Our typical milking routine is to separate the mama from her babies at night, milk in the morning, and allow the babies to have access to mama during the day (so, we milk once daily).
My question is in regard to the best way to dry up the mama. Currently she still has two babies nursing. Is it okay to just stop milking and allow the babies to continue nursing (obviously not separating them at night). That won't dry up the mama, but is it still okay to do?
And, as long as she has babies nursing, should I continue to give her grain?
We plan to breed her again this November. What should I do to prepare her for that (she visits a buck on another farm)?
Replies
You can just let the kids continue to nurse. They'll gradually nurse less, so she'll gradually produce less. Eventually either mom or babies will decide to stop nursing. No need to do anything special for breeding. Some people talk about "flushing" does with grain for breeding, but the reality is that you should always be providing your goats with optimal nutrition if you want them to be healthy and productive, so yes, you can continue feeding her as you were when milking.