# Drinking goats milk...



## FloatnRockRanch (Feb 7, 2015)

Please don't laugh....been milking our girls for 5 weeks now and fed all of it to the pigs. So at first we had all these excuses to not drink it....colostrum, possible mastitis...not having a strainer and filters...think we have run out of excuses. The pigs think its great! Fat piggies! 

Before we start drinking it, should I get any tests done? Is there anything to watch for that would make it not okay to drink? Hadn't planned on pasteurizing so want to be as careful as possible. Lol....maybe I just need some encouragement to get brave.

:anyone: Please tell me someone else felt this way the first time?


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

Be on the look out for off colored milk, sometimes they burst a capillary in their udder and there will be some blood in the milk. Off colors can also indicate a possible case of mastitis or excess of b vitamins. 
Do make sure they are on a good hay and minerals and not overboard on the molasses grain, or it will taste "bad". Wash their udder well before milking and use a teat dip afterwards. Keep things as sanitary as possible, and filters are a must!

Other than that, you should be good. Just brave up and drink it! :lol: I can usually drink it until I remember it's from a goat, then I instantly get a nasty buck taste in my mouth and I'm good for the next decade until I try it again and inevitably have the same thing happen :lol: So, I'm absolutely no help there


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## Goats Rock (Jun 20, 2011)

If you can, use glass containers to store it in. They can be cleaned and sanitized better than plastic jugs.
Use it in cooking, first, then maybe hot chocolate or on your cereal. If you are used to skim milk, or 2%, drinking a glass of straight goats milk will taste strange. 

Oh, one mistake many make is not cooling the milk fast enough. After you milk, chill the milk as fast as possible. I use an bucket with cold water and lots of ice cubes. (ice bath) put your milk jug in there and let it get cold. The taste will be much sweeter than letting it slowly cool in the fridge. Enjoy your milk- it is much better than what passes for milk at the grocery store!


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## FloatnRockRanch (Feb 7, 2015)

Goats Rock said:


> If you can, use glass containers to store it in. They can be cleaned and sanitized better than plastic jugs.
> Use it in cooking, first, then maybe hot chocolate or on your cereal. If you are used to skim milk, or 2%, drinking a glass of straight goats milk will taste strange.


Great idea! Thanks!


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## FloatnRockRanch (Feb 7, 2015)

Little-Bits-N-Pieces said:


> Be on the look out for off colored milk, sometimes they burst a capillary in their udder and there will be some blood in the milk. Off colors can also indicate a possible case of mastitis or excess of b vitamins.
> Do make sure they are on a good hay and minerals and not overboard on the molasses grain, or it will taste "bad". Wash their udder well before milking and use a teat dip afterwards. Keep things as sanitary as possible, and filters are a must!
> 
> Other than that, you should be good. Just brave up and drink it! :lol: I can usually drink it until I remember it's from a goat, then I instantly get a nasty buck taste in my mouth and I'm good for the next decade until I try it again and inevitably have the same thing happen :lol: So, I'm absolutely no help there


Thanks Lacie! They get dry mix grain, payback minerals, plus the extra cobalt and red rock, free choice alfalfa pellets and grass hay. Getting 5lbs on the morning milking per doe. Hardly anything in the evening milking. Those kids are piggy eaters. Guess I can't complain since they weighed 40 lbs at 5 weeks!


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## melbah1 (Jun 28, 2013)

We love the raw goat milk around here. My family of four goes through 4 galloms a week! 

I use baby wipes to clean the udder. The first squirts go into a different container for the dog. I milk into glass canning jars that I run through the sanitization cycle on the dishwasher. Then I strain through a disposable milk filter like the small ones on jeffers.com. then it goes in the sink in ice water for about an hour.

I agree that it is very important to chill as fast as possible. 

Good idea to work up to it like use in cooking, ect.

When handled properly, it is safe to drink and very good for you.


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## Lstein (Oct 2, 2014)

I had the same problem, I was able to use the colostrum excuse for awhile (that off taste just wouldn't go away), then I had to supplement a quad and a triplet....but I still just couldn't get myself to do it. The doe I was milking, and I, just didn't get along at all when it came to the milk stand and milking (fine otherwise)....which made it all worse. 

She wasn't making much milk anyway so I just let her kids have it all, it was just way too much hassle to have to have a battle of wits/wills against her in the morning. 

Going to try again when my other doe kids, she adores getting extra attention.


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## WitchHazel (May 5, 2015)

Make chocolate pudding! There is nothing better than chocolate pudding made with goats' milk-- it's very rich and sweet. Be careful while you're heating the milk, though. If you heat it too quickly, it will sometimes taste "off." I also use coconut sugar instead of regular. Goats' milk is so sweet that if you use regular white sugar, it is gross.


