# What to do with all the milk?



## NavyWife53108 (Apr 14, 2010)

Newbie disclaimer: So sorry if this is a dumb question!

Suppose I get my goats (I just want a few, 3-4 at most) and they end up producing a gallon or so of milk per day. What in the world can I do with it all? I know we'll save some to drink, some to make cheese with, and maybe some soap down the line. But in the short term, what can you do? Can you freeze it?


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## MF-Alpines (Mar 29, 2010)

Yes, you can freeze it. And you can always make more cheese!!! :biggrin


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## NavyWife53108 (Apr 14, 2010)

When it thaws, does it taste or look funny? Just want to make sure freezing won't damage it in any way.


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## Caprine Beings (Sep 19, 2008)

Ally,
3-4 goats is kinda vague! What kind of goats are you getting? Nigerian Dwarfs, yeah a gallon or more a day from them. But Nubian or Swiss breeds are going to give quite a bit more. Alpines can give up to a gallon but usually a gallon and a quater or more a day. Saanens are even higher producers. Nubians can give up to of more than a gallon too. We have a 2yr FF Nubian that gives us just a little over a gallon a day.
We had to purchase a third freezer. One for food, one for soap milk and one for gallons of milk.
Oh yeah, you can learn to make goats milk soap or lotion! Just more great uses for the "Goat Manna from heaven"! Tam


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## NavyWife53108 (Apr 14, 2010)

Oops, sorry, we're looking at LaManchas right now. 

I definitely want to get good use for all the milk. I'm trying to set up a budget and see what's reasonable to expect in the first year or two. If all else fails, I'll be the "milk lady" and drop off milk to my friends and family


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## Caprine Beings (Sep 19, 2008)

La Manchas are going to give you about four gallons a day or more. You can freeze it, yes it thaws funny but when shaken it is fine. Cheese, get in to cheese making, soap making--you'll never go back to store soap, make sure you okay to sell milk. Here in Washington it is illegal to sell milk UNLESS you get a dairy running which takes alot of jumping red tape CYB--Cover your butt, in other words. Once you find your niche in the milk world you will be able to have expense/income records more reliable. Tam

Modified for correction: Lamanchas, a piece, give well over a gallon of milk. 3-4 Lamanchas approximately give over four gallons a day


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## Ashley (Oct 25, 2007)

If you freeze it immediately, it thaws fine, but if you wait to freeze it separates, also if it thaws at all and refreezes, it separates.


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## buckrun (Mar 7, 2008)

Don't you plan to feed your kids some milk? You can just let them have all they want first. This greatly diminishes the amt left over.


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## Guest (Apr 18, 2010)

One of the things I use excess milk for is my dogs.. by making simple farmers cheese and stirring into their dog food,,,its higher protein is great for lactating dogs and dogs nursing their young...
Soap
Lotion
cheese
making cheese for friends and family.. ( they beg for more)
great potato soup, scallop potatos.. puddings,,,, and more any recipe in your cook book that calls for milk, use your goat milk
Barb


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## Ashley (Oct 25, 2007)

I just had some goat milk gravy.. with fried potatoes, whole wheat biscuits and beef brisket "bacon". Didn't even mess with the eggs or the sausage. No room. 

Oh and goat milk icecream is wonderful!


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## NavyWife53108 (Apr 14, 2010)

I love to cook, so I do plan on making everything imaginable with the milk. No kids just yet, maybe in about 6 years or so. But yes, they will know only goat milk! lol I doubt that I'd sell the milk, just because I don't want to be going through all that government regulation crap. Most likely I'd just give it away, unless I need the same regs. for that. I'm sure my dogs would love it. We have 5 dogs, so I suppose I could mix it in with their food or make some yogurt for them. I just wanted to make sure it's possible to use all that milk and that it wouldn't be going to waste! On another note, how long does it take for their milk to spoil? Same time as for store bought milk? I'd guess less, but just want to be sure!


