Are you getting ready to milk goats? Are you trying to determine which goat milking supplies you need? These goat milking supplies are crucial to safely milk your goats!
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Goat Milking Supplies
If your dairy goat is pregnant and getting ready to kid then you are probably counting down the days to delicious, fresh goat milk!
Or maybe you just bought your goat but you want to be prepared for when the day arrives that you get to start milking. Or, perhaps you haven’t even bought your goats yet and are trying to figure out everything that you will need to safely and efficiently care for and milk your goats.
If you are just starting out then let me direct you to the best resources for raising goats. The number one resource that every beginner (or even non beginner:) goat owner needs is the Raising Goats for Beginners Course! This course contains everything you need to know from choosing a breed to treating your goat during times of illness, and everything in between! Definitely check it out if you are just getting started!
Goat Milking Supplies List
I have been milking goats for years. In fact my oldest son now milks goats as well and is my main milker here on the homestead:) He does such a great job and I think that learning to milk and be self sufficient when it comes to our food has been an amazing lesson for him!
When you first start milking it will probably feel like a lot of work. But you need to remember that anything you do the first time is harder and will get easier the more you do it.
We now milk and strain the milk in a very short period of time. And as a result we have lots of fresh milk! Which means we can make goat milk ice cream, chèvre cheese, and lots of other yummy goat milk recipes!
Before you start milking your goats however you need to make sure that you have everything you need on hand. You want to be sure that as soon as your goats are bred (or even before) that you gather these supplies so that you aren’t caught off guard with babies being born!
Also, be sure to check out my article 9 Tips for the Best Tasting Goat Milk. This is a must read to ensure that you are getting milk that tastes amazing!
Dairy Goat Milking Supplies
So let’s take a look at what you will need!
First you need a place to milk your goat. You can either purchase your milk stand online or find plans and make your own. But trust me, you definitely don’t want to milk your goat without one! The milk stand will help keep them in one place the entire time that you are milking. Otherwise you will be crying over spilt milk;)
Also, if you are having trouble getting your goat to get on the milk stand, then be sure to check out How to Train Your Goat to the Milk Stand.
Once your goat is on the milk stand you will need to clean off the udder and belly so that nothing nasty falls into your milk pail. Some people make up a wash using soap and bleach. I personally don’t like to use bleach on my animals and I like to use a faster method. So we use baby wipes!
Baby wipes are a fast and easy way to clean off your goat before milking. Not to mention disposable wipes are so much easier than rags that you have to wash!
When you milk your goat you do not want to milk into just any bucket. If you are going to consume the milk then you need to milk in a stainless steel milk pail that has been sanitized.
I wash mine in the dishwasher so that it gets really hot and clean.
This item is not necessary, but one that I personally use. I place the cheesecloth over the top of my milk pail and secure it with a rubber band. Then we milk through the cheesecloth into the bucket. This keeps anything nasty from falling into the milk.
Now I say this isn’t mandatory because many people milk straight into the pail with nothing over it. But it really bothers me to think of debris getting into my milk and sitting in it before I strain it. I just can’t do that! So I milk through cheesecloth to help keep the milk as clean as possible.
Just be sure to get an unbleached cheesecloth, organic preferable. The one above would work really well.
Once you have milked your goat you need to spray the teats with an antibacterial teat spray to keep bacteria from entering the teats until the orifice has had a chance to close.
You can buy a teat spray online, but I prefer to make my own to keep from using harsh chemicals on my goat’s udder. You can find the recipe for my Essential Oil Teat Spray here.
Now that you have finished milking, it’s time to care for your milk inside. The following items are what you need to finish caring for your milk properly.
Once inside the house you need a milk strainer. Even though we cover the bucket with cheesecloth while milking it still requires a second more thorough straining to be sure that everything is removed and that nothing was able to get through the cheesecloth.
The following item is also something that you need to go along with the strainer.
A milk filter is required for the milk strainer. This is what the milk passes through to completely eliminate any debris.
I filter my milk into glass jars or jugs. If you use a jug with a small mouth you will need a stainless steel funnel to place your strainer in to get it into the jug.
However this strainer fits perfectly into a regular or wide mouth mason jar!
Once you have strained your milk into jars I like to label my jars. Trust me, when you have a lot of milk in the fridge, it’s hard to remember which jars are the oldest!
I use a label maker to put the date on my jars.
And those are all of the supplies that you need when milking your goats!
Also, be sure to read 9 Tips for the Best Tasting Goat Milk to learn about one of the most crucial steps in caring for your milk. This step is very important for delicious tasting milk!
I hope you enjoy all of the tasty goat milk that is coming your way! Happy milking:)
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