not overly productive and can stand being milked 1x day, My minis will give me a quart and a half apiece from 7 weeks fresh til they start to slow down at 5 months fresh then I just let them dry off naturally so they can prepare for the next freshening. I'm sure it may be different for the larger dairy breeds as they can produce gallons a day, it may not be advised to milk a big goat once a day.


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## goathappy

I'm going to quote you:



> So, if it is run through a separator, you get skim milk? And if you skim the top off, that's the equivalent of 2% ?


Yes, milk run through a separator makes skim milk. I don't know what the percentage would be if you skim it off the top but it wouldn't be 2%.



> I can drink skim milk, but prefer 2%. Took me years to get off of whole milk. Found the 2% lasted longer in the fridge (cow milk)


I've found that with goat milk, if you process and cool it quickly(when it is raw) that that is what makes the difference as to how long it will last in the fridge.



> Tons! Thanks for the rundown. I appreciate you taking the time to run me through your routine. Do you even think about it anymore? Or is it automatic?


No I don't honestly. Routine is bascially automatic. We milk at 7 in the morning, and at either 5:30 or 8 in the evening, depending upon how hot it is during the day. That is in the summer.



> Can goats be milked once a day like cows?


Yes, you can milk them once instead of twice a day, but this will lead the goats to think that they don't have to make as much milk. You demand it they supply it. If you milk once a day, you arne't going to be getting as much milk as you would if you milk twice a day. I milk once a day in the late fall, to make the girls realize its time to stop since they are pregnant.


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## Di

*I just love this topic*

Since I'm new to this forum, I going through some of the older posts...I have learned so much in the last few days! I hope all you experienced people know how important you are to we "newbies", if you don't, permit me to give a big hurrah!! I don't know were I would BUY this type of mentoring, and here we get it free! You all give yourselves a pat on the back from the rest of us...you KNOW who you are!

:thumb: Di


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## sweetgoats

DI, when I found the other forum that we all really met on, (it is not there anymore), I felt the same way. I had goats for years, but I tell you it is just really nice to hear from other people and the different ways people do different thing and it all works. 
I have to say when I met all these great people several years ago, I felt like I had a ton lifted off my shoulders. What is nice here is no one thinks bad of anyone and we all welcome any questions because you know sometimes a question asked is something we never think of and WOW we never knew that or thought of that. 
I have been on other forums and boy do they make you feel like you are dumb, or that their way is the only way, but not here. Everyone is open to everything.
Over the summer I had my Grand Champion buck break down the grain bin and eat about 15# of grain and get his horns stuck in the trash can that it was in. Now if someone asked me what to do I could tell them in a heart beat, but when it was mine, I totally lost all the knowledge I had. :shrug: When I asked for help, they were all there for mes. We are just glad you are here.


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## PACE

Hi Di! :wave: 

I don't milk (I've got boys) but I just wanted to say welcome, as I don't think I have yet. I got goats a year and a half ago (doesn't feel like it though!) and before I got them I found GW, which had a lot of the same people on it as here. Anyway, I've learned SO MUCH and gotten so much help with all my questions, even the ones I thought were stupid, but everyone is so helpful.

I know many people leave the kids on the moms and then it's fine to milk once a day. The kids get what they need and you can separate them at night and milk in the morning so you get more and the kids will take what they want during the day, which increases production. If/when I start milking that's what I plan to do


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## Potemkyn

Howdy;

We bought a creame separator about a year or so ago, but have never used it. The idea I had was to make butter out of the creame. However, we usually drank the milk so there was none to work with. :shrug: 

Ah well, maybe next year when our doelings get bigger and start producing.

Mike


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