Phew! Have we been busy. Being married to the reluctant homesteader, i have to do things backwards. first i bought the chickens....then he had to make the coop. then i built the walls of the greenhouse....so he was stuck building the ends. THEN i got the goats!

okay, i did most of the work this time myself! i put in a yard that will eventually lead to paddocks out back. quite proud of this. after taking care of curing their various illnesses and trimming hooves (still not completely done) i am down to planning what i need for equipment. i only have one bred for sure...a 3 year old LaMancha (named Aurora!). the 8 month old Nubian/Alpine (Ivy) mix we're not sure about (and she is so small, i actually hope she isn't!). so, come January, i will be milking.

Now, i want to know what all of you would advise as "essential" equipment. For example, I need a bucket to milk into. Is one stainless steel bucket enough, or do I need more...and in what size? Do I need a separate bucket for each goat, or milk into one? Then, since I have to start from scratch getting things, how about those buckets (so expensive!) with the half-moon lids? all i can think about is how I found goat hair in cheese I bought from someone once, and though it can happen...it was gross. so, is a special strainer more important? how about those strip cups? i really don't have much money and want to get the essentials but want the right things to get started, and want them to last.

Also, is it okay to ask everyone who their favorite suppliers are for equipment and starters, or is this not allowed? If not, sorry.

Thanks for your help. By the way, our goats were from a "dairy herd" of over a hundred, and they told us though used to people they were NOT pets....but they love us, and we love them. well, the kids and i do. the reluctant homesteader thinks they are one more thing to take care of....but is looking forward to the milk and cheese.

Thanks for your help!

-- marcee king (thathope@mwt.net), November 08, 2001

Answers

We have had goats for many, many years now. My advice is to make sure you have a milking stand first. You can make an easy one from wooden pallets and that will give you a big sitting area to sit and milk them and also to trim their hooves too. Could never understand how other can milk on little seats so close to the ground. We really use any kind of bowel handy. I know some will say that the milk will pick up the taste from the previous foods in the bowl but we never have found that to be true unless of course it was our much loved brussel sprouts !! We milk and dump into another bowl, keep that bowl covered in the barn at all times when in the barn and then probably within a half hour the milk is down to the house and strained and into the fridge. Always seems clean and taste good without finding any goat hairs in it either. Do not have any fancy milking bucket or half moon bowl. Just use what we have handy. I would get myself a couple good goat manuals...the one from JD Belenger is great !! and any others you happen to find at your local library. If you feed your goats well and treat them with kindness they will repay you in more milk that your and your family and the barn cats can drink come next spring !!! You will of course get the surpise of a hoof in the milking bowl at times but you will work that out as time goes on. I would get them up on the stand now and brush and trim hooves with a little grain in their feeder before they are actually milking. This way they are use to being touched and fussed with before you actually have to begin milking them. It will make is much easier when time does arrive to milk them out fully. Welcome to the wonderful world of dairy goats..I know you will love having them !! Good Luck !!!

-- Helena (windyacs@npacc.net), November 08, 2001.

I don't actually have goats yet, but I attended a class some years back that said a strip cup is easily made. A piece of dark, solid colored cloth placed in a household funnel will do. The instructor said to take one squirt out of each teat and check the cloth for lumps. If there are no lumps, the animal does not have mastitis. The cloth can be washed with the clothes. The instructor prefered to have a cup under the funnel, to avoid old milk on the floor.

By the way, I have a brand-new homemade greenhouse. Is there any one vegetable that does well for you? I plan on putting in a little of all the cold hardy vegetables, but it would be good to put in a little extra of the more reliable vegetables!

-- terri (hooperterri@prodigy.net), November 08, 2001.

Don't feel too badly. I rescued an Arabian and had to keep it in my front yard for three years. I am finally building a barn! I now have him in a paddock with other horses. I miss him watching me do dishes.... Anyway. Get teat dip or make some (check the archives), you don't HAVE to have a milking stand but it's infinitely easier, and a 4 quart bowl/stainless steel bucket works fine. I used wide mouth canning jars for the longest time. Hard to use the two hand method, but I had a kicker/knocker-over-of-milk goat. Check the archives for posts from Rebekah, Bernice, Vicki and all the other Goat Women/Folks out there. Lots of wonderful info!

-- Gailann Schrader (gtschrader@aol.com), November 08, 2001.

You don't need a special goat bucket with the half moon lid, but it should be either stainless steel or glass, some people have used gallon jars and I have used the really big pyrex measuring cups, think it holds over 2 quarts. A bonus is you can see how much milk is there and how much is actually just foam. Milk filters are a must, as you found out from the cheese (yuck!!), but you can get by without a strainer by fitting the filter into a funnel and holding it there with your hand or a clothespin while you pour carefully. I have never used or owned a strip cup. Maybe they are nice, I can tell if a doe has mastitis by the feel of her udder most of the time. The first squirt will almost always have a plug, this is not mastitis. You also need a lid for the bucket to keep flies and dirt out while carrying it to the house. The lid does not have to match or be fancy, just has to fit. Enjoy the milk!

