Goats are ready to kidd/Cream separator?

[homesteaderbelle]

My goats will be ready to kidd soon. I can hardly wait for that great tasing milk. We usually get a gallon a day from each goat, we have two now. We had 12 last year but have sold off down to two. We are wanting to buy a cow, since we need more milk and butter. The goats milk doesn't give us enough cream for butter. I have heard that a cream separator would get the all of the cream out of the goats milk and then we could make butter. Does anyone use a cream separator???
The ones I looked at were very exspensive.
I was raised on fresh, raw, cows milk, it was great. The cow milk from the store doesn't even taste like milk.We really don't know what is in that milk either.
What is involved in keeping a healthy cow? Does a vet need to do any type of check ups on the cow?When I was young, our cows never were seen by a vet, nor did we give them any meds.
Any one have any advice?
Belle

[Deberosa]

My goats will be ready to kidd soon. I can hardly wait for that great tasing milk. We usually get a gallon a day from each goat, we have two now. We had 12 last year but have sold off down to two. We are wanting to buy a cow, since we need more milk and butter. The goats milk doesn't give us enough cream for butter. I have heard that a cream separator would get the all of the cream out of the goats milk and then we could make butter. Does anyone use a cream separator???
The ones I looked at were very exspensive.
* * * * *I was raised on fresh, raw, cows milk, it was great. The cow milk from the store doesn't even taste like milk.We really don't know what is in that milk either.
What is involved in keeping a healthy cow? Does a vet need to do any type of check ups on the cow?When I was young, our cows never were seen by a vet, nor did we give them any meds.
* * Any one have any advice?
* * * * * *Belle
You might want to consider Dexter cows, that is what I decided to do. I have some notes on that on my blog at:
http://deberosahomestead.wordpress.com/category/critters/cattle/

Dexters are smaller so don't need as much space plus they are very sturdy animals. I've only had my two dexters for a few weeks but they are really easy to work with. I don't milk Daisy right now but will with her next calf. You can "share" the milk with the calf if you don't need it all. I am happy with that choice for my homestead.

[bee_pipes]

I hear ya. I have been looking at cream separators too. They run over $300 for a new one - nothing fancy. A hand powered job seems more practical. They show up on ebay from time to time, but I have not seen one recently that was a bargain when compared to a new one. It would be great to find a used one at a bargain 0 they should last forever. Like a grain mill - may be no alternative but to bite the bullet.

I asked this question recntly on another goat forum:
http://thegoatspot.freeforums.org/viewtopic.php?t=1266

You are raisimg Nubians? or another breed? How many milking does are you looking at? I know you have two now, do you have plans to add more?

Butter is a concern for me too - we use a fair amount of it in a week's time for cooking and such. Milk is not so big of a deal - I'm the only milk drinker, but my wife uses it to cook with and on the occasional bowl of cereal. We figured the surplus would go into other dairy products, but you only get so much cream for butter...

Regards,
Pat

[AlchemyAcres]

It can be done without a separator.......
Cream from goats milk doesn't naturally separate as easily because the fat globules are so much smalller...but it can be done...save the milk in the fridge for at least a day or two before skimming off the cream with a spoon...over the course of a few days you'll have enough for a small batch of butter....a very small batch...LOL


If you're super serious about it...Hoegger and others sell seperators especially designed for goats milk for less than $400, that'll last a lifetime...it's important to know that not all seperators are good for goats milk.

Cows?
Cows are more demanding and more expensive to keep than goats (how much milk do you really need?)...
A vet?
No, a vet isn't essential...it all depends...Can you recognize faults in a cow that may eventually lead to serious and expensive problms, etc. There's a lot to consider.
I've been around cows and other livstock all my life, yet, I wouldn't buy a cow or milk goat without a vet check...it's too big of an investment to be gamblin'...
Is she bred?
Is she breedable?
She may be bred but that doesn't mean she's pregnanT. LOL
Is she checked pregnant? etc. etc. etc.
There's a thousand and one questions to ask!

~Martin :)

[homesteaderbelle]

It can be done without a separator.......
Cream from goats milk doesn't naturally separate as easily because the fat globules are so much smalller...but it can be done...save the milk in the fridge for at least a day or two before skimming off the cream with a spoon...over the course of a few days you'll have enough for a small batch of butter....a very small batch...LOL


If you're super serious about it...Hoegger and others sell seperators especially designed for goats milk for less than $400, that'll last a lifetime...it's important to know that not all seperators are good for goats milk.

Cows?
Cows are more demanding and more expensive to keep than goats (how much milk do you really need?)...
A vet?
No, a vet isn't essential...it all depends...Can you recognize faults in a cow that may eventually lead to serious and expensive problms, etc. There's a lot to consider.
I've been around cows and other livstock all my life, yet, I wouldn't buy a cow or milk goat without a vet check...it's too big of an investment to be gamblin'...
Is she bred?
Is she breedable?
She may be bred but that doesn't mean she's pregnanT. LOL
Is she checked pregnant? etc. etc. etc.
There's a thousand and one questions to ask!

~Martin :)




Thanks Matin,
I have been doing some reading on cows milk vs goats milk and it seems that the goat milk is the healthier choice. I read your post to my dad and he said"OK, we are not getting a cow." LOL
He was just kidding, but he did have me do some more research of the benifits of goats milk for someone who is fighting cancer.It was quite interesting what I found out. One of my family members is fighting cancer and for her the cows milk is not a good thing. So now we are now thinking of just getting more dairy goats and a cream separator.
Belle

[annabella1]

Gramma used to separate the cream in the goats milk by hand. She would put the milk in a large shallow pan (she used the bottom of the oval roaster pan) she put it on the stove across two burners set on low. when the surface of the milk started getting shimmery she would skim that off, it was the milk fat, the cream. She would put it in the refrigerator to chill and then make it into butter. When I was little she used a churn to make butter. It was a large jar like thing with a crank that she turned to move the paddles inside. When I got older she made butter in the blender and it worked even better.