I always imagined milking my goats as this relaxing, bonding experience, where they munched happily on feed, while I either manually worked their teats, or sat and conversed with them while a milking machine did that for me.
Yeah. Well, the first few times did not even closely reflect that 'pastural' scene.
I quickly realized that the key to this give-and-take relationship was to do things 'their' way!
So, when I stopped trying to make them get on the Milking Stand, and instead let them eat grain from a bowl just sitting on the (expensive) Milking Stand), they settled and let me hook them up and the milk started to flow. We're still working on extending their patience timeframe to stand still(ish), but production is going up every day.
I must admit, looking at this video, it makes me wish I'd ignored Halena this Summer and resurfaced the flooring.
A couple of folks have inquired about 'Herd Shares' so they can legally buy the milk in Michigan, and we are totally wanting to go that route. I just need a few more days to build-up the production and get all the necessary checks and balances in place. So, if you are reading this and are interested in buying into the herd, please contact us.
We are also going to commit some of the milk to the making of soap. Everything from plain, no scent or dyes, to essential oil and petal infused. It's going to be fun playing with scents and textures.