Milk

[BoboFarm]

Please don't take this the wrong way, @Southern by choice, but I'm not sure about the whole no ear thing I have been looking at Kinders on someone's suggestion, can't remember who. I like that they're dual purpose and smaller. Plus we're not ready yet. If I keep saying that then maybe I'll convince myself to wait

 

[Southern by choice]

LOL - hear that alot.... until people get around them. They are an in your lap all the time goat. Miniature Lamanchas can have ears too.... we sell the eared ones to people that don't like the elf or gopher eared.

Actually the mini mancha is not a large goat hence the miniature. We also had miniature Nubians. They generally stand 2 inches taller than a Nigerian Dwarf, but produce about 8# a day.
8# is roughly one gallon.
Miniature Nubians are similar to the Kinder but they are all dairy goat. Kinder is Nubian with Pygmy. Pygmy being a meatgoat.

@frustratedearthmother breeds Kinders. She can give you an idea on size and lots of other info.

If you get kinders make sure stock is tested for G6S! It is a DNA test.

 

[Alaskan]

I don't do all of the precautions etc. that were mentioned above
...

but then my youngest child is 9.. so the risk of accidentally killing my children is low. I would probably be more careful if I had a toddler.

My point... we don't wash the udders. We gently rub the goat all over for stray hair and dirt to fall off... then squirt twice on the ground, the rest into the metal pot.

Metal pot gets brought inside.. milk is poured from the pot through a funnel with a filter into a clean jar. .. the jar goes into the fridge. We drink it raw.

 

[Latestarter]

I have to agree with the quick cooling of the milk. After I'm done milking, the very next/first thing I do is bring it inside, filter it and get it in the fridge (I don't use the freezer beforehand... may try that after kidding this spring). The milk has always been delish and tastes the same out to 5-6 days. It's never lasted longer than that...

I do wash the udder before milking... I see what they lay down in and don't really want all that in my milk When I go to milk, after washing the udder and my hands, I dry both and try not to touch any other part of the goat until I'm done milking. If the goat decides to kick, etc, that kinda complicates things and I have lost milk because of it.

I drink the milk raw. I don't pasteurize. Just my choice. I wouldn't give the raw milk to young children. I have told my son and wife when they were here and I had raw milk, that the milk is raw and let them decide for their kids. I believe @Devonviolet had digestive issues drinking it pasteurized but can drink it with no problem when raw.

I haven't started into cheese making yet. I was only milking one last year, and that was used to bottle feed her kid as well. This year I hope to have multiple goats in milk and though I intend to dam raise primarily, I hope to separate overnight and milk mornings after they're a few weeks old. Getting excited

 

[babsbag]

@Latestarter...if you pur your milk in the freezer first I bet you will notice a difference. But set a timer so you don't forget it...don't want to freeze it.

 

[Latestarter]

I plan to this spring. Thanks. Though I find it pretty danged good not having tried the freezer

 

[Alaskan]

. I believe @Devonviolet had digestive issues drinking it pasteurized but can drink it with no problem when raw.

actually... the raw milk having the active enzymes. ... is one of the reasons we have the goats.

I have one child that is celiac and one with asthma and alergies and one with unspecified odd digestive issues. ... I think the raw helps them all. It heals the gut.

 

[Devonviolet]

@Devonviolet had digestive issues drinking it pasteurized but can drink it with no problem when raw.

I had allergy testing 9 years ago, that showed sensitivity to casein, which is the protein in milk. I've never had a problem with milk. But then, I never drank a lot of it.

2-1/2 years ago I found a local dairy, that sold raw cow's milk, and I started drinking their milk, again without a problem.

Then I got our 2 LaMancha does last Winter & started milking last Spring when they kidded. After talking to some goat people, I decided to pasteurize our milk.

Gradually, I began to notice increasing amounts of phlegm in the back of my throat (which is my clue that I am reacting to a food.) So, I thought I was reacting to the casein in the milk, and I would have to give up milking my goats.

But, knowing that heating the milk destroyed the enzymes that helps the body digest the protein (casein) in the milk, I thought maybe pasteurizing the milk was causing my problem. So, before selling my girls, though, I decided to stop pasteurizing the milk and see if that made a difference. It took a while, before I noticed a decrease in the phlegm, but now it is totally gone!

