things to make from raw goat milk?

[chloecat]

yeah, the ears thing is kinda weird isnt' it!! lol

i have a friend who used to raise goats and she's been coaching me through this and plans on visiting one of the farms with me this week to check out the animals. it's nice having an experienced person to help and show me whats good or bad in an animal!

i know if i had to help someone pick a horse i can do that, but goats--no way

[ravenwoodmama]

So exciting! LaManchas are a great breed. I'm a Nubian girl myself, but they are not a breed for everyone.

Be sure to check for good, sturdy hooves that don't curl like elf shoes, clean, tight joints (swollen is a sign of CAE) and no signs of abscesses (sign of CL). Good hair coat, bright eyes, good body condition and no snotty nose/raspy breathing. Poops should be pellets, not loose or pasty (could be sin of Johne's or coccidiosis). Check that both sides of udder are even, soft with no lumps (sign o previous mastitis) and not low/droopy (could be sign of suspensory ligament damage). Ask breeder about their herd health: do they have accesses in their herd? How do they prevent CAE? Do they do any health testing for Johnes or CAE? These are health issues that can have serious impact on the long term performance and life span of the goat, and negative impact on human health in the case of Johnes.

If you are planning to go the raw milk route I would recommend having your local vet test for Johnes (can be done via fecals or blood. If blood you can get test for CAE at same time). Johnes has been shown to have a link to Crohn's in humans. You may also want to have milk cultured by vet for Listeria and check for low grade mastitis prior to using it raw. I believe raw is a safe option IF the animal is clean and healthy. Might be worth chatting with vet re: what zoonotic diseases are of concern prior to raw milk consumption.

Look for an animal that isn't a first freshener if possible. First timers are often nervous and kick on the stand. Very frustrating to get a hoof in the pail! It can be very nerve wracking training them to the stand. Experienced milkers (2nd lactation and beyond) are calmer and know the routine (milking = grain time!). They look forward to being milked and give you crap if you are late. Does with kids left on are generally fussier to milk (they have their kids, they don't need you). They tend to fidget more on the stand because they are worrying about where their kids are the whole time. Dam raised kids grow amazingly, but are wilder (require more handling) than bottle babies. They are less annoying than bottle babies who want to maul you. They seem to know they are a goat, not a human. Leaving kids on does means you will have less milk for the house, but also if you need a night off for other commitments the kids do the milking. Some diseases are passed through the milk, so some people strictly bottlefeed from birth and pasteurize all colostrum (another good reason to test). Kids can also put a lot of drain on the doe (they lose body condition faster than does milked only 2x per day and require more groceries). Kids can also damage teats with their teeth making milking time painful for the doe and no fun for you.

I could talk about goats all day :P I'm a junky lol I did all of my dairy goats judges training. Such a nerd.

Enjoy! Goats are a lot of fun and kids love them -

[ravenwoodmama]

PS - "Storey's Guide to Dairy Goats" is a great manual for getting started.

[For The Love Of Cloth]

Originally Posted by chloecat i need some ideas and some tried and true recipes please!! we are getting our first milk goat this week and i want to be prepared on everything i can make with the milk. do any of you have goats?? i'm hoping to make the following icecream yogurt butter cottage cheese soft cheeses any other ideas or recipes welcome also!!

-Chowders and other cream-based soups
-feta and mozzarella cheeses are great because they don't require a cheese press or cave.
-goat's milk fudge
-salad dressings

Goat's milk ice cream is my family's favorite. Nothing compares to its creamy goodness!

[chloecat]

ravenwoodmama, thankyou sooooo much for all that info!!! thankyou thankyou. we have asked all the farms about the disease testing. they are all negative and have papers on their herd certifiying that. so, that's good to know~! i'll probably have our vet out when we bring our girl/s home to check for any other diseases. thankyou so much for typing all that out. that took a lot of time!!

[sarahannecloud9]

I adore soap with it!
http://www.stretcher.com/stories/990628g.cfm
and
http://colebrothers.com/soapcalc/free.html

I substitute any milk for goats.

[ravenwoodmama]

You can also make paint from goats milk. It is similar to white wash.

[ravenwoodmama]

List of goat milk recipes:
http://www.everything-goat-milk.com/...k-recipes.html

http://www.redwoodhill.com/recipes

Milk paint:
http://www.ehow.com/way_5268906_home...ilk-paint.html

My fave goat site:
http://fiascofarm.com/

[Abbaloosa]

I love soap made with goat's milk! Although it doesn't take a lot of milk to make a big batch...so we fed most of our extra milk to our calves.

I've been raising show American Alpines for the last 7 years. LOVE the breed, they have strong personalities though. Something that I like but many people hate about them. I could never get over the lack of ears on LaManchas but there are some beautiful, very productive does out there of that breed. And I completely agree with ravenwoodmama on everything she said. Above all, make sure whatever you choose to buy is healthy. It's heartbreaking having to cull animals because of something that could have been avoided. And my first doe (got me hooked on goats for good) was a very old Nubian who stood like a rock on the milkstand...ugly but boy could she milk and she never gave me an ounce of trouble. You are far better off paying for a good quality, healthy, seasoned doe age 2-5 or so then trying to get by with less. Around here you can find one for $250 and up...any milker worth feeding will pay that back in milk in less than a year.

[TheGreenBee]

Thanks for this thread. You reminded me I need goats milk. I breed German Shepherds and have a litter due any day and like to have goats milk on hand just in case I need to make puppy formula.