Cream at lactation end

6 month lactation for this doe. I'm drying her up and am milking once every day or day and half as needed. My last two milkings surprised me with the cream! Anyone else ever see this? I'm floored. Someone on another site questioned my honesty and suggested I had combined multiple goats milk. Wow.... Btw she's the only goat I have in milk.

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  • I imagine the butterfat is higher in winter because Mother Nature knows that if a doe is feeding kids in winter, they'll need the extra fat and calories to stay warm. 

    I've been working on drying my doe off, but she doesn't seem to want to. She's always been eager to get on the milkstand and be milked. She's so easy that way. However, I'll have to dry her off by the second week of February because she's due on April 11. 

    Melissa Johnson said:

    I haven't seen that much cream before, but I haven't been milking in January either! Nice to know she's not so unusual!

    Julieanne Cook said:

    Wow, that's some gorgeous cream! Time to make lotion! I believe you, one of my does gives a lot of cream in her milk. I think people with full sized goats don't realize how creamy Nigerian Dwarf milk can be. 

  • Does do not get thin six months into lactation -- because they are not making that much milk. They should be in excellent condition by then. They are in the worst condition around 6 WEEKS because that's when their milk is at its peak. If she is losing weight, I'd be worried about internal parasites. Check her eyelids and poop. Could also be lice, so check her skin.



    Melissa Johnson said:

    Thanks, the biggest thing with me is I don't like to milk in the winter! However, that is the least busy time.

    I will adhere to your advice on the milking routine. I didn't know I might be leading to mastitis!

    This does milk production has been good, but not what it should've been. She had a hard time with a breech kid this summer. I almost lost this doe the first week. She pulled thru and she was nursing one kid and I milked. She was getting a bit "spiney" so I thought she's done her duty this time. I've fed her alfalfa, orchard grass and 16% dairy feed.

    Her kid has just been pulled as well! I have trouble with separate housing for kids....


  • I haven't seen that much cream before, but I haven't been milking in January either! Nice to know she's not so unusual!

    Julieanne Cook said:

    Wow, that's some gorgeous cream! Time to make lotion! I believe you, one of my does gives a lot of cream in her milk. I think people with full sized goats don't realize how creamy Nigerian Dwarf milk can be. 

  • Thanks, the biggest thing with me is I don't like to milk in the winter! However, that is the least busy time.

    I will adhere to your advice on the milking routine. I didn't know I might be leading to mastitis!

    This does milk production has been good, but not what it should've been. She had a hard time with a breech kid this summer. I almost lost this doe the first week. She pulled thru and she was nursing one kid and I milked. She was getting a bit "spiney" so I thought she's done her duty this time. I've fed her alfalfa, orchard grass and 16% dairy feed.

    Her kid has just been pulled as well! I have trouble with separate housing for kids....

    Deborah Niemann-Boehle said:

    Butterfat tends to get really high in winter, so this is not unusual. Six months is not anywhere near the end of a full lactation for an average milk goat, which is 10 months, although some can go much longer. The last few years we have switched to once a day milking on our goats in the fall, which is usually about 6 months after kidding. You can continue to do that for many more months, if you just didn't want to milk twice a day.

    Every other day milking is not a good idea because that just confuses the body, as it thinks there's no demand, then there is, and back and forth, and that would be more likely to lead to mastitis. A plug forms at the tip of the teat after milking, which helps to keep bacteria out of the udder. If you want to stop, it's better to let the udder fill up and stay that way so that the body gets the message that there is no demand, and it shuts down production. However, if you just keep milking until the supply is less than a cup a day, the udder never gets that overfull feel or appearance, and production shuts down really fast when you stop milking entirely.

  • Butterfat tends to get really high in winter, so this is not unusual. Six months is not anywhere near the end of a full lactation for an average milk goat, which is 10 months, although some can go much longer. The last few years we have switched to once a day milking on our goats in the fall, which is usually about 6 months after kidding. You can continue to do that for many more months, if you just didn't want to milk twice a day.

    Every other day milking is not a good idea because that just confuses the body, as it thinks there's no demand, then there is, and back and forth, and that would be more likely to lead to mastitis. A plug forms at the tip of the teat after milking, which helps to keep bacteria out of the udder. If you want to stop, it's better to let the udder fill up and stay that way so that the body gets the message that there is no demand, and it shuts down production. However, if you just keep milking until the supply is less than a cup a day, the udder never gets that overfull feel or appearance, and production shuts down really fast when you stop milking entirely.

  • Wow, that's some gorgeous cream! Time to make lotion! I believe you, one of my does gives a lot of cream in her milk. I think people with full sized goats don't realize how creamy Nigerian Dwarf milk can be. 

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