# Sheep milk smells like sheep



## mystang89 (Sep 18, 2020)

Any of you have that problem? My wife says she doesn't like sheep milk because it smells like a sheep. I can't really find anything online about that so I figured I'd ask here. Anyone else have that problem?


----------



## Baymule (Sep 18, 2020)

I don't milk sheep, so I can't compare notes with you. Does it smell sheepy all the time or just sometimes? Is the ram too close or do the ewes have a smell about them? My ram Ringo is with the ewes now and has developed a slight "love smell" about him. LOL I have hair sheep, there is practically no smell to them. Or maybe I am just nose blind to them.


----------



## purplequeenvt (Sep 18, 2020)

If it’s smelling sheepy, either she’s got a sensitive sniffer or perhaps the udder isn’t getting cleaned enough before milking.


----------



## Mini Horses (Sep 18, 2020)

I have goats but, have heard/read that sheep must be cleaned very well because of the lanolin.   Hair sheep don't have this -- they are also a good milking type sheep.   (Hear that, Bay?)

If you are hand milking you may want to try extra washing on the udder -- lanolin is oil, so maybe a little Dawn detergent, then a 2nd wash without -- plus your hands!   Rubber gloves?   Just saying, try & see if that makes a difference to limit the lanolin issues being put into the milk from udder AND your hands.   Especially if you have touched to ewe's wool while in stanchion.

Do your kids drink it?   Do you?   Any complaints from other than DW?


ETA:  Good to hear from you -- been a while!


----------



## Nommie Bringeruvda Noms (Sep 23, 2020)

I never used to like goat milk, because any I'd had was store bought. Yet, my dad used to love it. I always thought he was nuts - until he explained the difference must be something done in processing for commercial sale, because I gave him some I'd bought again, trying hard to like it - but I didn't - and neither did he. 
After I moved back to IL, we drove past a (rather famous) goat farm in IN - Goat Milk Stuff - on the way back to visit my dad. My hubs has always loved goat cheese, and would push me to try any new version he could, in hopes that I'd finally love it, too. They sell cheeses, yogurts, gelatos, soaps, lotions, and more. So, I tried the gelato - it was incredible. So, I tried the chocolate milk - and bought some. They helped John found a couple of their mildest cheeses... I was blown away. So, I asked how theirs could be so amazingly wonderful, while the store bought stuff tasted like... well... 'eau de buck rut'. They explained that it was all in the handling. Temperatures and cleanliness are everything. They get their milk from the goat to a rapid chill, as fast as they can, and keep it there. They said it must stay below 40°F, at all times. 
So, I'm thinking with the precautions above, about the lanolin, and a rapid chilling, you might get a better flavor. If she's never had anything but sore bought, the problem could be similar to my previous experiences. If my dad weren't already in heaven, a visit here would have had him thinking he was. I like to think he's chuckling at me, from up there, for going from ''No goats. No way. Not now. Not ever.'' to "John, I can't milk all these goats alone, by hand - I need a milking machine!"


----------



## Nao57 (Sep 23, 2020)

So I don't have sheep. 

But this seems interesting to me that you can milk sheep for milk.

Do people do this in the US much?

I found some videos on youtube where there are large scale sheep milking farms in Europe. It seemed very fascinating to me. And people say the milk is very creamy and rich tasting. (I don't know if they are right or not.) It makes me wonder why people don't do this more here.

Are you chilling it before you give it to her? That might cut some of the smell. 

And you could try to trick the wife by giving her some store bought milk and see if she still thinks it smells sheepy.

And another option is to put chocolate in the milk. It shouldn't smell then. And this might be fun to try anyway!


----------



## Kusanar (Sep 23, 2020)

Nao57 said:


> So I don't have sheep.
> 
> But this seems interesting to me that you can milk sheep for milk.
> 
> ...


I also don't have sheep, but apparently the reason for not a lot of sheep being milked in the US is that we predominantly drink cow milk and sheep don't typically produce as much milk as goats do, so if someone wants something other than cow milk they go to goat milk.

Wool sheep are apparently a problem to milk as the lanolin can make the milk smell or taste sheepy (as this thread shows) and it is harder to keep the udder clean in a wool sheep. Most people if they are going to get hair sheep for milk would rather just get goats since you won't get wool either way and you get more milk from the goat.


