Drying up a precocious milker

My little girl, Nickel, decided to become a dairy goat on her own about two years ago.  When the weather gets cold, neither of us like spending time in a cold milking room with cold hands and warm teats.  It is that time again; I haven't milked her in a week.  Our usual, normal, situation is a quart of milk and one milking per day.    Last year when  I stopped milking, she got a little full (but not huge like now), I milked her again, and she stopped.

Now, her bag, after a week of non-milking,  is huge and looks uncomfortable.  I'm wondering if I should just milk her or let her keep going and hope her body absorbs the milk  Doesn't sound right, and I need some assurance or alternative ideas.

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  • That's amazing! =)  I would love to have a precocious milker that gave that much =)

  • Hi, again.  No, I was saying my intent was to not milk for a week.  But, her udder was so full after 5 days, that I was in a quandary about what to do.  Anyway, I milked her empty yesterday-last night (it took 4.5 hours) and milked her again tonight for a normal milking.  What an ordeal for her and me.  I'm just going to play it by ear and not let her get that full again and hope she wants a break as much as I do.

    Deborah Niemann-Boehle said:

    Are you saying that you have already waited a week, milked her out, and she did fill up again?

  • Are you saying that you have already waited a week, milked her out, and she did fill up again?

  • Yes, I did that last milking the first two years she was lactating.  This time, seems like it's not working.  I've got to milk her now; she looks like she might explode.  I'll let you know how it turns out.  By the way, her milk is the best.  And that's not just me saying so.  Also, the cheese.  Last year, I froze some of the cheese and added the herbs after it was thawed, and it was still wonderful.

    Deborah Niemann-Boehle said:

    A vet in Wisconsin who works with organic dairies recommends milking a cow one final time a week after you stop milking. That fullness that the doe's body feels for a week signals the body to stop producing, so that final milking should just relieve the current pressure, and the udder should not fill up like that again. There might be a little milk, but the body will reabsorb it. So far, this has always worked for our goats.

  • Wow! I just noticed the title of your post! She's never been bred? I've never heard of a ND being a precocious milker and producing that much. Wonder what she'd produce if she was bred. That's amazing!

  • A vet in Wisconsin who works with organic dairies recommends milking a cow one final time a week after you stop milking. That fullness that the doe's body feels for a week signals the body to stop producing, so that final milking should just relieve the current pressure, and the udder should not fill up like that again. There might be a little milk, but the body will reabsorb it. So far, this has always worked for our goats.

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