What's the best Diet for Dairy Goats?

[Sunshinegoat]

Hi all,
I have a small herd of goats and I have been making a few simple cheese over the past few years (chevre, mozzarella..etc)
I recently sold a doe who kidded recently but before I sold her i made one batch of mozzarella nd it was wonderful! She was a first time freshener.
I am now milking two 2nd fresheners in the mornings ( I pull their kids at night) and have not had much luck with my cheeses. The Chevre is not setting and the mozz is rubbery.. They eat 2nd cut hay and a 16% sweet feed. with free choice minerals. I had mixed a 16% pellet in but I am trying to do a controlled experiment on their diet.  I do have a protein (30%) supplement but I wanted to give it a few days and see if the sweet feed will be enough.. I am suspecting it won't be... I used to mix the 30% pretty heavy in the past..
Does anyone have any suggestions?

[Tiarella]

Second cutting hay and a bit of grain mix around 16-20% protein is fine for my girls.  Some breeds of animals have been bred to rely heavily on supplemental feeds so I don't know if you have goats that need more.  What makes you think they might need more?

[Sunshinegoat]

I'm just going by what I had heard years ago about them needing more protein while milking. I was very new then and just did what I thought other people knew was right. This is the first time I have not given them the protein supplement and my cheese is not coming out. I don't really know the science behind the way we feed the girls and the way our cheese comes out but I want to!
I went with out milk for the first time in four years this winter and I was so looking forward to having my own cheese again...All the batches I made so far have not worked out except one batch I made from a different doe before I sold her.
I was thinking maybe it was the cultures and/or the rennet (they are sort of old but the cultures have been in the freezer) but if that was the issue I am wondering why that last batch from the doe I sold worked and these goats' milk is not setting correctly...hence my conclusion it may be nutritional ???

[Back 2 The Frotture]

any change of an animals diet induces stress, and the obligation for the intestinal flora to reorganize.  An honest experiment will take two months +.  What is the problem with the milk? or cheese?  If you use liquide rennet, it does lose it's strength as the months pass.  Another explaination lies within murphy's law.

[Sunshinegoat]

Well..I did another batch of chevre and it came out awesome! I'm so happy! Who knows what the issue was...maybe left over colostrum? maybe a few degrees off here and there while setting?? We only heat with wood so our house's temp fluctuates quite a bit. I have trouble in the winter sometimes w/ letting cheeses sit over night and what not.
My husband always makes better mozz than me so maybe I heated the milk too fast..who knows? I am encouraged though! Thank you guys for listening and helping out :)