How to hand milk a goat is one of the most difficult things to try to explain in words, let alone in a video. It’s one of those “you have to do it and feel it for yourself” type of things. Explaining how to move your hands and where…it’s hard. But, I decided to give it a try anyway, and finally recorded a “how to hand milk a goat” video for my Youtube channel. Don’t be discouraged if you go to milk for the first time and you get it all over your hands as opposed to the bucket. It will come to you. Also a little trade secret, it is OKAY TO CRY. I have done my fair share in the past 😀 But, once you get the hang of it, it’s pure magic.
Every goat is different, as is their behavior on the milk stand and how they milk. Are their teats large or small? How big are your hands? Are their orifices small or normal? How defined is the medial ligament, affecting teat positioning? The more you milk, the more you get a feel for what works for you as well as your particular goat you’re milking.
Ruby for example is a saint on the stand as long as she has food and is still hungry. But, once she has had her fill, I have a very short window of opportunity to finish. As evident in this video, I was talking and showing things rather than going about my usual brisk pace milking. Usually, I beat her. So due to my slower pace, she got a little fed up and wouldn’t stand well for me anymore. This is just how it is with her, and I know that going into it. Thankfully, when she is preoccupied and happily eating, as you can see she is an absolute angel and I love milking her.
Please excuse the last few minutes where my head is partially cut off. Unfortunately, I have to record these videos myself and sometimes I don’t get the camera placement right!
Additional posts that you may find helpful related to this include the design for the goat milk stand, how I process the milk post milking, and why I went with goats for home dairy in the first place.
P.S – I ended this milking with a half gallon on a 12 hour udder for inquiring minds!
Happy Milking,
Would love a blog post on your goat milk ice cream. I recently made some and although is was delicious it was not very creamy.
I’m still recipe testing! Working on it!
Hi Kate! Do you use a milk strainer? We are new to milking and have been using a coffee filter over a canning funnel but it takes quite a bit of time to strain. I found a few on amazon but wanted to see if you have one you prefer first. Thanks!! 🙂
Hi Jess! I just use a mesh coffee filter like I showed in my milking routine blog post. Maybes its the one you use? It doesn’t take mine long to strain at all, happens immediately
Thank you! I was just using paper ones but ordered one like you have. Ordered the greek yogurt maker too. My daughter is super excited about that! 🙂
Ohhhh yeah the paper doesn’t work! The one i has works great, and it’s reusable! 🙂