Making Goat cheese & Milking goats!  

Raeann Thank you so much! :) I love my girls :)

Well Thank you!!!

Thank you so much!!! 💖

Thank you!

Thank you! I really love them, they are my pets really :)

Thank you so much!!

Thank you so much!!!

LOL Its true! each one is my favorite til I get to the next 🤣😂 That is GREAT! You will have so much fun with them!

@Momto6idz I hope you can! Goats are so sweet

So Glad you enjoyed! Thank you!!! I'm So happy to be able to share! Oh you are going to love them!!! I'm so excited for you! I just love my goats! They are SO sweet!

Thank you so much!!

Thank you for watching! So glad you enjoyed!

Thank you!

Thank you so much Larissa!!

Well Thank you!!

Thank you so much!

Hello! Thank you so much for watching! I LOVE my Mini Saanens and they are perfect for both milk amounts and sweet creamy milk! Besides being super sweet goats! You really want to breed a Saanen Doe to the Nigerian buck, as the Saanen babies can be too big for a Nigerian doe to give birth to. Saanens are So very sweet, I really loved them, but they are so big, and eat a lot. But if you can find a Saanen doe, often you can rent a Nigerian Buck to breed her and not have to buy a buck. Mini Saanens are VERY rare, so more than likely you will have to breed your own.

Thank you so much!

I hope you can! They are so much fun! and Yes the milk and Cheese is soo good! We used to have a goats milk soap business also and LOVED our soaps! Nigerians are for sure harder to hand milk, but they do have amazing milk!

@@NorthFork-Ranch Thank you for taking the time to reply back! Do you find the Nigerian goats to be a decently healthy breed of goat? And what do they all eat?

@@jeffkey3158 Nigerians are very hardy goats! Which I really like. They need browse and Alfalfa in winter(about Dec-May Here in the PNW). I only feed grain while milking. Nigerians don't eat a whole lot compared to full sized goats...But then they dont give near as much milk.

Thank you so much Mary! So glad you enjoyed!!!

Thank you so much!

@@NorthFork-Ranch I had 2 Nigerians. Beautiful and friendly little guys. Made me miss them a lot lol

Thank you so much!!! I hope you can get goats!!! I just love my goats! Mini Saanens are seriously my very favorite breed! I LOVE Saanens, but like I mentioned keeping them fat while milking is hard, and also the low butterfat. But the Minis are amazing in both those areas! While still making a lot of milk! My does from good lines are gallon-a-day milkers as a Mini Saanen! So plenty of milk. If you can't find Minis, which you probably won't be able to as it feels like I'm the only one breeding them! Then starting with Saanens would be great!! I LOVE the personalities of Saanens! SO calm and SWEET and loving (great when you have little ones wanting to help with the goats!) Other breeds....Nubians tend to not be as healthy of a breed unless you live in a hotter/drier climate. They are loud....but they are beautiful and have really yummy milk. Alpines, Oberhasli and And Toggenburg don't tend to be as tame or laid back, though you can find good lines and sweet ones. LaManchas are SWEET! but I've had a very bad time with keeping them healthy/and kidding problems. Which COULD have just been the lines I had, but it was several that had issues. My Saamens/Minis have done so well in health/kidding in The PNW's wet rainy climate. Nigerians are Cute! But as far as providing milk for a big family not great! The milk is amazing! what there is of it! Nigerians are bullies to each other! But nothing is cuter than a Nigerian kid! And they are HARDY goats! I am one of 8 children! So We have always had Jersey milk cows as well as my dairy goats. I love my Jerseys too! and they provide a ton of amazing milk, plenty for a big family. I love having both goats and cows. 🥰

@@NorthFork-Ranch thank you so much for replying to my comment! The info is amazing. And from what you say maybe Saanens are the way to go for us. I’m the oldest of 9 kids. And yeah it’s been my dream for a long time. Can’t wait till the day comes. ❤️ I will definitely take in mind all that you told me. ❤️🐐

I do too! They are the sweetest goats!

Oh btw both my husband and I have subscribed 😊

Thank you so much! I'm so glad you enjoyed and learned! I'm so excited for you getting goats! I just love mine! and so enjoy milking/cheese etc! Feel free to reach out with any question! I have been raising goats for nearly 20 years now, so I have learned a thing or two! Also planning to make more Goat videos in the future! so I can cover questions!

