# what are your daily milking supplies/routines?



## canthavejust1 (Oct 12, 2012)

I milk 5 goats by hand twice a day every day so I try to be as efficient as possible. Let me first describe the picture. On the far top left is a stainless steel pot with lid inside a large canning pot. Surrounding the stainless steel pot are ice packs and cold water. This starts the cooling process immediately. The blue ex coffee can holds my udder wash, which is quite warm water with a teaspoon of dish liquid and a table spoon of clorox bleach(I will be replacing this with a stainless steel container in the near future.) In the middle is my stainless steel milking pot with a lid. I've tried several things to milk into(a jar, a stainless steel mixing bowl and this pot) This pot doesn't tip easily, it is stainless so easy to clean and hygienic and it has a lid I can put on between goats to keep it clean. To the right of that is a purple spray bottle that holds my bug spray mixture(currently apple cider vinegar and garlic is working here) the small green spray bottle holds my iodine teat dip. The small clear bowl is my current strip cup(also to be replaced with a stainleaa one)
I get the first goat from the barn, they run across the barnyard to my milking station and hop up themselves, I lock the head piece and depending on the goat(some eat slow and some eat like pigs) I either spray them with the bug spray before I feed them their grain ration or right after. I then take the cloth from the udder wash and do a thorough job cleaning the teats and udder. After that I milk two strong squirt from each teat into the strip cup checking color and for any clumps or odd looking particles that could indicate a problem such as mastitis. I then take my stainless pot and milk the doe out, towards the end I bump them like a kid would do so they let down all their milk. Once finished I transfer the milk into the large stainless cooling pot, put the lids on both, spray each teat with iodine and its on to the next doe!! 
It definitely took me longer to type this from my phone than to do it!! Once I'm finished I bring the large pot into the kitchen and strain the milk thru a milk filter fitted into a stainless steel strainer that's sitting in my canning funnel into quart canning jars. I put those right into the freezer for about half an hour. 
I hope this helps someone!!


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## ciwheeles (Apr 5, 2013)

Love your cooling pot idea! We only have one to milk, so we haven't had to worry about cooling milk yet but I'm breeding three this year so I need to start thinking about cooling.


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## canthavejust1 (Oct 12, 2012)

It works great the only downfall is its kinda heavy at the end but the milk is already quite cool by the time I strain it. I could probably put it right in the fridge but I don't like goaty milk at all so I like to cool it completely as fast as possible


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Sounds like you got your milking system down.


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## NyGoatMom (Jan 26, 2013)

Very nice! Helpful thread....

Here's what I do:
Get the first goat and lock her into the stand. Take the feed bucket and fill it, but before I give it to her, i wet 2 paper towels with my udder wash. (1 quart water, 2 tbsp. clorox, 3 drops dawn original). Give her the feed, wash the udder and teats and then wipe again with a dry paper towel. Strip out 2 squirts from teats. 
I have a 2 quart SS pail I milk into (that has been sitting in the freezer overnight).
Finish milking her, teat dip with same solution as udder wash.
Go get doe #2....set her up in the stand with her feed and head to the house with the milk.
I strain into a 1/2 gallon canning jar (that is also kept in the freezer overnight). To strain i use a canning funnel lined with a KenAg milk filter. I put the jar of milk into a bowl of ice water already in the fridge...

Then head back out and doe #2 is now just about done eating. (she is not milked but has babies)

Then i switch out does again, to my yearling who is dry but I am training for milking.

When I start milking more than one I may have to come up with a different process. I may just make a few trips to the house in between milkings, not sure yet...

Anyway, this works well for me for now and you're right....it takes longer to type it out than to do it, it seems LOL


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## GoatieGranny (Jul 26, 2013)

It's fun reading about how you all do your milking. I milk two does, once a day around 8 a.m. 

1) I open Bella's pen and call her to the milking table and connect her collar to the hook on the wall. 
2) Give her her grain mixture, 1 cup of sweet feed, about 1/2 cup of sunflower seeds and a few cut up carrots, apples, zucchini or whatever treat I have available. 
3) Clean her with a damp cloth that has been sprayed with my home made teat spray.
4) Put two strong squirts of milk from each teat into the cat bowl, then start milking her into our 1 1/2 gallon SS pail with lid. (1/2 moon opening). My husband made a little wooden lift to set the pail on so it's held firmly in place and is up closer to their teats.
5) I put the pail on the wall hook, then praise her and give her cheek pets, maybe a brushing or whatever attention I feel like giving her. 
6) Unhook the connection and walk her to her pen, and then get Susie out and do the same thing. 
7) Then I take them out to the pasture for the day, which is only about 20 feet away, weather permitting. 

I do not cool the milk in the barn because the whole process only takes about 15 minutes and I go straight up to the house to filter the milk and store it in 1/2 gallon jars. 

Pretty simple process for me. On Sundays my husband milks just to give me a little break. (And probably so I don't get all sweaty before church! lol)


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## lottsagoats (Dec 10, 2012)

My milking system:

I milk twice a day, do 3 complete rounds of chores a day. I milk at various times depending on my work schedule, usually about 1000 and 2345. 

I mix the grain, put each portion in a coffee can for each doe, stack the cans in a metal barrel.

All the milkers get taken out of the goat pen and hooked to a pickett line. I let them on the stand one at a time, wipe off the teats and milk into a 6 qt stainless steel pail. I usually don't use teat dip. I used to, stopped and still have never had a case of mastitis, so I don't bother.

The milk gets brought up to the house when the pail gets 3/4 full. I either strain it into a glass jar to be used, a container for freezing or into a stainless steel pot to be pasteurized for cheese. I finish milking, hay the goats, take care of the milk, clean the milking dishes and get ready for the next round of chores.

I clean using a dairy soap. Once a week i soak all the milking supplies in hot vinegar and water to dissolve any milk stone build up.

My supplies consist of 2 -6 qt SS pails, 2 food grade plastic funnels, milk filters, 2 8 qt SS pots for pasteurizing and making cheese, 8 1/2 gallon mason jars for milk storage, plastic bottles for milk freezing, material for draining the cheese and plastic containers for cheese storage.

I use baby wipes to do the pre-milking clean up of the udder/teats.


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## NyGoatMom (Jan 26, 2013)

lottsagoats said:


> I clean using a dairy soap. Once a week i soak all the milking supplies in hot vinegar and water to dissolve any milk stone build up.


Can you tell me the amounts and for how long?


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## sassykat6181 (Nov 28, 2012)

I also am using unscented baby wipes for pre-milking cleaning of the udder and teats. And I use the Fight Bac spray after milking....it's great.


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