----------



## thethinkingweasel (Sep 23, 2020)

Every goat milk/meat/cheese I have ever tried tastes and smells like fur to me. Maybe this is why! However, I tried some Manchego cheese made with sheep's milk this week and it tastes fine. Store bought, but maybe the farmer/manufacturer is very careful.


----------



## Mini Horses (Sep 23, 2020)

Handling is paramount.  My goat milk goes into a freezer within minutes of going into the jars -- I always use glass.  After an HR or so it goes to a dedicated frig.  Of course this includes excellent cleaning of animal and equipment.  Everyone has loved my goats milk.

USA is only country in which cow milk is predominate.  Goat milk is probably most widely
used everywhere else.   Sheep milk has more solids and give slightly more output per gal in such as cheese.   

Obviously there are goat dairies in USA.  Just not as well known. Most link dairy to cow.


----------



## Niele da Kine (Sep 23, 2020)

Breed matters, too.  If  you want goat's milk that looks and tastes like store bought cow's milk, get a Nubian goat and then do all the clean milking procedures.  If you want a goaty cheese, then get a different breed of goat.  It is probably similar to sheep, as well, I'd expect.


----------



## Ridgetop (Sep 23, 2020)

Mini Horses said:


> Handling is paramount. My goat milk goes into a freezer within minutes of going into the jars -- I always use glass.



This is absolutely right!  Milk stored in plastic can take on the flavor of other food or surrounding.  Always store milk in glass and chill immediately.  Absolute cleanliness of udder, pail, strainer, etc. also will help taste of milk.  Is the milk clean?  Straining the milk is imperative.  Immediate chilling is best accomplish using glass containers which conduct cold more efficiently.  Place the glass container of milk in an ice water bath to chill.  You can use quart canning jars and an ice chest with ice and water to accomplish this easily.

One question - did you taste taste the milk when you bought your milking ewes?  If you plan to use the milk for the house it is usually a good idea to taste the milk before buying the dairy animal since not all milk tastes alike.

Also milk can take on the taste of any strange foods that the sheep may eat.  If your sheep are pasture fed, check the pasture to see if they are eating any strong flavored grasses or weeds.  Wild onion or garlic can flavor the milk, as can sagebrush, etc.  Check the grain mixture you are giving.  If you are adding any feed that is unusual (some people like to experiment with homeopathic herbs, etc.) check that flavor since it can come through in the milk.

Here is another suggestion - do not mix the milk from all the ewes together.  Taste test each ewe's milk separately after chilling.  Some individual animals have better or milder flavored milk than others.  If you find that one ewe in particular has sheepy milk, then you can isolate her milk or sell her.  Likewise, if you find that one ewe has very palatable milk for your wife's taste, keep that ewe's  milk for the house.

If you still have sheep flavored milk, I suggest you shear around the hind quarters, particularly the belly, udder area, and into the vulva/rectum.  Be aware that if the ewes are carrying heavy fleeces, they are also carrying heavy lanolin since that collects in the wool.  You might try shearing twice a year or more depending on your climate.  The wool from milking sheep may not be of as much value as a fine wool breed so if you are not using it yourself, shearing the milkers additional times to control the amount of lanolin in their wool may help.

Also in goats, at least, some *breeds* have different tasting milk than others.  Toggenburgs have very sharp tasting milk with a distinct flavor (yucky) that makes very good sharp cheese.  Other breeds have much milder flavored milk.  Our Nubians had the best milk (yummy) and since we fed alfalfa and dairy cattle feed, it tasted like very rich cow's milk. Our LaMancha milk was very similar to Nubian while the Alpine breeds had a goatier? flavor more approaching the Togg milk.  We also only drank the night milking in the am, and the am milking at night, with everything else being used for cooking or raising calves or kids after pasteurizing.  We also drank our milk raw.  

Remember too that the level of butterfat in milk varies from animal to animal and breed to breed.  This extra butterfat can also affect the taste compared to store bought milk since commercial milk usually has most of the butterfat removed.  Cream brings more money so it is removed at the creamery to use separately for cream, butter, ice cream, etc.  All these things can change the taste of the milk.

Hope this will give you some ideas to help.