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## Ashley (Oct 25, 2007)

Hehe, I think she meant that furry kind of kids


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## tmfinley (Feb 21, 2008)

We use milk for all of the above. We are working on getting our dogs off of store bought kibble and they love the added milk in their diet. We also have pigs. Pigs grow great on milk! And they are yummy! Frozen milk works great for us. I don't think you could tell the difference between our fresh and frozen. 
Tiffany


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## NavyWife53108 (Apr 14, 2010)

lol I had human kids on the brain! We've been married two years and everyone's asking about us having kids!! But yes, I'll try to use as much milk as possible for the kids, and other animals, realizing that I'm sure I'll still have quite a bit leftover. 

Good advice on the pigs. I've considered pigs but have got to see how the goats go first!


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## Ashley (Oct 25, 2007)

Chickens will also eat the milk. Good for their egg laying.


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## Drycreek goats (Sep 8, 2009)

calves.lambs,pigs,chickens,dogs and cats Tammy


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## mrs.h (Feb 1, 2010)

Ashley said:


> Hehe, I think she meant that furry kind of kids


I was wondering how she was going to get 6 years worth of milk and no kids?


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## NavyWife53108 (Apr 14, 2010)

lol Those would be some pretty special goats!


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## prairie nights (Jan 16, 2009)

I was wondering why not just keep 1-2 milkers then? Then you can start slow and only make goodies with cheese when you feel like it, since you may have to collect the milk for that purpose, instead of being pushed to do it because of the excess milk. I am very thankful I started with cheese with only one milker, it was enjoyable and not a chore. Now in a year we perfected a couple of recipes so now even the kids can turn a gallon or two of milk into cheese, and we do this every other day after morning milking. 

It never hurts to start slow. Get a dam and her kid or a milker and dry yearling, not only to figure out all the things to do with your milk but also to get used to the milking routine. Outside of having human children, having goats to be milked twice a day has been the greatest time commitment I have made in my life. It is much easier to adjust to with one or two than 3-4.


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## hsmomof4 (Oct 31, 2008)

What Jana said. If you are not wanting to sell milk, might be moving, have only you and your husband to drink the milk (eat the cheese, yogurt, etc), I don't know that I'd start with 3-4 goats. The amount of time that the milk keeps really depends. Our milk is good for at least 2 weeks, but I know that not everyone's milk keeps that long.


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## dragonlair (Mar 24, 2009)

I have more milk than I can use, so I:
drink it, make soap, custard, pudding, ice cream, butter, whipped cream, yogurt, cheese, cottage cheese, fudge, bake with it, etc.

Feed it as milk, custard, cheese, yogurt, ice cream to the dogs
Feed it as milk, cheese, yogurt to the hens
Feed it to the cats as milk

You can always raise a calf or two or some pigs. Keep 1 for your family and sell the others to pay for yours and the goats.

I freeze extra to use for me and the dogs in the off season. I also use the frozen for the kids if I end up with a bottle baby.

I "water" some plants with the milk too.


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## NavyWife53108 (Apr 14, 2010)

Oh my goodness, I'd never begin with 3-4! I think I'd die!


3-4 is our eventual goal. I suppose I'd learn how to use all the milk by the time we did get that many, but I like to have my ducks in a row and plan ahead. I'd like to get my first goat this fall when we move, and then take a year or so till we add another. 

Two weeks is a good amount of time, I believe. I'll just make sure we buy lots of cereal to encourage each other to drink more milk


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## prairie nights (Jan 16, 2009)

Ally, 

that is the other problem, the goat will need company so you need at least two. But they don't both have to be milkers.


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

And promise Ally to let us help you find your goats. Read the heartbreaking posts from most new folks the first time they test their goats only to find out they are CAE positive, or worse! Vicki


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## deJardine (Apr 29, 2009)

Vicki is SO right! That is such great advice! 

