Goat Milk and Goat Share Program

Benefits of Raw Goat Milk

Raw goat milk is much healthier than pasteurized milk. Pasteurizating milk is a very destructive to its inherent nutrional value. Pasteuring kills beneficial bacteria and enzymes, and almost all of the vitamin A and B-12 are wiped out. Calcium becomes unusable, which is necessary for dental and bone growth. Instead of being alive, pasteurized milk is virtuslly "dead milk."

Raw milk are illegal to sell in all but three states! So the only way to get raw milk is through a goat or cow share program, where you own a share of the animal and are entitled to your share of its raw milk.

Besides pasteurizing milk, conventional large dairy farming is cruel to animals. Cows and goats are fed GMO (genetically modified organism) corn. They also get recombinant bovine somatropin, which is a synthetic growth hormone that makes the animals to yeild more milk, yet die at a much younger age.

Easier to Digest
Because there is no agglutinin in goat milk, the fat globules don't cluster together. The fat is naturally homofenized throughout the milk, making it easier to digest than cow's milk.

Easier Absorption
There is a higher proportion of the short-chain and medium-chain fatty acids, which are also smaller molecules that those in cow's milk. So again goat's milk is more easily absorbed and digested in your syste.

Less Allergenic
Goat's milk does not have the combination of proteins that are main causes of allergic reactions.

Lower Lactose Level
Because there is less lactose in goat's milk, people with lactose-intolerance can more safely include goat's milk in their diet. This is especially important for infants and children.

Higher Nutrients Levels
Goat's milk has more calcium, vitamin A, vitamin B6, antioxidant selenium, and copper than cow's milk.

Therapeutic Values
Goat's milk is helpful for many ailments, such as allergies,artritis, jaundice, skin problems, and ulcers. It also helps to enhance immune functions.

Nutritious and Delicious
Provided male goats are kept separate from female doe goats in milk, goat's milk will not have a 'goaty' smell and taste. In fact, cold fresh raw goat's milk is very delicious, refreshing, and very nutricious.

Raw and Pasteurized Milk

Texas state law allows farms to sell raw milk only by pick-up at the farm. To conform to both Texas state and US federal law, we sell both raw and pasteurized milk on a community goat milk share program. This program enables you to legally obtain healthful organic raw, unpasteurized milk for you and your family. If you prefer to have pasteurized milk, it is available upon request.

Goat Share Program

Milk for human consumption is only available through our goat share program, which is legal in the state of Texas. You may purchase a share in our dairy herd, which is made official with a Bill of Sale. Each share purchased entitles you to a certain amount of milk each week. A contract is then signed in which we (Able Oaks Dairy Goats) agree to board, feed, milk and care for your share of the herd for a monthly fee. You can pick your milk up from us each week. It is illegal for us to deliver milk, but it is legal for you to pick up your milk at our farm.

Cost Per Share
One goat share is your part (4%) of the goat that you own, and from which you receive one (1) quart of milk per day. The cost of the goat share is a one-time ownership fee of $10.00 per share. While you own part of the goat, the dairy farmer is paid to care for your goat and all other expenses incurred, including boarding, milking, feeding, health issues, breeding, kidding and all else that comes under animal husbandry for your goat shares. This is the husbandry fee that you are paying the farmer. The husbandry fee is $2.00 per day per share. The amount of milk received will be in relation to the amount of shares owned. In general, at peak production time, one share will yield an average of one quart of milk per day for 8 months.

More shares can be purchased as your needs change. Should you neglect to pay your husbandry fees for three months, then your shares will revert back to the farm.

Non-Consumed Purposes
At no point is this milk directly for sale for human consumption, nor can a shareholder legally sell this milk to anyone else. Should a shareholder desire extra quarts for occasional pet use or for milk baths, soap making, paint, or other non-consumed purposes, then the milk is available for direct sale at $3.00 per quart. Extra quarts and their intended use will be recorded in the share book. This will allow the farm to show that it does not sell milk for human consumption.

Production Limits
Milk is a seasonal product, and as such the shareholder should know that goats are dried off for the last two months of pregnancy, and milk will be available again shortly after kidding. Thus every year, no milk will be available for about 12-16 weeks. The farmer will notify shareholders of these dates, which will usually start in November or December before Christmas. Should the shareholder wish year round milk, then it is advised that they freeze some in plastic containers (leaving empty space for expansion) ahead of time. Milk thawed in the refrigerator over the course of several days is equally palatable as fresh. Do not thaw milk at room temperature, as this creates curdled milk.

How to Milk a Goat

You must first train your goat get upon a milk stand (stanchion), so that you can easily access her udder. The stanchion has a special bar that locks her head, but she doesn't mind because the stanchion has a feed bucket. It's best to milk at the same time every day in a quiet place, where you have access to a water faucet. Most people milk in a clean area of a barn or a special milking parlor. A regulardaily routine is very important for all livestock.

Always start by washing your hands with anti-bacterial solution and then put on latex gloves. Then was the udder and teats of the doe. There are commercial wipes for this purpose, or you can use anti-bacterial soap and paper towels. You'll also want to use clean stainless steel buckets that have been washed and rinsed with mild bleach solution after the previous use.

You always want to squeeze the first three or four milk squirts into a special strip cup to check for blood, lumps, or anything unusual that might indicate mastitis. The first few squirts have bacteria that collected at the opening of the teat, so you'll discard this bit. Some caution that the first few squeezes of milk should be discarded as this milk could contain bacteria. To milk the goat, place your thumb and forefinger around the teat, next to the udder. Then squeeze firmly, but not too hard. The circle made with your thumb and forefinger prevents the milk from going back up in the udder. Next squeeze your middle, ring, and little finger sequentially, from the top of the teat to the bottom, using a rapid motion. You’ll know that you're on the right track when a full milk stream comes out with each squeeze. Be sure that you do not pull the teat down. Instead, release and open your fingers to enable the milk to refill the teat and then repeat the procedure to make the next milk stream.

It’s more efficient to use both hands to milk the two teats. You can alternate squeezing a teat with one hand, while releasing a empty teat with the other hand. Eventually, you'll find a rhythm. Keep milking until the udder is empty of milk, but never squeeze the udder. When there is no more milk in the teats, the doe is enpty. Remove the pail and dip then teats in a dixie cup with an anti-bacterial soapy solution to prevent any bacteria from entering the teat opening.

This page was last update on December 23, 2008.