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## thekibblegoddess (Dec 13, 2014)

Man, you have been missing out! My doe's milk is sooooo good! I wash her udder with warm water with a drop of Dawn and 1/2 a dropper of bleach. One cloth to wash the udder, and another to wash the teats. I milk into a stainless steel bucket, filter it into a mason jar using a reusable coffee filter and pop it into the back of the top shelf of the fridge. It's chilled by lunch time and usually gone by the next morning. Try it


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## FloatnRockRanch (Feb 7, 2015)

Lstein said:


> I had the same problem, I was able to use the colostrum excuse for awhile (that off taste just wouldn't go away), then I had to supplement a quad and a triplet....but I still just couldn't get myself to do it. The doe I was milking, and I, just didn't get along at all when it came to the milk stand and milking (fine otherwise)....which made it all worse.
> 
> She wasn't making much milk anyway so I just let her kids have it all, it was just way too much hassle to have to have a battle of wits/wills against her in the morning.
> 
> Going to try again when my other doe kids, she adores getting extra attention.


:laugh: Stella and I compromised..... she gets on the milk stand now but i had to remove the legs so it sits on the floor. We have the occasional foot in or attempted to get the bucket...:GAAH:

It definitely gets easier the more you do it. Still takes me forever to milk. But on the floor I can only reach one at a time.....


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## FloatnRockRanch (Feb 7, 2015)

WitchHazel said:


> Make chocolate pudding! There is nothing better than chocolate pudding made with goats' milk-- it's very rich and sweet. Be careful while you're heating the milk, though. If you heat it too quickly, it will sometimes taste "off." I also use coconut sugar instead of regular. Goats' milk is so sweet that if you use regular white sugar, it is gross.


Nice! Even have some in the cupboard waiting to be made....:stars:

Coconut sugar....never heard of it. Thanks!


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## Lstein (Oct 2, 2014)

FloatnRockRanch said:


> :laugh: Stella and I compromised..... she gets on the milk stand now but i had to remove the legs so it sits on the floor. We have the occasional foot in or attempted to get the bucket...:GAAH:
> 
> It definitely gets easier the more you do it. Still takes me forever to milk. But on the floor I can only reach one at a time.....


Sophie would get on the stand in a flash, but would lose patience very fast and would tap dance, just completely stop eating, pull backward and forward, etc.


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## TexasGoatMan (Jul 4, 2015)

*Drinking Goat Milk*

Hello, Hello, Oh boy, there are lots of questions to ask you on how you handle your milk, wash the teats and so forth. I have been milking a cow since I was an 8 year old kid and now a goat and I am now 66 years old. I think I like the goat milk better than the cow milk, there are pluses and minis for the milk from both animals. But if you are running your billy goat with the nanny then your milk will have that dreaded billy goat flavor. Remove the billy and your milk should taste just like or better than your store milk. Wash the teats with some form of water and add soap if you desire, then rinse clean and dry off each teat. Milk into a sterile container and then immediately after milking go strain the milk through a sterile cheese cloth or coffed filter. I use the coffee filter with the fine mash, it works great. Cool the milk in back of refrigerator and enjoy the milk a few hours later. I usually drink the evening milk the next morning and so forth. If you have off tasting milk there is a problem some where either with the goat or handling process.:cart::cart:


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

Very good points you all have made- but I just remembered a doe I had in the 90's.... Ginny had the nastiest, foulest nank milk you can possibly imagine and she was fed, supplemented and milked the exact same way to the T, did everything the same for her as the other does, and it was still wretched  
Some does just genetically have terrible milk, end of story. There was nothing wrong with her milk, it was clean as could be, no mastitis, etc, utd on everything, she just had milk that made you want to hurl :lol:

Something I did find is that my black does had very good milk, it was like sweet creamy cows milk. The sundgaus and solid blacks had the best milk, some were related and some were not, so I've always wondered if it was just a genetic thing for them.


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## ms_mac (Oct 7, 2012)

Dear FloatnRock, I have not bought milk from the store in many months. I have completely replaced it with goat's milk and there is no resistance to it from my family. I don't get the abundance that you get from my one doe but it is enough for my use. I love having an animal that gives back instead of just eating (I have horses, too) I do give my large guard dogs a little sip in the morning to reward them and it is a slurping sensation!


