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drying off doe

Posted by Tammy Lee Birrer on August 8, 2011 at 9:22pm in Goats 101

I thought that my doe was ready to stop producing but after a few days of milking once a day, I tried to skip a day (three milkings) but she was uncomfortable so I milked her out.  So I have since then been milking once a day and she is giving 12 ounces, 1- 1/4 cup. What should I do? Keeping milking once a day?  For how long?

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Replies

  • Deborah Niemann-Boehle August 24, 2011 at 8:58pm

    People would probably be split on their advice in this. Some would say not to do anything, and she'll eventually reabsorb the milk. If it's been a week, and she seems kind of full, you can milk her one more time, and she probably won't fill up again. When I got my first two milkers, I never could milk one of them without help, so I decided to stop milking her. After a week, I felt sorry for her and milked her, and she was an angel. So I decided to milk her again the next day, and I got next to nothing, so that was the end of that lactation.

     

  • Tammy Lee Birrer August 24, 2011 at 1:49pm

    I just sent a message, Actually I meant to say she was at 1 cup once a day when I stopped milking. But she is full now and It has been a week. Do I express some or leave it alone?

    Thanks, Tammy


    Deborah Niemann-Boehle said:

    You can continue milking her once a day for as long as you want. Usually if they're only giving a cup a day, you can stop and their udder doesn't fill up. It's really up to you.
  • Tammy Lee Birrer August 10, 2011 at 11:05pm

    Ok, thank you for being patient with my fears.  That's what I am doing now. She seems fine.

    Tammy

  • Deborah Niemann-Boehle August 9, 2011 at 8:38pm
    If a goat is milking 4 pounds a day, and you try to milk her once a day, I would be worried about an infection, but it's not a big concern towards the end of lactation when they're milking that little. I reduce my does to once a day milking when they go much below a pound a milking. It just isn't worth it to milk a doe twice a day when you're getting less than a cup at a time. I've never had a doe get mastitis when I quit milking her. (knock on wood!) And we quit milking when they're producing around a cup, once a day.
  • Tammy Lee Birrer August 9, 2011 at 12:05am
    Ok,  I  am just afraid that she might get an infection. 

    Deborah Niemann-Boehle said:
    You can continue milking her once a day for as long as you want. Usually if they're only giving a cup a day, you can stop and their udder doesn't fill up. It's really up to you.
  • Deborah Niemann-Boehle August 8, 2011 at 9:34pm
    You can continue milking her once a day for as long as you want. Usually if they're only giving a cup a day, you can stop and their udder doesn't fill up. It's really up to you.
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