Milk Goat - crash course needed!

[Wildsky]

I think there are plans on www.fiascofarm.com. It sounds like you will be good to go!

Is your cheesemaking place a store? So you don't have to pay for shipping??? If so, YAY! I have to plan my order and try to get everything at once so I don't have to pay shipping more than once or twice a year.

Do a good search here on ss, too, there are lots of discussions about goats and some on cheesemaking. On BYH, too. Oh, I hope some of you get as obsessed with it as I am, so we can really exchange some tips and ideas!!! Woohoo!!!

I got the supplier on line - in fact from fiasco farm.

I had my hubby look at the plans, he said the neck thing might give him a problem, so we might do something else in that area... with a place to hang a bucket or something.

I'm off to do my grocery shopping today instead of waiting till Saturday, because I don't want to leave a new goat here all day long... it will be easier for hubby to load up all the feed in the car anyway.

 

[freemotion]

You don't need to make that curved cut for the neck part. I worried about that, having below basic carpentry skills (no training at all, I just look at it and try to figure out where the screws are supposed to go, and add a few more if it wobbles! ) I just used straight pieces of wood and it works just fine. Instead of a latch, I used a block of wood that fits in a slot at the top to prevent the wood from moving once the doe's head is in the stanchion.

 

[Rebbetzin]

As far as milking goes, I'm not 100% sure my hands will hold up - I suffer a bit from pain in my wrists and thumbs when I knit or crochet for longer than 5 minutes.

I have the same problem in my hands and wrists!! And for sure my hands get tired, tingley and numb. But... I think, the exercise is good for them. I am milking two goats. I try to use both hands, but, I am much better with my right hand, though that is the one that goes numb!

 

[Wildsky]

As far as milking goes, I'm not 100% sure my hands will hold up - I suffer a bit from pain in my wrists and thumbs when I knit or crochet for longer than 5 minutes.

I have the same problem in my hands and wrists!! And for sure my hands get tired, tingley and numb. But... I think, the exercise is good for them. I am milking two goats. I try to use both hands, but, I am much better with my right hand, though that is the one that goes numb!

I'm so glad I'm not the only one, my hands make me feel older than I am, its terrible!
I use that "active on" stuff and it helps some, but in my thumb it feels like a constant cramp in the muscle. Perhaps milking will work different muscles than I'm used to - and perhaps strengthen overall.

 

[Blackbird]

Hi Wildsky!

Have you figured out what kind of goat she is yet..? We need pictures!

Your hands & fingers will get used to milking in a week or two. Both my mom and I have arthritic hands. We originally got an Udderly EZ milking pump because we thought this would be a problem. We used that for quite a while but eventually it became brittle and broke very easily - and replacement parts were expensive. The milker also became damaging to their udders so we switched to hand-milking and we wouldn't go back. We milk four does each, twice a day. Wish I had better to report about the EZ milker but I don't.

If your thumb causes too many issues, you can always just milk one side first, then the other, with your good hand - no need to do both at once.


I made my milk stand via FiascoFarm instructions. I didn't measure anything like they said, because I would NEVER get done with it if that was the case. I used pallets from a dumpster in town and scrap wood we had already, and we already had the nails/screws/etc. so the cost was nothing.

I worried about the headlock too, but it was easier than I thought. I traced the cuts first. A long line down the board with two diagonal lines flaring outward towards the edge of the board, instead of curves. That way I could cut the diagonal lines first, then an inch or two inside each diagonal cut line I cut straight in horizontally, cutting out a triangle off each diagonal. That made it easier to cut vertically up the board. Am I making sense? Probably not!

Anyway.. Here is a picture of my milk stand to give you an idea. You can most definitely improvise!

 

[Wildsky]

Wow thats awesome, I might actually get hubby to give it a go... I just don't understand how the one piece moves... I should look at the plans closer.

She will be here tomorrow morning, I'll post pictures as soon as I get a chance.

I need to write down the recipe for the teat dip and stuff thats on the fiasco farm site.

 

[freemotion]

It pivots on the bolt/screw/nail at the bottom. To hold mine in place, I cut a small piece of wood that sets in the slot created by the two boards that the stanchion slides back and forth in. I put a couple of screws in so it wouldn't slide right through.

Mine has boards that go to the top and the stanchion boards are secured at the top. I had scrap 2x4's that were about 5' high so that is how I made it.

Milking only one goat (two now) I reduced the teat dip recipe to 1/2 Tbsp bleach, one drop dish soap, and one cup of water in a peanut butter jar. I put a cap from a bottle (half cup size or so) and a small rag right in the jar in prep for milking. I keep my 1/2 Tbsp measure right in my milking kit, along with a small bottle that I keep some clorox in so it is easier to pour. Makes it go really quickly when I am in a hurry....or when the goats are in a hurry and are hollering at me and the entire neighborhood!

 

[Blackbird]

If you need more pictures to help you get a better idea I took some while I was building it, feel free to pm me and I can send some.



I tried an udder wash with bleach and it was too drying on our does' teats. Libby's teats are always dry as it is anyway. I just use a warm clean rag with soapy water now. I found this one on a different forum.. Anyone want to give it a go and report back to me?

Ingredients
1 tsp. unscented homemade soap, finely grated
1 tsp. grapeseed oil (I like this because it is very moisturizing)
cup vinegar (white or apple)
roll of strong paper towels, like Viva (cut the roll, including the cardboard tube, in half).
1 to 2 cups HOT water to dissolve the soap (may need more water and/or vinegar)

Add water to a tightly lidded, suitable container (about 5 or 6 inches in diameter, and about 6 to 7 inches high depending on your roll). Add soap and oil; let the soap dissolve. I had to use a whisk to get the soap to mix. The soap cleans and helps keep the oil and water mixed. Remove the cardboard center and put the cut roll of paper towels in the container. Put lid on container and turn the container upside down until the liquid absorbs. Pull wipes from the center.

Alternately, you could use folded wash cloths (homemade or purchased) in the container instead of the paper towels. I like that idea personally.

 

[freemotion]

I like that recipe! But I don't have problems with dry teats...yet. If I feel the hint of dryness, I milk a squirt onto my hand and rub that on the teat, then proceed with the milking. Maybe that is how I get away with the bleach.

I wonder if homemade wine vinegar would work, too.... I plan to make some, once we bottle this batch of wine. I will reserve some to become vinegar.

 

[Blackbird]

Hmm.. Maybe Kombucha vinegar would work too?

I thought the bucket/pull out idea was clever, I've seen designs like before. My grandparents and many other commercial dairies around here use iodine of some sort as teat dip - I suppose either would work.