Experience Milking


		ROLL YOUR MOUSE OVER AN IMAGE TO OBTAIN A DESCRIPTION. CLICK ON AN IMAGE TO ENLARGE. From July 2003 Mathom Farm will have a modern 32 unit dairy meaning that with two people in the milking parlour 32 goats can be milked simultaneously. The two milking herds of about 240 are milked separately as the dairy yard doesn't have the capacity to hold almost 500 goats.
		Usually, the "Paddock Girls" are milked first. They spend all of their time feeding on pasture and are strip grazed on a paddock rotation. The "Shed Girls" are milked next. These are the better producers that spend each night in the shed paddock where they have access to the shelter of the shed. Apart from each cluster having 2 cups instead of 4, the vacuum in the lines being lower, and the addition of milking platforms, the dairy operations are identical to those of a cow dairy.
		Because dairy goats have very little fat cover the shed protects them from the chill factor of cold winds and rain, hence they put their energy into producing milk rather than keeping warm. "Shed Girls" are selected from the paddock herd on their potential to produce more milk in the shed situation.