Milk Test...

I told you guys we added our does to the milk test? yeah. Fun. F-U-N, fun. not at all.

The directions are/were super confusing. Every time my poor friend who I suckered into being my milk tester came over to draw milk, we'd sit with all the instructions strewn about the kitchen table and it felt like we were studying for finals or something.

Now that we seem to have it down... I get the milk reports each month after submitting samples of milk from Spot and Speck.

I have no idea what they mean.

I see the fat % and the protein %... other than that? Nothing makes sense. Just adding to the frustration and bad feelings overall about this stupid, *^%@* milk test bid'ness.

But my poor suckered in milk tester is a woman of reason and she tells me that now we have it figured out, we should keep sending in samples each month. The interesting thing is that Spot and her daughter Speck have pretty negligible differences in fat or protein from the milk they give - we are talking maybe a tenth of a percent ...

I have to get the gumption up to call the woman who runs the milk test to get a more thorough explanation of the reports, however, since it is a confusing, frustrating thing for me... I drag my feet about it.

We are gearing up for breeding season and so do I keep milk test going into next year or quit when I dry the does up?

Think my vote is to give it up. Will probably breed one doe next year while I wait for the babies who were born late this spring to mature for breeding next fall. Hardly seems worth it for ONE goat to stay on milk test and I did it for a year.

Meh.

I think my milk test itch has been scratched.