Samssimonsays: Blazing Acres journal

[samssimonsays]

LOL! @Goatgirl47 @sadieml That is my "Snubian" doe, Tilda. So she is half Nubian, half Saanan. SHe had frostbite as a newborn so her ears are nubs.

I have my Alpine Wether, Ollie. Light brown
Snubian Doe, Tilda. White
Alpine Doe, Olive (Livy) Dark brown
and Nubian doe with buckling at her side, Scarlet and Rosco with another Buckling on his way for breeding Scarlet and Tilda to

 

[samssimonsays]

Got an entire cup this morning and that was still leaving some for baby Rosco so her production is going up! I was running behind this morning so I didn't have as much time as I would have liked but it is getting easier! I have found She is best behaved with baby in the area of where she is being milked. Otherwise he cries... a LOT... and she gets frustrated. I may start separating her at night but for the most part, I don't think he is nursing at all at night because she is nice and full and tight in the udder even while he is in with her at night.

Any advice on Pasteurizing the milk? I am unsure how to go about it, when the best time to do it is for the best tasting milk and so on. Right now I milk her and bring it in right away to strain into the measuring cup then pour it into my jar in the fridge to chill. Can I pasteurize it after it's already been chilled?

I did try a taste of her milk last night and WOW! It was so thick but not as "sweet" as the Alpine milk I tasted from where I got my Alpine Doe. I don't think I could drink it straight like that but it definitely has cream!

 

[norseofcourse]

Congrats on the milking going well - it's so exciting when you're just starting out

 

[Ferguson K]

Sam! You're drinking it, right? Not making soaps/cheeses? You have to chill it QUICKLY before you pasteurize.

 

[samssimonsays]

Thanks @norseofcourse ! It is super exciting lol.

@Ferguson K I milk her and bring it directly in to the house to strain and chill it. Then I feed and water the others. I am glad I am doing it right!

Today she stood with no restraining of the back legs at all and this is a huge, and I mean HUGE, improvement for her! I am slowly bringing her milk supply up but since I do not have another baby to separate Rosco with, I have decided to just share "his" milk with him until he is weaned. It will just be easier that way and less traumatic for all involved I feel. Next year when we have multiple does kidding it will be easier due to having more kids around and a stronger bond with them.

 

[samssimonsays]

After separating mom and baby for the first time last night I managed to get 2.5 cups of milk in one milking.

Here is a comparison of Monday night through Saturday night of milking vs just this morning. Whoo hoo! Since I don't have any other babies for him to be bonded to or kept separate with I put my littlest Alpine up with him in the stall to make sure the bigger two goats didn't bully him with mom not around. He's about caught little olive in size already. And even though he sounded like he was dying, he was just fine lol.

 

[norseofcourse]

That's great! I got so much more milk when I separated the babies, too. And they do get used to it. I'd toss them some hay to keep them busy while I milked (even if they still had hay, the 'new' hay was better...).

Are you going to milk every morning? What's your plans for all that milk?

 

[Ferguson K]

Beautiful!

 

[samssimonsays]

That's great! I got so much more milk when I separated the babies, too. And they do get used to it. I'd toss them some hay to keep them busy while I milked (even if they still had hay, the 'new' hay was better...).

Are you going to milk every morning? What's your plans for all that milk?

So far I've been milking every morning and night but only getting a small amount. Now I'm wondering if I should just milk in the morning. I hope to make cheese and my mom wants it for butter. If it were less cow milk tasting I would drink it... But I also want to make soap and lotions

 

[samssimonsays]

I managed to get 2 cups of milk this morning again with 3 hours less time away from baby (late doing chores last night so late to separate). She is standing better so long as she has food in front of her but she snorts it all down so quick I have to keep dishing it before I can get it all out. I have noticed a pattern with her however. While I am milking, if baby starts to cry she will not produce as much milk per squirt where as if he is not crying she give a lot per squirt. So baby Rosco determines how easy she is to milk. He is kind of a glutton and cries all the time.