I haven't been getting a fantastic milk yield from one of my does recently. I think it was a combination of a bad time with bloat and some not so great hay. She is fully recovered from the bloat and we got a much better bale of hay and her production has started to go back up, hurray! I milked her out and though I just had to judge by what it looked like in the pail, I think there was about a quart. I was almost done milking my other doe (into the same pail) and it looked like I would have about two quarts, the most I have ever gotten in one milking. I was thrilled and thinking about how great it would be to get that much every milking. The doe I was milking isn't a kicker so she isn't hobbled like I have to do with my other one. I think a fly or something must have bugged her, because just as I was daydreaming away, she flicked out her back foot and then landed it square in the bucket. I just about cried, all that lovely milk wasted. . At least I will get more later today, but I was really looking forward to putting up two quarts instead of the almost one quart I have been getting.
Dont you just hate it when things like that happen,couldnt happen at the start, before you got all that nice milk in the bucket.
Have a second container handy and empty the milk from the first goat into it before you start on the second goat. Then should something happen you won't loose it all. You can also dump the milk in the middle of milking each goat, if you choose.
I have tried having a container to dump it into (before I got the hobbles for my kicker doe), but because of where my milk stand is, I was always having to protect that container from the other goats, lol. It isn't usually an issue as this doe really isn't a kicker. Just happened to be today when I had finally gotten a good amount.
You know, this morning (being the wonderful, sweet, caring animal owner that I am) I decided to give all the goats milk to our dogs, cats and chickens. I decided that after my new goat (today was the first time I've milked her) placed her foot squarely in the pail when I was about 3 squirts from being done! She'll be hobbled tonight. I can TOTALLY relate today!
Strain it and make soap!!!! I had a chicken fly over the stall wall and scare us both while milking and milk went everywhere..... had nothing as I was just finishing with her milking.... Now that's sad
We feel your pain as we ahve all been there ...it happens and sometimes I think the chickens talk to my goats and tell them to do this. Its fine if your just feeding bottle babies but not for the family...When 1 of my girls do this the chickens are in heaven and so are the dogs...oh well it happens and then you get another chance...
Sorry about your milk. How disappointing! I can relate some; did you know goats like to step in baskets of eggs too? It's one thing to step in a basket and break a few eggs, it's even better to hook the basket on your leg, and break them all.
If you were the only one that saw the goat put her foot in the bucket did it really happen. Sort of like the 2 second rule on a jobsite when you drop your sandwich.
