For most of these remedies for poor goat milk flavor (to include mineral imbalances), allow a few weeks to a month for the milk's flavor to improve! I will keep you all updated on the situation here!!
Do I have goats? No! Do I plan to to have goats? No! Did I watch the entire vlog? YES!!! Very informative. You have a gift for teaching. Well done and thank you for the information.
As someone who has the human version of a medical B12 deficiency (Pernicious Anemia), I can very much confirm that lacking a proper amount of B12 feels awful. It feels like chronic fatigue, body aches, weakness, and headaches. The headaches are the worst even when getting proper treatment. Hopefully your goats never get that badly off. I wouldn't wish this nonsense on anyone, much less innocent animals. Thank you for posting this video series. It was both entertaining and informative. My spouse and I are looking into buying ourselves a home with land soon. I'm a huge dairy consumer so I've been pondering over if I want to invest in cows or goats once we have space. This series is really having me consider a little goat herd. Obviously, I have a lot more research to do, but this was a great series for anyone considering dairy options. Thank you!
You are so welcome!! Thiamine is B1, but yes all B vitamins are important and a deficiency causes a cascade of issues! I hope you have more good days than bad. Thanks so much for watching the goat husbandry series!
I watched this video about 3 weeks ago and as a new goat owner of just 1 year just thought that’s how goat milk tasted. Goaty. I changed the minerals I give them based on this video and Holy Cow! The milk is amazing! Thank you 🙏🏻 I was chilling the milk very quickly in the freezer and cleaning them thoroughly but was still experiencing a very strong goat flavor. We don’t have any males nearby at all so I just thought that was how the milk tasted. I wish I had found you sooner! Thank you for sharing your knowledge! I don’t know anyone who has goats so someone like me relies heavily on people like you who willingly share your expertise.
You have no idea how happy it makes me that our channel makes impacts like this on other people's homesteads!! Goat's milk gets a bad rap, I think because there is FAR too little research put into proper goat management in this country. The cobalt makes ALL the difference! ♥
For us it was a mineral imbalance, we copper bolused and switched out our loose minerals. Now it tastes amazing! Oh, and we also started giving Replamin Plus gel once a week, it made a world of difference!
We just bought our starter Nubian herd, and your videos have been so helpful! They will be bred for the first time in November, and I am beyond excited for our own fresh milk. I was skeptical with goats milk vs cows milk, but your channel has helped me realize it's all doable! (Also, fellow Kentuckian here 👋🏻)
Thank you for this video. As an aspirational goat owner I always love information like this and appreciate all of the herd improvement information you have been putting out lately.
I'm allergic to dairy, lol, but love watching dairy goat videos. I dream of getting a homestead and adding dairy goats not for myself, but for my partner, family, and to sell.
Ahhh that explains so much. I had left you a comment a while back about people using the blue block and saying that improves the flavor. Totally makes sense now!
Really interesting and educational video, Heather! Loved that you walked through and tasted each goat's milk. I think perhaps that might be a general good idea to do once in a while just maybe to see how a goat's milk is changing. Really hoping the issue is the cobalt/b-vitamin deficiency. 💚💚
Very interesting!!! I'm excited to see if the cobalt changes the flavor. I'm seeing more goat owners adding a mineral buffet to their animals' diet. Sarah at Fish or Price Ranch has had big improvements to the health of her herd. She started the buffet when they lived in Arizona. Recently they have moved with their herd to Arkansas and the minerals the goats were choosing to consume has also changed. Sarah has lots of videos about the buffet. Each goat will consume what they need and no more. Thanks for sharing and stay safe!🙏❤
Incredibly informative, Heather….thank you! And I must confess, loved watching your barn kittens while you spoke ….love kittens! They will have such a wonderful home with your family too!
Love your goat videos! I could honestly watch them all day. Thanks for the links to other youtubers with goat info. Your channel is such a wealth of information.
For me it was genetics. I kept one goat out of a herd of 35 dairy goats, because she consistantly had the sweetest, creamiest milk, no matter what. The only exception was when she had buck kids on her. She passed those genetics to her female kids.
Oh my goodness! So much to learn - but very happy it's not hitting fast & furious like last year. (And is potentially something as easily remedied as a slight mineral imbalance.) The look on your face, though - It was quite obvious who gave the least favorable-tasting milk. LOL
Super vitamin B complex is very important in their routine. Every 3-4 months during pregnancy and milking is very important. And I also do the same with probiotic paste. The thing with cobalt blocks you have to make sure they are eating the amount needed. Shots given are a true count. I have never had a milk issue because of this.
Thanks for the info on cobalt! We give free choice kelp meal so I will check into how much cobalt it has. I also keep the injectable B complex for signs they need it. Great video as usual!
