milk, bucks and distance...a ?

[GrowURown]

well, its 5am and I'm up worried again.

The 'copy cat neighbors' went and bought goats just like when they got chickens and pigs, right after we did and now we have stinky neighbor goats ...several of them...and at least 2 are bucks! VERY bucky, stinky bucks! The problem is I can smell them from my goats pasture area AND the milk from our little doe is already starting to taste 'off' to me...how far apart do does need to be from bucks to keep the milk from tasting goaty? Because I have plenty of room to rearrange things if need be to avoid this...but HOW FAR is that? What do ya'll experienced milkers suggest? My fence backs up to theirs in the goat area with just a small easement big enough for a horse to pass through...clearly that few feet ain't cutting it...so what's the magic number for distance here? All suggestions appreciated....

 

[freemotion]

My buck pen is adjacent to my does and the milk never got stinky. Even when the buck got in with the does and I left him there (fence destroyed in the middle of winter) the milk never tasted off. So I wonder if there is some other change in her environment/food that you are attributing to the buck....or if you sorta "have the smell in your nose" like I get at times and you smell it everywhere.

Sorry, I can't answer your question, but wanted to give my experience with this. I was rather surprised that my does' milk wasn't ruined. I know others here have had similar experiences with this.

 

[Araylee]

All I can say is eiw! I hope you get it figured out soon. Buck smell (to me) hangs on everything and is quite strong, GL!

 

[TheMixedBag]

My experience is similar to freemotion's. Even when bucks were kept in with the does (and he still is...much to my irritation), and they were at their stinkiest, I never got an off taste.

I think it has a lot to do with how sensitive someone is to certain smells and tastes, just like some people like the smell of bucks...

 

[PattySh]

My buck is wintering in my barn with my does (same pen)and the milk is tasting fine. I will say tho he smells mild compared to others I've been around. I usually keep him adjacent to my barn.

 

[julieq]

We have three ND bucks in our barn next to doe pens (on two sides of the barn) and don't have stinky milk at all.

 

[AlaskanShepherdess]

Well I'll be one to come on and say something different.

When we built our bucks their new pen, we had to bring the bucks right past the does enclosure, within 2 ft. All the girls rushed over to see the buck, and that night (about 4 hours later) that evenings milk tasty bucky. But it didn't anytime after that.

 

[freemotion]

One of the key factors may be more about WHERE you milk the does, and how clean you are when you do so....maybe.....I'd try milking first in clean clothes, don't go near the buck, take care of the milking far, far from the bucks (I milk in my garage once I see the first mosquito of the season and don't move my stand back into the barn until a couple of good hard freezes), take care of filtering the milk, then go take care of the rest of the herd. Worth a shot.

 

[GrowURown]

We currently milk on our porch - FAR from the animals in general and we make EVERY effort to be very clean - just saying, no offense taken, I see the point though. But these goats are STINKY! They belong to the same neighbors who have managed to starve 2 pigs to death, so you can only imagine.....let me tell you how stinky they are....

I parked over there to do some worked on the fence with my wife's truck - doors open, radio going, etc...for about 20 minutes.....the NEXT morning, she gets up, and goes to work in the truck, and 45 minutes later she is calling me to tell me someone at work said she smelled like a goat! She had to spray down in "smell good" to cover it up! The smell is STILL in the truck days later, and we febreezed the heck out of it! So I guess we have to move the fence back until we can't smell them?

They have at last count 2 huge bucks - one which likes to stand at their fence and pee on his face when he sees our 6 year old out their - charming goat, likes the younger ladies, and she finds it somewhat bothersome because it smells. Poor kid! She really hates that buck! The other one does the same thing, but pretty much any time any thing walks past - horses, chickens, me...they are raggedy looking too! I hope they didn't bring anything else with them except the stink! Poor goats, they would be better off somewhere else the way these people care for their stuff! They even had a pig we ended up with for a while - if a pig runs away you KNOW they got issues!

 

[freemotion]

Wow, those are some stinky bucks!!!! Sounds like you've covered all the bases and will have to move your fence....have you checked your local regulations? Some places have laws about keeping bucks.

My buck lured the neighbor lady over to the fence with his extreme cuteness (her description) and pee'd on her foot! Twice! I offered to tarp the fence during the rut but she declined, she still likes to watch him.....from a distance now!