Is it necessary to give a goat feed when you're milking it? If it is, what type of feed is best? I'm asking because I've had milk from a goat that was given feed when it was milked (the kind of feed that has more ingredients that you can count with you fingers and toes), and the milk tasted nasty.
I feed a sweet feed and the milk never taste nasty because of that.. Sometimes it is just the goat or more importantly how the milk was chilled! I have fed all my goats the same thing for 12 years and some goats have off tasting milk while others dont. I really depends on the goat.
My girls get an alfalfa with a bit of grass hay. then on the milkstand, they get a mix of alfalfa pellets, BOSS, rolled oats, and cracked corn. They do really well, and the milk is awesome!
I feed an extruded pellet feed. Some people don't think that goats should be fed on the milk stand, they should just stand there because the milker put them there. I feel the goat is giving me something, I should give her something. Plus then I can give her extra because she is in milk, or add other additives that I may want to make sure that she eats. The only off taste milk I have had is because I stored milk in a pickle jar and the lid was not completely deodorized yet. Pickle Milk anyone? :scratch:
We feed a sweet feed in pellet form to our does when they are on the milk stand-it helps their milk production and keeps them entertained when being milked making for less time with their feet going in the milk bucket.
I give my girls Klassy goat feed, and add BOSS to it, while they are on the milk stand. I do it then because that way I can keep a close eye on how much they eat and if they 'go off feed' I know immediately and can watch them to see if there's something wrong. I also know that my lowest goat gets her fair share when she gets it on the milk stand.
We found that when we used to feed pelleted food the milk tasted like crap, I found that with high protein food too. We feed a 13% mix of oats, barley, wheat bran and BOSS and the goats do wonderful on it and the milk tastes great.
For the last 7 years my girls have gotten a 16-18% sweet feed, with pellets as well as crimpedcorn and oats...keeps them occupied and I can make sure that each gets their own ration. This year I added alfalfa pellets to their feed, seemed to make a tad bit more in production. I have one "retired" doe that will turn 9 yeas the end of the month, I am stillmilking her once a day at 15 months fresh because she gets on the stand and waits for me.....Pathetic I know, but hey she's the only one that will stand for milking without feed or even the headgate latched so I give her the cup of grain and the cup of pellets because she is such a good girl. Never had bad tasting milk with my choice of feed at all.
Most dairy dont feed in the milk room. They feed outside because of the dust thr grain causes. I dont like it when a doe will ONLY stand when she has food in front of her. Because i do so many things on the milk stand (clipping vaccinations hoof trimming worming milking etc) she cant be having grain during all of these activities. When milking my girls do get their grain ration as i dont have time to feed them seperatly after i have milked But if they finish before i do then they should and do stand quietly until im done. beth
sparks879 said: That is really important advice. I have a new doe that thinks when she's done eating her grain on the milk stand -- we're done milking. She starts doing a flamenco dance and I've had to get creative to finish milking her. I hate it! My other does will stand quietly and chew their cud or look around once they are done eating; waiting patiently until I'm done. Their previous owner demanded that from them... the previous owner of my new doe - didn't.
My doe eats grain while I milk, she's usually done before I'm finished. Afterwards, she stands on the stanchion a while and I brush her, put on bag balm, clean up - whatever else needs to be done. I don't hurry to let her loose. She stands there and makes silly faces. I tie her doeling nearby while I milk because the kid can learn right now to be patient. I also rub the kid all over, including legs and teat area. Hopefully that will build good habits that pay off down the road.
Zelda, it sure does, the earlier you start handling a doeling the better. Even getting her up on the stand now would be a good thing
LOL, try keeping her off of the stanchion! :greengrin: She is still small enough to sneak under the fence into the milking area any old time, and goes up on the stanchion to clean up any tidbits of grain mom left in the feeder. Little toot!
it depends on the feed. Some feeds will have taint causing ingredients. Point in case: I started off feeding Anna a horse meal called Grand Prix, with soybean meal added to boost protein. Nasty milk. Took the soybean meal out and used lupins instead. Nasty milk. Just Grand Prix by itself - nasty milk. Figured out after a while that it had soybean meal and a couple other things in the premixed feed - that give a bitter taste. So I started mixing my own - alfalfa chaff, wheaten bran, barley/oats/wheat, lupins and a touch of molasses and the milk is beautiful. If you want it sweeter boost the molasses part of it. Extremely good advice. Beth, you are right, they need to continue standing quietly after they have finished their food. But all the commercial goat dairies around here give bail feed. Must be a location thing. Commercial cow dairies around here are split about half half, some bail feed some dont.