LOVE your channel!! ELBOW...I'm sure you're already familiar BUT COMFREY SLAVE 3x4 times a day heeled my rotator cuff and tennis elboy that were so bad I suggest it to everyone. I was never much of a medicinal person but had already tried everything...4 days is all it took!! Now I make it and give it to everyone who is just as amazed as I was. Double blind academic research showed a significant out performance to the main ingredient in voltaran creme. TIP use the largest most mature leaves at the bottom of the plant for the salve so that the one ingredient that's said to potentially harm you liver? Is not present (also academic research) ❤
I read that as I reason too and I'm so glad copper resolved it for you!! We bolus twice a year and Talia got 8g in March. Breezy got 4g. The b12 injection seems to be working!!
@@SageandStoneHomestead in our area of Virginia we have to bolus every 3 months with 4g of copper for our big girls and 2g for our little guys. Their coat color also tells us ❤️ I'm glad the cobalt is helping!
Thank you for sharing your experiences! This video was very timely for me. Not having a milk issue but I have 2 kids with neck swelling since they turned about 10 days and mom also lost a lot of weight. I didn't get much help from the vet but pretty sure now I am seeing milk goiters. This also lines up with some other issues I'm facing as well in my herd. I'm picking up a different mineral mix and going to give the b vitamins a try for mom. Thank you and may God continue to bless you and your beautiful family ❤
We are working out this same problem. It’s definitely getting better farther out from kidding but I’ll have to save this video if it doesn’t continue. Might have to try some of these to start crossing off the list. Thank you for sharing!
Cobalt is needed to make B12 for one. There have been horses diagnosed with sweetitch who where actually cobalt deficient and that caused the itching. So yes it is an important mineral for all kinds of functions.
I am seeing that! Their loose mineral has it in it, but possibly not enough or some goats are guarding the mineral station. I love the idea of a bolus of cobalt but I'm not sure about it. We will try the block for now!
I was recommended to get cobalt block for the b12 to help the rumen function. I have a few that keep going btw berries/pine cones/dog poo without worms. And the extra cobalt is supposed to help boost B12 made in the rumen + the function and then keep the berries. I also give a selenium block. We are in a selenium deplete area.
Oh my goodness! Your face when you found the culprit! It was funny, but oh, I feel your disappointment! I don't freeze milk either. I used to, but after jars shattering in the freezer I quit. I have never had the milk taste off from it. Years ago my husband made me a Shakeology shake with some goat milk and I took one drink and wanted to throw up! I didn't drink goat milk for nearly two months! The doe in question had mastitis. Anyway, I enjoyed your milk taste room video! That was fun!
Yes I read that as a reason for off tasting milk and I used those mastitis indicator cards and no mastitis thankfully!! If Talia was my first taste of goat's milk ever... I would want a cow LOL!!
Fascinating stuff. I'm interested to see how this works out. Especially because the two goats are related. In the few times I've accidentally had goat milk related products, it all tastes like goat to me, but I think that's an allergy related thing. It's like the plant things I'm allergic to smell really bad to me too, yet other people have no idea what I'm talking about when they are with me. It can be frustrating watching something like this, because when you're talking about how great their milk tastes I'm sad that I can't know that, but at the same time I'm impressed by how diverse these little creatures are.
Not the going in for a second serving of the goatie tasting milk 😂 Great problem solving Heather, don’t have any goats but always enough watching your herd.
We don't currently have a problem with our milk tasting goaty - Rose is a Saanen (the only one I milk out of a herd of five, the others are hangers-on!) and her milk is really sweet and creamy - but this is so helpful, as I'll know what to look for if it ever is an issue. Thank you!
Ik dacht dus altijd dat ik geen geitenmelk lustte. Besef me nu dat ik altijd alleen uit de winkel geproefd heb. Ik moet op zoek naar echt verse geitenmelk want nu ben ik zo benieuwd!
I don’t have goats. Just chickens but what I have learned from watching homesteaders was that when you put male goats close to the females and that will turn your milk.
Thank you, Heather!! Excellent information!! I only notice the 'goaty' flavor when my does are toward the end of their lactation & especially as they come into heat. Where did you order the cobalt block from? The mineral I use does contain some cobalt, I didn't realize it was so important. Thank you! God bless!
The mineral I have has cobalt too, I wonder if some goats are being bullied away from the mineral station or somehow she got behind and couldn't catch up. I now have 3 stations for minerals so it's harder for anyone to guard. I ordered the cobalt block from "Do It Best" online. It's the only place that seemed to have reasonable shipping. Our local TSC was out.
Great information. We haven't had any major issues yet, and I hope we don't. Our milk tastes pretty sweet most of the time. We do have one Doe that is 1/8th Alpine. I have finally been able to milk her with my husband holding her legs. The B vit complex may help her because her hair always seems so frizzy. Have you thought about possibly setting up a mineral bar? I know some people have success providing the minerals individually.
I won't worry about it too much unless it proves necessary I think. I need to be mindful about all the things I'm managing, for now a cobalt block added to the barn is doable :)
Thank you so much!! You just taught me about cobalt, so thanks! I have already ordered a mineral buffet style option for my heard, but I haven't gotten it ready yet. I'm so curious to see which minerals my heard goes for and if that makes a difference for my Tansy.
