Here's the recipe I used. Hopefully it will help answer your questions.
2 Qts goats milk
2 Qts whole cows milk
Clean and sanitize everything
Sit out milk to warm to room temp
Heat milk in double boiler slowly to 86F (should take about 1min per degree)
For the following steps hold at 86F
Add culture and stir in gently (I used 1 TBSP mother culture, probably around 1/4tsp dry)
Wait 5-10 min
Add 1 drop calf rennet diluted in 1/4Cup cool water, stir in gently
Pour mixture into cheese vat, cover and sit at room temp for 12 hours (or use original container or whatever, I used a separate one)
Tip container and ladle out as much whey as possible without disturbing the curd
Ladle curd into prepared molds (I used feta molds lined with muslin)
Allow to drain and continue ladling curd into molds until they are filled.
Nearing the second half of the container, it is difficult to separate curd from whey, so I pour into a muslin lined strainer that is set over a bowl. This continues to drain the whey as I ladle - the whole process took about 45 minutes.
Sit molds for 24 hours at room temp
Flip molds and sit another 24 hours at room temp
Remove from molds, gently shape as needed and salt surface with 1/2 tsp per cheese (I ended up with 2)
Herb if desired and store covered in refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
The cheese will firm up a bit more as it cools in the refrigerator.
Hope that helps. Not the most beautiful format, but step by step helps me most.
Also, I don't claim to be an expert, so any input to my method is welcome.