Keeping goats for milk is one of the easiest ways to produce your own dairy products.
You can get a good amount of milk out of only a couple of goats, and it will be the freshest milk you’ve ever tasted.
In the modern world of dairy farming, it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that the easiest way to milk an animal is usually by hand—industrial-scale farming is a different beast entirely.
So, today, we’re going to look at how to milk a goat by hand in only ten easy steps—so let’s get started.
You’ll just need a milking stand, a bucket, jars, milk filters, and cleaning equipment.
Clean the goat
First thing to do is get the goat good and clean.
Most goat farmers tend to shave the udder before they get started—it makes it a lot easier to see what you’re doing.
This also keeps the milk well sanitized, and free from hair.
Then, clean the goat as much as you can.
You should give them a regular brush anyway so that when you come to milk them, you only need to give the udder a quick wash and shave.
All of this goes together to make sure you have the cleanest possible milk going into the pail.
Clean yourself
You’re naturally going to want to make sure you are clean and sanitized, too.
Make sure to wear clean clothes—it’s not an especially messy job, so you don’t need to worry about ruining them. most importantly, though, make sure your hands are clean.
It’s a good idea to have a station to continuously wash your hands with warm, soapy water over the course of the milking, too.
Even a small container of sanitizer is better than nothing—though make sure it isn’t chafing the goat when you touch it.
Get the goat on the stand
Now, once everything is clean, you can move the goat onto the spotless milking stand.
Stands should come with a feeding trough at the front, so you can keep your goat happy during the milking.
If your goat has a favorite treat, fill the trough with that—this will keep them occupied as you work.
Make sure to give the goat a few moments to get acclimatized.
Be sure it is securely strapped in, and isn’t going to move around too much during the milking.
This could be an issue for both of you.
Grasp the teat
If you’ve never milked a goat before, then you need to know there’s a right way and a wrong way to grip the teat.
If done incorrectly, you stand a chance of harming the goat. It’s best to get someone to show you, if possible.
If not, what you need to do is wrap your thumb and index finger around the teat—around 2 inches into the udder.
Do not grab at the bottom of the teat—this will hurt the goat.
Then, you can quickly and gently pull the teat down to produce a good stream of milk.
Thumb and index finger should remain where they are, but squeeze your hand the rest of your fingers down on each motion.
Check the milk for clumping or for any blood on your first few squeezes.
If you’re clear, you can get started.
Start milking
Remove those first few squirts, regardless of what was in there—the surface milk can potentially carry harmful pathogens.
Then, you can get started really milking the goat.
While never compromising on your technique, try to be as quick as possible.
The longer it takes, the more chance you stand of doing the goat harm, or it simply getting antsy and not wanting to finish.
Keep milking until there is no more coming out.
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Massage the udder
Once you’ve gotten the last of the milk, you’re going to want to massage the udder.
Baby goats also do this as a way of getting more milk to release.
The thing is, when milk stops the first time, you aren’t necessarily done.
Once you’ve gently massaged the udder with one hand, start milking again.
You should get another steady stream of milk, until eventually the udder will be totally empty, and the teat will become flaccid.
You’ve now gotten the last of the milk.
Strain and filter milk
Time is now of the essence, once you’ve gotten the last of the milk out. you need to strain and filter that milk as, unsurprisingly, untreated goat’s milk isn’t really very good for humans.
Generally, the faster and sooner you complete this process, the higher the caliber of milk produced.
Get your glass jars and strain the milk through the filter.
Do this until all of the milk has been moved into the jars.
Reclean the goat
Your goat has been through a somewhat stressful time, so you need to make sure it goes away spotless.
With all that contact, there’s always a chance of spreading pathogens even to the rest of the herd.
Take the time to gently clean the udder again, with some kind of spray or sanitizing mixture.
There are many dedicated products for this—make sure it’s formulated for goats, or it could irritate their skin.
Your best option is four individual cups of cleaning fluid into which you can dip the teats—this will avoid cross contamination.
Cleanliness should be your utmost concern.
Replace the goat
Now, let the goat out and take it back to the herd.
Release it from its stressful encounter.
Make sure she is well fed and has plenty of fresh water—leave some treats with her if there are any left.
Ideally, you want her to stand up for a short while after the milking is done to avoid her udder contacting bacteria.
Ideally, you should keep an eye on the goat for a short while after milking.
She will be somewhat stressed out and antsy, depending on her personality.
If another goat in the herd does not give her sufficient space, she may lash out.
Clean the station
Finally, once you’ve put the goat back, clean everything else.
Wipe down the whole milking station and stand, and empty and clean all the equipment you used.
If you use the same stand to milk multiple goats, it’s really vital that you keep it clean at all times.
Then, make sure to clean yourself up thoroughly.
Wash your hands with warm water and soap, then sanitize them afterwards as well.
Make sure to do this at the end of cleaning, so you don’t just make yourself dirty again.
And that’s really all there is to it!
The actual technique of milking is perhaps where most people are tripped up, and there’s no substitute for practice when it comes to that. your priority should always be your goat’s welfare, so put that above all.
With time, you’ll be really great at milking your goat, and the process will be smoother for the both of you.
Most milking goats generally need to be milked once or twice a day, in any case, so you are certainly going to get some good practice in!