@@SageandStoneHomesteadI put out some of the individual minerals from my buffet system that I’m changing to. I don’t have it completely set up so I just put out some of them. I made sure to include copper and selenium because I know we’ve struggled with those and I put out cobalt since you mentioned that it was related to vitamin B. They are going crazy for it! Cobalt and Selenium are the top 2 so far and I’ll get out all the others as soon as I get the little bowls. But thank you for mentioning that connection, obviously mine have really needed it! I’m excited to see if anything changes in the milk.
@@EweGoatToBeKidding it's so funny when I added the cobalt block into the barn two that were glued to it first were my two with off-tasting milk! It's incredible to see. The milk is MUCH sweeter now and gets better day by day!
Heather you said you are changing minerals. What are you changing to? I’ve had good luck with SweetLix meat maker, kelp(pricy but worth it) and the selenium block. I’m trying to get my hands on bluebonnet feed all stock minerals. They have kelp included and yeast. The breeder I got my Nigerians from recommended the BlueBonnet AND her goats were BEAUTIFUL! All of them were SO shiny!😍 Also how do you give the BioWorma? I’ve been giving it on the stand and mixed in the minerals. I feel like I’m using too much of it. I want it to work, but also last…bc you know-budget.
I mix bioworma into their feed. I have to add molasses so it will stick. In dryer months I will give it every other day, I didn't give it in this video. I don't plan to switch minerals I'll just be adding the cobalt block to the mix. The goats are on the kalmbach goat mineral ❤️
I have never had our goats milk taste like that you can't tell the difference between cows or our goats. I milk with a only because of my rheumatoid arthritis and I can't help by hand when you have goats that give you two to three gallons per day per goat. And we were hit by what we believe was a tornado on Father's Day night about 10:00 p.m. either get ripped apart and thrown or uprooted and our house is not in the best shape but we are safe and all of our animals are in good shape too so we thank God for that thank you for sharing until next time God bless you.
@@SageandStoneHomestead no we were still up after having a great work day. It hit about 10 pm we went down into the basement and there was so much rain coming into the house down into the basement. It lasted about 1/2 hour. But it's a sound of breaking tree landing all around the house and on the house. God has his hands around us and our animals.
Thank you Heather for making the video, you make it look so easy! I noticed you did not use any antiseptic spray, is this not needed? Any care required after testicles fall off? I read where they can get infected.
Hi there! We have had an infection one time. It is best to use an antiseptic, They make a spray for udders called "Fight Bac" that is great for this. It's chlorexidine.
I’ve had a goat’s milk turn bitter and I read that it’s lack of copper and vit B. So I gave her B shots 2 days in a row and 4g of copper. The flavor went back to normal in 2 days.
Heather! Are you a God send or what. One of my goats is producing bad tasting milk. And I have been tryin to figure out why. It's like your reading my mail or something! I'm going to try the b12 and find some cobalt to see if that is our issue too. I see that Santa Cruz makes a cobalt bolus that last 1 to 3 years. Perhaps that may help.
Good morning Heather, I love watching your TH-cam videos. I need some goat Mama help I am first time Goat mama. I have three kids, two does and one buck. I also purchased a mother in milk. Been Milking for like 3 months now. The kids were born in February or March that I purchased. They're not registered I bought them fairly cheap they're adorable and I love them. So my buck and young are about 7 months old. For the last month Billy has been peeing on himself. The females are not showing any sign that I can see that they are in heat. I really don't want babies born in the middle of the winter. Because we live in Michigan and we have cold Winters. I have my buck separate how do I know when it's safe to breed the girls they're probably 7 months old also. When will it be too late to breed them for the year? And when should I stop milking before my milk and goat meets the buck? Thank you for any advice that I can get! Much appreciated thanks in advance! Theresa Mersdorf
Now this is for Nigerians, I'm not sure if that's what you have, I go more on weight for larger does. If breeding mini or back to a Nigerian ill breed at 80 lbs. Standard to standard 120 is ideal. th-cam.com/video/jDLszfiQ4v8/w-d-xo.htmlsi=WvSG5fiijbjifPyt
We have clover all over but all the goats eat it. Every year, too. There is a chance that Talia consumes more clover than the rest. I'll be sure to report back in a few weeks after the cobalt and b12 have had a chance to do their thing! :)
It could be a vitamin/mineral thing but you might want to get a CMT and test both sides for sub clinical mastitis as a precaution for your doe's udder (and i guess your health in the offchance it's being caused by a stomach bug causing bacteria). We traditionally do a 5 day course of la200 and today to fix it if we do get a positive but your vet will know more if she's a goat person. If she's not feeling well she may not make b12 as well either. YAY MILKTEST! You'll get stomatic cell counts that can tell you about potential mastitis trying to come on too. Feral has the genes for the most casein. And sorry I haven't gotten back any other way. Life's a zoo.
The local feed store has the CMT so I'll pick that up. So far we have just used those mastitis indicator cards that you squirt the milk on the orange circle to detect a a problem and so far so good, but the CMT is probably more precise! I know life is a zoo so don't worry about it!