I am sort of silently "freaking out" lol - I got into goats because I am a soapmaker and we make goat milk items. This year we are looking at having 5 does in milk and that abundance is going to be a bit overwhelming!! Lol. I think its time to buy a deep freezer for storage! 

 Good luck!


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## prairie nights (Jan 16, 2009)

Also, good stock is harder to find in my area in the fall, most folks sorted what they want to keep and what they want to get rid of in spring after freshening and based on LA results and in fall the keepers are bred to stay at least until kidding time. Milkers for sale in the fall are expensive here as there are few of them available and since there is high demands even culls get sold. You could purchase a bred doe to kid in spring but then you would have little milk with the doe slowly drying off towards the end of her pregnancy and dropping production due to the sale/move. 

I was very thankful we started the way we did, with one milker and one yearling from the same farm (quality stock from reputable breeder, CAE and CL negative), purchased them in spring, milked through summer and fall, had enough time to learn about management, nutrition, parasites, etc. before I had to deal with breeding, pregnancy, labors and raising kids. I was overwhelmed enough to just be adjusting to the milking routine, feeding routine, etc. 

One thing I wish I have done differently was to wait with the goats until the house projects (kitchen and bathroom remodels, flooring, etc) were finished, or wait with the house projects until the goats were completely set up (barn, fencing, etc. ) Unless your new place is fenced and already set up for livestock I'd recommend getting set up ahead of time not as you go. 

I was very wrong assuming getting goats can't be all that different from bringing a new puppy home. I was in for quite a wake up call !!! 

Jana


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## buckrun (Mar 7, 2008)

Why not process into disappearing milk!
Aged cheeses are historically what was done to store milk surplus for human consumption. Once the initial labor is done to process and get a rind they just disappear for as long as you like with flavor only getting better the longer they escape your notice. It is wonderful to have a stash of cheese wheels holding secret scents and flavors for you while you forget they are there.
Lee


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## LynninTX (Oct 25, 2007)

I find if milk goes straight from the ice bath to the freezer... it thaws well. If it goes in the fridge first it is likely to separate. 

milk
yogurt (can replace sour cream)
cheese 
ice cream
soap
chickens
pigs 
bottle calf
cream soups
cream pies


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## Fiberaddict (Jun 4, 2009)

We're a family of 4, and 2 Nubians provide MORE than enough milk for us and 2 bottle babies. They provide all our milk, and we've had enough to make 2 batches of cheese, 2 types of ice cream, 2 batches of soap....and I still have a little over a gallon in the fridge right now. (And, again, we're bottle-feeding 2 kids right now.)

Our Nubians are FF, and they're not the greatest - we are getting approx. 1/2 gallon per day per goat. I'm NOT upset over this - but next year I hope they give more. At 1 gallon/day, we have plenty of milk.....

I'd suggest (like the others) that you start slow. You can always add another doe if you find you need one. :lol:


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## newbie nubian (Feb 7, 2009)

Verna, I'm not trying to change the subject, but when did your FF Nubians freshen? Did they give that much milk right away? Mine did last Wed and I'm only getting about a quart a day - I was hoping for more. I want to freeze some to make soap and I want to make cheese. At this rate it will take awhile to get a gallon for cheese. Sara.


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## Tallabred (Jun 12, 2008)

I definitely suggest starting SMALL. I started with 3 nubians last year who had 8 doelings, lost one dam. This year I had 9 out of 10 pregnant with 12 kids already on the ground - 3 does left to go. If you are interested in Nubians I am not far from you in Tallahassee


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## NavyWife53108 (Apr 14, 2010)

I'm looking at this place: http://webnanny.net/LITTLEORCHARD/ It's only a few hours from where we're planning to move.

I guess I better start liking cheese, because it seems as if I'll be making lots of it!


