# Milking Boers!



## spidy1 (Jan 9, 2014)

I,v herd every ware that "you can't milk boers" so I just wanted to break that thought! Yes, there teets and orifices are smaller, but if you want the rich creamy reward, it is well worth it! I am getting 1-1 1/2 quart thick, sweet, creamy milk out of my FF full boer with 2 kids on her!!! The milk is so close to store bought 'heavy cream' that my family (or the picky neighbors) can't tell the difference! My Alpines (or the Nubians, ND, Kikos and all the other breeds milk I'v tasted) don't have near as much sweet cream as my Boers do! I just love it! 

Who else milks there Boers, and what do you think about it? Or am I the only crazy nut out here that milks a meat goat LOL. 

This is Cup Cake, my 'dairy' Boer (after milking) ::


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## nancy d (Oct 5, 2007)

Cupcake is lovely but oh no Spidy now the secret is out.


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

I have milked my boers but only to give to kids who need it. To be honest I'm a chicken when it comes to new things lol so I have never tried goat milk at all.


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## canyontrailgoats (Jan 4, 2014)

I milk my nubian boer. She gives less than a full dairy goat, but it's very sweet and Thick! A friend of mine bought a Spanish/boer cross, who's giving her almost a gallon a day at peak!  . She says the milk is very rich...


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## spidy1 (Jan 9, 2014)

nancy d said:


> Cupcake is lovely but oh no Spidy now the secret is out.


LOL!!!!!! you know I can't keep a secret!!!!


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## Goats Rock (Jun 20, 2011)

I have a 3/4 boer x Nubian doe that I always milked. She is old now, but when she used to have kids, I always milked her, I had no idea you "couldn't" milk a boer! I always
drank her milk. She had a great udder, gave about 6# each milking and would milk for about 8 months. I miss her creamy, good milk. 

As Boers are bred for meat, you won't have the huge amounts that a dairy doe can produce and, she may not milk the entire 10 months, but go for it! You will get 
milk! In my opinion, all does should be handled at least a little in the event one needs milked out for mastitis, etc.


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## Wild Hearts Ranch (Dec 26, 2011)

I have two Boer cross that I love milking.


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## spidy1 (Jan 9, 2014)

Goats Rock said:


> I have a 3/4 boer x Nubian doe that I always milked. She is old now, but when she used to have kids, I always milked her, I had no idea you "couldn't" milk a boer! I always
> drank her milk. She had a great udder, gave about 6# each milking and would milk for about 8 months. I miss her creamy, good milk.
> 
> As Boers are bred for meat, you won't have the huge amounts that a dairy doe can produce and, she may not milk the entire 10 months, but go for it! You will get
> milk! In my opinion, all does should be handled at least a little in the event one needs milked out for mastitis, etc.


That's right!!!


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## TheMixedBag (Oct 16, 2010)

If I'm not wrong, boers have one of the highest butterfat percentages of pretty much all the breeds, at least the American ones anyway. Definitely higher than a Nubian.


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## nancy d (Oct 5, 2007)

TheMixedBag said:


> If I'm not wrong, boers have one of the highest butterfat percentages of pretty much all the breeds, at least the American ones anyway. Definitely higher than a Nubian.


 That be correct. The only drawback is not a huge amount compared to even a 50% Boer & of course not a real long lactation.


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## Trickyroo (Sep 26, 2012)

Learn something new everyday  
Cupcake is adorable


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## Mamaboyd (Oct 10, 2013)

Hmm now you have me wondering if I should try to milk one of my fainter does...the babies are very close to weaning time  Anybody tried milking myotonics?


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## spidy1 (Jan 9, 2014)

Thank you, and as for a fainter, I'm sure there milk is good too! Some people even milk pygmys! I'v never had one as I do large size goats, even the ND I had was to big to register!


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## Buckleberry Woods Farm (Dec 20, 2013)

I'm totally going to milk my Saanen x Boer. I'm very curious about the milk. 


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## canyontrailgoats (Jan 4, 2014)

A local lady I know milks boer crosses and angoras. Between them all she gets plenty of milk, and says the angora milk is her favorite. Last year she milked a sheep, saying they have richer milk than goats and it was great for ice cream  .