I thought that was the way goats milk was supposed to taste because my little sister was allergic to cows milk so my mom bought goats milk and we all had to drink it.
Goat's milk does taste different than cow's milk. Raw milk in general has flavor while a lot of processed milk does not in my opinion. A lot of the time store bought Goat's milk tastes like a goat and I'm guessing there are multiple factors at play there, but home-milked goat's milk should be creamy and sweet. You can tell it's not cow's milk but it should not taste like a muddy goat hoof! Goat-essence but it should not smack you in the face or be bitter right out of the goat. :)
If a goat and her offspring both have off flavored milk, I would remove them from my genetics. I like my goats to be as minimum maintenance as possible. Placing milk in a freezer cools milk four times slower than in an ice bath.
Hey Heather, enjoy watching all your videos I tried to send you an email and they said your email does not exist. Do you have a new email address so I could send you questions I'm a new goat mama! And need some information.
you might look into the mineral buffet, 20 different supplements in individual containers so the goats can choose the things they need. I've switched my girls over to it because we were having severe copper, zinc and selenium deficiency issues. At first those were the things that I had to refill all the time. They are still eating a lot of copper but now the flavor of the week is silicon. Other times it's been sulfur, manganese and magnesium. I've seen differences too when I had to pick up a different brand of grain because they were out of our regular one and sometimes there are differences when I get a new batch of hay. I get mine from Sarah www.youtube.com/@fishorpriceranch6172
Decades ago I raised 3 of my human kids on goat milk. I hated the smell of goats and goat milk because no matter the supplier, it smelled like goat. My mom told me for years we needed to get a goat and I was just not in the place with my past experiences. Anyway, we raise pygmies & had the opportunity to take in 2 nigerian dwarf in milk. I'm shocked at myself for not tasting the milk before purchasing the goats! Thankfully, no goatiness!! I love the milk & have a great time playing with it.
I have been trying to make yogurt from my goats milk and have not succeeded because it turns out goaty 🫠 i hand milk one Nigerian Dwarf and she gives just under a half gallon a day. I have found that cooling the milk in the freezer for 20/30 minutes, shaking it every ten minutes, keeps it super sweet😊😊
For most of these remedies for poor goat milk flavor (to include mineral imbalances), allow a few weeks to a month for the milk's flavor to improve! I will keep you all updated on the situation here!!
Do I have goats? No! Do I plan to to have goats? No! Did I watch the entire vlog? YES!!! Very informative. You have a gift for teaching. Well done and thank you for the information.
You are so awesome!! Thank you ❤️❤️
I don't raise goats either, however, I completely enjoy seeing how others do their thing & learn along the way!
I am getting so much information from your postings. Much appreciated
I'm so glad! Thanks for watching!
As someone who has the human version of a medical B12 deficiency (Pernicious Anemia), I can very much confirm that lacking a proper amount of B12 feels awful. It feels like chronic fatigue, body aches, weakness, and headaches. The headaches are the worst even when getting proper treatment. Hopefully your goats never get that badly off. I wouldn't wish this nonsense on anyone, much less innocent animals.
Thank you for posting this video series. It was both entertaining and informative. My spouse and I are looking into buying ourselves a home with land soon. I'm a huge dairy consumer so I've been pondering over if I want to invest in cows or goats once we have space. This series is really having me consider a little goat herd. Obviously, I have a lot more research to do, but this was a great series for anyone considering dairy options. Thank you!
You are so welcome!! Thiamine is B1, but yes all B vitamins are important and a deficiency causes a cascade of issues! I hope you have more good days than bad. Thanks so much for watching the goat husbandry series!
I watched this video about 3 weeks ago and as a new goat owner of just 1 year just thought that’s how goat milk tasted. Goaty. I changed the minerals I give them based on this video and Holy Cow! The milk is amazing! Thank you 🙏🏻 I was chilling the milk very quickly in the freezer and cleaning them thoroughly but was still experiencing a very strong goat flavor. We don’t have any males nearby at all so I just thought that was how the milk tasted. I wish I had found you sooner! Thank you for sharing your knowledge! I don’t know anyone who has goats so someone like me relies heavily on people like you who willingly share your expertise.
You have no idea how happy it makes me that our channel makes impacts like this on other people's homesteads!! Goat's milk gets a bad rap, I think because there is FAR too little research put into proper goat management in this country. The cobalt makes ALL the difference! ♥
Christine is such a beautiful color 🐐
Thank you! She is a solid chocolate :)
What a wealth of info! Thank you!!
You are so welcome!
Beautiful day today Pretty Lady. Thank you so very much for all you give us every day on your Channel.
I love seeing you puppy get his treat every video!!! It's so cute. He's so happy. What a cutie!
For us it was a mineral imbalance, we copper bolused and switched out our loose minerals. Now it tastes amazing!
Oh, and we also started giving Replamin Plus gel once a week, it made a world of difference!
I'll look into that gel! They all had selenium and copper in March, can't wait for the cobalt block to arrive!
Also!!!!! Great video Heather. Sorry about the milk situation but you have it under control as always.
