Hooked on Goats

They love exploring...But I have to keep her away from my garlic because boy did it make her milk taste yucky. =P

We sat by the fire outside to babysit the goats their first time out.  I had to get a picture of the beautiful sunset.

After two weeks we're really getting the hang of milking and getting over a quart each morning!  Donyea and I had a competition today ~ her on one side, me on the other, seeing how much we could milk in two minutes.  She got one cup and I got a cup and a half...OF COURSE I WON, haha, you know I like a good competition.  But also right now I've gotten more practice, being the one who milks during the week right after taking the kids to school at 8:30.  In April we can wean the babies and milk twice a day, which will give us about half a gallon every day.  So far I've made vanilla and chocolate pudding, no cheese yet. It's fun using the last of the goats milk at night and knowing there will be another jar filled up the next mornin. :)

First Milking

Thank goodness for all the YouTube milking videos!  I would be lost without them!  We let the goats get used to their new home for a few days before separating the babies at night to milk in the morning.  We didn't have a stanchion built yet so it was a little bit difficult with one of us having to keep her still while the other tried to milk. It didn't make it any easier that the babies were crying for their mama, but we did it!

Donyea's first time milking!

Our first raw goats milk!  We got about half a pint...good enough for the first attempt!  We didn't milk her all the way down because I wanted the babies to have plenty too.  We brought it in the house to strain and get chilled right away.  Everyone was leery to taste it (Tay still refuses) but whad'ya know it's delicious. :)





Here we are on the second day of milking.  Tay finished the stanchion the night before.  It sure makes all the difference! She was such a good girl hopping right up and standing the whole time.  This time we got more than a pint. 

Kegan did his first milking today and was pretty excited about it.  :)

Kiki the Dairy Goat

We bit the bullet and got goats! Meet Kiki our new dairy girl, and her babies Little Bit and Camo (born 12/31/12).  Kiki is Boer/Kiko and was bred to a Lamancha.  We're hoping Little Bit will have good Lamancha milking lines to be our second dairy girl.  We're still trying to talk Tay into keeping Camo for a pet...he's just too darn sweet.    

Little Bit

Camo

This is how we brought them home!  We put down a tarp and straw for Kiki in the back.  They were so good!  We even went through the Taco Bell drive thru. =P