@@urbanhomesteadingchannel1813 Thank you so much!!!!! That means a ton to us as we start this channel! Its been a huge learning curve! Both in learning to talk into a camera! :p LOL... And to learn all the editing/processing that goes into getting every video up!!🙃

I'm planning to do more videos on keeping goats, so I will include that! Thank you so much for the suggestion! I think Genetics play a huge role in milk production, types of feed do really help though. But it's always interesting to me, to be feeding the exact same feed to multiple goats, that are living in the same field, same barn, same feed amounts... one goat will give a lot more milk than the next. And also some goats will be fatter/healthier than the one giving less milk!

Thank you!!

I have read that Mini Saanen butterfat is 5.33- 6.26%!! You can for sure taste the difference in their milk, compared to Haylee's.

Thank you so much!

Thank you so much! I didn't type the Ricotta recipe in the description, but are you able to see what I did clear enough in the video? Ricotta is pretty simple. After heating the whey up to 190 degree F (stirring often to keep it from burning or boiling over.) I added about 1/4 cup vinegar, then let it sit for a little before ladeling it into a cheese cloth.

Thank you so much for watching!

Thank you so much!

I would normally have used about 1/4 cup of Vinegar in the 2 gallons of whey, but I was a little short this time. I just used what I had and it worked just fine. Thank you so much for watching!

Sorry, I dont have the recipe written out, but you can see in the video the amounts I used! Its a really easy recipe and they are delicious! Congrats!! So excited for you!!

Lol not really, But Thank you! :D

Thank you so much!

Check the description box below the video! You can also get most of it from the Video :)

I haven't made it before. But sounds delicious!

First of all Congratulations!! What breed of goats are you getting? How you prepare the milk for drinking is a personal conviction/choice. I encourage you to your own research on raw versus pasteurized milk, to make the choice for yourself. Either way, its important to milk in a clean place, wash their udders and strain your milk quickly, then get it in to the fridge to cool quickly. This helps a lot on the flavor, and making the milk last longer. Some people put the jars in an ice bath after straining, for faster cooling. I have always just put it in the fridge.

We are in Southern Coastal Oregon, not sure, often times goats will pick and choose, so if they have enough other things they might not touch it if they don't already know they like it...and sometimes goats are just picky. I have found Saanen and Nigerians to be some of the hardiest go-getters! of the breeds I have owned. My Nubian would stay in the barn if the others didn't leave her lone :D She's a baby

Hello! The biggest thing for milk production is breeding! Lines that are bred especially for milk production. My goats are Dairy breeds, so their main purpose is milk, not meat. Also good feed makes a big difference! Grains make a big impact on the amounts also.

Yes, I added rennet

My Minis milk between 3/4 gal to 1 gallon a day. Haylee (full Saanen is a little over 1 gallon a day, but I dont feed a lot of grain to any of my does, and its not dairy goat grain, which increases milk yield. I like to have them more natural pasture/browse fed and I don't push for more milk

Good for you! I'm sure you are going to love that new lifestyle!! Those are good questions. I live in The PNW Southern Coastal Oregon so we get a TON of rain ...60-80 inches a year, but very warm/mild temps (very little, to no summer rain.) So its very different here than the area you are looking at. But goats do amazing in hot/dry areas! Cows don't do quite as well in heat, and they need so much more feed/grass, that it may be hard to feed them, unless you have irrigation and/or a lot of acres. We have 128 acres and a lot of it is hill/logging land so the goats thrive in the forests! My cattle are mostly always in the pastures land. For most the year we have browse and grazing gulor, but in winter I have to feed at least some, depending on how much fall/winter growth the grass gets. I don't bother with feeding grass hay, since they are still browsing some, so I just feed Organic Alfalfa. And Milking goats get Organic grain. The Mini Saanens are hardy and easy goats! Nigerians are super thrifty and they pass that on..Compared to the Saanen that require a lot more feed to keep up with their output. As far as fertilizing, The animals themselves help fertilizer the soil and it is important to move them around just for parasite control alone. One thing we have going for us, is each winter we have flooding that brings down minerals/dirt from the hills that settle down onto the pastures. I don't do rotational grazing to the extent of say... Joel Salatin. But I do rotate which animals are in what pastures and when. Goats go after browse...the sheep and cows want the grass. Fjord horses get fat on NOTHING so they are normally in small paddocks with little grass and for the most part I keep them out of the best pastures as they eat it to the ground...and dont need that rich feed. I always separate nursing ewes/does with babies, from the rest of the herd/flock and give them the best feed/best pasture (at the time I did this video I have everyone back together again after selling most the kids) A few big things I have learned for a healthy herd...#1 feeding Sea Kelp! #2 #Apple Cider Vinegar is great for many things! I add it to their water. Also using natural wormers with Garlic and DE, feeding free choice minerals and baking soda, also keeping the barn doors open! so they have shelter, but dont spend hours locked up, they are healthier living outside!