Wow great video this answered so many of my questions. Thank you🌺
I'm so glad! Thanks for watching!
We just bought our starter Nubian herd, and your videos have been so helpful! They will be bred for the first time in November, and I am beyond excited for our own fresh milk. I was skeptical with goats milk vs cows milk, but your channel has helped me realize it's all doable!
(Also, fellow Kentuckian here 👋🏻)
Totally doable!! Congrats!!
Whiskey balls are great for getting milk cooled faster
great idea!!
Also love the ice pack idea, never occurred to me 😊😊
I wash the ice packs with soap after each milking and let them air dry before adding back to the freezer. Works well!
Thank you for this video. As an aspirational goat owner I always love information like this and appreciate all of the herd improvement information you have been putting out lately.
I'm allergic to dairy, lol, but love watching dairy goat videos. I dream of getting a homestead and adding dairy goats not for myself, but for my partner, family, and to sell.
That's awesome! Can you use the soaps and things on your body or no? That would be a way to use milk for yourself if so!!
This is a solid info dump! Loved it!
Glad you liked it! Thanks for watching!
Ahhh that explains so much. I had left you a comment a while back about people using the blue block and saying that improves the flavor. Totally makes sense now!
You must have been where I first heard about it!! Thank you!!!
You're an awesome teacher, Heather !
Thank you!!
Dad use to talk about growing up and having to get up in the middle of the night to go out in the fields to pick bitterweed so the cows didn't eat it.
Really interesting and educational video, Heather! Loved that you walked through and tasted each goat's milk. I think perhaps that might be a general good idea to do once in a while just maybe to see how a goat's milk is changing. Really hoping the issue is the cobalt/b-vitamin deficiency.
💚💚
Yes I agree!!
Great information Heather. Learned something new today.Thank you for sharing. Love and Blessings. Doris, Penrith 🇦🇺🦘
Very interesting!!! I'm excited to see if the cobalt changes the flavor. I'm seeing more goat owners adding a mineral buffet to their animals' diet. Sarah at Fish or Price Ranch has had big improvements to the health of her herd. She started the buffet when they lived in Arizona. Recently they have moved with their herd to Arkansas and the minerals the goats were choosing to consume has also changed. Sarah has lots of videos about the buffet. Each goat will consume what they need and no more. Thanks for sharing and stay safe!🙏❤
I don't even own a goat but I sure did watch this video! I love watching your channel!!!
Thank you SO much!! ♥♥
This is a great video!! Learning so much from you! ❤
Wonderful video Heather!! I really love the animal side of country life. 💜👍💜 Aunt Beth
Excellent video! A good mystery solved!
Incredibly informative, Heather….thank you! And I must confess, loved watching your barn kittens while you spoke ….love kittens! They will have such a wonderful home with your family too!
They are so fun!!! We just love them.
Love your goat videos! I could honestly watch them all day.
Thanks for the links to other youtubers with goat info. Your channel is such a wealth of information.
For me it was genetics. I kept one goat out of a herd of 35 dairy goats, because she consistantly had the sweetest, creamiest milk, no matter what. The only exception was when she had buck kids on her. She passed those genetics to her female kids.
I hope it's not genetics!! That would be sad.
Great info, thank you! We are about to milk our first ever goats, our 2 nigerian dwarfs. Watching all of your videos helps so much! Thank you 🙏🏼
So excited for you!! Congrats!
Oh my goodness! So much to learn - but very happy it's not hitting fast & furious like last year. (And is potentially something as easily remedied as a slight mineral imbalance.) The look on your face, though - It was quite obvious who gave the least favorable-tasting milk. LOL
It's still bad today, but from what I hear the injectable vitamin B doesn't absorb as fast as an oral form. I have a vitamin B oral gel somewhere!!
Awesome information, thank you for sharing!
Great information to know! Thanks for sharing.
What an interesting video! It's truly something I would never have thought about.
Super vitamin B complex is very important in their routine. Every 3-4 months during pregnancy and milking is very important. And I also do the same with probiotic paste. The thing with cobalt blocks you have to make sure they are eating the amount needed. Shots given are a true count. I have never had a milk issue because of this.
Thanks for the info on cobalt! We give free choice kelp meal so I will check into how much cobalt it has. I also keep the injectable B complex for signs they need it. Great video as usual!
LOVE your channel!! ELBOW...I'm sure you're already familiar BUT COMFREY SLAVE 3x4 times a day heeled my rotator cuff and tennis elboy that were so bad I suggest it to everyone. I was never much of a medicinal person but had already tried everything...4 days is all it took!! Now I make it and give it to everyone who is just as amazed as I was. Double blind academic research showed a significant out performance to the main ingredient in voltaran creme. TIP use the largest most mature leaves at the bottom of the plant for the salve so that the one ingredient that's said to potentially harm you liver? Is not present (also academic research) ❤
comfrey is on my list of plants to establish in the garden! Thank you so much ♥♥
I love red cats. My red cat is called Phoenix :) I talked with a cow farmer and he said i could buy milk from him. So i will start cheese making :)
YAY Enjoy!!
