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The Goats are milked twice a day starting from mid July to around mid April.
They are milked in the mornings at 6.00 and again in
the afternoons at 3.00, afternoon milkings are a little quicker as they have
more milk in the mornings.
Our milking shed is a 20-a-side herringbone shed and
the goats are fed grain in the head bales as an incentive to eagerly enter
the shed!
Our farm is a Zero Grazed farm which means the goats live
in their large barn full-time and do not graze on the pasture. They are
brought their fresh cut grass and other supplements and eat it off conveyor
belts in the barn.
They have access to outdoors but for fresh air and sunshine but do not eat
from the ground.
This way of farming is practised for a few different reasons.
Firstly it eliminates the issue of worms- a major problem |
The does
in these photos are covered in Molasses!
They always look grubby before kidding as they have it in a lick ball
system.
in large herds grazing on pasture.
Goats do not develop a natural resistance to worms as other species do-
instead they require regular drenching which means milk withholding times
from the Vat and loss of production. We never have to worry about the goats
being worm burdened.
Another reason to house them indoors is it tends to lessen foot problems,
less incidences of scald and foot rot and less foot treatments are needed
We can also control their diet better when they are indoors. They are fed
fresh cut grass, hay, haylage, brewers grain, maize silage and meal. When
the weather is poor, the goats are nestled up in their cosy barn with a
banquet of food on tap without a care in the world how hard the rain is
falling. Dairy goats don't like the rain and the cold and will drop
production in bad conditions.
The does get molasses in a lickball system pre kidding and also have adlib
minerals and salt blocks as they have a high mineral requirement. They are
provided with everything they need to remain healthy high producing does.
Our does often remain in the herd milking into their teenage years. Our
oldest doe went to goat heaven last year at the ripe old age of 18!
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The Anglo- Nubian x Saanen does in the herd produce well, giving good volume
and slightly higher solids than the Saanens.
Goats milk is a great alternative to cows milk, especially for those who are
lactose intolerant. It has quite a smooth creamy taste and if the goats milk
is milked out carefully and hygienically and kept at the right temperature
there is no "goat taste" to it at all.
There are alot of factors which may cause goats milk to have a "goatee"
odour, it can be from too much air flowing through the the milking lines and
agitating the milk. MIlk not being kept at the right temperature in the vat.
Also during mating season, the milk can sometimes get a bit of "goatee"
flavour.
Our Saanen goats produce on average of 4.0litres on herd
test per day at their peak, our top 2 milkers give us 8.0 litres per day at
their peak with a few in the 6.0l - 7.0l range, the middle range goats are
giving 4.5-5.5 litres and the one year olds give around 3.0 on average- some
a lot more and some a less.
You can get a lot of milk out of a little goat!
Our Anglo- Nubians up until now pruduce a little less milk than the Saanens
but their butterfat content is higher, in our Herd they are just as valuable
as they earn us as much as a higher producing Saanen as we are paid for milk
solids not volume of milk. However, we are hoping with the introduction of
Australian Anglo- Nubians that the volume will also increase as they have up
until now been able to get a higher volume of milk from their Anglo-
Nubians. |
