Milking a goat in Argentina and how the guachos do it.
Have you ever seen how they milk a goat? Let me tell you it is not easy! The Gauchos of Santa Rosa de Calamuchita were kind enough to give a demonstration to the local school children. I decided to join them to learn more about the job of a gaucho.
A gaucho in Argentina is very hands-on. He is the guy who traditionally managed the farm. In Argentina it is quite common for the farmer to live in town and for a manager to manage the day-to-day activities. Today the latest farming technologies have made his traditional job a little redundant. However, the gauchos who manages his own small farm still does a lot of the manual labour himself – like milking a goat!
Dragging the goat by the horns.
The goats were literally waiting to be dragged by the horns. They are very stubborn and want to jump and go their own way. The gaucho grabbed the one firmly by the horns and took him to an open place where we all had a good view. He never let go of the horns. Another man lifted the back leg of the goat and took position to start milking it. My view was slightly blocked but it looked like he made sure that the goat couldn`t kick him or escape.
The children loved watching the gaucho.
The children were giggling and laughing. I guess they were secretly hoping that the goat would escape. That was not going to happen because he had it all under control. You could see he was very experienced because he knew exactly what to do. He explained to the children what to do and not to hurt the animal in the process.
In no time the first cup filled up with fresh goat milk and the first guy came over to drink it.
Fresh goat milk for the takers.
“Who wants to taste fresh goat milk?”, the Gaucho asked. The children were screaming and shouting and he came over with a jug for them to taste. Some children pulled faces and ran away. A brave boy in front of me tasted it and his friends were laughing.
The man came up to me and asked me if I wanted to try it. Yes, why not! It was delicious! It was sweet and warm and I could drink this every day. I love milk so maybe it is not a bad idea to get my own goat. Later when I mentioned this idea to Andrey he just burst out laughing and said: “Who is going to milk it?”.
“You off course”, I sweetly replied.
Where: Santa Rosa de Calamuchita,Argentina
When: 10 November 2011
Such a interesting post…loved the pictures. I have not seen this for a goat but have seen for a cow and oh yes it is an art….needs a lot of patience!
Thank you for the visit Privytrifles! I am glad you enjoyed it. Some things we take for granted and I am so happy I have attended this `class`. Have a blessed week!
Oh, this was delightful, Nelieta! I’ve never even thought about how one would go about milking a goat, and these photos and your descriptions were great. I love milk, too, and am sure I would have enjoyed tasting this.
Blessings, my friend!
Hi Martha, so glad you liked it! I have heard many times about people preferring goat milk over cow milk and this is really tasty! Have a blessed week and thank you for the visit!
I hadn’t thought about that either, even though my oldest son drank goats milk as an infant. Actually I never really think of female goats, always billy goats. this was a great and fun post thank you Nelieta.
Many infants are allergic to milk and they say that goat milk is so much better. I know back in South Africa it was really expensive! Glad you enjoyed this post and thank you for the visit!!!
That was so delightful with the step by step pictures to demonstrate milking a goat! When I was a kid I used to watch my grandfather milk his cows in his village. I used to be fascinated how the milk would come in a spray. He let me try it but I just could not milk that cow!!!
Hi Rimly, I am happy to hear that you have enjoyed it! I would love to try and milk a cow but like you say, I don`t think it is easy at all! Thanks for the visit!