Hey guys,
Here is the story with my new doe, Willow. Or Moo Moo. Or Milky Way. Well anyway, I'll just call her "the doe" :)
She had a kid at her side in the herd where we got her from who still nursed some, but she's had milk for maybe 8 months already. Kid was mostly grown and only occasionally nursed. The breeder told us we could try milking her when we bring her home as once the kid apruptly stopped nursing for good we may get something out of her.
Mind you, my hopes are not too high about quantity, but frankly it would be great experience if I could just figure out how to get anything out of her as practice for her next freshening when we milk her for real. I felt her udder when we left with her yesterday and today it definitely appears bigger/ more full, and larger on one side than the other. Am I right in my assumption that she does in fact have some milk? When I checked her in the pasture this AM she was none to happy for me to touch her back there, immediately tried to sit down. Makes me wonder if she'll let me milk her period, but I've read some other people's posts about how to deal with difficulties...
So, I built a little platform in the stall next to the goats' stall so that if I stand her up there, she can see the others through the slats & hopefully won't mind being separated. They are all a little out of sorts at the move, they've been here less than 24 hours.
I think if I am going to milk her I had better get on with it, b/c she has to be emptied if she will continue to produce, right? I hooked up a feed bucket at the head of the platform. Can she safely eat as much grain as she wants while I mess with her? How much is too much? I don't think she was having much or any grain at the breeder's.
They gave me a crash course on another one of their milking does yesterday and on the 3rd try I was able to get her to milk though she was cooperating beautifully.
Replies
Sounds like you had a rough day! The buckling might be willing to nurse, but you'd have to hold the doe. In one of my not-so-bright moves one time, a couple of identical kids got mixed up, and I couldn't understand why the doe wasn't letting her kid nurse, so we held her. As the kid was nursing I noticed testicles, which should not have been there. That's when I realized I had accidentally switched kids! I felt so terrible! So, we all have our days.
One thing you might check -- if you squeeze the teat and it gets really bulbous, there might be a little milk plug in it. One of my la manchas gets that if she's only milked every 12 hours. You can either soak the tip of the teat with a warm washcloth or try to peel the plug off. On the other hand, if the teat is just flattening out, it means you're not adequately shutting off milk flow between the teat and the udder, and the milk is going back up into the udder. You have to squeeze your thumb and forefinger together pretty firmly to trap the milk in the teat before squeezing the rest of the teat to make the milk come out.
And just remember, everyone had to start somewhere. We were singing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" to my first goat when I was trying to milk her and she kept trying to lay down on the bucket.
Deborah...thanks for explaining that to me. Well, I tried again and I really stuck it out, I thought. Bless her again, our little doe. Even without grain she stood there and let me fumble around and squeeze her for probably 15 mins before I gave up.
We had a brief war of the wills but she finally settled down. I still could not get a drop out of her. I tried massaging her and cleaning her with a cloth and then trying to milk....nothin'!
Then one of my shepherds got away from me and ran down to the barn to harass the goats through the fence, and also did one run down my barn aisle before I could catch her. My chickens are loose and I don't know if my shepherd got any. Judging by how quickly she ran thruogh the barn I don't think she could have had time to maul one...
Super overwhelmed!! I feel like I'm having an epic failure today, I am sick, my dogs want to eat all my other animals....and I can't milk the bleeping goat.
Anyway thanks for answering my questions. I appreciate it. I looked at your website, Deborah, I really admire what you're doing. That's really our goal too. Obviously you're way better at it than me lol.
I can't get her kid- she was a real pretty doe that they wanted to keep back for their herd. I don't suppose there's any chance the buckling will nurse her and keep her going for me?
Deborah Niemann-Boehle said:
I do the same thing Marin does with fast eaters.
One side of her udder is bigger than the other side because her kid was favoring that side, so it is producing more milk, which is why it also feels firmer. I usually recommend that new milkers get a doe with a kid on her so that the kid can continue to keep up production while you're learning. Any chance you could get the kid? Wethers are very useful for detecting heat in your does and acting as a companion to any goat that needs to be separated from the rest of the herd for any reason.
Juliana Goodwin said:
Deborah,
I put her up on the stand with my daughter assisting. She tried to sprinkle the grain as light as possible to stretch it out but I'd say she still ate a cup while I was trying to milk her. I got nothing.
Is it okay that one side of her udder is much bigger than the other? It feels kind of firm, too, but maybe just because it is full?
She was pretty tolerant of me while eating. I figured out I was goosing her by touching her udders without warning. Can't blame her there. If I start on her butt and work down slowly she will tolerate it.
I guess I will try once more when we bring her in tonite and see if I can get anything out of her. I think my technique must be all wrong! Maybe I should massage her more or with a warm rag or something?
any tips on how to get her flowing for me since I'm obviously doing something wrong. If I can't get her to milk will she just dry up and be okay?
If she has an udder, she has milk. You should start milking immediately, or she will dry up. Don't be discouraged by the fact that she didn't like you touching her udder in the pasture. It is a rare goat that will NOT kick at your hand when you do that. Once they're on the milk stand with grain, however, she could be completely agreeable, especially if she has been milked in the past. If she has no milking experience, then it's a crap shoot.
Can she safely eat as much grain as she wants while I mess with her?
Probably not. By eight months fresh, she only needs about a cup or two of grain twice a day, but if you're new to milking, she could probably eat a LOT more than that while you're trying to milk her. I've heard people say it takes up to 30 minutes when they're learning, which is a long time to ask a goat to be patient.