Milking:

Udder care
Milk
1401
How to milk a goat
You can easily practice milking while watching TV. Point downward the index finger of your left hand. Grab it loosely with all four fingers of your right hand. Firmly squeeze together the index finger and thumb of your right hand. While keeping these squeezed, firmly squeeze the middle finger against the thumb. Now you should be able to feel the blood being pushed toward the end of the left hand finger. While keeping the first two squeezed, squeeze your ring finger against the thumb. Now you have three fingers adding pressure. While keeping force on these, squeeze with your little finger. Since you probably don’t have any more fingers, the first part is done. Wasn't that easy?
By now you can understand that if you had a hole in the end of your finger you would have squeezed the blood out of it. Relax all the fingers at once. This will allow the teat to fill with milk oryour finger to return to normal. Now repeat the process starting with just the index finger and adding the other three in turn. Do it over and over; gradually increase speed and force until it becomes a little tiring.

Switch hands and do the same thing with the other hand. You will quickly discover whether you are right handed or left. After you think you have it perfected, find a friendly goat to try out your skills on.

But first, you have to grab a bucket. Stainless steel is about the only kind that you can get really clean...and you want to make sure it is really clean to avoid bacteria and those obnoxious odors that gather with old milk. (Many of the stainless steels ones on the market are too tall for goats, so buy wisely.) Also, get two little bowls: one with two dry terry pieces about 6" square and one with about 8 oz of fairly warm or hot water.

Approach the goat with calmness and confidence. Most of them would really prefer to eat all the time that they are being milked. Some will be tolerant of your ineptitude even if they run out of food while you’re learning; others will start kicking, putting their foot in the bucket or showing you some other cute little trick they’ve been saving up for this very moment. Wash the teats and udder with one of the WARM wet rags and then wipe everything nice and dry with the other. This rubbing will cause her to "let down" her milk. Be very sure to get the teats, udder and your hands very dry before you go any further. Now, place your bucket in a position that does not make your hands uncomfortable. Place your hands on each side of the udder and slide them down and around the teats (so you don’t startle her by just grabbing). Most goats have two faucets and most people have two hands, so things work out pretty well (better than cows!).

The first thing to do is to milk about 5 squirts out of each teat into one of the little bowls. This is not only for the cat who is helping you, it also has a purpose. There are probably a few bacteria in the udder and they tend to settle into the "cistern" at the bottom. This way you will not be adding them to your family's milk supply.

Work both hands alternately, allowing one teat to fill while you are squeezing the other one. You'll soon get a little rhythm going and just when you start feeling a little proud she'll kick over the bucket, right? (For beginners, it's good to have a second bucket nearby to pour the milk into every so often so you don't lose it all when she kicks.) When you can’t get any more out, you are ready to strip the last few drops out.

Rub the udder pretty firmly, especially the back part, for about 15 seconds and then milk her empty again. Repeat this until the rubbing produces nothing. Then rub the back part with one hand while milking with the other. When this is done, put the teat between either finger and thumb or index and middle finger, press them together and just slide them quickly down the teat two or three times to get out the very last drop. (With some very heavy producing cows, they produce milk so fast that it is not possible to get the VERY last drop.)

Many folks now dip the teats in one of the "teat dip" solutions. This is a very good idea since the teat canals are open and relaxed following milking and ready receptacles for opportunistic bacteria to find their way in.

Now you will want to strain the milk by running it through a commercially available milk "filter". This gets out all the hairs and dirt and other things you don't want to drink. Then, either put it in the refrigerator right away or pasteurize it according to your favorite technique. Joy of Cooking , the old standard cookbook, gives excellent instructions on how to pasteurize. There are some pretty serious diseases that can be transmitted to humans through drinking raw milk; the choice of whether or not to do it should be seriously considered.

Some random comments and suggestions about milk:

The amount of water consumed does affect milk production. During the winter it helps to keep the water warm to encourage adequate consumption. Also make sure that salt (preferably trace mineralized) is always available.
Cool milk as soon as possible.

Ropy milk is always indicative of the presence of bacteria. Check the filter with each milking. Suspicious strands are most likely to appear in the first milk withdrawn. If questionable, use a black cloth to help them show up better.

Does with mastitis or suspicious should always be milked LAST.

Dirt in the milk means that you may need to trim the udder, legs and underbelly of the doe.

Always use milk filters to keep dirt out of the milk.

Blood in the milk can be from several causes: Mastitis, injury, hardening of the udder, irritating foods such those with excess protein, congestion after freshening (VERY common; if the blood settles to the bottom of a jar, it is probably okay). For any of the above, milk her four times per day (except recently freshened doe where there is a danger of milk fever). A more thorough discussion of mastitis will follow. Cold packs and udder balm are helpful. If the stain is red and doesn't appear until several hours after milking, it is a bacterial bloom and not blood.

