Dairy Goat Equipment Is Vital When Raising Goats For Milk
Image by Ed Yourdon
(more details later, as time permits)
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On my way to dinner at a nearby sushi restaurant the other night, I stopped at a local playground to see if there was anything interesting to photograph. I found that a local community organizer, Darrin Dunn, had raised some contributions to provide uniform-style t-shirts for two competing teams of basketball players in the playground’s court, which has been named "Goat Courts."
Dunn is the CEO of the Earl Manigault Foundation, Inc., and you can reach him by phone at 832-660-1039 if you’d like to offer assistance; he doesn’t have a Website or email address at the moment. The foundation, and the basketball court, are named after the legendary Earl "the Goat" Manigault, who died in 1998 after playing professional basketball in France and Germany. You can learn more about Manigault, the basketball court, and the local tournaments in a July 10, 2009 Black Star News article titled Hope Dreams – Beyond Basketball, which was written by Mitch Ligon, whose chess-playing talents (in the same park) I showed in this Flickr photo.
Anyway, it was an interesting game, with lots of action. I took some 300 shots, and whittled it down to 30 keepers; I’ll upload 10 of them each day, while trying to juggle my other work demands…
Article by Ted Allen
After taking the best care of your goat, what else could be better than finally getting milk from them? However, this task is almost impossible to accomplish without the right pieces of equipment. As a matter of fact, you will not be able to extend the best possible care to your dairy goats without using any machinery.
Below is a list of the pieces of dairy goat equipment that you need to properly take care of your pet goats and raising goats. With them under your belt, you will surely be getting the best quality milk and cheese that you can.
Unlike cows, even our biggest goat will be too short to milk without support. This will make milking it too hard, if not almost impossible. The first thing that you should get, especially if you are considering selling goats’ milk for a living, is a sturdy stand to mount your goats on during milking time.
Since goats are pretty smart creatures, you can train them to get on the stand all by themselves. Just lure them up the platform with a bowl of grain or beet pulp. Stand on a well-hidden place and wait until the goat is on the stand.
Next, you should stock at least a dozen of stainless steel pail and strainer. Using ones that are made from plastic are not very hygienic. Bacteria from the milk will get in between the plastic particles. Even worse, it will be almost impossible to get rid of them. If you use the pail and strainer long enough, the bacteria will contaminate the fresh set of milk.
Choose strainer that use disposable strainer pads. This way, there will be no need for you to get a new strainer too often. Use stainless steel containers to store your milk as well.
It is also necessary to get a trustworthy solution of udder cleaners. They will remove the bacteria from the udders and keep them from getting mixed with the milk. Wipe the udders with your solvent before and after milking. Remember to keep the rest of the living and cleaning area are clean too.
Finally, you need to find a reliable milking machine, especially if you are thinking about selling goats’ milk commercially. Pulling on the udders manually will strain your arms and your hands. Invest on a good milking machine and you will surely get your money back the moment you start selling your goats’ milk. Remember to keep the milk stores in a cool, dry place to seal in its freshness.
