Many people that follow me on social media have commented that they are shocked that I am outside milking the goats when it is below freezing outside. Milking goats, or cows, is a 12/12 hour commitment. Morning and night EVERYDAY these animals need to be milked to maintain their health. Our life revolves around being at home every 12 hours to assure the goats get milked.
Milking in below freezing temperatures can be miserable to bare hands and teats. Before I leave the house to go milk, I make sure to heat up two heating packs and shove them deep in my coverall pockets to keep warm. I also make sure I keep my udder cleaning wipes in doors instead of the barn so they are not frozen.
Once the goat is up on the stand, I wipe down the udder with warm wipes, then I apply a warm compress to her udder and warm my hands up as well. This gets the milk flowing. I milk into the bucket until milk slows down and then I apply the warm compress again. I repeat this process until the doe is milked out. I then apply udder butter to the doe's udder and clean everything up.