terrible milk can feed help?

[SkyWarrior]

One other thing you can try is to take her off all alfalfa. I faintly remember someone having the same problem and ended up taking her goat off all alfalfa and ended up with good tasting milk.

Wasn't it SkyWarrior who had a goat with milk that turns in a day or so and she ended up getting a new goat??

Nope. Not me.

Honestly, I probably wouldn't get rid of such a goat. I would either use her for raising babies, or (more likely) send that doe to freezer camp. (I can't afford to keep goats as strictly pets). Everyone has a job here, even the Malamutes and cats.

 

[Valley Ranch]

Sky Warrior she wouldn't be the first goat to go to freezer camp here either. But she does pull on the heart strings a bit. Having brought her back from the brink of death and all the while she was a great mama and gave milk!! So I am going to see what we can do first. Also for the interest/experiement side of things too really. But this is a working ranch here too however small and if an animal doesn't earn its keep other arrangements have to be made.
I'll keep everyone posted how the sweet grain works. We just wormed everyone so we are on a milk withrawal anyway.

 

[aggieterpkatie]

I'd consider sending in another mastitis sample. My goat gets subclinical staph now and then and the only way I can tell is from the taste of her milk (it's horrible). For months last year I thought it was her diet, the temp of the fridge, etc. The mastitis test came back showing a "scant" amount of staph in one half of her udder. I treated her for mastitis and it was a HUUUUGE difference. Her milk was wonderful again. Same thing with my doe again...her milk went 'off', I treated her, and it cleared right up.

I'd consider sending in another test, and then if it still comes back not showing anything I'd be tempted to treat her anyways. I mean, I'm not one for needlessly giving antibiotics, but if it's either sending her to freezer camp or trying a round of Today, I'd try the Today!

 

[SkyWarrior]

Sky Warrior she wouldn't be the first goat to go to freezer camp here either. But she does pull on the heart strings a bit. Having brought her back from the brink of death and all the while she was a great mama and gave milk!! So I am going to see what we can do first. Also for the interest/experiement side of things too really. But this is a working ranch here too however small and if an animal doesn't earn its keep other arrangements have to be made.
I'll keep everyone posted how the sweet grain works. We just wormed everyone so we are on a milk withrawal anyway.

I understand. You might be able to use her as a surrogate mama and breeder. I know you didn't have much of a choice when rescuing her.

 

[Valley Ranch]

sorry it has been so long since I've been on but it has been hectic getting ready for winter. Anyway to the goat!!! I got Today ready to treat her mastitis thinking it would not hurt even though she tested negative. Ad in the mean time switched her from crimped oats to wet cob (with molasses. I has been over a month now and a BIG difference in her milk. Goatie smell and taste gone.

 

[terri9630]

sorry it has been so long since I've been on but it has been hectic getting ready for winter. Anyway to the goat!!! I got Today ready to treat her mastitis thinking it would not hurt even though she tested negative. Ad in the mean time switched her from crimped oats to wet cob (with molasses. I has been over a month now and a BIG difference in her milk. Goatie smell and taste gone.

What is cob? I just got my first goats so I'm reading up on other peoples problems and how they corrected/treated them.

 

[SheepGirl]

COB = mixture of corn, oats, and barley

 

[babsbag]

Someone told me to boost them with a cobalt mineral block. I also recently got a togg and was totally shocked at the taste of the milk. I have Alpine and alpine/togg cross and their milk is wonderful. This new one was far from wonderful. My solution was to just not milk her this year.

Next spring if her milk is still goaty and the cobalt doesn't help she will be put up for sell. Don't know who would buy her, but you never know. Some cheese makers like the togg milk. :/

 

[SaanenMom]

Sometimes it's just genetics. Our first goat was a heinz-57 Nubian, Togg, whatever. Pulled the kids off to wean them (got them at 9 mths & still nursing). Sent the doeling to be bred and several weeks later, the doe. They freshened with the Mom having twin doelings. After weaning at 3 mths, we went to milking her. Eeewww! It was NASTY tasting milk. Not having had goat milk before, it was enough to put one off of EVER drinking goat milk. Daughter's milk was also nasty. These were our first goats, so maybe we were doing something wrong. The next year, we freshened the Mom and her 2d doeling (the 1st doeling from year previous couldn't be gentled and went into the freezer).

Shortly after freshning those two, we got our first Saanen. What an amazing difference in taste!! The Saanen breeder became our mentor so we learned proper feeding, already knew about worming (raised beef cattle), proper chilling of milk, etc. Everyone was getting the same feed and those heinz-57 goats continued having NASTY milk. That's when I learned to make my wonderful goat milk soaps! The 2d doeling's daughter was bred and her milk was also NASTY! By then there was less Nubian, Togg etc and more Alpine & LM in the bloodlines. It didn't matter, those gals all had NASTY milk. Since we decided to raise registered Saanens, the others found homes on sheep ranches to raise bum lambs.
IDLaura