Milking goats can be a diverse experience depending on you experience and the goat. What breed of goat do you have, how old is she, does she still have kids that are nursing and much much more. And most importantly the taste test…
Goat Breeds
There are many breeds of goats and they can fall into a few categories in this article we will look at the , dairy goats, meat goats and a dual purpose goats. Some of the more popular dairy goat breeds are Saanen, British Alpine, Nubian, and Toggenburg. Some of the Common meat breads of meat goats are the Boer, Australian Bush Mini, and Nubians. Than you have the Nubians which I have mentioned in both categories because they re a dual purpose breed but can also be very vocal and this is important to remember. Now this is not an exhaustive list it is limited to goat breeds I have personally owned.
How old is she
How old is your goat and what is her experience. This can be a big deal breaker I once had a Nubian goat and it was her first time freshening (after having her first kid and coming into milk) and not only did she not want to be milked she also produced VERY little milk. This goat was a huge challenge she used to squat and kick and carry on to such an extent I had to get very creative to try to milk her at all and learned how to make DIY hobbles for goats.
Than you have the goats that are too old to put in kid and milk and those lovely ladies need to be retired. My favourite nannys are on their second freshening at the very least and preferably have had experience being hand milked before. That being said it can still take a few days for a Nanny to get used to the idea of being milked again when it has been a while. Below are a few videos of the progression I had with training my Saanen Goat Dana after she kidded to be milked, I am so glad I knew How to make DIY goat hobbles.
How to milk a goat
How does it taste
I have heard many people say they don’t like goats milk but than when they try some they are pleasantly surprised and say it tastes pretty much the same as cows milk just a bit more creamy.
There are a few reasons for this. I have found 2 main reasons that goat milk can taste “Goaty”. The first is if they have been around the buck (male goat) and he has been doing his job, for some reason this effects the taste of the milk. The other reason is the Nanny has a high worm load and is not well.
Generally speaking I have found that a healthy Nanny that is not in the same paddock with the Buck will have beautiful tasting milk.