-- Rebekah (daniel1@itss.net), November 08, 2001.

You mean there are people who get the housing done BEFORE they get the animals?

I thought everyone loved living in their house with baby chicks and baby goats! Makes life fun! Best of luck!

-- Ann Markson (tngreenacres@hotmail.com), November 08, 2001.

Come on no one makes pens or puts up fences before they get the animals .Do they ?????????

-- Patty {NY State} (fodfarms@slic.com), November 08, 2001.

When we first started, I got the milk bucket. I don't know if I ever have used it. I milk into a quart jar, dump into a gallon jar. I bought the cheapest strainer and mini filters for it from CaprineSupply. Initially, I also ordered the special detergent, which I never used, and the udder wash which I've not used consistently, either, because my skin is too sensitive. I just wash her off with water, dry, and milk. I use a cup for first squirts, but not a strip cup. I do pasteurize, just using my regular pans(And a dial thermometer I bought at the grocery store). You do need a dish brush for washing your milking utensils;a cheap Walmart one is fine. And a milk stand of some sort is Definitely a Plus!

-- mary (marylgarcia@aol.com), November 08, 2001.

Hi there,

I highly recommend a stainless steel bucket. I was using a el cheapo aluminum one from the dollar store before i got my stainless, had to wait several months for it because it wa son back order. I really liked it. i even got the stainless strainer for it too. I also ordered 500 strainer disks too. I also pour the milk after each milking into a stainless old de lavel bucket we got, its in great shape, has a lid so if someone decides to stick the foot in then i don't ruin the entire bucket. Well... used to but now I have a milking machine and soon a parlor.

As for strip cups, i was lucky and wa sgiven one with a box of cheese molds i bought to make cheese. But you could use a metal cup.

wanted to mention that when you milk and then strain the milk, strain it, then flash cool it, i put mine in the freezer in a glass half gallong canning jar or gallon, like the pickle jars (don't use plastic as it makes the milk taste bad) and then cool for about 20 mins, don't forget it, i've done that. then refrigerate.

Well... lets see, my fav websites and suppliers for dary ar hoeggers, the surge site, the conde site (milking machine, one is my dream book site, LOL:):0

i will try to get the complete list to you, but if i don't i will when i get back from going east to get the rest of a nice dairy herd. Just e-mail me and let me know and i'll do that when i return next week.

just wanted to mention, we too ahve a dairy, not quite 100 yet, but working on it. hope to be there in a few yrs, i am carefully breeding and planning so i don't buy any goat. Ours are spoiled and papmered, geeze, if i make 100 i'll be busy with the huggies.

Take care. good luck.

Bernice

-- Bernice (geminigoats@yahoo.com), November 08, 2001.

Welcome Marcee, you just must now join LaMancha talk over at groups.yahoo.com! Also visit The Goat Shed on msn communities!

You must have a milk stand first! You can milk into anything that you can keep clean, something that has a lid on it for when you are done is a bonus. (when just milking to feed back to the babies, I milk into a tupperware pale green lettuce holder bowl) There is nothing nicer than the stainless steel bucket with half moon lid from Hoeggers, like having a shiny new tool for men. It will last you the rest of your life. Expensive in the grand scheme of things. I just use wet ones to prewash the udder, which right before she is due to kid we shave, rear legs and belly also, this keeps the hair to a minimum :) After I milk I spray the teats with a horse spray bottle (the dollar store spray bottles leak after a week, so splurge the 5$ and get a chemical one at the feed store for horse spray, fill it with water and about 3 tablespoons of bleach, enough to smell the bleach but not ruin your clothes if it drips on your jeans, this cleans and closes the end of the teat. Straining is just like all other things goat, nylons alla Bernice, papertowles, Brawny only, milk strainers, silk scarves, and I use these stainless screen disc's my husband got me years back. Good luck with your goats, and please find someone in your area that has goats and does with them what you want to do. Thier advice is priceless, hay, grain, feeding, that first birth in the middle of the night :) Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), November 08, 2001.

ROFL (rolling on floor laughing) Vicki....... thanks for the chuckle, yeppers, took some heat with that, see what I got for posting at 4:30 AM with no lead in my system, I just didn't explain that one fully, guess i should ahve mentioned that don't use the crotch of those old pantyhose *grin* I'll for sure never live that one down!

-- Bernice (geminigoats@yahoo.com), November 09, 2001.

Bernice, I'm not a goat person (yet, and probably not for five years or so), but I'm fairly sure you're younger than me - if only barely. That given, then you're a fair chance to outlive your pantyhose comment ---- in about twenty years. I DID know what you meant when you said it, but that doesn't let you off the hook - just be relieved that when I remind you (say every day or so), I'll probably be joking.

-- Don Armstrong (darmst@yahoo.com.au), November 09, 2001.

I found an old thread in the archives that has lots of good information on it. Here's the link:

http://hv.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=004Kqf

Have fun!

-- Laura Jensen (lauraj@seedlaw.com), November 09, 2001.