My 6 yr old doe who was a good producer last year (at her peak she gave 6 cups per day) is struggling at 10 wks fresh to produce more than a cup after kid separation overnight. This same doe had a bout with a poisonous tree which almost killed her 2 weeks before she kidded and her production has never been up to par since she freshened. Even when she was in labor, her udder never filled up and throughout the first two months I was always concerned she was making enough milk because the kids would go in to nurse and find no milk sometimes. I didn't start milking until I sold one of the kids at a little over 2 months and the kids were eating solid food well. Some mornings she gives a little more than a cup but some mornings it's truly pitiful. Also, her doeling has recently had a bout of coccidiosis (again!) so I'm wondering if I should just stop milking her at all and let her kid have it all? I'm thinking her lactation was severely affected by her 2 days of vomiting and weight loss when she was pregnant.
My other doe who was also poisoned was 6 weeks fresh with triplets when they got sick and had ZERO milk for 2 solid days but came back fairly well but no where close to what she was producing before the incident. I'm getting about 2 cups from her every morning at 4 months fresh (with 1 doeling still nursing). I guess I'm lucky to be getting that considering what she went through.
What would you do? Should I give up and stop milking my senior doe altogether and hope for a better year next?
Replies
Thank you, that's what I was thinking too. Poor thing has been through a lot and here I am trying to get her to produce more. I think I'm going to skip this fall breeding season too and breed her as late as possible into March to help give her body a rest.
What a scary experience! It sounds like it might be best for her and her kid if you just let the kid have it all at this point. It doesn't sound like she has the energy to put much into milk production this time. Hopefully next year will be better. You just never know how an illness is going to affect their production. I had a doe barely survive meningeal worm in her first trimester, and she went on to kid without difficulty and is producing great. On the other hand, I have one that had a difficult labor and then got really sick, and her production is quite mediocre.