Honeybear is a little weary from the constant rain.

Since the drought during the spring and summer, it feels like it has not stopped raining this fall.  We have enjoyed weeks of rain.  The grass is all green, the ponds are filling up finally, and the mosquitoes are alive and unfortunately well.  Following my own advice for the latter, we are spraying Listerine like crazy.  If you don’t know what I am talking about, read “Anything Bugging You?”

We have two adult Nubian does.  Their names are Windy and Honeybear.  We did not name them; they came already adjusted to their names.  When we purchased them, we thought that they were both bred.  Both started swelling in their sides, but only Windy ever delivered any goats.  A few more weeks passed as we patiently waited for the birth of Honeybear’s kids, but none ever came.  It soon became apparent that she was not expecting.

Our philosophy on the farm is that animals must earn their keep.  They are not pets and we cannot afford to feed all these mouths for no reason.  I already have five children at home and one is a teenage boy; therefore, my husband and I have enough trouble feeding our own children.

We have been feeding Honeybear for too long now.  However, I finally arranged for her to go back to the prior owner’s place to be bred.  She will stay there for three weeks with a buck.  We are excited!

Windy was separated from her mother at birth and bottle-fed.  Therefore when she birthed triplets for us, she did not know how to mother her kids.  On the other hand, Honeybear was raised naturally beside her mother.  She mothered Windy’s kids for us.  We cannot wait to watch her mother her very own.  She is an excellent mother.

I will keep you up-to-date on Honeybear’s progress.  The gestation time for a goat is about 5 months.  So we should expect more kids in March.  It is common for goats to deliver twins or to have a single birth.  It is less common for them to have triplets.

We love raising our dairy goats.  We drink their raw milk daily.  We cook with it, drink it, and make great homemade ice cream.  In addition, I make goat milk soap.  We do not sell it to others.  However, we bought both Windy and Honeybear from Swede Farm in Waller, Texas.

Tim and Leeanne Carlson, the owners of Swede Farm, have Nubian and  La Mancha breeds.  I think they have expanded to an alpine breed, but I am not positive.  Swede Farm is a licensed goat milk dairy.  They sell pasteurized goat milk and other dairy products.  They sell their products at the local farmer’s markets.  They also sell dairy goats.  If anyone is interested in goat products or goats in general, they are a great source of information.

Wendy at the milk stand.

We have two Nubian does and only one in milk right now.  She gave birth about a month ago.  Just like humans, cows, and other mammals, goats need to give birth to have a milk supply.

Our goat, Wendy, is giving us about 3/4 of a gallon a day.  We have plenty to drink and even enough to make ice cream about once a week.  After we wean the kid, we will have enough to make yogurt, kefir, and/or cheese.

My husband built the milking stand.  It stands off the ground  so that the goat is at a comfortable height for us to milk.  Wendy jumps on it with ease.  The stand holds her head secure while she eats a small amount of grain.

My husband or children will spray her teats will a cleaning solution and gently massage her udder to aid in the letting-down process.  Then they begin milking.  They pinch off the top of the teat with their thumb and pointer finger.  Then they guide the milk out by working their other fingers down the teat.

After a few squirts, they check the bucket to make sure that the milk looks right.  It should look like, well, milk.  It should not be clumpy, smelly, or streaked with blood.  These are all signs of infection called mastitis.  Fortunately we have not had this problem with any of our goats so far.  Knock on wood!

Milking Wendy

Anyway, they keep milking both teats until the milk stops flowing.  Then Lane or our children give her a minute to relax while they massage her udder again.  Lane’s hand is so big that he gives just one more squeeze to completely empty her bag, but our children have to strip the teat.  This means that they hold the udder with one hand while they pinch off the top of the teat with the other.  Instead of working their fingers down the teat, they pull down with their thumb and pointer finger to get the last drops of milk.  Just like nursing mothers, goats need to eliminate all of their milk in order to continue to have a good milk supply.  Then they clean her teats again.

We are in the process of straining the milk.

After covering the stainless steel milk bucket with its lid and releasing Wendy from the milking stand, they bring the bucket to me.  We use half-gallon mason jars to store our milk.  We place a stainless steel strainer into the mouth of a jar.  We have to insert a straining disk into the strainer first.  As we slowly pour the milk into the strainer, the straining disk removes any dirt, hair, or anything else that is not supposed to be in milk.

A secret to great tasting milk is to cool the milk down as quickly as possible.  The best way to do this is to place the jar of milk into a bucket of ice water.  If we are in a hurry, we put the jar into the freezer for 10-15 minutes.  Regardless which method we use, the milk is then moved to the refrigerator.

It sounds time-consuming.  I know, I read many books about raising dairy animals.  With everything that I already do in life, I feared that having a home dairy would eat up too much of my time.  It does require a commitment as we choose to milk twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening.  Optimally you would milk in 12 hour intervals.

Now that we have been dairying, we really enjoy it.  When everything is said and done, milking, putting up the milk, and cleaning all the milking supplies, it takes us 30-45 minutes a day total.  So if you have been considering milking your own goat or cow, go for it.  Don’t let the fear of not having a life scare you off.  Not only does our family get great-tasting and fresh milk, but we also get a life full of memories, experiences, and we learn self-sufficient life skills having our own dairy at home.