Love the goat vlogs!
Glad you like them! I love them too. The goats take a little bit of a backseat to the garden during the growing season but they are still here! ♥
For us, it was definitely a copper thing. It had the nastiest taste within a week of giving copper.. the taste was great again!
I read that as I reason too and I'm so glad copper resolved it for you!! We bolus twice a year and Talia got 8g in March. Breezy got 4g. The b12 injection seems to be working!!
@@SageandStoneHomestead in our area of Virginia we have to bolus every 3 months with 4g of copper for our big girls and 2g for our little guys. Their coat color also tells us ❤️ I'm glad the cobalt is helping!
Thank you for sharing your experiences! This video was very timely for me. Not having a milk issue but I have 2 kids with neck swelling since they turned about 10 days and mom also lost a lot of weight. I didn't get much help from the vet but pretty sure now I am seeing milk goiters. This also lines up with some other issues I'm facing as well in my herd. I'm picking up a different mineral mix and going to give the b vitamins a try for mom. Thank you and may God continue to bless you and your beautiful family ❤
Thank you so much!! The kids with goiter may benefit from iodine sprayed on their tail (the underside on the skin) to help them balance iodine too. ❤️
So interesting! Thank you! TH-cam looks good on you. I hope you are prioritizing taking care of yourself!
Thank you!! I do prioritize myself often! I say "no" to a lot which sounds bad, but it's good ♥
@@SageandStoneHomestead It doesn't sound bad to me - it sounds like good boundaries!!!
@@jenniferr2057 🫂❤️
We are working out this same problem. It’s definitely getting better farther out from kidding but I’ll have to save this video if it doesn’t continue. Might have to try some of these to start crossing off the list. Thank you for sharing!
You bet!! ♥
This was super interesting info to learn! Great video!!
Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching!
I enjoyed your video very much. Thanks.
Cobalt is needed to make B12 for one. There have been horses diagnosed with sweetitch who where actually cobalt deficient and that caused the itching. So yes it is an important mineral for all kinds of functions.
I am seeing that! Their loose mineral has it in it, but possibly not enough or some goats are guarding the mineral station. I love the idea of a bolus of cobalt but I'm not sure about it. We will try the block for now!
I was recommended to get cobalt block for the b12 to help the rumen function. I have a few that keep going btw berries/pine cones/dog poo without worms. And the extra cobalt is supposed to help boost B12 made in the rumen + the function and then keep the berries. I also give a selenium block. We are in a selenium deplete area.
@@genesismccormack7540 we give BoSe twice a year but I've seen the selenium blocks too! I like the idea of these minerals as free choice.
Oh my goodness! Your face when you found the culprit! It was funny, but oh, I feel your disappointment! I don't freeze milk either. I used to, but after jars shattering in the freezer I quit. I have never had the milk taste off from it. Years ago my husband made me a Shakeology shake with some goat milk and I took one drink and wanted to throw up! I didn't drink goat milk for nearly two months! The doe in question had mastitis.
Anyway, I enjoyed your milk taste room video! That was fun!
Yes I read that as a reason for off tasting milk and I used those mastitis indicator cards and no mastitis thankfully!! If Talia was my first taste of goat's milk ever... I would want a cow LOL!!
@@SageandStoneHomestead I am sure!
❤❤❤
Fascinating stuff. I'm interested to see how this works out. Especially because the two goats are related. In the few times I've accidentally had goat milk related products, it all tastes like goat to me, but I think that's an allergy related thing. It's like the plant things I'm allergic to smell really bad to me too, yet other people have no idea what I'm talking about when they are with me. It can be frustrating watching something like this, because when you're talking about how great their milk tastes I'm sad that I can't know that, but at the same time I'm impressed by how diverse these little creatures are.
great video. Thanks .
🥛 ❤❤❤
Not the going in for a second serving of the goatie tasting milk 😂
Great problem solving Heather, don’t have any goats but always enough watching your herd.
I was trying to nail down the flavor! It was the most bizarre tasting milk I've ever had!!
@@SageandStoneHomesteadI’ve never even had goats milk but I’m so intrigued that it’s literally indescribable 😂
We don't currently have a problem with our milk tasting goaty - Rose is a Saanen (the only one I milk out of a herd of five, the others are hangers-on!) and her milk is really sweet and creamy - but this is so helpful, as I'll know what to look for if it ever is an issue. Thank you!
You bet!!
Ik dacht dus altijd dat ik geen geitenmelk lustte. Besef me nu dat ik altijd alleen uit de winkel geproefd heb. Ik moet op zoek naar echt verse geitenmelk want nu ben ik zo benieuwd!
Yes!! Very different flavor!
I don’t have goats. Just chickens but what I have learned from watching homesteaders was that when you put male goats close to the females and that will turn your milk.
I've heard that too but so far it's just these two does from the same lineage!
We've never found that to be the case with our goats, although we don't run the buck with the does.
@@plumbushfarmI've got a couple friends who run them side by side in adjacent pens but they haven't reported off tasting milk before either.