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## LLB101 (Sep 29, 2009)

:yeahthat

Start with what you can handle. In 2008, I bought a mixed ages herd of 5, with one pregnant, so I had one milker quickly. I bred 2 so I had 2 milkers in 2009. For 2010, yday's kidding of one of the kids born to original pregnant one, brings me to 3 milkers. And I'm glad I have a little experience already before I had so much! 

I have mini's so my totals are a little less than what other folks are saying, but not much cuz my 85 lb 2nd freshener is gving me over 5 lbs in 12 hrs overnight at less than 4 weeks fresh! 

I might start exploring soap, its been hard to get my head around "wasting" precious milk on soap up til now... I've used it all so far for yogurt and cheese and cooking - makes AWESOME fettucini sauce. We're vegetarians so we go thru quite a bit. 

And we do raw milk, so anything that "spoils" doesn't get putrid like pasteurized if it gets a little old. I think I wrote about my experiments with this in another thread, the test vials are still in the fridge months later, the pasteurized ones are black and beyond disgusting, the raw ones have turned to variously appealing/not clabbered cheesy concoctions. Only one of the 8 looks and smells like bad cheesy something and has some yellow growth on it. My understanding is that this is why raw AGED cheeses are allowed.

But if I do have a jar that gets missed and gets a little old, it starts clabbering and depending on what it looks and smells like, it goes to dog or chickens. Our dog (Dalmatian) has had skin problems that have totally cleared up since approximately half of her diet has become goat milk products - old yogurt, old milk, cheese whey she cleans up.

Freezing experiments for me last year were bad and worse. Some tasted like that skim powdered milk when thawed, others had other weirdness, maybe 25% did I consider edible as thawed milk. A frost-free freezer might have something to do with that, depending how its wrapped, my notes say the milk in plastic was worse than the milk in glass quart canning jars. But the jars are much less space efficient than a ziplock frozen flat, but it was only good for the dog imho from the ziplocks. Cheese experiements were more successful with whey going to baking, bread, dog and chickens. I did take some whey that got old to a friend's pig until I figured out how to use it all.


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## hsmomof4 (Oct 31, 2008)

:lol I was trying to figure out why that link didn't work. Apparently the software here changed the address because it contained a "banned" word. It should not be "doe" it should be (and I have to put these dashes in or it will happen again) N-A-N-N-Y after "web"


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## goatnewbie (Jun 18, 2008)

We have been feeding extra milk to our new chicks and our chickens, they love it. Also we bought a 2 day old holstein calf for the extra milk as well. We figure this winter when we butcher him we will be glad we got him.


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## Tallabred (Jun 12, 2008)

I only freeze milk for soap. Frozen chevre is great and takes up less space than milk. I make pesto, chocolate, salmon & capers, cranberry/almond/honey and of course plain. All of my friends LOVE the cheese. The chocolate is great for bananas and apples


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## Fiberaddict (Jun 4, 2009)

Sara - one freshened March 10, the other March 13. They're both 4, which is a little old to be FF, but...they were what we wanted, and the breeder was willing to sell them to us (she...has a hard time letting go of her goats. :lol

They started out at a little over 1 pound each milking. We're now up to about 2 pounds each - 1 gives a consistent 2 pounds every time, the other fluctuates a bit - sometimes 2, sometimes 2 pounds, 6 oz. I haven't done anything to try and increase that - they get fed about 1.5 cups goat pellets (from SW Feed Mill here), 1 cup alfalfa pellets, and 1/2 cup sweet feed on the stand each milking. We feed free choice Sudan - I can't afford alfalfa hay. :sigh: (Not when you factor in the horses.....if I bought alfalfa for the goats, you *know* the horses would demand some for themselves.....it's cheaper to buy them round bales and let the goats have the square.)


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## NavyWife53108 (Apr 14, 2010)

http://webnanny.net/LITTLEORCHARD/seniors.html Thanks for letting me know about the link! This one should work now.

