samssimonsays
Almost Self-Reliant
As an effort to be more self sufficient i opted to get dairy goats for milk (i don't like cows milk) and making soaps and lotions. It has since turned into making cheese caramels and fudge with it. This is my milking journey to self sufficiency.
I got my first in milk goat last may. She was 4.5 weeks fresh with a single buckling and never been stand trained or milked. Buckling never touched. I spent many nights crying, cussing and furious doubting my decision to get a dairy goat.
Then, something amazing happened and my milking ability changed. I found goat hobbles. No lie. I tied her up and made her let me milk her. After two weeks of this she finally started to settle down Bs by week 8 of her being fresh she was well mannered without the hobbles! Her production was low but she was conditioned as such early on having only a singleton and not been milked. I grew her production from merely a couple cups to almost half a gallon a day. This was a huge success for me.
Then came goat in milk number two.... And that put me back weeks of training. Suddenly my once well. Mannered milking goat was a night mare. They both were.
I was suggested to try a different order in the milk lineup so i did. Turns out that's all it was,,! Phew! Back to the well mannered goats to milk! Both maxed at half a gallon a day as first fresheners.
Now fast forward to this year where one of our first goats freshened for the first time and produced our first baby born on the farm and he is a single buckling. From day one i had her on the milk stand and milked her. I saved colostrum. I even Ed her udder out. I worked diligently to make her production not suck and keep that udder nice, even and perty. She was a dream to milk, i stand trained her last year as a yearling. So soft and easy. Thing have been great. Now, at 7 weeks fresh, she's giving a gallon a day. This little goat was one that i was told to cull early on because of her being a preemie. Shed never be any good for a milk goat and so on. Well, we kept her (she was and still is our favorite shhhh don't tell the others) and we had faith in our little goat. We loved her through her ups and downs and hurtles. And now, now she is giving us back more milk than could be expected from a first time mom.
I will continue to share my milking progress with anyone who is interested here.
I got my first in milk goat last may. She was 4.5 weeks fresh with a single buckling and never been stand trained or milked. Buckling never touched. I spent many nights crying, cussing and furious doubting my decision to get a dairy goat.
Then, something amazing happened and my milking ability changed. I found goat hobbles. No lie. I tied her up and made her let me milk her. After two weeks of this she finally started to settle down Bs by week 8 of her being fresh she was well mannered without the hobbles! Her production was low but she was conditioned as such early on having only a singleton and not been milked. I grew her production from merely a couple cups to almost half a gallon a day. This was a huge success for me.
Then came goat in milk number two.... And that put me back weeks of training. Suddenly my once well. Mannered milking goat was a night mare. They both were.
I was suggested to try a different order in the milk lineup so i did. Turns out that's all it was,,! Phew! Back to the well mannered goats to milk! Both maxed at half a gallon a day as first fresheners.
Now fast forward to this year where one of our first goats freshened for the first time and produced our first baby born on the farm and he is a single buckling. From day one i had her on the milk stand and milked her. I saved colostrum. I even Ed her udder out. I worked diligently to make her production not suck and keep that udder nice, even and perty. She was a dream to milk, i stand trained her last year as a yearling. So soft and easy. Thing have been great. Now, at 7 weeks fresh, she's giving a gallon a day. This little goat was one that i was told to cull early on because of her being a preemie. Shed never be any good for a milk goat and so on. Well, we kept her (she was and still is our favorite shhhh don't tell the others) and we had faith in our little goat. We loved her through her ups and downs and hurtles. And now, now she is giving us back more milk than could be expected from a first time mom.
I will continue to share my milking progress with anyone who is interested here.
but she is gaining weight back nicely and going to take the summer to recover And be good and ready for breeding come fall. I forgot to add in my story with her.... 
Cece took the prize in that. Can't believe i forgot about it. I guess i blocked out how traumatic it was for the both of us 
Although goodness, goats look so cute in pics… I know how mischievous they can be though!
