# Funky milk



## SLFdairy (Mar 12, 2013)

My dairy girls have a very off flavor this year. Switched feeds to oats and Omelene horse feed while they were bred and a friend just told me that oats can give their milk an off flavor and too much molasses in the horse feed can make their stomachs too acidic. Does anyone have any experience with this?


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## Axykatt (Feb 1, 2013)

I give oats to my doe and just milked her for the first time today. Coming right off cow's milk I thought it would taste funny, but it was sweet and amazing. I also give all stock sweet feed, though not much. 

So in my limited experience oats and molasses feed don't taint the milk, but your does may be different. Any new plants in the pasture? It is springtime.


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## SLFdairy (Mar 12, 2013)

No not really. Same pen, same hay... They have free choice mineral, I'd run out of alfalfa but they're back on it now, I have baking soda out for them but just found out it wasn't enough so I upped the amount. We were using creep feed last year without any problems, I just don't like the first ingredient on the list to be "grain by products". That's partly why we went to oats


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## Axykatt (Feb 1, 2013)

Understood.

My husband's family owns a seed cleaning business and they give us the waste to feed our goats and horse. If it's oats or grain we feed it straight, if it's grass or hay we scatter it in the pasture. This year was a big one for oats. We never feed alfalfa 'cause it's just too expensive and hard to find in our area (all cattle farms) so we feed bahia grass.

Maybe dairy goats metabolize oats different than pygmies. :/


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## SLFdairy (Mar 12, 2013)

I'm just stumped. The feed is the only major thing I can think of that's changed, but I wouldn't have expected the flavor difference


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## clearwtrbeach (May 10, 2012)

I'm not sure, my milkers on are alfalfa, and a dairy pellet while being milked. Have you checked to be sure it doesn't have off color, smell etc (ie, signs of mastitis?)


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## Goats Rock (Jun 20, 2011)

Is the udder and belly clipped, so hair doesn't fall in? Be sure and chill the milk quickly. Strain it into a jar and put it in an 
ice water bath. Sometimes milk can be off flavor if it takes too long to chill. I hope you get it figured out!


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## RedGate (Dec 7, 2012)

I have heard that molasses can cause an off flavor in milk. Perhaps the horse feed uses more of it? Im not too sure on that one though, as my feed has molasses and my milk is wonderful this year. I've also heard that supplementing with a cobalt block can really help milk flavor. Could they be getting into a new weed on pasture or something? I would think about sending in the milk to a lab just to see composition and catch any possible bug/bacteria that could be causing it. I have an Alpine girl that alway always has terrible salty goaty tasting milk. I can not use it to even cook with. Her milk either feeds kids or feeds chickens. She has repetitively tested negative for mastitis with the cmt... she's the only one of the five milkers with this issue. Pretty strange.


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## SLFdairy (Mar 12, 2013)

They don't show any signs of mastitis, but I think I will get by the feed store for a cmt. The horse feed definitely has more molasses than the allstock I was using previously. I'm wondering about keeping them on the oats, but mixing it with allstock instead of Omelene


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## mjs500doo (Nov 24, 2012)

Horse feed does have a high molasses content in general.


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## sweetgoats (Oct 18, 2007)

I would not use the horse feed. Yes it has more Molasses in it. Try switching it to something with very little molasses or no molasses, see if that tastes better.

 I never give my goats Molasses at all. I have their grain mixed and there is not any sweet stuff at all.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

I sprout my oats and that is half their feed with the other half being a goat feed. I have no problems with milk taste.


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## SLFdairy (Mar 12, 2013)

At this point I think I'm going to try mixing two parts oats and one part allstock. The allstock has a little molasses in it, but not near what the Omelene has. Trial and error....


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## Axykatt (Feb 1, 2013)

I do a 70/30 mixture of oats to all stock. Works great for me.


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## serenityfarmnm (Jan 6, 2013)

Axykatt said:


> Understood.
> 
> My husband's family owns a seed cleaning business and they give us the waste to feed our goats and horse. If it's oats or grain we feed it straight, if it's grass or hay we scatter it in the pasture. This year was a big one for oats. We never feed alfalfa 'cause it's just too expensive and hard to find in our area (all cattle farms) so we feed bahia grass.
> 
> Maybe dairy goats metabolize oats different than pygmies. :/


If you really want to go Alf try Chaffhaye. A 50# bag runs us $11 & lasts almost as long as 2 $18.00 bales of alf.


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## SLFdairy (Mar 12, 2013)

Yeah Chafhaye is what I use for alfalfa. I still feed grass hay etc, but Chafhaye makes for a drought resistant alfalfa source


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## kristinatucker (Jan 3, 2012)

do they get to eat grass and weeds? If you have onion grass coming up right now like we do that will taint the milk for sure. Another thing we have noticed that if their copper is off it seems to make the milk taste off too. We feed a molasis 16% goat grain and alfalfa pellets and dont have a problem unless they get into that nasty grass.


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## SLFdairy (Mar 12, 2013)

I think I'm ok on the grass. Their pasture is good native grasses with some maple and elm trees.


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## Axykatt (Feb 1, 2013)

serenityfarmnm said:


> If you really want to go Alf try Chaffhaye. A 50# bag runs us $11 & lasts almost as long as 2 $18.00 bales of alf.


Where do I get it? None of the nearby feed stores carry alfalfa and I've been to all of them in the county. A compressed 1/2 square bale of alfalfa at TSC here runs me $17 or more, and I was feeding Chris Cox blend while she was preggers, but I'm spending $40 or more a month on food for the two grown goats and $70 for the horse! Used to spend that much for 4 months of hay.

In CA I fed alfalfa, but I could get it for $10 a square bale.


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## SLFdairy (Mar 12, 2013)

Axykatt said:


> Where do I get it? None of the nearby feed stores carry alfalfa and I've been to all of them in the county. A compressed 1/2 square bale of alfalfa at TSC here runs me $17 or more, and I was feeding Chris Cox blend while she was preggers, but I'm spending $40 or more a month on food for the two grown goats and $70 for the horse! Used to spend that much for 4 months of hay.
> 
> In CA I fed alfalfa, but I could get it for $10 a square bale.


Go to Chafhaye.com enter your zip codes and theyll have a list of dealers. It's usually sold by farmers and breeders.


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

goat milks natural bacteria begins to multiply the second it leaves the udder...the faster you get it milked out, filtered and cold the better it will taste..her udder and your hands need to be clean as does the milking room...if there is a bad odor, the milk can pick it up.....feed does make a difference..you can also add pine needles to her feed dish..just a handful or so and it will help balance the ph and the flavor : ) good luck...keep working..Goats milk should taste sweet and clean...


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## SLFdairy (Mar 12, 2013)

So here's a thought: could my funky milk flavor be caused by them still spotting a little from delivery? I mean, milk and pregnancy are all controlled by hormones. One kidded a week and a half ago, the other two weeks ago (she's just barely spotting). They're not pouring, just some dried on their tales when I milk.


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

that should not be an issue...they spot off and on for a month or longer sometimes. We have no problem with it effecting the milk. I would begin by seeing what you are feeding...then environmental..( what are the browsing on) any smells hanging in the air...milking style...how fast are you getting it cooled..and so forth


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## SLFdairy (Mar 12, 2013)

It was the freakin feed! I gave up and switched back to a mix of creep and allstock over the last four days (too quick, I know, but I was desperate). Tried the milk tonight and its as sweet as last season. I can still tell a difference between this and the raw cows milk we've been drinking, but it doesn't have a goaty after taste anymore! Thank you all for your help.


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

good news..remember to cool it as fast as you can..the sooner it cools the better it will taste...


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