Milking goats for fresh milk daily
You can keep and milk a goat in some cities, depending upon the type of city.
Goats need space and daily exercise. They are wonderful pets. I think its a bit like taking on another child in the family, as they are dependent and demand attention when they need it.
We took our dairy goat with us on holiday to Ohope beach, Whakatane. She bleated all night when she was ‘in season’ for the buck and was lonely. This made sleep difficult.
Here is a small lesson on goat milking.
It’s not a New Zealand video, sorry, however the lessons are the same for us here.
Our Milking Goat in Karakariki Valley, Waikato
The oldest way of storing milk is daily milking. It keeps fresh each day. We have a milking goat which I milk daily. We get about 3.8 litres of milk from her each day.
She gives us about 1.4 – 1.7 L of milk each night and 1.7 – 2.1 L in the Morning. That’s more than enough for our family. We use her milk for drinking, breakfast, making yogurt daily and our neighbours use it to make cheese.
It costs to buy feed for the goat as she eats while I milk her. She also needs medicine from the vet on occasion. Mostly she eats grass.
Milking the goat does take time. I think it’s worth it. Some people have pets that take time but few pets are as productive as a milking goat. She enjoys routine when being milked.
Twice a day, for 15 minutes, I see she is waiting for me. She comes to be milked. Even in the rain and storms she wants to be milked.
I make yogurt every day for family desserts. The children like it.
Goat milk tastes different. It depends upon the fodder the goat eats. Also, different goats produce different tasting milk. Our goat milk tastes quite strong. Our last goat, a Saanan, produced milk that tasted mild, sweet and creamy – better than any milk I’ve ever tasted. I recommend you taste a goat’s own milk before you buy one. Make sure your family all like the flavor for that particular goat.
If you have grass, it’s quite possible to milk a goat in town. Would you be able to milk a goat where you live?
References & photo credits
1. Feature photo of mum milking goat by Mike Warren http://www.flickr.com/photos/mike-warren/4985148978/
2. All other photos are taken by my family members at home in Karakariki, Temple View Stake, Hamilton, New Zealand.
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Is there a goat breed that you would say has the closest tasting milk to cow’s milk? Just curious as I know my husband prefers cow milk, but a goat would be easier to manage. For now I am just dreaming of the day when we can begin animal husbandry (we have a vegetable garden and a few fruit plants on our suburban lot).