Regardless of the herd size, refrigeration must be available to quickly cool the milk. A household refrigerator may be used, but cold water is more efficient in cooling milk than cold air. The refrigerator or cooler should be large enough to hold a pan of water. The pan should hold enough water to match the amount of milk in the milk bucket. Cooling is critical to milk flavor and quality.
All milk contains bacteria, some of which comes from the air and the utensils.
If milk remains warm for a short period, the bacteria begin to multiply and the quality of milk deteriorates. Plans for building a milking barn and milking stand and for construction of the milk house area are available from your local University Extension dairy agent. They also keep foraging goats away from your trees and shrubs as well as your neighbor's flower patch. If you use a completely electric fence, place the first wire 12 inches from the ground, then four more wires on 6-inch spacings to a total height of 36 inches. Use insulators on the post to attach the wires.