Goat Adventures Week 3: Hand Milking Wins and Mosquito Battles

The past couple of weeks have been a whirlwind on the homestead, and while I usually try to post an update on Mondays, this one’s coming in a little late and for a great reason. My amazing sister-in-law came to visit for Memorial Day weekend, and we made a ton of progress around the farm. Every single plant is now in the ground, and I’m feeling good about the garden.

Now for the goat update.

This week I challenged myself to hand milk B.B. for an entire session without using the machine. I wanted to see how long it would take and give myself a chance to build skill and confidence. I did it, and I’m super proud. The plan is to keep practicing hand milking each evening so I can get quicker and smoother over time.

We also finally got the door for the goat shelter, and I’m so close to having the track fully installed. It should be finished by tonight. Right now we’re still propping the door up and securing it to keep the goats inside and the mosquitoes out. The mosquito situation has been rough. Even with mosquito sticks and sprays, they’re still terrible. I’m just glad the goats have a safe shelter to escape them.

Demi still refuses to jump onto the milk stand on her own. I realized that if B.B. is already up there, she suddenly wants up too. So I ordered another stand that should be delivered this week. I’m hoping that once I have them side by side, I’ll be able to milk Demi and B.B. at the same time. Once that stand arrives, I’ll also begin separating Demi from her kid, ZZ, so I can start collecting more milk from her in the evenings.

Lastly, this week I learned how physically exhausting it is to clean goat pens. Getting all the old bedding, hay, and straw out of the shelter and into the compost pile is serious work. It’s labor-intensive, but it’s what keeps everyone healthy and the shelter clean, so it’s totally worth it.

That’s the latest from goat land. Progress, sweat, and lots of little wins.