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## spidy1 (Jan 9, 2014)

I would love to try sheep's milk, that would be cool!!!


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## nancy d (Oct 5, 2007)

Amanda I bet you will get more lactation time out of her than others, do let us know!
Spidy, Porcecino cheese is made from sheep milk. Much better than parmesan or romano!


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## spidy1 (Jan 9, 2014)

I do like Porcecino cheese, but i'm talking a glass of milk to compare!


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## WinsomeFarmstead (Mar 18, 2014)

I just went to an Italian cheese making class and one of the other students brought her sheep's milk for us to work with! 
We made Pecrino Romano (sheep's milk Romano, not sure of spelling, lol!) and also got to tast some. It is very rich, like whipping cream, and almost peppery.. less sweet then goat or cow milk... She has East Frisian sheep, I think, and she got like 1/2 a gallon from all five she was milking...


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## spidy1 (Jan 9, 2014)

Oh, now you are making me :drool::yum:!!


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## Goats Rock (Jun 20, 2011)

They even make stuff out of mare's milk in other countries! And of course- fermented camel milk in the desert regions!


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## spidy1 (Jan 9, 2014)

The only horse milk I'v tasted was colostrum, (had to milk mom to feed baby), and it was bitter, but it may be sweeter later in lactation! Camel would be fun too!


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## Little-Bits-N-Pieces (Apr 7, 2013)

I've milked a boer before, and if you think their milk is creamy, their colostrum is about 10x that! I had a quart of it in the fridge for the babies that I was expecting from another doe. After the cream rose to the top, there was about 2 inches of the colostrum at the bottom of the jar, and the rest was cream! 
That's why they always have such chunky babies :laugh: 

If I had boers that could milk like my alpines, that is the milk I'd be using for bottle babies!


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## Little-Bits-N-Pieces (Apr 7, 2013)

And mares milk is very sweet and creamy. I have been brave enough to try that before. I draw the line at camels though :lol:


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## Wild Hearts Ranch (Dec 26, 2011)

That's why I love my Boer/dairy girls  I have a Boer/Sable that's doing a quart at 10 months fresh (milked through winter), and just bought a Boer/Saanen doeling with 3000+ lactations on the dam side. Can't WAIT to see the growth on her kids!


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## Little-Bits-N-Pieces (Apr 7, 2013)

I'm kinda a little interested to see how the Alpine/Boer cross doe I have is going to milk. Heavy production on the sire and dams sides, the bucks dam and grand-dam had udders comparable to my alpines, so the growth on the kids should be interesting :chin:


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## spidy1 (Jan 9, 2014)

In the arctic, people milk caribou, I wonder what that tastes like? I would think caribou are ruminants, so there milk might be similar to goat or cow!


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## NyGoatMom (Jan 26, 2013)

Mamaboyd said:


> Hmm now you have me wondering if I should try to milk one of my fainter does...the babies are very close to weaning time  Anybody tried milking myotonics?


I know someone who tried...and the doe fainted on the stand :lol:

But I imagine you could...........


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## spidy1 (Jan 9, 2014)

LOL!!! To FUNNY!!!!


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## canyontrailgoats (Jan 4, 2014)

NyGoatMom said:


> I know someone who tried...and the doe fainted on the stand :lol:
> 
> But I imagine you could...........


At least they wouldn't jump around and kick you, that's a plus!


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## NyGoatMom (Jan 26, 2013)

^^ :lol: Right??


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## Mamaboyd (Oct 10, 2013)

lolol. Fainters can be just as pushy, shovey (sp?) as any other goat hehe. I have had my feet trampled on over feed from my fainters lol. I actually squeezed one of my does teats to make sure milk was coming out okay for her babies, she was fine with me doing that, but trying to round them up at times is just as frustrating as other breeds of goats ... and yes, watch out for those silly horns... but I love all my fainters!!


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## spidy1 (Jan 9, 2014)

Look at these beautiful udders! Yes she IS a FF boer, and has 4 teets, but they don't get in the way!


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## Wild Hearts Ranch (Dec 26, 2011)

No way that's a fullblood!


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## TheMixedBag (Oct 16, 2010)

And here I was admiring my girl's dinky little udder!


