Everyone Loves Goat Milk

When I managed the family grocery store, we stocked canned goat milk.  I always wondered, "Who buys this stuff?"  I found out later.  Many people who have lactose intolerance and other problems digesting cow's milk have no problem with goat milk.  Goat milk is easily digestible, especially good for babies.  

We have a whole herd of dairy goats, Nubians, to be specific.  They've all been weaned.  Only Agnes is still in milk.  We are drying her off.  Tricia has frozen a lot of her milk in ice cube trays and we'll use that eventually to make goat milk soap.  We still milk her each day and night so that she doesn't get mastitis and we feed her milk to our laying hens.

We are hoping that the extra protein they get from the goat's milk will boost their egg laying numbers.  They are only laying about 10 eggs per day.  We've had to turn customers away, but that's normal this time a year.  As the number of daylight hours decrease, so does the hen's egg production.  They absolutely love the goat milk and immediately surround the bowl that I pour it into and drink it until it's gone.

Only one problem - Belle loves goat milk, too.  She comes rushing into the barn area, tail wagging and the chickens run off, feathers flying.  Some of the hens are missing their feathers as they are molting.  That has nothing to do with Belle.  She used to play with the chickens too roughly when she was a puppy and would kill them accidentally.  She's so big and doesn't know her strength. We are so glad she outgrew that stage.  (So are the hens.)

Belle sits there and laps up the milk vigorously.  I snapped the photo and then quickly ushered her out of the pasture so that the chickens can have the milk that Belle left behind.

Goat milk is good!  It is smooth and sweet.  Unfortunately for Belle, it's for the hens and not for her.