Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
8. Place the glass storage jar immediately into the freezer to chill rapidly. After it's been in
the freezer for 15 or 20 minutes (long enough to get cold but not long enough to begin to
freeze), move it back to the fridge. Usually I can take 5 minutes to put the milk through
the strainer and into the freezer, then go back to milk the second goat, and the milk from
the first goat will be ready to move when I come in with the second batch.
Milk will keep about four or five days in the fridge, and if there is any leftover at that time we
move it out to the shed to turn into clabbers. This fermented milk is a delicious and high-protein
treat for chickens, hogs, our dogs, or the barn cat.
MilkinG tOOlS
Milking tools are especially handy if your hands are too large or if you have arthritis. One hand-milking tool
that is very reasonably priced is a simple vacuum pump-type system that you just squeeze and collect the
milk into a jar that's attached. Fancier milking machines are motorized and can sometimes milk more than
one animal at a time. Obviously, the fancier you get, the more money you'd be investing and the less likely
it is to be a good investment for the average backyard farmer. Check your local feed store or online farm
supplier for options.
Shearing Sheep or Goats
If you're growing a fiber breed of sheep or goat, you'll want to eventually harvest your fiber.
Cashmere goats are not shorn, but much like Angora rabbits (see Chapter 13), they are combed or
plucked to get the soft, spinnable fibers. Sheep with wool fleeces, and Angora goats (which produce
mohair fiber) can both be shorn. Shearing sheep or goats is tough work, but for the fiber enthusiast
it is also an exciting time.
Angora goats usually get two shearings per year, once before breeding and once before kidding.
This allows the fleece to stay as clean as possible. There's a balance in the timing because you want
to be harvesting the longest fleece possible and wait for it to grow out, but you also need to harvest
before it starts getting dirty and matted. Because this shearing will remove the entire fleece, your
goats will need extra protection from bad weather postshearing. Add extra layers of straw to their
shed and make sure they do not get damp. You may also need to fit each with individual coats
temporarily until their own coats begin to regrow.
