At first I thought it was whimpy to get a goat. Having grown up milking 2 cows, my pride about this was as strong as my forearms. "Oh, so you only have to use your 2 fingers to milk for five minutes, wowwww".
So upon planning our move to Indiana, we began thinking of the products we wanted to grow/harvest ourselves and "raw milk" was at the top of the list. I spent most of the money Josh made at rafting every summer buying raw milk from a local farmers store (only half-kidding).
Not only is it delicious, but the health benefits are incredible (not going to list them all here because you're on your phone and can look them up just as easy as I can type it out for you teehee.)
So, upon moving to our place, it became apparent that we had the land, just maybe not quite the money yet to buy a cute little mini jersey cow and name her Bessie (we haven't thought about this at all, what!?).
So, as is usual, Josh started doing his research. And what he was coming back with surprised me.
1)Not all goat milk is created equal, and Nigerian Dwarf goats aren't going to give you that goaty flavor milk because they are literally called "the milking goat".
2) Goat milk has 1 gram more protein, 1 gram more fat, and 1 gram less carbs than raw cows milk.
3) They're quite sweet little things.
There was lots more research he gave me, but you get the point, right?
We found a few different goats in various places, but I definitely wanted something that was already easy to milk by hand. Having grown up with cows, there's already enough work involved with milking, it's easier if you don't have to teach them how to stand still and BE MILKED. 😂
Upon visiting a goat farm with 20 or so goats and realizing the one we came for you could barely touch, we were a little disheartened. However, they said, "We have another one, but Fern is our best milker. I'm not sure we could sell her." Around the corner walked a tiny little brown and white goat and I was already loving her. Her name was Fern? C'mon, already perfect!
They walked up and put a halter on her (far cry from the other one we were there to look at) and showed us how she milked. She stood so still!
We took some time to think about it and as we left they gave us a quart of her milk to see if we liked the taste. We nearly finished it on the way home, Hazel included. It was delicious; creamy, but not thick, sweet but not overpowering.
We went back 3 days later and picked up Fern and a little 6 month old female named Pearl. Friendly as can be, able to be bred in the late Fall for milk in the Spring.
Long story short, we're obsessed. Goats milk is healthy, the goats are so sweet (Hazel and Pearl have a bond only young girls can have, I think), and it's so fun to be a milk maid again.
Even though none of these pictures accurately portray what milking a goat is like (in a dress, c'mon), it was too fun not to do. It makes me want to take silly pictures of every chore on our homestead, just for fun.
Oh, Fern and Pearl. Hazels first animals sound ... "Baaaaaaa!"
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