I do make mozzarella cheese, which only requires temps to 105°F., and that doesn't cause a problem. There are cheeses that require high temps (something like 195°F) and I am staying away from those cheeses, at least for now.

I use the same process that @Southern by choice mentioned (except for the pasteurization, of course), and I don't put the milk in the freezer.

I filter it (with a slightly different filter), and I use the newer, white plastic Ball canning jar Lids (which don't fully seal), with a metal canning lid (the kind that comes with a 2 part canning lid/ring, for canning. I screw on the plastic lid tightly and put it in the fridge right away. When the milk cools, it causes a seal to form.

The metal lid seals tightly, and our milk always has a sweet, fresh taste that lasts 10 days.

The filter (which looks very similar to a canning funnel), is slightly different than SBC's. It uses a stainless steel ring to hold a cloth fiber filter in place

 

[Southern by choice]

I thought I'd add a bit about why we put it in the freezer.

We have a lot of goats- we milk alot of goats. When we put the miilk in the fridge the milk is so warm that it brings the temp of the fridge down and it takes a long time to get back up to temp. That isn't good for the other food in the fridge. When we put it in the freezer it is just better at getting it cooled down faster and to a reasonable temp as to not interfere with the fridge.
When you put 6- 1/2 gallon jars in the am then again in the pm.... it really taxes the fridge. We are also a big family, that means the fridge door is opened probably 100x in a day.

We have a walk in commercial cooler 8x10 I think- it isn't set up though... waiting til we move. I can't wait.
We also have cooling tanks but have to figure how I can incorporate it so the milk chills fast and can stay in the walk . Woo Hoo!

@Devonviolet are those reusable cloth? We use the disposable ones ... I don't like washing stuff How do you like it?

 

[babsbag]

I have that filter and I hate it. The milk goes down around the outside of the fiber filter. I bought 24" round fiber filters that extend up to the edge. That'll do it but it wasn't cheap.

Chilling milk in fridge or freezer is really not adequate, especially if drinking it raw. It is a prime medium for growing bacteria. Dairies are either Grade A or Grade B. But here is where your "dairy" would be if cooling it this way. (the I in the article is not me.)

I use an ice water bath and keep adding ice until it is chilled if I am drinking it raw. I great way would be an ice cream maker with salt and ice. Another great way is a small chest freezer filled with salt/ice slush mix or food grade antifreeze and ice. Pre-chill a milk can and pour the fresh milk into the pre-chilled can that is sitting in the slush mix.

Grade A:
The milk is placed in bulk cooling tanks, which are refrigerated, and the milk is quickly cooled while being stirred. This method assures the milk will be at 40 degrees in less than 30 minutes. Usually it is at the temperature instantly then held to just above freezing.


Grade B:
Milk is placed into containers small enough to place into tubs or a sink of ice water. This is acceptable for home use. This method cooled the milk to 48 degrees in 30 minutes, 42 degrees in 60 minutes and 40 degrees in 90 minutes. Results would be considerably better if some form of stirring the milk could be used to speed up the cooling. Using a home pasteurizer would do an excellent job too.


Grade C:
Milk is placed in a small container and placed in a sink of very cold water with the water being changed 2-3 times during the cooling process. Water temperature from our well here in Michigan comes out at 50 degrees. If you live in an area where the water comes from the faucet even warmer, this would not be a great method to use. The milk would only get as cool as the water.

Grade D:
Milk is placed in the freezer. I tested a one-quart jar and it took 30 minutes to reach 66 degrees. In 60 minutes it was at 50, in 90 minutes it was 43 degrees and finally after 105 minutes it was at 40 degrees. If using a container bigger than 1 quart the results would be even worse.


Grade E:
Milk placed in 1 quart jars and put into the refrigerator. In 30 minutes the milk was at 76 degrees. In 60 minutes it was at 67 degrees, after 90 minutes it was 59 degrees. 3 hours later it was at 51 degrees and finally after 8 hours the milk had reached 40 degrees. This is way too long. By now the bacteria count has become very high. Results would be even worse if using containers bigger than 1 quart. Many home dairies use this method, but this is the absolute worst way to cool the milk.