Incredibly rich milk

[Sweetened]

Our dexter, Donna, and her calf, are getting into the swing of things routine wise. Getting to the calf and getting the calf where she needs to go is less stressful on everyone.

We are still discarding her right side milk, but that will stop today as the milk is no longer dark and we should taste to know where its at. ANYWAY! We are not seperating the calf at night and are still pulling 2 gallons off her, one off either half. Her milk is so incredibly rich (Im not complaining). It takes 2.5 days to seperate so youcan see the faintest cream line, and its over 50% cream! Her calf is growing fat, muscular and well VERY quickly. She is grass hay fed with oats to make her stand, and she has 24hr access to fresh water (i read low water consumption can increase cream content.

Is this something i should have concerns over?

What on EARTH do i do with this much gorgeous cream? Lol

 

[Hens and Roos]

Congrats on all the cream.....how about ice cream, cream puffs...

 

[Sweetened]

Oh gosh. Icecream with this cream would be insanely rich! Cream puffs... sounds.. delicate and delicious.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Ice cream, butter, ice cream, sour cream, ice cream... hmmmm...have I mentioned ice cream yet??? Or just a bowl of whipped cream and a spoon..

 

[babsbag]

You share the cream with all your goatie friends. I am jealous.

 

[Sweetened]

Lol! My goats produce a small skiff of cream and i give it to the cats, cant stand the flavor!

Will have ti get an icecream maker.

 

[norseofcourse]

Opera fudge... mmmmmmmmmmm

 

[Sweetened]

What is this singing fudge of which you speak?

 

[WildRoseBeef]

Concerns over creamy milk with a calf growing quickly and fat on it? Uh-uh! Nope! Gosh, just think about the ice cream you can make from all that good stuff...!!!

But here's something to consider: According to this link (http://www.ag.ndsu.edu/pubs/ansci/dairy/as1118.pdf) a diet high in fibre will increase milk fat content. Increasing concentrate or grains will decrease milk fat content. That, and milk fat content increases when the cow is in good condition. Then of course you get the influence of genetics too.

Really, though, I wouldn't be worried. If the calf is doing great, then there's nothing to worry about.

 

[norseofcourse]

LOL - Opera fudge is a white fudge, rich and creamy and oh so horribly bad for you I'm sure. The main ingredients are three and a half pounds of sugar, and a quart of heavy cream. It's boiled to a certain temperature, cooled, then turned by hand until it 'sets up' (about an hour). Then 'rested' for an hour or so in a cool place, then worked with the hands again to soften it (this part's easy) and can at this point be rolled into logs, or have fruit or nuts mixed into it, or even rolled into balls and dipped in chocolate. It's a lot of work, and I doubt very many people make it anymore. I find few people who even know what it is.

I learned how to make opera fudge from my grandparents. They usually made a batch in the winter around Christmas - it had to be made when the humidity was low. Grandma said it's possible to make it when the humidity is higher, you have to boil it to a slightly higher temperature, but I don't know how much higher.

I haven't made it for a few years, I really should do a batch next winter.