Milking Pygmy Goats

Silly Lil’ is a seasonal milking pygmy goat dairy. Pygmy goats provide rich, sweet milk with high butterfat content. Unlike the milk from larger dairy goat breeds, it does not have the distinctive “goaty” taste. They very rarely contract mastitis, a bacterial infection of the udder. My pygmy goats enjoy being milked and the sweet treats they get while in the milking stand. In fact, when in lactation they know exactly where in the rotation they are milked. After the goat in front of them is finished they show up at the parlor door for their turn.

Sar-Jim's Pygmys Martha Jane Short enjoying a tasty animal cracker treat while being milked.

Since the primary goal of Silly Lil’ is to breed healthy, happy, structurally correct pygmy goats we allow the kids to drink their mother’s milk (and colostrum, of course) for the first two months. We start milking the does only after the kids are naturally weaned. This ensures the kids receive adequate nutrition and the does are not overworked.

I use the milk from these wonderful little mothers to make several kinds of cheeses, including feta, mozzarella, and chevre. In addition to cheese, the milk is used to make flavorful yogurt and ice cream. I have even made each goat their own flavor that is named after them. For example, Silly Lil’ Baby Ruth’s flavor is Silly Lil’ Baby Ruth’s Chocolate Caramel Nut.

Tall pitcher of fresh pygmy goat milk.

We use a standard portable milker with a Surge milking bucket and sheep claws/inflations. I milked by hand for several weeks when we first started. This was tough for my mom to continue if I was not available at milking and the goats had to stand in the milking stand for too long. Using the electric milking machine made it much easier and faster for both us and the goats. We milk twice a day 12 hours apart. I would love to milk them three times a day but time and other factors (like being a college student) do not permit. We use a homemade teat dip wash and thoroughly clean the teats before and after milking.

In the future I would like to experiment with hard cheeses and aged cheeses. If I have any extra milk available I would then like to try making soap and butter. Goat milk is naturally homogenized so it is hard to skim off enough cream to make a substantial amount of fat.

Breeding will still be concentrated on pygmy characteristics. Muscle tone is inversely genetically related milk yield, so I do not plan on selecting the goats for increased milk production. I see the luscious milk provided my pygmy goats as an extra perk.

Feta cheese curds during the cooking process.

 

If you are interested in starting a milking pygmy goat herd I recommend starting with only one or two does in milk at a time. This way you will not be overwhelmed and can adjust methods on the small scale before adding more goats to the roster.