Does your goat still have babies on her? They eat a lot as they get older. Also if you have pulled them off of her she could be depressed. You could feed her shredded beet pulp that has been soaked in warm water. That will boost milk production. Start off slowly though, and give her a handful to start. I buy it at the feed store. I does come pelleted as well, but you have to soak it longer. It MUST be soaked first. You could try to add some sunflower seeds in the shell to her grain which might help. Is she eating all of her grain? I give a large scoop full (3 or 4 cups) at each milking. You could also try giving her warm water or putting some powered lemonade mix into warm water to get her to drink more so she will subsequently make more milk with more liquid intake. It is odd that she has cut in half what she was milking. You could try milking three times a day to boost her production as well. The more you milk the more she should produce. Also, has the milk changed in texture or flavor? She could have mastitis. But, unless her udder is hot to touch and hard on either side, and the milk would be clumpy. Does she have a temperature or does she act like she doesn't feel well? Maybe check her temp and make sure she isn't sick. Good luck, let me know if she improves. Bonnie

You'd need a license to run a Grade A or Grade B dairy, and each state is different, so you'd start here: Dairy Services Dept. of Ag. & Consumer Serv. Box 1163 Richmond, VA 23218 (804) 786-8899 Div. of Food & Envm. Serv. State Health Dept. 1500 E. Main St. Station Suite 115 Richmond, VA 23218 (804) 225-4003 Generally speaking, you can't get a license until after your plans for facilities and equipment are approved and until after the completed facilities are inspected. Not being able to judge the quality of your product, packaging, etc... a retailer is unlikely to give you a commitment. Therefore, selling milk in bulk for further processing through a coop is an easier way to get started than to try establishing your own brand name with no experience in dairying whatsoever. The organization that could help with marketing questions and dairy goats in general would be the American Dairy Goat Association. Here is a link that might be useful: ADGA

I've used all kinds of milk products (powdered whole milk, powdered non-fat dry milk, whey-based milk substitute, raw goat milk, homogenized goat milk, homogenized cow milk, low-fat, 2%, whole....) for making kefir. I've been making kefir for around 7-years. I have some fermenting on my kitchen counter as I type, and made 2-cups of it yesterday. What I find is that the lower the fat, the more whey you get, instead of curd. But whey is good too. I use the whey for making whey lemonade, which is one of the most refreshing drinks when it's hot outside. I'm on the fence when it comes to homogenized and raw milk products - even though I'm a big fan of "Nourishing Traditions". I think getting the beneficial bacteria from kefir outweighs WHAT you make it in. I didn't have a problem with raw goat milk, other than I was afraid I'd contract some horrible bacteria from the family's filthy kitchen than I was about using raw dairy products. The "odd" taste must be what they are feeding the goats. To make kefir easy-to-swallow, which even my picky hubby likes, we use it as a morning smoothie. I use a Hamilton Beach Malt-Maker for mixing. The stainless steel cup for the malt-maker has 3 markings on the side. I put kefir up to the first mark (2/3-cup), 100% fruit juice of choice (grape, orange, pomegranate/blueberry is a favorite....and the strong flavor of it would probably mask any "farm" flavor of the goat milk), to the top mark (about 1-1/3-cup - so a 1:2 ratio (or to taste). We also add flaxmeal and a supplement powder, and give it a whirr... If that doesn't work, how about making water kefir - which takes different kefir grains than dairy kefir? Or fermenting fruit juice with the kefir grains? How about taking the drained kefir cheese and adding strong flavors (spices, onion, horseradish) and making a vegetable dip out of it. Mix kefir cheese with guacamole.... Go to Dom's Kefir Insite for more information. -Grainlady Here is a link that might be useful: Fermented Treasures

Sure you can get the powdered gm at a health store, but try an animal feed store; they'll feed baby goats with the stuff. And, it's cheaper. I think it's an 8lb bag. You can get gm in small amounts but it's four times as much (at least it is here). I wouldn't mix the gm right into the lye, it'll turn bright orange and you'll burn the milk! And, .... it stinks! What's the problem with water? I use filtered water right out of the fridge. I don't use the tap water because I can smell the chlorine when I drink it. If your water is good to drink, it's good to wash with.