Gosh, I have had that for so many years I can't remember where I bought it! This one looks pretty close. And also Milk filter link. (note*Both links are our Amazon Affiliate links) Strainer: samzn.to/48CO11B Filters: amzn.to/49wSPa4

I warm it to about 85 degrees or so, The full recipe is in the description box. Thank you for watching!

Approximately 80 degrees F, But it can be a few degrees either side of that. Thank you for watching!

Hi Maria! Is it her first time(year) being milked? Most does will settle down as they get more comfortable and settled into a milking routine...Like Lindy, my Nigerian did. Two things I do when I have a bad kicker, is to use a small jar you can hold onto, and pour milk into a bigger jar each time you have enough....that way if the milk gets kicked and spilled, you don't lose it all. The second thing is to try to never lose hold of the teat when she kicks. That way she doesnt get the win of getting you off...and that will make them stop trying as hard if they never get you off. Talk to her, calm her. Tell her it's OK. If that doesn't work, you can always tie their foot back, just far enough that she can still stand on it, but can't kick forward. And over time they will stop kicking and you can stop tying it back. Also its SO important to stay calm and sweet and reassure them! Often people think they are being "bad" when really they are uncomfortable and nervous! Its in them to protect their milk for their baby!

Yes, most the time I do. It depends on how far in lactation they are. I dam raise all my kids, so I normally start milking after I sell their kids at 3 months old. And will milk 2x a day until Fall, when they go down in milk, then 1x a day until they are 2 months from kidding when I dry them.

That depends, often once milk is frozen it kind of separates when you defrost it, That wouldn't work for making cheese. But if you defrost it and it looks normal, with no solids then it should work!

Yes,. Not a lot of grain and its Organic grains, no additives.

We are in Southern Coastal Oregon. :) Our Ranch is on the North Fork of the River

I add it at 80F degrees. but its OK to be a little warmer or cooler. as long as it isnt too hot as that will kill the cultures. Yes, I use cow's milk yogurt mostly, but you can also use Goat milk yogurt or Kefir works too!

@carmenzamastil1545 They seem to take after the Saanen for seasonal breeding, But My bucks are actually always wearing anti-breeding harnesses! So I can run the bucks with the does and never have to worry about breeding too young or too often. If I chose to breed for milking year round, I for sure could, but I enjoy the time off in winter, and it makes it easier on the does also. I normally have my Jerseys milking year round, so we always have milk. So with the Mini Saanens, there isn't anything that you have to "work on" like the Mini Nubian's ears etc., so my first Generation Mini Saanens are "Perfect" I haven't seen a difference in later generations, Haddie the Sable is a F2 and Harper is a F1. Only big differences have been the quality of the Saanen and Nigerian you start with. Saanens were/are my favorite breed, but there are a few things that aren't perfect about them. The are so large, they eat so much, their butterfat is low, and hard to keep weight on. The Nigerians have great milk! but they are small, their production isn't great and they aren't quite as sweet/easy going. The Minis come out perfect, medium sized, heave producers, high butterfat, GREAT temperament, hardier and stay fatter.

Thanks, you've answered everything I wanted and needed to know. And I agree with you in enjoying handmilking, because of the small teats with some of my Nigerian girls, I bought a milk machine. And quess what, I used it maybe 3 times,before I gifted it to someone else. It was so impersonal. I love that connection I feel with hand milking. The only plus I seen when I did use it was a Mama who was to full of colostrum when her babies were born, I was afraid they couldn't suckle. So I milked her down some and fed the babies. Again Thank you for answering my questions and sharing your jounery.

@@carmenzamastil1545 Yes! I have always felt that a machine would take away from the peace and bond with my animals. And yes Nigerians are hard at first!! Lindy (the doe in this Video), she kicked like crazy at first, with those tiny teats, plus her milk flow isnt the best it was terrible! took true grit to get through that time, but now she loves being milked and waits in line for her turn. But I for sure enjoy milking my Mini Saanens the best of all! I hope you can try them! and fall in love with them like I have!

What do you do with the whey ?

@marycornacchia1308 That is a Milking Stanchion, It makes it more comfortable to milk goats, as its up off the ground so you can sit next to them. It also has their grain dish holder and a way to clip their heads in.

We are in Oregon, USA

Thank you so much!!!!