----------



## mystang89 (Sep 24, 2020)

Thanks everyone. I always wash my ewes udders with dawn dish soap before milking them but I suppose I need to be more diligent in that. Probably wouldn't hurt to cut off some of the wool around the underside as well. The milking tubes and cups get washed everyday right after milking. The milk goes into a glass jar but I've never really stained it since nothing else falls in. Suppose I'll start doing that as well. The hat goes into a refrigerator but typically not until after all the sheep are done being milked, put out to pasture and the ducks are done, along with gardening chores. I suppose I'll change that as well. Thanks for the tips. Hopefully next year we'll get done lambs and I'll be trying these out.


----------



## Nao57 (Sep 24, 2020)

Kusanar said:


> I also don't have sheep, but apparently the reason for not a lot of sheep being milked in the US is that we predominantly drink cow milk and sheep don't typically produce as much milk as goats do, so if someone wants something other than cow milk they go to goat milk.
> 
> Wool sheep are apparently a problem to milk as the lanolin can make the milk smell or taste sheepy (as this thread shows) and it is harder to keep the udder clean in a wool sheep. Most people if they are going to get hair sheep for milk would rather just get goats since you won't get wool either way and you get more milk from the goat.



So you could do hair sheep to avoid the smell? And that would work?

Maybe we would have to make a list of which breeds would have good tasting milk and which wouldn't?

I think this sounds interesting to me. And fun.

Thank you for teaching me.


----------



## Nao57 (Sep 24, 2020)

thethinkingweasel said:


> Every goat milk/meat/cheese I have ever tried tastes and smells like fur to me. Maybe this is why! However, I tried some Manchego cheese made with sheep's milk this week and it tastes fine. Store bought, but maybe the farmer/manufacturer is very careful.



I get that people wouldn't want to drink liquid fur. 

But goat's milk products smell bad to me. (Although I don't know what others think.)


----------



## Nao57 (Sep 24, 2020)

mystang89 said:


> Thanks everyone. I always wash my ewes udders with dawn dish soap before milking them but I suppose I need to be more diligent in that. Probably wouldn't hurt to cut off some of the wool around the underside as well. The milking tubes and cups get washed everyday right after milking. The milk goes into a glass jar but I've never really stained it since nothing else falls in. Suppose I'll start doing that as well. The hat goes into a refrigerator but typically not until after all the sheep are done being milked, put out to pasture and the ducks are done, along with gardening chores. I suppose I'll change that as well. Thanks for the tips. Hopefully next year we'll get done lambs and I'll be trying these out.




I wonder if there's a quick way of doing a quick rinse with like a hose sprayer? (Although you probably couldn't do this in winter.) 

What do you think? 

It would be interesting to hash out how to help you have a quick way of rinsing them well. 

And if you strain it, will that nullify the ability to get cream from it? (You can't make butter without cream. So this means maybe what you were doing with not straining isn't bad. Maybe you meant to do good.) 

And I guess some types of cheeses made from the stuff might be better unstrained too?


----------



## Mini Horses (Sep 25, 2020)

My milk goes from udder to jar via tube so I don't strain.  I'm thinking cut the wool and chill faster should show some fast improvement for you.  I've heard many say they use a cooler with ice water at barn if several to milk.  Definitely chill before other chores!

Also, I don't mix from several does.   But, partly because volume is enough to fill the jars.  It would allow you to identify if one had different taste/smell.

Curious, how much do you average per ewe at a milk?   Some of the dairy bred give a good amount.   

My goat does are from heavy milking lines and good taste.  Next year will be one when I will have a couple does to offer for sale as actively "in milk" and milking!  Of course, that will mean tooooo much milk happening while waiting for a buyer.   May be only year I do it.     But the CL listings are reporting fast sales for those I see and check for such.


----------



## Kusanar (Sep 25, 2020)

Nao57 said:


> So you could do hair sheep to avoid the smell? And that would work?
> 
> Maybe we would have to make a list of which breeds would have good tasting milk and which wouldn't?
> 
> ...


Hair sheep don't produce lanolin or at least not nearly as much as wool sheep. So that would be eliminated. I know with goats, if you have a buck in rut the milk will smell like stinky buck goat, not sure if that is an issue with rams or not but I have heard that they can get stinky during breeding season as well so I would be careful about that.


----------



## Finnie (Sep 26, 2020)

mystang89 said:


> I always wash my ewes udders with dawn dish soap before milking them


Is there any possibility that dish soap residue is getting in the milk? If so, I would think that would add to the problem.


