Our Milking Story

Milking a goat can be a rewarding, relaxing, enjoyable experience...eventually! As with anything else, you have to get the hang of it and so does your goat before you become a great milking team. It takes a bit of skill to actually get the milk out of the udder. Once you do, you will get the ultimate reward-a natural, healthy wonderful product!

At our farm, we lead very busy lives, as most of us do these days. My husband and I both work outside the farm and of course there seems like there are a million things to shuttle the kids to. So for us, milking just once a day in the morning most of the year is what works. Your does will produce more milk if you milk approximately every twelve hours, but that's not always feasible. We are fortunate to have some great producing does who give us plenty of milk even when we milk just once daily. During the summer months, when life is a bit more laid back, I am able to milk twice daily.

We milk all of our does by hand all the way through the winter. Machines are noisy, very expensive, and overall will not save you any time unless your milking many goats. Milking out my six does, including set-up and clean-up, takes me roughly thirty minutes. Some people have to use a machine if they suffer from carpal-tunnel or something that does not allow them to do the repetitious nature of milking. If you do need a machine, make sure you learn how to use it correctly as improperly used, a machine can easily cause mastitis. Hand milking is still an important skill to learn, since even with a machine you will still on occasion need to hand milk.

My favorite time of day, yes, even in the winter, is being out in the barn sitting and milking, with my shoulder resting against one of my does, listening to her rhythmic crunching of grain. It's where I do most of my thinking and dreaming in life. Of course, my first year milking wasn't anything like that! It was messy, crazy, unorganized and anything but relaxed! Remember to be patient. You can do it and yes, your goat will stand there and let you!

How Should You begin?

First you will obviously need a goat in milk. You will either need to buy a goat that is already milking, a bred doe or purchase a younger doe and wait until she is bred and then freshens. I recommend starting our with a young or yearling doe and raising her yourself, especially if you are new to goats. Of course you will need two! Start out slow and give yourself plenty of time to learn everything you will need to know. It easy to get excited and want to jump right in, but by starting out with younger animals, raising them yourself, picking the buck to breed them to, delivering your first babies and milking that goat you will have a very rewarding experience. It's also less nerve racking because by then you will know your goat's behavior very well and will be able tell even when she is a little off which may signal a problem.

You've Got Your Goat!

Now you have a goat in milk and your ready to begin. Here are some basics: Remain calm! Have everything you need ready! Pretend you know what you're doing! (this is to fool the goat) Don't let anyone watch you! Read all you can! Even books describing milking large goats can be helpful. With Nigerians, you will be mainly using your thumb, index and middle fingers. Watch someone milk! We always welcome back people who have purchased does from us to do some observing and hands-on milking.

Goldenbrook Farm: Goat Milking Tips

Our Milking Story