Milk Room

Here are some photos from milking time. Courtney and Melody milked this afternoon, and I snuck in to get some photos of them and the ladies together. Both of the intern couples are leaving this weekend, so I thought it would be nice to get some action shots of them while they are around the goats they love so well. Oddly, Mel and Courtney were dressed to match today, leading to some very harmonious milkroom pictures. I also notice that the mess, the noise, and the smell do not show up in pictures, but I promise, all three are definitely present!

Below is Mel with the inflations in her hand. Inflations are the ends of the suction tubes and they go right on the teats. In the next photo, the ladies are hooked up and are already looking around for more food. They sincerely seem to think every meal is their first-and last!

This is Uma. She is my absolute favorite. She is about three parts Oberhasli, and one part Alpine. Ignore the beard- this one is a total diva.

The Alpines are "bitchier" goats, accordin to Marcia. They do seem to have more of an atttitude than our other milkers, and they sure do not like being pushed around. I think they are great. We have Uma, who is mixed, and are currently milking Tapioca and Pinto, who a

re all Alpine, and act it.

Not all the goats are easy to tell apart. I recognize Uma, the Alpines, all of the sick goats, and most of them pregnant goats. I can pick out the distinctive coloring of a few lighter toned goats, the skinniest goat, and the "prettiest" one. I also know Angie and Bree, who are Oberhaslis but not above pulling the diva routine. I can recognize a few more by face, but mostly I know them all by number, or by some complicated face/number/name/behavior combination algorithm.

They are each supposed to have a red tag with their number on it, and when we finish the current project to get them all re-tagged, life in the milk room will be much easier. Or maybe after another month, I'll be able to tell them all apart easily.

In this last photo, Melody is giving kefir to a goat- I think its Erica. We feed them kefir to promote healthy digestion. Since they are grain fed and thier stomachs are not made to digest such rich food, probiotic foods are super helpful in preventing the myriad health problems the grain diet causes. Poor goats- I wish there were more bramble here for them to munch on!