# Tomorrow is the big day. Ack! Help?



## Axykatt (Feb 1, 2013)

So, tomorrow the babies are one month old. They are eating and drinking and tonight I'm pulling them from mama so I can milk in the morning. I have my stanchion ready. I've been putting her on it and giving her treats for about two weeks. I've done all my prep work.

There's just one little thing...what do I do now?! I know how to milk her, but I don't know how to prep her and me for actual milking. I don't know what to do with the milk. You know, little things like that. To be fair, with the baby coming in 3 weeks I've been a little frazzled and scatter-brained, but I think I was equating this to breastfeeding, which I suddenly realize it isn't. 

Ack! Help? :whatgoat::doh:


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## clearwtrbeach (May 10, 2012)

Check out fiasco farms website. I started with following her recommendations and it made things easier than I thought.


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## Axykatt (Feb 1, 2013)

I do love Fiasco Farms. Such great in-depth advice!


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

since she hasnt been milked before I do the milk into something small and dump into a bigger container.

Wipe down her udder with warm soapy water before milking. 

Strain the milk and get chilled as fast as possible. There a multiple topics on this so do a search


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## Axykatt (Feb 1, 2013)

Can I make my own milk strainer? Will coffee filters work?

She's a Pygmy and my only milker this year, so I don't feel the need to invest $50 to strain maybe a quart of milk a day. In five years when I have 7 or 8 does I'll be ready, but I'll have no more than 2-3 for the next three years.


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

you can try it -- I didnt find that they worked all that great or maybe Im just to impatient


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## Axykatt (Feb 1, 2013)

Is the problem they are too slow, or they don't strain the yuck out well?


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

I found it just soaked the paper and didnt strain through. Milk is thicker then water


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## xymenah (Jul 1, 2011)

I use paper coffee filters. They only work if the milk is very warm(straight out of the goat). The metal or plastic permanent coffee filters work better though.


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## Axykatt (Feb 1, 2013)

Permanent filters! Great idea. Thanks!


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## clearwtrbeach (May 10, 2012)

I just have the ss strainer from hoeggers and the little milk filters they catch much more and they are inexpensive.


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## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

I use the 6" milk fiters. I just fold them into a cone and put them in my canning funnel.


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## AdamsAcres (Dec 3, 2012)

Don't panic and start with what you have on hand. You can get the items you prefer to have (milk strainer, filters, etc.) as you go along. It will be okay. 

When I started I had one plastic cup, a ball jar and a coffee filter. Sure, it strained through VERY slowly, but it did the trick. Then I moved up to a plastic funnel and a paper towel. Then I moved up to a larger plastic funnel and milk strainer filters, and then... You get the picture. 

Main point is... just don't worry... you'll be fine and you, and the items you use, will improve over time. Now, get over to Fiasco Farms. Everything you need to know to get started is right there.


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## jennnaragsdale (Mar 5, 2013)

I use a funnel with a large coffee cone filter wash the girls milk filter into glass jars and then into an ice bath.. Fleet farm carries milk filters which would be cheaper . 500 for under 20 I think


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## ThreeHavens (Oct 20, 2011)

I use a small tea filter, it has worked beautifully


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## Axykatt (Feb 1, 2013)

Thanks for the help everybody! 

We separated the babies for the night, and put them in the master bathroom so we could watch them and left Peggy Sue in her bedroom. I stayed up late tonight painting the nursery furniture and when I came to bed I found DH sleeping on the floor of the bathroom in a sleeping bag with the two babies laying down by his head! They kept crying and he couldn't tell the difference between "I've hurt myself" and "Where's my mommy, I want teat" so to be safe he just slept with them.

It almost makes me forgive him for getting me knocked up the same year my only other child started high school...almost.


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

Bounty paper towels work great too...this is what we do
Wash the udders with a vinegar and water wash...( we use those white car towels..one to wash and one to dry) we wash and dry our hands very well...we message the udder and begin milking ( as Stacy said...use a small bucket with a larger one to pour the milk in as you go so if she kicks you dont waste the milk and get all wet) you want to milk her all the way out...dont think you need to save any for baby...they will have plenty i promise : )..we strain the milk right away into quart size jars because they cool faster than larger ones...we put in the freezer for at least an hour...then remove to frig. Milk is good fr drinking, cooking, making soap, lotion, lots of uses...
We find after a few days they kids are uesed to the bed time and mom looks forward to the break : )


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## Axykatt (Feb 1, 2013)

Well, thanks again for all the advice, everybody. Here's how it went...

I got about 10oz of milk that wasn't splashed out of the cup, or squeezed down my own sleeve. I didn't milk her out completely, I'm sure I could have easily gotten twice that amount if I had, but I was simply exhausted from fighting her and she had run out of food after half an hour so I stopped. Coffee filter worked fine today, but will get something better soon.

What I learned...

I need a hobble. I can't hold one leg because she puts her weight on it and wears me out. I need a better system to dispense food slowly. I need to do both sides at once. I need a shorter stool; leaning forward is excruciating at 8+ months pregnant. Peggy Sue has the sweetest, creamiest milk I've ever tasted and I WILL be trying again tomorrow and continue for as long as she produces.


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## jennnaragsdale (Mar 5, 2013)

You'll get faster I can go our and milk both my girl feed all the other animals and be back in I about 15 minutes! Your lucky to have a stand too I just put a lease on mine and put them on a post  my poor husband will go out to milk and take over and hour... He doesn't milk often


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## Axykatt (Feb 1, 2013)

Once I figure out how to keep her still things will get much faster. Having to constantly move the bowl and stop to fight with her really slowed things down. Bright side; I got the rhythm and squeeze down.


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## clearwtrbeach (May 10, 2012)

You do have a DH for sure. Do you have a stanchion? If not I used the fiasco farm design but made it shorter, did the base from wood we had left over and did the head gate out of the pvc like hers- I think it cost me about $20. You can place a medium size rock in the feed container to keep her from sucking it down before you're done. Don't worry she'll get better and so will you. My first year and FF last year I though what the heck was I thinking, but the milk was so good (I do use raw milk as I'm very anal about cleanliness and don't have any really small children). I like fiasco because it was fairly inexpensive, I used her blue dawn dish soap mix for the teats, the bleach mix timing and air drying, dixie cup (pretty darn cheap- I'm not made of money) for a strip cup and teat dip cup. You get it. 
Again it will get better, I'd had a few feet in the bowl and there went the milk for that session  At one point i did tie down one leg. I found it's not easy, but if I thought she was about to dance or kick, I'd get more of my arm under her belly with a little upward pressure for a moment but not let go of the teat.


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## Axykatt (Feb 1, 2013)

I do have a stanchion that hubby built me. I'm thinking tomorrow I'll use a hobble and tie down the far leg. That should help with wiggling, I hope. 

I love Fiasco Farms everything, and I'm going out today to get supplies. Now that I've had a test run I have somewhere to start from.


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## clearwtrbeach (May 10, 2012)

yes the far leg, just be careful how and where you tie it.


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