Milking A Goat

During our visit in North Pole Alaska a couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of milking a goat for the first time ever.  I was a little nervous at first but the goats are so sweet and didn't seem to mind a stranger at the milk stand.  My hands where pretty cold at first and I apologized to her, she seemed to say, "that's ok I'm use to it."  I found that milking was a little harder than I imagined it would be.  I guess with practice I would get better, I never really got much of a rhythm down.

Before we began milking, Andrea cleaned the teats very well, gave the goat a scoop of food, and gave me instruction to watch so that the goat did not step in the milk pail.  I think that's what made me a bit nervous, I didn't want to be the newbie that allowed the goat to ruin the milk. 

I was a very slow milker, I guess practice makes perfect.  By the time I had finished trying, the goat was out of food and looking over her shoulder like what's taking so long back there.

 When Andrea took over, she had the rhythm down very well and two goats milked within just a couple of minutes.
The following day our nephew Brody thought he would teach Larry how to milk.  Within the first couple of minutes the goat had stepped in the milk pail and Larry was fired.  I guess he'll stick to chicken farming.
Check back with us real soon and we'll make Ricotta cheese with the goat milk.
A big thank you to our family in Alaska for a great time and new experiences.

Have a great day.

Angie