# milking a boer?????



## myanjelicgirlz (Jul 19, 2011)

should i milk a boer goat? do they have bad tasting milk or something? thanks.... :sleeping:


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

If not around a buck ...they have good milk..... :wink: :thumb:


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## myanjelicgirlz (Jul 19, 2011)

sweet! thanks so much!!


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## nancy d (Oct 5, 2007)

Boers have excellent milk but they make you work for it; the teats are smaller than dairy, the orifices dont always point straight down & orifices are generally smaller too. Just a generalization.


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## GoldCityGoats (Jun 18, 2011)

Some Boers can be excellent milk goats. They are a great breed for homesteading where a family may need a dual purpose animal (meat and milk). They should be able to raise their babies on their own and were once well known for having triplets and quads so should make enough milk to accomplish that task. Of course, it is almost impossible for any dual purpose livestock breed to compete with the genetics of an animal bred for one purpose, but I love my dual purpose breeds for their versatility! Happy Milking!


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## nancy d (Oct 5, 2007)

Heya Lisa, they're still known for trips & quads, at least in my experience. :wink:
Only one time did an FF have a single.
And you're absolutely right that the volume of milk wont come close to dairy.
Right now Im milking two Boer/Nubian crosses. Their teat size is fine but one has an orifice on the small side.


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## RMADairyGoats (Jun 20, 2011)

My friend has a boer/nubian cross that she milks. She does not give as much milk as a PB dairy goat, but gives a pretty good amount.


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

No reason why you can't.... I was told once by someone who didn't ever raise goats that I couldn't milk my pygmies because they were pets and too short to be milked...DUH...Any animal that makes milk can be milked, it's how it tastes as well as how easy it is to get it that matters.

Boers though likely won't lactate any longer than what it would take to raise kids to weaning before breeding again, take what she has as long as she's making it.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

:thumb: :wink:


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## Goat Song (May 4, 2011)

I've milked a Boer before... :laugh: She gave about 1/2 gallon a day and WOW was her milk good! Even my milk picky siblings liked it! Not positive, but I think they have a higher butterfat content than Nubians...


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## WarPony (Jan 31, 2010)

Goat Song said:


> I've milked a Boer before... :laugh: She gave about 1/2 gallon a day and WOW was her milk good! Even my milk picky siblings liked it! Not positive, but I think they have a higher butterfat content than Nubians...


I've often wondered if anyone has tested Boers for their milk. I'd be curious to see how they rate.

Two of my does are registered 50% Boer (but their mom was boer/oberhasli, so they are actually 75% Boer) and one is grade Boer/Alpine. They are all 1X1 clean teated, I made sure because I planned to milk them. One of the registered does only gives me about a quart a day, and her teats are super tiny. She is a huge pain to milk, I don't know why I bother aside from the fact that the milk is there and i hate to waste even a drop. Her sister gives me a half gallon a day pretty reliably, her teats are easy to milk and she is easy to "aim" and has a good milk flow when milking. The 50% boer/alpine gives me at least a half gallon most days, but not as reliably (this heat we are having has dropped her production in half, ugh). So sometimes i get a lot more out of her but every little thing seems to have an effect on how much I get.

Their milk is fantastic. It works great in cooking and crafting. tastes fantastic even when they are out on browse.

My only real complaint is that when I got into goats I didn't think I would want or need much milk so I looked for goats that could do everything ok, but nothing great. Now that I am a year and a half in to this experiment that has become a lifestyle... I love the milk. I NEED more. I just am not getting the volume of milk that I need to do everything with it that I need. So I am thinking of finding a homesteading home for my two registered goats and filling their spot with two 100% dairy does. If it weren't for all the other stuff i do with the milk I would consider these perfect homesteading goats.


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