Jumping the Moon Dairy - the next chapter

[Bruce]

Blame @Baymule, she is a TERRIBLE enabler!

 

[babsbag]

Don't blame me for the goats, blame @Southern by choice. She was the one that told me that my idea of dairy was a GREAT idea, she's the enabler. I had about 15 goats in 2013 when this dairy thing started floating around inside of my head, and half of them were Boer. Then I started keeping does, and then I added LaManchas, and then I added minis...oh my, the list goes on, but I did get rid of all of the Boers; many of them ended up with @ragdollcatlady .

@HomeOnTheRange just let me know when you want to talk dairy. My plan for this morphed into a whole lot more than it was in the beginning. I was going to be a Grade B dairy, and then I bought the processing trailer with a bottler...Grade A here I come. I was going to bucket milk, then I found an awesome deal on a complete small dairy setup in NC (45 minutes from @Southern by choice ) and my DH became the enabler and convinced to buy it. I would have been done by now with bucket milking, but this setup is just amazingly awesome, but not what I had planned. Then I bought the land next to us and the number of goats I can own went for 30 to 78 (no no no...I will not own 78 goats) and having the automatic milking setup makes it possible to milk more goats in less time...See where this is headed?

I have been blessed on this project but after spending 2 days doing waste plumbing lines and vents and crawling around under a trailer I don't feel blessed, but I know that I am and so is this dairy. (I'm alive, I didn't see any rattlesnakes, the one trailer is done...blessed. )

If anyone needs any Alpines please send them my way.

And I'll have to get some pictures of my buck.

 

[Bruce]

If you had 2 milking machines you could have 156 goats

 

[babsbag]

Fortunately the county restricts the number of goats to 6 per acre. At least someone is saving me from myself.

 

[babsbag]

Here's a "rear view" of a few of the girls lined up for milking, and the glass pipe and milk receiver jar full of the fruits of their labor.

The guy that came and finished the install of this system was surprised to see glass; it is pretty much a thing of the past. I really like it, I think it is full of charm.

 

[goatgurl]

what a beautiful site. you've come a long way lady.

 

[Latestarter]

YAY!! That looks GREAT! and on a side note, looking at the body condition of the does I can see in the pic, I'm no longer concerned about Bang. She looks almost exactly like them (too skinny/boney! )...

 

[Devonviolet]

WOO HOO!!! Oh, Babs! How exciting to see your equipment in action!

Congratulations on a job well done!

 

[babsbag]

@Latestarter Yeah, they look like dairy goats.

I have a few that are too skinny but it is the same ones every year and they just don't hold their weight well while milking and it is 114°. I have just added 100 lbs a day of alfalfa pellets to the feeders so we will see if this helps. I have also added probiotics and Calf Manna to the grain for the ones that are in milk.

 

[Latestarter]

Sorry Babs... I wasn't commenting negatively... I have been told that's how dairy goats are supposed to look... They just look too skinny to me... It's a personal problem.