Sorry I haven’t been on top of posting updates, things have been busy on the farm!

Update for March, the grass is green, the kids are coming and milking is under way! So far, 4 does have kidded, 3 are ready to kid anytime now, and the last one is due in the summer. Back in February, my old wooden milking stand broke (that’s another story), and my new metal milking stand is not completely finished yet, so I am currently milking on the driveway. LOL! (thankfully the other does in milk still have their kids on them, so they don’t have to be milked…yet.)

This is a very helpful article about some of the health benefits of raw goat’s milk over cow’s milk: http://www.motherearthnews.com/homesteading-and-livestock/goats-why-raw-goat-milk.aspx

Goat’s milk you buy from the grocery store (Wal-Mart, Food Lion, Earth Fare, etc.) tends to taste somewhat sour and very strong. Many people think this is just a “goaty taste,” but all who raise dairy goats know that that flavor tastes like a breeding buck! Yuck! (see our FAQ page for more info on buck habits) This flavor comes from keeping intact bucks in close proximity to milking does and it also can come from some forms of pasteurization.

Properly handled goats milk is sweet, creamy and very similar to whole cow’s milk. The only differences I can tell between whole cow’s milk and my goat’s milk is that the goat’s milk is slightly sweeter and creamier than the cow’s milk. Goat’s milk has smaller fat globules than cow’s milk, which is why it is sometimes called “naturally homogenized.”

Goat’s milk is also whiter than cow’s milk. Why? Because goat’s milk lacks beta-carotene, the substance that makes cow’s milk slightly yellowish. This is because goats convert any beta-carotene they consume into colorless Vitamin A.

Here are some pictures!

Fresh raw goat’s milk is really good…especially after a supper of homemade beef soup! (I couldn’t resist adding those pictures!)

Naomi getting milked on the driveway…Ha!