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## spidy1 (Jan 9, 2014)

Wild Hearts Ranch said:


> No way that's a fullblood!


She is!!!!! Not registered but she is full boer!!!!!!!! Her half sister has almost as big udders too! But she does not cooperate on the milking stand. :?


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## Little-Bits-N-Pieces (Apr 7, 2013)

If she's a fullblood, that is the best attached udder on a Boer that I've ever seen!


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## spidy1 (Jan 9, 2014)

Thank you! I just LOVE her!!!!!!


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## Wild Hearts Ranch (Dec 26, 2011)

Why do you have so many goats that I want?? Lol!


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## spidy1 (Jan 9, 2014)

If you insist and offer me a GOOD price or trade, I MAY give up her half sister! ( I'm always looking for color)! Or stay in touch and next year she may have a kid you need!!! To bad I just sold her twin doelings.


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## Wild Hearts Ranch (Dec 26, 2011)

You're still too far away, darn it!


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## fibromom (Mar 31, 2013)

"Boer/Saanen doeling"
We have Boer cross (dad)/LaMancha Oberhausli (mom) twins born May 2. The buck is as cute as it gets. His sister will give us great babies I'm hoping! To have that much CREAM from a boer... how cool! I want to switch from store-bought whipping cream (for my coffee) to goat cream but I didn't get enough and it wasn't thick (last year's Alpine/?Saanen. [Please forgive me. I'm way new to goat raising/milking/farming at all except chickens and I also have zero short-term memory so things don't come to my mind quickly while I'm here typing. I always forget breed names and animal titles/terms. They're all "my babies"... that's all I know!]


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## fibromom (Mar 31, 2013)

> I have had my feet trampled on


Uh, thought my 3rd toe on my right foot was broken. I taped it to the next toe as a splint (which is what the doc would have done had I gone in) and I'm doing great after ? 2 weeks. Tape is off, toe is tired but getting stronger.:kidblack:


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## spidy1 (Jan 9, 2014)

Wild Hearts Ranch said:


> You're still too far away, darn it!


I am having the same problem trying to find a black dapple/paint boer buck, no one seams to have 1 for sale for a good price within 4 states! :mecry:


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

Hmmm black dapple you want?? I just bought 2 black boer does to try and get black dapples out of.....but knowing my luck they will some how come out all traditional looking lol


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## Little-Bits-N-Pieces (Apr 7, 2013)

I get black paints from my solid black doe and traditional buck


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## spidy1 (Jan 9, 2014)

A solid black would work just fine too, I want to breed my chocolate traditional and red paint with black lines to get interesting colors, if I can find some one willing to just breed there buck to my does I would be so excited!!!


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

Where are you at??? I know 2 ladies with solid black bucks they are selling. I don't know much about the one buck but the other one threw nothing but blacks and black paints and 1 black head. But I think she wants $500 for him


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

Some of his kids

























And this is one of the does I got with her kids....I didn't get the kids though 




















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## spidy1 (Jan 9, 2014)

OOoooo me like!!! I am in North AZ- Show Low, but I can travel to Phoenix or Tucson or some were like that.


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## Wild Hearts Ranch (Dec 26, 2011)

There's black dapples up here! Come get one and bring me a doe  hehe.


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## spidy1 (Jan 9, 2014)

I wish I could!!! We could trade! I love to barter/trade!


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## lottsagoats1 (Apr 12, 2014)

When I had FB Boers, I milked them along with my dairy herd. They had 2 clean teats and I held them to a gallon a day average. Less than that got culled. They milked great, stayed the full 10 months if I needed them to. The dairy/Boer cross does did very well too. Again, they were part of the milk herd. If it's a doe, it gets milked at my place, no matter the breed.


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## Mamaboyd (Oct 10, 2013)

I milked my fainter doe this morning for the very first time. She gave me 1 cup and I didn't have to tie her up or anything. She stood so calm. I know she still had more in there but I thought I would let her boys have the rest as I separated them from her overnight(starting weaning them). I was quite impressed with her and can't wait to try again tomorrow!


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## GoatGirlZ (Apr 24, 2014)

I get a gallon from my FF full boer.


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## spidy1 (Jan 9, 2014)

That is so exciting! I can't wait to see what Cup Cake gives when I ween her twins!


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