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## FloatnRockRanch (Feb 7, 2015)

Little-Bits-N-Pieces said:


> Very good points you all have made- but I just remembered a doe I had in the 90's.... Ginny had the nastiest, foulest nank milk you can possibly imagine and she was fed, supplemented and milked the exact same way to the T, did everything the same for her as the other does, and it was still wretched
> Some does just genetically have terrible milk, end of story. There was nothing wrong with her milk, it was clean as could be, no mastitis, etc, utd on everything, she just had milk that made you want to hurl :lol:
> 
> Something I did find is that my black does had very good milk, it was like sweet creamy cows milk. The sundgaus and solid blacks had the best milk, some were related and some were not, so I've always wondered if it was just a genetic thing for them.


See! What if it tastes terrible? Genetics probably do have a part in it, just like they have a part in how much you can ultimately get from a doe and fat/protein content. Has to be fairly similar to a cow.

Lacie what is a sundgaus? An Alpine color?


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

Black with white swiss marks, it's not specific to breed, it can show up in anything but Saanen, Toggenburg and Oberhasli. This is a broken sundgau, because of the white band in the middle of her it "breaks" the traditional color patter. The little buck is also a broken sundgau, because of the white on his side, and he has more on the other.


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## FloatnRockRanch (Feb 7, 2015)

That does coloring is gorgeous!


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## Goats Rock (Jun 20, 2011)

That little guy sure is cute. I bet he is mischievous! He has that "look"! I love Sundgaus


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## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

Soooo, no one on here predips to actually kill germs? Eww.


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## AncientBlue (Dec 21, 2014)

I have almost no ick factor at all, so it was no big deal for me. I was pleasantly surprised that my husband liked it as well as he did. Our 22 yr old daughter still won't even try it. Our son loves it. I really don't do anything special. I use a warm washcloth with hot water and a bit of dish soap to clean them. I've never had our milk tested. It was really good. Right now I'm waiting for babies so that I can get more milk.


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## FloatnRockRanch (Feb 7, 2015)

goathiker said:


> Soooo, no one on here predips to actually kill germs? Eww.


Jill please explain.:think:

Are you saying that pre-washing udders is different then pre-dipping? Are you saying both should be done?


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## Damfino (Dec 29, 2013)

I have to admit, it took me a little while to get brave enough to drink my first goat milk. I was excited to try, but got cold feet for a while when it came right down to actually drinking it. Unfortunately, my first goat had rather strong-tasting milk no matter what I did so that was not a great introduction and confirmed my fears that goat milk takes getting used to. I cooked with it more than I drank it that first year. 

My second year milking I had Nubian crosses and what a difference! The milk is sweet and creamy and has no "goaty" flavor or after-taste. As long as I don't tell guests it's goat milk, they never notice. I no longer do anything to chill the milk right away. It just gets filtered and goes in the fridge. My goats' milk is fine without the extra work of ice baths. I do pay close attention to our goats' minerals, and I give the girls alfalfa at night to buffer any weird flavors they might have picked up from the widely varied browse in our pasture.

Even after getting yummy-tasting milk, I still had to get over my unreasoning fear that raw milk kills. We've been told since we were tiny tots that unpasteurized milk is full of germs and disease. This is simply not true. Unless your animal is sick or your milk handling is atrocious, there's no reason whatever why raw milk will harm anyone. Overcoming the lifelong indoctrination about raw milk was a pretty big hurdle, but one well worth getting over. My husband and I each drink about a quart a day now, and I love to pour the raw cream over fresh fruit or save enough to make ice cream or whipped cream.


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## Damfino (Dec 29, 2013)

goathiker said:


> Soooo, no one on here predips to actually kill germs? Eww.


I use Wipe Out teat wipes. I live in a very dry climate and struggle constantly with chapped udders (and hands). Dips seem to exacerbate this problem, but the wipes don't (perhaps because there is less liquid). I still use udder balm pretty frequently, but it's more like once or twice a week now instead of every day. Chapped teats make for unhappy, kicky goats.


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## GreenMountainNigerians (Jul 3, 2013)

goathiker said:


> Soooo, no one on here predips to actually kill germs? Eww.


Um. I do.


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## WitchHazel (May 5, 2015)

GreenMountainNigerians said:


> Um. I do.


So do we.


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## Jasmar (Mar 28, 2015)

We just pre-dip with about an inch of hydrogen peroxide in a Dixie cup. I also milk the first three squirts from each teat into a separate Dixie cup, both to check for clumps, blood, or stringy stuff (never had any), and because I'd read that most bacteria are in the first 2-3 squirts.

Witch Hazel had to shame me into trying our goat milk. She's way less squeamish that I am, and kept telling me how good it was. She finally brought a little cup of it to me one day, and wouldn't leave until I tried it. :greengrin: It was amazing. And yes, her chocolate pudding is excellent. (Btw, you can find coconut sugar at any health-oriented store)

I have noticed, though, that nutrition and health make a *huge* difference in any possible goaty flavor.


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