Because of Capri's pneumonia (and antibiotic), I started drying her off just before this last cold snap. When the temps dropped so deeply, I stopped separating baby at night from mom so Summer had little milk for me. I milked her the first two or three days and got only half a cup or so and stopped. I checked her to be sure she wasn't full. Baby was obviously drinking more and mom was producing less. I pretty much resigned myself to the fact that there would be no more milk until there were kids again.
I had not checked Summer the last couple of days, foolishly thinking she was probably drying up anyway. I checked her tonight; she was about to burst! I milked out a full quart and that was not all of it. Before the cold weather, I was milking 2-2.5 cups per morning. I am more than a little upset with myself for neglecting to check her since Tuesday. When it started warming up a bit, I should have started milking again and certainly, at the minimum, should have checked her.
I am posting this in case any of you have also stopped milking because of the extreme cold. Be sure to check your does at least once a day anyway even if you *know* there is no or little milk. This slip could have cost my precious little doe her life by her getting mastisis. She was so full, it took a long time to get milk flow started. Once it started, it was not wanting to stop.
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