How do you keep the goat taste out of the milk?

[SDGsoap&dairy]

Diet can have a huge impact on the flavor of the milk. Our does browse all summer (mixed deciduous woodland) and one of them got into something a while back that made her milk NASTY. A few days on alfalfa hay and grain (no browse time) and she was back to normal. We had a large pine tree come down and they were gobbling up the green needles for a few days- I'm pretty sure it was that.

 

[Blue Dog Farms]

So shaking the milk is bad? Good to know. I have been buying milk from a friend and just finally got my girl home and started milking her. Ive been so excited! So yesterday morning I milked her and put it in the freezer then went to work. DH forgot to get it out so it froze. Ive been shaking it to try to help break up the ice parts. So finally I pour a glass of my girls milk and EEWWWW!It was awful! I almost cried. The milk Im use to has been wonderful, but this was goaty and salty. So I tried the stuff I got this mornin, still goaty, not As bad but still yuck! HELP! Ive milked my nogerian and its always good. I do the same process with both goats Milk, strain, straight to the freezer to chill, then to the fridge. Im so diappointed. My friend had her for a weeek and said her milk was good, what could i be doing wrong? I clean her teats and my hands. Shes a Lamancha should that matter? Could it be the shaking? I have a habit of doing that before I pour a glass.

 

[kstaven]

From the salty comment I would be going out and getting a mastitis test kit.

 

[Blue Dog Farms]

Ok I have one I Will test her tomorrow

 

[imtc]

another thing I was told helps flavor is putting a TBSP or so of Wheat Germ oil in their grains when you get them on the stand to milk. It's great for their coats too but supposed to "fix" the goaty flavor in milk if you have it.

 

[farmerlor]

My goat mentor actually had a couple of dedicated freezers for her goat milk but then she was running a pretty large scale operation (i.e. we'd fill up the five gallon bucket on the milking machine then fill up five gallon jars and put them in the freezer) and while her milk was MUCH better than I'd been led to expect goat's milk tasted it wasn't really as good as the fresh cow milk I grew up on in Iowa. I've figured out she was cutting costs by feeding bad hay. Now that I've got my goats who eat alfalfa and COB and do some grazing the milk is most wondrous. But we also feed the milk back to the babies on the farm so we're not getting too much of our creamy goodness.

 

[Bedste]

Wheat Germ OIL hmm...... i will try this too