I like goats.

[Dunkopf]

We just got us 2 milk goats about a month ago. I had finally managed to get rid of the last of our horses. I'm not the kid of guy to sell animals out from under my wife, so it was a very drawn out process that required a lot of trading and cajoling to maintain our relationship. So when the DW wanted a miniature Jersey/Holstein I agreed. Then a month later it was a couple Nubians that had just been freshened.

I had never milked an animal before. The first couple days we had no milking stand but I quickly made a well constructed stand that works very well and my DW and I milk the goats together. She does one side while I do the other and between the companionship and the sound of the milk going into the bucket it's quite peaceful and I enjoy it. I love the way the goats jump on that stand in anticipation of the grain and getting their udders emptied. DW always gives them half an oatmeal cookie too.

We have an old 75 gallon water tank that lays on it's side and they move it around so it's facing away from the wind and lay in it. Then they jump on it and play king of the mountain. Crazy goats.

We have had the milk and I was quite pleased at how good it is when it is refrigerated. Haven't drank straight from the teat yet but someday. Our dog always gets a bowl of it and she gets very possessive with it. She is a Beagle/Taco Bell mix and she will butt heads with the goats if they try to challenge her. One of the goats cornered her the other day and the dog rolled up in a ball like a rollie polli. DW went to the rescue. We mix the milk with the food for the pigs. The kids don't like the goat milk with the exception of our 8 year old girl. She is easy when it comes to food. She'll try anything. The dairy cow will be getting bred in late June. So we'll have cow juice before too long.

Having to milk every day without fail is kind of a pain, but it's kind of neat too. It gives me a new respect for dairy farmers even though I know they have highly advanced equipment they use to do it. Still a lot of work and organization involved with that many cows I bet.

 

[MuscoviesBeta]

That is so awesome, I went on a goat milk drinking stint for a couple of months, but when I went away to summer camp I didn't have any and I stopped. Your post has not only made me want to get a goat (we live in the city) but it has also made me want to drink goats milk.

 

[Royd]

I milked our goats or cow, from the time I was 12 until I left home. Once we got the cow, the goats were only for meat production, as the milk always tasted like whatever weed they were eating.

Milking was always a sort of Zen thing, for me, regardless of the weather...Just me, the cow, the kerosene lantern, the 3 gallon stainless steel bucket, and the one legged milking stool. To sit, with the bucket trapped between your legs and listen to the ring of the milk, on the bottom of the bucket, until you got some depth, then, it turned to a whoosh, as milk struck milk, and softened, even more, as the head of foam was formed, was a very calming thing.

It seemed that everyone had a milk cow, because I remember the discussions in school, about how much foam we were able to create, on the top of the bucket. Young boys and bragging rights. And of course, there was always the hardened forearms.
We had two different milk cows, over those years, but Peaches, was the best. She had teats that were over 3" long, and you could use the whole hand, in milking. No holding the bottom two fingers away, like some tea drinking socialite.

I learned never to try to find out how far a cow's bag goes up between her legs....Do you realize how fast a bucket of milk will turn green, when a cow steps in it?

 

[chickensducks&agoose]

I don't think you should be drinking 'straight from the teat', i think you should at least use a cup....

I want goats, I think they're adorable, and smart, and i like that they have horns and their ears are cute (especially the floppy ones), but DH says we can only have goats 'over his dead body'... I think that's okay, but I'll probably have to wait another 30 years...

 

[Dunkopf]

Quote:
Yeah exactly. One of our goats has a teat that's a good 5" long but the right side is about 1" and the udder is a lot bigger. Yep she gets restless when you strip the udder. I like when you get where you can feel the teat filling up and it comes out in a long hard stream. You really feel like you're getting somewhere then.

We have to use a stand to get them high enough. We got a miniature cow because we'll never use 5 gallons a day like the full size cows put out. The goats average about 2 gallons a day between them. One has been bred once the other 3x. The mini should get about 2 gallons I guess when she gets old enough.

Looking forward to getting the bigger forearms and stronger grip.

 

[Royd]

Quote:
Yeah exactly. One of our goats has a teat that's a good 5" long but the right side is about 1" and the udder is a lot bigger. Yep she gets restless when you strip the udder. I like when you get where you can feel the teat filling up and it comes out in a long hard stream. You really feel like you're getting somewhere then.

We have to use a stand to get them high enough. We got a miniature cow because we'll never use 5 gallons a day like the full size cows put out. The goats average about 2 gallons a day between them. One has been bred once the other 3x. The mini should get about 2 gallons I guess when she gets old enough.

Looking forward to getting the bigger forearms and stronger grip.

We also had a stand for the goats, called a milking stanchion. I never did, but the real pro goat milkers, not goat ropers, milked them from behind..I guess it's just easier access to the teats.

 

[Dunkopf]

Quote:
Yeah exactly. One of our goats has a teat that's a good 5" long but the right side is about 1" and the udder is a lot bigger. Yep she gets restless when you strip the udder. I like when you get where you can feel the teat filling up and it comes out in a long hard stream. You really feel like you're getting somewhere then.

We have to use a stand to get them high enough. We got a miniature cow because we'll never use 5 gallons a day like the full size cows put out. The goats average about 2 gallons a day between them. One has been bred once the other 3x. The mini should get about 2 gallons I guess when she gets old enough.

Looking forward to getting the bigger forearms and stronger grip.

We also had a stand for the goats, called a milking stanchion. I never did, but the real pro goat milkers, not goat ropers, milked them from behind..I guess it's just easier access to the teats.

I find it easier from behind too. I can do two at once back there. Hard to do it from the side. I got a chain across the back to prevent getting kicked. It also gets me a little nervous when they raise their tail.