Blech! Need Help for Sweeter Milk, PLEASE!!!

[ChickenPotPie]

This year our Toggenburg goat milk tastes really yuckie. Goats are NOT my area of expertise but, they are perfectly healthy so, I think I must need advise on what I should be feeding them .

IN PAST YEARS, they grazed in an orchard on grasses and small plants/flowers. I couldn't tell you what kind - only that I know its not clover. We kept them as a herd with our buck in the orchard w/open access to their pen, shelter, and minerals. We supplemented their grazing with alfalfa/orchard grass hay bought at a hay barn. When we milked our does, we gave them big scoops of sweet grains (Purina green bag w/girl hugging goat on it). The milk was just okay. I wish it was sweeter and creamier.

THIS YEAR, our landlords told us since they are planting crops in a nearby field, that all animals have to be kept behind "permanent fencing". So, no more grazing in the orchard behind the electric netting. The does and babies are in their dirt pen. We moved our big buck to a separate temporary pen. We are feeding the does and babies alfafa hay. The buck gets orchard grass hay. We still give the girls a big scoop of the same sweet grains when we milk them. All have access to minerals.

I'm sure I'm doing something wrong that is completely obvious to most of ya'll but, like I said. Goats are not my thing. Husband is laughing at me and saying it is the alfalfa. I honestly thought that was what dairy goats were supposed to eat. That is what my son was told by a 4H leader.

What SHOULD we be feeding our 24/7 penned dairy goats for the sweetest milk?!

I want to love our goats and their milk but right now, I'm on the verge of wanting to get rid of them. Please, help! (thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!)

 

[Pearce Pastures]

Some foods can effect the taste of milk but Toggs also have a reputation for different tasting milk. It might be the alfalfa actually but it may be the breed too. It sounds, though, like you have had their milk before and it was fine but now is not?

 

[woodsie]

How are you cooling the milk?...we found if we did not ice bath the milk and get it into a very cold fridge asap the "goaty" flavour started to come out and it lost its sweetess. My husband had a good idea of putting the jars you are milking into in the freezer so the milk would start chilling asap....I will try this as soon as we start milking again.

Also, Nubians are known for the "sweetest, creamiest" milk, Toggs have a rumour for being the "most goaty" but not sure if that's really true.

 

[ChickenPotPie]

See, I heard that about Toggs, too, but also do not know if it's true or not because we've never had any other goats.

I put the milk into mason jars and put it right into the deep freeze. I actually forget about it most of the time and it freezes.

Here is a little something......I just chatted with a FB friend who studied dairy cattle and dairy goats but admits her focus was dairy cattle. She bought a Toggenburg of ours recently. She said her goat's milk is fine. She also laughed at me for feeding them 100% alfalfa.

Here is what she said she is feeding hers:

Grasses:
Free feed Orchard grass hay
1/2 flake Alfalfa hay
Graze in field 8am - 2pm

Grains (8oz 2x/day)
5oz Purina Show sweet grain (same stuff I use)
3oz Barley

So, this is what I'm going to try. Since we can't graze our goats anymore my friend recommended uping the grain to 12oz 2x/day. What you do all think? Does this sound like a winning formula? What would you/do you do differently?

 

[alsea1]

Can you cut grass and bring it to them? That is what I am doing for my sheep at the moment. Least until we get more pasture fenced off.

 

[ChickenPotPie]

Can you cut grass and bring it to them? That is what I am doing for my sheep at the moment. Least until we get more pasture fenced off.

Hmmm, I like it. At the moment this is not an option because my mowing tractor is broken (no need for one if you have goats, right?). But, I am looking into getting it fixed because the grass is getting too tall (and there are plenty of rattlers out here). I don't have a grass catcher, though.

I like the idea. How are you doing it - mower w/grass catcher? OR ????

 

[alsea1]

I am using my push mower. It has a grass catcher bag on it. I only have seven sheep so one bag tides em over. They think its a treat.

Rattlers would be a little nerve wracking.

Peacocks are noisy and obnoxious birds but I hear they are heck on snakes

 

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

Mine are on free-fed alfalfa and minerals. When they are on the stand they get a sweet goat grain and probably eat a pound or two (they are piggies). Our milk has always tasted amazing. We don't have any bucks in the vicinity. I've boarded my goats where there were males and it DEFINITELY affected flavor, after I brought them home it took a couple weeks for the goaty flavor to go away. How long have yours been separated?

 

[alsea1]

How far from each other would a person need to keep the buck in order to preserve milk flavor

 

[babsbag]

My does have awesome milk, all except my Togg. I bought her last year and wished I had done a taste test first. My other goats are Togg/alpine cross and some just Alpine and the milk is really good. The Togg milk was just really goaty. I am hoping that now that she is on my feed plan she will be better this year.

I feed 100% alfalfa, no pasture, and sweet grain on the stand. They get as much grain as they can eat while I milk. Also purina minerals.

I have heard that you can feed some cobalt and that is supposed to help the taste.

As far as the buck, mine is housed right next to the milk parlor with no problems. The only time that bucks smell is when they are in rut, usually in the Fall. My boer buck really doesn't smell, ever. I have never had a problem with the buck odor in the milk just by them being in the same barnyard; the same pen, like when they are getting bred, that I could see might make a difference.

But I personally think that it is just the Togg.