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

As nonrepresentative specimens, it's interesting that Cnetter's spouse and I enjoy leaves snatched in passing. Participation on an herb tea thread in the herb forum a few months ago ran something like 7 to 1 in favor of the male gender. I asked a rhetorical why and the guys promptly clammed up. As far as snatching things tho', I'm also very inclined to snatch brassica leaves and various weeds. Don't think I'd especially like to smell like 'em, however. Mints are fine, I seem to prefer spearmint but we now have about 10 different choices in the yard. But for tea, I generally avoid the true mints. Broad sections of the yard are of little use to me, anymore. Chamomile is really fine but the flavor seems like apple - maybe an "unusual" kind of apple. And yes, for 20 years or so, I was a tobacco abuser. Cigarettes were always the handiest but I wasn't choosy. At various times, pipes and chewing tobacco also made there way into my hands (and mouth :o(. Besides a decent tobacco, the flavor I was most interested in for the pipe was apple and I usually had a slice in the pouch. Licorice was the choice for a nasty tobacco mouthful of something to spit. Never went much for the menthol nor wintergreen and such. That was my brother's orientation but, then again, he didn't spit - swallowed instead . . . oh, lord! . . . I think he's finally off the dope. Nothing like cancer surgery to wake a person up a little. In a century or 2, I'm hoping to essentially BE loam. Right now, rolling around under this searing Summer sun has kept the moss off me. digitS'

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.

I have never done it, but on the various M&P forums I belong to, it is advised not to. It is very difficult to do, the way I understand it, and you must use some kind of stuff that prevents germ growth (because the goatsmilk has the potential to spoil). Nearly everyone says use the base. I have always used SFIC Goatsmilk base, which is really wonderful. However, I bought some powder to use in a pinch when I had an order and was out of goatsmilk. The goatsmilk soap made with the powder didn't hold a candle to the ready-made base! If you have never used a ready-made goatsmilk base, give it a try. If you really want to add fresh goatsmilk, do a google search and learn about what you will have to do to sterilize it, etc. (You can't just put the goatsmilk in.) Susan