For the doe who shows persistent, long-term blood in the milk, you could try Vitamin K as a supplement to try to repair a platelet problem. This has been helpful in some cases.

Off-flavored milk ALWAYS indicates a problem.

FOOD: Onions, cabbage, turnips, weeds, garlic
ILL-HEALTH: Indigestion, mastitis, metritis, some other diseases.

SALTY: End of milking season, depleted in minerals

ENVIRONMENTAL ODORS: Barnyard odors, buck odor

UTENSILS: Copper and iron will dissolve in the milk

General Care
1421

More random notes:

Always dry hands completely before milking.
Dry up the doe at least 60 days before delivery. Do NOT gradually stop milking, just STOP, period.

Won't let down: common in young animals. Maybe from fear of pain in newly enlarged udder. Avoid stress; massage, warm compresses, have kid nearby or let kid take first squirts, establish a definite routine.

Hives: Allergic reaction. Will have them elsewhere on body. Maybe from bedding or plants.

Chapping or cracking: From frequent washings, cold winds, improper drying. Use glycerine or Udder Balm.

[The rest of the topics on this page, including mastitis, are in alphabetical order]
Atresia

1422

This term means that there is no opening for the milk to come out of the teat. It is obviously a very critical problem. If ignored it can lead to half of the udder becoming totally useless or, even worse, inflamed. The only solution is to make a hole for the milk to come out. If this is the doe's first year of milk production, then the problem may be due to a genetic disorder and the procedure may be more difficult, possibly a job for your vet. On the other hand, if she had no difficulties last year then there has probably been some type of injury to the end of the teat.
If you attempt this procedure yourself, be sure to read the article all the way through so you have all the equipment on hand that you will need.

Absolute and complete sterile precautions should be utilized in this procedure. Take your time and make sure that the teat and all implements are perfectly sterile. Insert a 20 ga (1 - 1½ in) hypodermic needle upward into the teat at a point where the orifice should be. Sometimes this will be visible as a tiny dark or dimpled mark. Insert the needle all the way (very carefully, of course) wiggling it around a tiny bit. You will notice that the pointed end floats rather freely in the "cistern" or widened part of the upper teat. If this is not the case, STOP and decide if you have aimed it incorrectly or if the canal is totally lacking. If you have done it correctly, a small amount of bloody milk will flow through the needle. With your other hand you should be able to establish the location of the point of the needle. If there is no flow of milk, it may be time to see the vet.

If you do get some milk, leave the needle in place for a couple of minutes and rotate it around in the hole you have made in order to try to expand the size of the hole. Be careful that you don't do any internal damage with the point of the needle. It helps to have a bowl under the teat so the milk doesn't get all over the place. (I didn't mention that the doe will be kicking violently through all this, did I?) Now the easy part is over with! You will now withdraw the needle and in its place insert a "teat dilator". This is not easy. These things are made for cows, which normally have larger teat openings than goats. To do this you have to be very forceful and yet gentle. You have to go through the VERY SAME hole which you made with the needle and it may take some doing to find it and you don't want to make a mess of things trying to do this. I have found that, for some reason, it helps to spin the dilator between your fingers as you try to get it in. You will get rather nervous while doing this; that is normal for anyone. The doe will not appreciate your help at this point. Don't give up: you can't stop now! Once you have the dilator inserted, sit back and rest a while. There is a small groove on the end of the dilator which will keep it from coming back out. Let the doe rest and eat a little.

Leave the dilator in place for about and hour or so and do NOT let the kids have access to the udder while the dilator is installed. They can (and will) remove and ingest it if they try to nurse. There are devices which are available for cattle which can be put into the canal while you milk, but I have never tried these. Go ahead and milk a her a little. If the milk is not terrible bloody, let one of the kids do this for you. You have to play the rest of the program by ear; each situation is a little different. If you do not plan to raise the kids on her, you can simply reinsert the clean dilator and remove it for each milking. The tissues in the lower canal and opening will have to heal before you can do away with the dilator. The length of time for this to happen varies in each case. Of course, there will be some bleeding when you milk, but this will eventually clear up. If you are raising the kids on her, check daily to make sure that the hole has not plugged up and that the bloodiness disappears completely (about 2 - 3 days). If the hole plugs up the kids will nurse from only the other teat and the affected side will fill with milk and become inflamed. Once again, do not let the kids have access to her with the dilator in place.

Drying

Always thoroughly dry your hands and the udder BEFORE you start milking. Sometimes it is tempting to get sloppy and go ahead and milk after washing the udder without taking this precaution. Some sources say that this is the cause of most cases of mastitis. Inadequate drying can also cause cracking and chapping of the skin.