I guess I never realized how much you can use milk. I never thought of things like whipped cream, sour cream, cheesecake, etc. I'm the pickiest eater on the planet, so I have about 3 meals that I eat. My husband eats rocks, so I know he'll be happy if I make cheese, sour cream and all the other stuff. I think my dogs would wag their tails off if they got fresh yogurt everyday 

Do you think starting off with MiniManchas would be better for a newbie? I'm new to goats, but certainly not new to animals. Heck, I have a BS in Animal Biotechnology and Conservation  I read the topic "Why goat owners fail" (I think that was the title) and I don't want to do that. I want this to be a hobby and sort of new lifestyle.


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## Anita Martin (Dec 26, 2007)

Well, the GOAT kids will use up A LOT of that milk. At first they will just take small amounts, like a few ounces, but within just a few days you'll be feeding them 16 or more ounces 3 times a day...and before you know it, they'll be up to a half gallon a day per goat kid, or more if you feed free choice milk. The only way I have lots of left over milk is if I've sold several kids, or if I'm dam raising and also milking twice a day. Still, those kids are going to be drinking the most milk when your does are at their highest production levels....so you won't have to worry about throwing the milk in the garden if you have kids around.


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## LLB101 (Sep 29, 2009)

maybe we should do a cookbook?
there was another thread about quick recipes... maybe start one for fav goat milk recipes...mmm cheesecake...


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## adillenal (Feb 6, 2009)

For hand milking I would not recommend minis. Of course, not all minis have mini teats but I just find milking a regular sized goat by hand to be easier. And I know there are many regular sized goats with tiny teats too. Nothing against minis.

Oh and I recommend making kefir with some of that milk.


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## NavyWife53108 (Apr 14, 2010)

I'd pay for a goat cookbook! It's good to google recipes, but you never really know if they are good or not. If we have some tried and true recipes from the forum members, I'd be sure that they are worth giving a shot!


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## newbie nubian (Feb 7, 2009)

Verna - thanks for the info. I may need to increase my doe's feed. 

I can only give brome hay here, so I feed alfalfa pellets to the goats. My mare has equine metabolic syndrome and had laminitis once so I can't run the risk of her accidentally getting alfalfa from my well-meaning husband or daughter on the rare occurences when they feed. 

Too many years of a "no grain policy" with my easy keeper mare and mini-donkeys have made me so conservative with grain in general. I'm probably not giving my doe enough. I mix my own with oats, cracked corn, and BOSS. Right now they are barely eating the alfalfa pellets, so that's a problem. I need to get a new bag today and see if that's the reason.


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## LLB101 (Sep 29, 2009)

MDGA was talking about doing a cookbook, I don't know if it got off the ground, maybe Eliya will chime in, she knows all :biggrin

Some mini's have great teats, not mine. And of course its my biggest producer that has the teats that Vicki called "the worst kind" :lol in another thread. Harsh, but true. But that's her only big flaw, we all have something we need to correct in the next generation, right? And someone else emailed me to say that they are ideal teats for machine milking, just not for hand milking. Anyway, there are some mini's that have large wonderful teats, and the mini's amount of milk ratio to amount of feed, housing, handling issues etc make mini's ideal for a lot of families.


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## TroyG (Nov 20, 2009)

Just remember doing all these great things with the milk takes TIME! :biggrin

We operate a Grade A dairy so we sell most of our milk, but also make cheese soft & hard, soap and lotion. Oh and don't forget about the Kefir.

Some does will milk more than others. We have 8 does milking today producing over 7 gallons with two being FF and one doe that miscarried 26 days early. The others are picking up the slack.  So we are moving 210 gallons a month so if you are getting 3-4 does and Lamanchas at that you could be getting around 120 gallons a month. So you may want to think about getting two does to start with and see how it goes.


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## Laverne (Apr 4, 2010)

I made regular cheddar and jalapeno chedder last year and still making it. Some of the six month cheese is ready, getting nice and sharp, and it is really good. I use it on pizza instead of mozarella also, and it is great. I use five gallons of milk at a time to make a wheel of cheese.


