FANTASTIC GOATS MILK - DISPELLING THE PREVAILING MYTHS

Shane, Amy, Cassie, Sandy and Lily

I really need to get some pictures up of my girls in milk or a video maybe. Just need to get my family to cooperate with me. More on that later!

My main reason for jumping in and babbling about goats milk is to try my darndest to dispel those silly but persistent rumor myths out there that goats milk tastes yucky. IT DOESN'T!!

There is positively no discernible difference at all between it and cow milk. None! If you take care of the feeding of the animal and don't feed it weird yucky weeds (they stay away from those naturally anyway) and keep the diets consistant...you have fantastic milk. Period.

This is our first time of trying this and we've learned some interesting things along the way. We had our little suburban silly fears of what goats milk is and what it might taste like. Fears about making sure it's pasteurized and not raw because it's just too scary!! Bologna!!

We pasteurized our first three gallons back in late March and never did it again. When we got the milk straight out of the girls, we tried it warm and it was fantastic. First try ever of goats milk too by the way. So we saved up enough to pasturize and that is when it tasted a little "off" Not bad mind you...just a little off. So we thought ok, fear be damned, we'll do it raw (after the correct cooling - 40 degrees with an hour/hour and half.

We have never gone back. It's sweet, it's rich and it's better than anything else I've ever had.

So no matter how hard it can be getting out there twice a day to milk the two girls...the almost two gallons a day I get are well worth it. We are keeping the one little girl born this spring so that next year we will have three milkers. Then I can do all the soap, cheese, yogurt and milk I want. If I'm really crazy I may keep even one more the following year.

By the way...My girls are 1/2 Boar, 1/4 Nubian and 1/4 La Manche. Nice little mix for both meat and for milk. I'm very happy with my girls!!

Except when they get out and get in my garden. Humph! Then I'm none too happy LOL!!

Starting some herb and goat cheese!

I'm going to be putting together some goat cheese and fresh herb combo's here in the next few hours. I hope. :-)

Pictured here are Candy Mint, Garlic Chives, Oregano, Bronze Leaf Fennel fronds and Sage. I'll try and get some pictures of the cheese as it's being done.

Lost a Chicken

Well phooie.

We have been pretty well spoiled over the course of two years by having the shepherds be a nice little (big) deterrent by proxy. The wild critters know full we have all these big scary beasts SOMEWHERE on the property, just not sure where. So by and large it has worked to protect the flock of chickens and the goats. Rabbits...not so much as the rabbitry is pretty far removed from the dogs. But they have sturdy cages, so hope abounds there.

Anyway, last night the critters knew exactly where the dogs were not. Anywhere near the chicken coop. And when they find that out and you don't have the door latched...guess what happens? We were lucky to lose just one and no eggs. One hen. Not fun and not nice but at least it was only one and it wasn't the rooster. Whew. I would be out getting rooster number 4. They are usually the ones biting the bullet in protection of the girls.

I hate it when this happens. Learning by the death of an animal. Makes me cranky. Never mind it's all my fault and we sat on our laurels a bit too long. The critter in question here I think is a momma raccoon because holy moly there was not much left. I'm assuming she was trying to drag it away to feed babes because only one was taken and it was pretty much demolished against the fence. They tried like heck to pull it through but didn't make it. So they ate it through the fence. Could be a mink or a weasel to be sure...but what ever it was will not get away with this again.

Whew. Shocking sight to say the least.

Tonight the chickens will be all locked up and cozy and two of the dogs will be placed in that section of the yard because I know full well momma raccoon will come back. Easy pickings right? I would if I were her. So hopefully she makes it out alive tonight and her babes will not be motherless. Hopefully she realizes she can't get it done and doesn't even try to get in the fence.