Our buck pens are inside the big goat yard where the ladies run…no change to the milk.😊
Thank you, Heather!! Excellent information!! I only notice the 'goaty' flavor when my does are toward the end of their lactation & especially as they come into heat. Where did you order the cobalt block from? The mineral I use does contain some cobalt, I didn't realize it was so important. Thank you! God bless!
The mineral I have has cobalt too, I wonder if some goats are being bullied away from the mineral station or somehow she got behind and couldn't catch up. I now have 3 stations for minerals so it's harder for anyone to guard. I ordered the cobalt block from "Do It Best" online. It's the only place that seemed to have reasonable shipping. Our local TSC was out.
Great information. We haven't had any major issues yet, and I hope we don't. Our milk tastes pretty sweet most of the time. We do have one Doe that is 1/8th Alpine. I have finally been able to milk her with my husband holding her legs. The B vit complex may help her because her hair always seems so frizzy.
Have you thought about possibly setting up a mineral bar? I know some people have success providing the minerals individually.
I won't worry about it too much unless it proves necessary I think. I need to be mindful about all the things I'm managing, for now a cobalt block added to the barn is doable :)
Thank you so much!! You just taught me about cobalt, so thanks! I have already ordered a mineral buffet style option for my heard, but I haven't gotten it ready yet. I'm so curious to see which minerals my heard goes for and if that makes a difference for my Tansy.
That will be interesting to see!!!
@@SageandStoneHomesteadI put out some of the individual minerals from my buffet system that I’m changing to. I don’t have it completely set up so I just put out some of them. I made sure to include copper and selenium because I know we’ve struggled with those and I put out cobalt since you mentioned that it was related to vitamin B. They are going crazy for it! Cobalt and Selenium are the top 2 so far and I’ll get out all the others as soon as I get the little bowls. But thank you for mentioning that connection, obviously mine have really needed it! I’m excited to see if anything changes in the milk.
@@EweGoatToBeKidding it's so funny when I added the cobalt block into the barn two that were glued to it first were my two with off-tasting milk! It's incredible to see. The milk is MUCH sweeter now and gets better day by day!
@@SageandStoneHomestead Yay!! That’s so awesome.
Heather you said you are changing minerals. What are you changing to? I’ve had good luck with SweetLix meat maker, kelp(pricy but worth it) and the selenium block. I’m trying to get my hands on bluebonnet feed all stock minerals. They have kelp included and yeast. The breeder I got my Nigerians from recommended the BlueBonnet AND her goats were BEAUTIFUL! All of them were SO shiny!😍 Also how do you give the BioWorma? I’ve been giving it on the stand and mixed in the minerals. I feel like I’m using too much of it. I want it to work, but also last…bc you know-budget.
I mix bioworma into their feed. I have to add molasses so it will stick. In dryer months I will give it every other day, I didn't give it in this video. I don't plan to switch minerals I'll just be adding the cobalt block to the mix. The goats are on the kalmbach goat mineral ❤️
I have never had our goats milk taste like that you can't tell the difference between cows or our goats. I milk with a only because of my rheumatoid arthritis and I can't help by hand when you have goats that give you two to three gallons per day per goat. And we were hit by what we believe was a tornado on Father's Day night about 10:00 p.m. either get ripped apart and thrown or uprooted and our house is not in the best shape but we are safe and all of our animals are in good shape too so we thank God for that thank you for sharing until next time God bless you.
OH MY were you guys in bed at that time?! I'm so glad you're alright!!!
@@SageandStoneHomestead no we were still up after having a great work day. It hit about 10 pm we went down into the basement and there was so much rain coming into the house down into the basement. It lasted about 1/2 hour. But it's a sound of breaking tree landing all around the house and on the house. God has his hands around us and our animals.
@@heavenly-dreamsdairygoats absolutely!! Many hugs.
Thank you Heather for making the video, you make it look so easy! I noticed you did not use any antiseptic spray, is this not needed? Any care required after testicles fall off? I read where they can get infected.
Hi there! We have had an infection one time. It is best to use an antiseptic, They make a spray for udders called "Fight Bac" that is great for this. It's chlorexidine.
After they fall off you can spray too if needed but we haven't had issues after they fall off.
@@SageandStoneHomestead , thank you
@@SageandStoneHomestead , thanks again, I remember that now from years ago working for small animal vet. Good stuff!
How many goats are you milking? Love your channel!
I think it was 7 that came up on the stand? Not getting a ton out of everyone because a few have kids on still :)
I’ve had a goat’s milk turn bitter and I read that it’s lack of copper and vit B. So I gave her B shots 2 days in a row and 4g of copper. The flavor went back to normal in 2 days.
They were all copper bolused in March so I think that's alright, but the B vitamin and cobalt may be what's going on here!
Heather! Are you a God send or what. One of my goats is producing bad tasting milk. And I have been tryin to figure out why. It's like your reading my mail or something! I'm going to try the b12 and find some cobalt to see if that is our issue too. I see that Santa Cruz makes a cobalt bolus that last 1 to 3 years. Perhaps that may help.