----------



## Nao57 (Sep 26, 2020)

Finnie said:


> Is there any possibility that dish soap residue is getting in the milk? If so, I would think that would add to the problem.



If you are worried about that you could probably compare and look up the chemical ingredients and compare them with stuff in baby soap products (which should have less residue).

Then you could make some adjustments on that.


----------



## Baymule (Sep 26, 2020)

Dawn dishwashing liquid is some nasty stuff. I have chemical sensitivities and if I even get a whiff of Dawn, I have a reaction to it. If I get Dawn on my skin, I can taste it in my mouth. The only dishwashing liquid I can use is Palmolive original. Dawn is the worst.


----------



## Ridgetop (Sep 26, 2020)

Why are you washing udders with dish soap?  It won't sanitize the udder and teats to prevent mastitis.  We milked dairy goats for 18 years and used an iodine udder wash to sanitize udders both before and after milking.  Then used a teat dip to seal off the teat orifices and prevent mastitis.  

Unless you are using a milking machine you must absolutely strain the milk.  I even strained the milk from the milking machine can since you can get hair or dirt in the milk when attaching the inflations.  Straining the milk does not strain out the cream.  You can use 2 wire  strainers and sandwich a coffee filter between them for a makeshift milk strainer.  Straining the milk will filter impurities and dirt out.  You can't always see the dirt in the milk but it will definitely affect the taste.  Also if you have any mastitis it will often show up as flakes in the strainer.


----------



## NEWCOMER (Mar 10, 2021)

mystang89 said:


> Any of you have that problem? My wife says she doesn't like sheep milk because it smells like a sheep. I can't really find anything online about that so I figured I'd ask here. Anyone else have that problem?





mystang89 said:


> Any of you have that problem? My wife says she doesn't like sheep milk because it smells like a sheep. I can't really find anything online about that so I figured I'd ask here. Anyone else have that problem?


It's true!  Sheep milk smells like sheep. It's not a problem for me...but you could try letting it sit in the fridge for a day or two.


----------



## mystang89 (Mar 10, 2021)

NEWCOMER said:


> It's true!  Sheep milk smells like sheep. It's not a problem for me...but you could try letting it sit in the fridge for a day or two.


I've found out that keeping the milking tube extra clean, washing her udder and making sure that milk IMMEDIATELY gets chilled good fashion has seemed to help to lessen, if not completely eliminate the sheep smell in the sheep.


----------



## Ridgetop (Mar 10, 2021)

Absolute cleanliness has everything to do with good milk flavor.  Milk not only takes on the flavor of the food the dairy animal eats, but also will take on the flavor of anything it is in contact with.  Keeping your milk equipment spotless is essential, as is udder cleanliness, and straining the milk immediately after milking.  Keeping your milk once in a glass container with a tight stopper after straining is best since plastic can breathe and allow refrigerator odors to infiltrate the milk.  

Immediate chilling is another necessity.  When going to the Fairs I was worried about the flavor of the milk since I used a 2 quart aluminum milk can to store the milk in before returning to the camper at night and transferring it into glass.   I found the aluminum can when out into ice water in the cooler actually conducted the ice water temperature better and chilled the milk faster than straining it into glass bottles and putting it into the fridge like I did at home.  Our fair milk was delicious.  

If your wife still doesn't like the flavor of sheep's milk, use it to make cheese and buy a Nubian goat for house milk. Their milk tastes almost identical to cow's milk, except richer.  Since you are milking anyway, adding another milker to your string won't be too much more work.  Just be sure to milk the goat first and keep the milk separate.  Using the same machine, lines, and inflations - even with sanitizing them in between animals - can give the sheep milk flavor to the goat milk if she is milked last.


----------



## Fishychix (Mar 10, 2021)

I’m so happy to have run across this thread!  I kept wondering “why not sheep?” Why is goats milk everywhere? Now I know. Thanks!


----------



## Sheepshape (Mar 11, 2021)

Coming very late to this 'party' I would say that sheep milk tastes like very mild goats' milk to me. I HATE goats milk or goat cheese, but am OK with sheep milk or cheese. I have wool sheep only. 

Generally, though, I'm only milking ewes to feed to lambs, so the taste really doesn't matter to me at all.


----------

