[kbrenton92]

One of my does gave birth almost two weeks ago (see the baby kinder thread!) But the babies only nurse from one side. No big deal because I like the milk so I just milk the other side for myself. But how long after birth is the milk actually safe to start drinking? I heard colostrum is produced for a week but its day 11 now and the milk has a funny taste to it. Is that probably colostrum im tasting? My doe from my spring batch of babies has really really good tasting milk! Hers tasted nothing like this doe's. Should I wait a little longer to start drinking it?

To add: someone looked at her udders a year ago and SAID she had mastitis but her udders never got red or hot or painful so I started to doubt it. Milk just sat in her teats while i waited for it to dry up naturally and a tiny bit sat in her udder. One side didnt dry up like the other side did so just one side is huge and the smaller side the babies drink from. Any advice? Im still new to milking so im kinda learning as I go along.

 

[janeen128]

I have kinders too, however I started drinking milk 1week in. Are you in a copper deficient area? What are you feeding her? Could be oodles of things. Do you process the milk right away?

 

[ksalvagno]

It can be up to about 2 weeks for colostrum to be totally out. But also above advice should be considered.

 

[Scottyhorse]

I just tried goats milk for the first time about a week ago. It had a bitter/goaty after taste. I took all molasses out of her diet, and that helped a lot with the bitterness. I need to copper bolus her still. I have heard that helps as well. She still has the goaty taste, so I am not sure where to go next. I am assuming it is something she's eating... But I have yet to find out. Hope this helps a little.

 

[kbrenton92]

She gets to graze all day. I feed her alfalfa morning and night and she gets bermuda during the day. I also have a mineral rock she loves. My other doe produces milk that is sweet and creamy, and delicious lol. I will give it a few more days until tasting again.

 

[Scottyhorse]

It's possible it's just her milk.