I saw that!! If it seems they need more beyond the block I can try the bolus, I am nervous about overdoing it!
What kind of electric fence do you use for the goats what brand is it thank you.
Premier one permannet!
Good morning Heather,
I love watching your TH-cam videos. I need some goat Mama help I am first time Goat mama.
I have three kids, two does and one buck. I also purchased a mother in milk. Been Milking for like 3 months now. The kids were born in February or March that I purchased. They're not registered I bought them fairly cheap they're adorable and I love them. So my buck and young are about 7 months old. For the last month Billy has been peeing on himself. The females are not showing any sign that I can see that they are in heat. I really don't want babies born in the middle of the winter. Because we live in Michigan and we have cold Winters. I have my buck separate how do I know when it's safe to breed the girls they're probably 7 months old also. When will it be too late to breed them for the year? And when should I stop milking before my milk and goat meets the buck?
Thank you for any advice that I can get! Much appreciated thanks in advance!
Theresa Mersdorf
It's easier to know they are safe to breed based on size vs age. Let me link you to a video that helped me, just a second. It's way easier to show you
Now this is for Nigerians, I'm not sure if that's what you have, I go more on weight for larger does. If breeding mini or back to a Nigerian ill breed at 80 lbs. Standard to standard 120 is ideal.
th-cam.com/video/jDLszfiQ4v8/w-d-xo.htmlsi=WvSG5fiijbjifPyt
Do you have clover growing around place as I know here in Australia the cows milk has a taste from the clover
We have clover all over but all the goats eat it. Every year, too. There is a chance that Talia consumes more clover than the rest. I'll be sure to report back in a few weeks after the cobalt and b12 have had a chance to do their thing! :)
It could be a vitamin/mineral thing but you might want to get a CMT and test both sides for sub clinical mastitis as a precaution for your doe's udder (and i guess your health in the offchance it's being caused by a stomach bug causing bacteria). We traditionally do a 5 day course of la200 and today to fix it if we do get a positive but your vet will know more if she's a goat person. If she's not feeling well she may not make b12 as well either.
YAY MILKTEST! You'll get stomatic cell counts that can tell you about potential mastitis trying to come on too. Feral has the genes for the most casein. And sorry I haven't gotten back any other way. Life's a zoo.
The local feed store has the CMT so I'll pick that up. So far we have just used those mastitis indicator cards that you squirt the milk on the orange circle to detect a a problem and so far so good, but the CMT is probably more precise! I know life is a zoo so don't worry about it!
I thought that was the way goats milk was supposed to taste because my little sister was allergic to cows milk so my mom bought goats milk and we all had to drink it.
Goat's milk does taste different than cow's milk. Raw milk in general has flavor while a lot of processed milk does not in my opinion. A lot of the time store bought Goat's milk tastes like a goat and I'm guessing there are multiple factors at play there, but home-milked goat's milk should be creamy and sweet. You can tell it's not cow's milk but it should not taste like a muddy goat hoof! Goat-essence but it should not smack you in the face or be bitter right out of the goat. :)
I milk 4 right now
Oi, fui criada com leite de cabra 🐐…tem-me gosto de leite…, amo leite 🥛…🤤🤤🤤🤤grande abraço desde Brasil 🇧🇷…
If a goat and her offspring both have off flavored milk, I would remove them from my genetics. I like my goats to be as minimum maintenance as possible.
Placing milk in a freezer cools milk four times slower than in an ice bath.
Hey Heather, enjoy watching all your videos I tried to send you an email and they said your email does not exist. Do you have a new email address so I could send you questions I'm a new goat mama! And need some information.
SageAndStoneHomestead@gmail.com is our email, is that what you used?
you might look into the mineral buffet, 20 different supplements in individual containers so the goats can choose the things they need. I've switched my girls over to it because we were having severe copper, zinc and selenium deficiency issues. At first those were the things that I had to refill all the time. They are still eating a lot of copper but now the flavor of the week is silicon. Other times it's been sulfur, manganese and magnesium. I've seen differences too when I had to pick up a different brand of grain because they were out of our regular one and sometimes there are differences when I get a new batch of hay. I get mine from Sarah www.youtube.com/@fishorpriceranch6172
Thanks Mary! This is something that could easily be a winter project for me. I appreciate it!!
Decades ago I raised 3 of my human kids on goat milk. I hated the smell of goats and goat milk because no matter the supplier, it smelled like goat.
My mom told me for years we needed to get a goat and I was just not in the place with my past experiences.
Anyway, we raise pygmies & had the opportunity to take in 2 nigerian dwarf in milk. I'm shocked at myself for not tasting the milk before purchasing the goats! Thankfully, no goatiness!! I love the milk & have a great time playing with it.
I have been trying to make yogurt from my goats milk and have not succeeded because it turns out goaty 🫠 i hand milk one Nigerian Dwarf and she gives just under a half gallon a day. I have found that cooling the milk in the freezer for 20/30 minutes, shaking it every ten minutes, keeps it super sweet😊😊
That's great production from your Nigerian! congrats!!!