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## Candy (Jun 4, 2009)

newbie nubian said:


> ...
> 
> Too many years of a "no grain policy" with my easy keeper mare and mini-donkeys have made me so conservative with grain in general. I'm probably not giving my doe enough. I mix my own with oats, cracked corn, and BOSS. Right now they are barely eating the alfalfa pellets, so that's a problem. I need to get a new bag today and see if that's the reason.


I have notice my goats like the alfalfa pellets better out in the yard and not on the milk stand.

I haven't seen anyone mentions using milk for a milk bath. AAAWWW... The mostest, bestest feeling. It leaves your skin so soft and moisterized. Sounds yucky but oh so nice. LOL. If you have enough milk, 1/2 gallon is the best mixed with nice warm water. I have canned milk once and even though I couldn't stand the taste of it, it is still good for a bath. I have thought of canning scented milks for the purpose but haven't done it yet since we haven't been using our milk for a bit due to soremouth. I hope to give it a try soon though. Don't know how the scents would mix.


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## wheytogosaanens (Oct 26, 2007)

NavyWife53108 said:


> http://webdoe.net/LITTLEORCHARD/seniors.html
> 
> Do you think starting off with MiniManchas would be better for a newbie? I'm new to goats, but certainly not new to animals. Heck, I have a BS in Animal Biotechnology and Conservation  I read the topic "Why goat owners fail" (I think that was the title) and I don't want to do that. I want this to be a hobby and sort of new lifestyle.


Start with a breed that you like. If you buy a doe in milk, make sure she is milk stand trained. You will enjoy the goats more if you aren't fighting with the goats!  Most important, buy from CAE negative/CL Free herd. That will save you a lot of headache and heartache.

If you can buy from a breeder who will allow you to breed back to their bucks that is a nice benefit too. At least until you can't live without a stinky boy of your own. LOL

Visit a few breeders - see what breeds appeal to you. Take notes on pen and shelter set-ups. Feed and worming questions. You'll get a lot of different answers/approaches, but at least you'll be learning and then making good choices for yourself and your goats. Simplest is to copy the breeders management (assuming you like the health of their animals and their productivity) and then tweak it later.


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## Fiberaddict (Jun 4, 2009)

One thing I haven't seen on here - before you get your mind set on the number and breed, sit down and figure out how much milk your family consumes in a week - include *all* the dairy products!

We drink 2 gallons, go thru probably 1/2 pound of butter, then there's the various cheeses/creams/treats. I figured on only getting 1/2 gallon/day/goat (which - look! I nailed it! :lol ), so figured it would take 2 goats 2 days to keep us in milk - the rest of the week would be for the other stuff. I neglected to figure in bottle babies - we bought our does with the understanding that the breeder got to keep any doelings, and I wasn't counting on a buckling. :lol 

Our 2 are keeping us in milk, with enough left over to bottle feed 2 (yeah....um...I found a 5 week old doeling that I couldn't live without. I blame it on her colors - she's Loud - and her bloodline - she's a Pruittville granddaughter on both sides. I am weak... :laughcry) and to make soap and cheese. And ice cream. Can't forget that!

Granted, we also have 2 fresh Cashmeres, and 1 fresh Cashubian - we've milked the cross, but I don't take much as she's feeding her monster buckling. We'll be milking the Cashmeres soon - I want to use their milk for soap. (For the....name, mostly. Milk is milk, after all...)


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## LLB101 (Sep 29, 2009)

Fiberaddict said:


> One thing I haven't seen on here - before you get your mind set on the number and breed, sit down and figure out how much milk your family consumes in a week - include *all* the dairy products!
> 
> We drink 2 gallons, go thru probably 1/2 pound of butter,...


Great advice to figure out what your family will use.

BUTTER!! How are you separating to make butter? I tried the spoon skim method, forget that! How do you get butter?


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