I milk by hand, because I don’t want to wash one more thing and sterilize it.

I helped a friend procure a 2 milk cows, and she discovered she was getting carpal tunnel and she was experiencing pain in her joints after everyday farmstead work. Her ND recommended cutting out breads and sugar, and if eating grain in any form, properly soaking it to get rid of phytates. Guess what – her pain disappeared. She was glad to be able to milk, do regular chores and avoid surgery. It seems grains (even organic) or usually lacking the B-6 that used to make grains such a healthy food. I’m just passing this on, I know some people won’t quit eating grain and may have a more serious case than my friend.

I am so jealous. I’m going to have to drag Jeff over and try to sell him on the goat idea. He’s very resistant.

I think it’s been 18 months, so it’s time for a visit again.

Amy in Westerlo

Children absolutely love the fresh taste of the milk. They are open vessels and don’t have preconceived ideas about goat milk.

Scott and I and others we have shared the milk with have commented on how they do not struggle with allergy symptoms anymore(from grasses, pollens, etc.). Also, arthritis relief and more. Theory is , goats browsing the local landscape develop antibodies to the allergens and pass it through the milk. Actually, I’m not real clear why it works like it does!

We love our goats and are so grateful for the many and varied benefits of drinking fresh, clean, raw goats milk!

After years of hand milking, Scott and I are milking our goat(s) now with an electric
milking machine (Hoegger goat supply, there is a less costly way for ‘do it yourselfers’ to fashion together a milking system that Joe Hoegger could discuss.) This machine is worth the investment. Now anyone can be taught to use the machine, where teaching someone to milk in an effective way , so to take a trip, is very challenging and harder on the animal.

There is away to swing the arms, in milking, that corrects the tendency toward carpal tunnel flaring. Hope this helps! Kimberly

For us, we washed our hands before we started. We actually used a medium-sized bucket of hot (HOT) water with Dr. Bronner’s and white vinegar in it for cleaning the goat’s udders. That bucket lasted us for 10 goats, and then we would change it. I’m saying this, because you could probably use a rather small bucket of water/soap/etc for your two girls. Once we were done with the water, we went and watered something with it. Once we were done milking, we sprayed the teats either with an iodine teat wash or a mixture of vinegar, water, and peppermint oil. We did switch to the milking machines towards the end of my time there, and those took SO MUCH HOT WATER to clean. It was horrible. I think hand-milking into a bucket, and then using a standard milk filter and filter paper is the way to go. Then, you only need the small amount of hot water it takes to clean the filter, your milking bucket, and the bucket you set your filter on.

With the machines, I’ve found it very uncomfortable for the goat to leave it attached to the machine until it was completely milked out. We always milked everyone out by hand, after the machine had done most of the work.

As for the hand-milking/carpal tunnel syndrome, I know you may not believe me, but I had absolutely debilitating carpal tunnel for years (to the point that it would flare up so badly I couldn’t even turn a doorknob). When I went to work on the farm, I was milking 30 goats by hand, every single day (though I reached my limit with 60, which was crazy). For about a week, I thought my hands were going to fall off, but at the same time, I could feel them getting stronger. Within a month, all symptoms of carpal tunnel had gone away, and I’ve only had one flare-up since then. So…milking may actually be therapeutic!

Whew! That’s all I can think of for now. Like I said, if it turns out that hand-milking might work for you, you can probably do each goat in about a minute, once you get the hang of it. Then, you can impress your friends and family!