# what to do with my goat milk



## goatlady1314 (Oct 24, 2013)

I will have 40 goats freshening this coming march and i dont know what to do with the milk! We are planning on starting to sell their milk but dont have the money right now to build the parlor and stuff, so ya have no idea what yo do with it. Thanks


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## kccjer (Jan 27, 2012)

40???? Holy Cow!! I thought milking 2 of them and trying to figure out what to do with milk was hard! I made cheese...lots of cheese. Mostly cheddar, but am going to try some others this year. Also made regular goat cheese (the kind with vinegar to curdle it) in several different flavors. Quiche...I had eggs to use up too. Ice cream (but how much ice cream can we really eat??? or do we NEED to eat???LOL) Fed it to chickens, pigs, cats, etc.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

First you need to know the laws of your state on selling milk and milk products. That is the biggest determining factor of what you can do with the milk.

With that many girls you really need a dairy set up. There is no way you can safely process that much milk without it.


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## goatlady1314 (Oct 24, 2013)

What about soap is that hard to make? I think I could sell that.... it would help alot if I could  how much do you charge for soap?


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## kccjer (Jan 27, 2012)

I've not made soap, but look for a kit to get you started. I don't think it's too hard...you'll have to let me know and maybe I'll make some of that. I'm sure you could sell it. I have a friend that pays $5 for a small bar of goat milk soap


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## goatlady1314 (Oct 24, 2013)

Were can you get a kit at ?


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

You would still need to find out what the rules in your state are. I don't think you would have the time to make enough soap to use up 40 or so gallons of milk per day.


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## Scottyhorse (Feb 11, 2013)

ksalvagno said:


> You would still need to find out what the rules in your state are. I don't think you would have the time to make enough soap to use up 40 or so gallons of milk per day.


Not to mention to upfront costs to buy all the oils for that.


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## goatlady1314 (Oct 24, 2013)

I could make some cheese to


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## goatlady1314 (Oct 24, 2013)

Is there some way to maybe sell the milk to local dairy goat farms then they could just dump it in there tank or something?


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

You would have to have the proper dairy and tanks to sell to anyone else. Not sure what state you are in but Ohio has some very strict milk laws.

With getting so much milk per day, you will truly have a very hard time keeping up with it without being a fully set up dairy.

You can certainly make cheese and soap for yourself but you will still have an incredible amount of milk left over. Plus keep in mind that you will be getting that amount daily.

It still comes down to knowing what the milk laws are in your state.


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## Scottyhorse (Feb 11, 2013)

I agree, you need to find out the laws. Also, you will need a dairy set up for 40 does in milk. You will be getting at least 20 gallons of milk a day. Sure you can make cheese and soap but can you use all of it?


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## CAjerseychick (Sep 21, 2013)

You could finish out pigs with it, your chickens and dogs will love it, and you can barter it to other people with livestock for other things (the dairy we got our milk goat from trades it to a neighboring farm for their pigs and get butchered chickens in return)....


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## kccjer (Jan 27, 2012)

Unless you have a certified milking parlor, you can be liable for all kinds of stuff....and any reputable dairy will absolutely NOT allow you to dump your milk into theirs. The kits are not that expensive (or my friend would not have been thinking about getting one) Google goats milk soap recipes and there are all kinds of things popping up. Yes, milk from 40 goats will be a LOT of soap...but you have to start somewhere. Selling cheese will carry the same liability as selling the milk from a non-certified parlor. We can skirt some of the rules by not selling....we ask for "donations". I sell decorated cakes out of my house but can't actually charge a price for them so I suggest a donation amount. I can give my milk and cheese away and can accept donations. THAT is probably different depending on your state, but seems to be the norm from what I've heard from others.


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## sandraH (Mar 1, 2013)

I make soap. It only takes about 10 oz of milk for 7 bars. You do have to buy oils and lye. Oils can be expensive. You need a scale to weigh your ingredients. I use a stick blender to get it up to trace. Fragrance to make it smell good. Soap mold to put it in. I charge $5.00 a bar but that is cheap. I have good recipe. [email protected]


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

The amount you can charge for anything will depend on your area. Homemade soap doesn't sell for more than $4 around me.

You can certainly look into pig farms around you and see if they would be interested in your milk. Not sure what the laws are for where commercial pig farms get their food.


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

You could also go to large animal vets and let them know you have goat milk to sell....again laws and so on. But my vet had called me and asked if I had some milk to sell to one of his horse people. The foal lost its mom and they needed milk. I had a ton of trips so a ton of bottle babies so couldn't spare at the time. I'm sure it wouldn't help with your whole 40 gallons but every now and then could get you a few bucks. I myself would look into soap. You could start with just a few oils and scents and and slowly expand. It would take a good deal of money to get a ton of stuff so I would just start little and see how it goes. And it will never waist since what ever doesn't sell you could use. Again that's not going to cover half of your milk lol so I would really look onto feeder hogs. We used to get expired milk and eggs from the store once a week and feed to some pigs and they tasted great!!! You could also go to dairys and see about some bull calf's to feed or even some dairy buckling.


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## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

Day old calves and bummer lambs.


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## goatlady1314 (Oct 24, 2013)

Thank you all for the help... I was thinking what would give me more money raising the buckilings myself or selling them when they are babies?


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## kccjer (Jan 27, 2012)

If you have the time and inclination...raising them yourself will get more money. Bottle babies here go for $5 to $20 depending on time of year. Weaned feeder goats are going for $2.00 a pound (or more). I hate bottle babies so they would go straight to the sale if it were me!!


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## goatlady1314 (Oct 24, 2013)

For dairy goats?? Really I LOVE bottle babies


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## kccjer (Jan 27, 2012)

goatlady1314 said:


> For dairy goats?? Really I LOVE bottle babies


You talking about the prices??? If so, yep. That's what they are going for right now. LOL I know a lot of people that do love bottle babies....I just don't. Although I do go thru baby "love" and am tempted to buy them, then remember what a pain in the rear they are!


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## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

Just to give you an idea of the volume of milk you're talking about. A friend of mine has 24 milking goats and 3 milking cows. She starts @ 150 day old calves yearly on the milk.


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## janeen128 (Dec 31, 2012)

Wow, that's a whole lot of milk!! I know the lady I got my Nubian from has like a lot, and all her milk gets sold to a pig farm, so that could be an option.


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## kccjer (Jan 27, 2012)

Depending on the pig farm, they can't accept it. If it's a big "factory" farm, they have extremely strict rules about feed. Those pigs get the best of the best! Where this milk would come from a non-certified dairy, they can't accept it. But....find someone who is feeding some pigs at their home and offer them some milk in exchange for some pork????


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## milk and honey (Oct 31, 2010)

I know a lamancha breeder who has an "arraignment " with a neighbor who raises pigs...trading milk for pork. It's a great deal!


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## goatlady1314 (Oct 24, 2013)

Thanks for all the help I will ask around


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