maximising milk production

Hi,

I'm a first timer milking an FF with a single kid here in Nigeria. An American friend came yesterday - she was raised with goats so I was just thrilled to have her view, ideas, expertise on my situation, it was great! Also she encouraged me that I am basically on the right track, and since I knew nothing before, all credit goes to this blog and Deborahs book - THANK YOU ALL!

As my friend massaged the udder to get more milk out, she noticed that there is a ridge at the top that you can slide your finger under - its like there's a disc in there that you can slip your thumb under. No matter how much we massaged and milked, we could never get the udder to feel soft and floppy and empty. Its not mastitis, but any ideas what it is?

Also, the udder is lopsided since the kid prefers one side - there's milk in it but just a little. I'd like to maximise the milk in there, is it possible to get it up to full production at this stage (6 weeks after the birth)? I would try to milk the smaller side out more often, but I'd be interested if anyone had experience of this.

Finally, despite milking with an experienced milker, we still got less than half a cup. My friend commented that the goats is small, her udder is small, and her experience has been that if a goat isn't a good milker the first time around, she won't improve the next time. Does that match your experience too?

Thanks again for your wisdom

Katharine

That kid is huge! The doe is totally holding back on you. Just takes time and patience, and hopefully she'll let down better for you.

It's hard to say how much you can increase production on the smaller side at this point, but it is totally worth trying. I once had a doe with a single who wound up with one side completely dried up one week after freshening because I didn't know that the kid had only been nursing on one side. Next time she freshened, both sides were in full production, so all hope is not lost on your girl.

It is a well known fact that does increase production each year up until about their fourth lactation or so. I have one doe that continued to increase until her seventh lactation, which is pretty much unheard of, but it sure was a pleasant surprise every year! Very few first fresheners are great milkers, and in fact, those that are bucket busters can sometimes wind up with a terrible udder because their attachments can't handle the high milk production. I really hate having to sell does after the first lactation because so many will surprise the heck out of you with their second lactation. I have one doe that I was about to sell as a first freshener -- even had someone interested -- and I decided to give her a second chance. So glad that I did because she is now one of my top milkers. Obviously that doesn't always happen. I'm just saying that first lactations don't mean much.

Replies

Patty Meyer February 27, 2015 at 4:26pm

Awesome! Way to persevere!
Katharine Norton February 27, 2015 at 3:35pm

Aw, Myra, wow, I was so blessed by your message! I'll inbox you, lets chat Africa! BIG thanks to everyone for your comments, I have doubled my milk output to 3/4 of a cup, woohoo! I feel it can still go up.............

I am much more patient and persistent with Zeeray and she is getting better at standing for me. I milk and massage all I can, then I let the kid drink, and then I milk again as he brings so much down! He is so good at it! Maybe I'll let him drink for shorter spurts and see if I can sneak some inbetween?!

Thanks everyone, loving the milk....
Myra Isaac February 23, 2015 at 2:25pm

Katherine, your pics made me Very Lonesome!!! My parents were missionaries in Malawi for 7 years between the time I was 8 and 16. I still miss 'home'. Keep working on your doe. One of my does' moms didn't take off until her third freshening. I'm hoping my doe will take off this year as well since it will be her third freshening now.
Julia @Woody Glen Farm February 23, 2015 at 1:58pm

7 months is fine. Then the doe is kidding once per year.
Phebe February 23, 2015 at 1:49pm

I think it's best to wait until 8 months or so after kidding. That's what I have read anyway.
Katharine Norton February 23, 2015 at 1:46pm

Thanks Phoebe, Julia and Deborah for your tips and encouragements! Btw, how soon can I get the lactating mother pregnant again?

Katharine
Deborah Niemann-Boehle February 23, 2015 at 11:57am

That kid is huge! The doe is totally holding back on you. Just takes time and patience, and hopefully she'll let down better for you.

It's hard to say how much you can increase production on the smaller side at this point, but it is totally worth trying. I once had a doe with a single who wound up with one side completely dried up one week after freshening because I didn't know that the kid had only been nursing on one side. Next time she freshened, both sides were in full production, so all hope is not lost on your girl.

It is a well known fact that does increase production each year up until about their fourth lactation or so. I have one doe that continued to increase until her seventh lactation, which is pretty much unheard of, but it sure was a pleasant surprise every year! Very few first fresheners are great milkers, and in fact, those that are bucket busters can sometimes wind up with a terrible udder because their attachments can't handle the high milk production. I really hate having to sell does after the first lactation because so many will surprise the heck out of you with their second lactation. I have one doe that I was about to sell as a first freshener -- even had someone interested -- and I decided to give her a second chance. So glad that I did because she is now one of my top milkers. Obviously that doesn't always happen. I'm just saying that first lactations don't mean much.
Julia @Woody Glen Farm February 22, 2015 at 8:43pm

I'm guessing that the reason she is not producing much is because she only had one and since you didn't start milking her right away to amp up her production, she just isn't making much milk. Deborah advises if you have a single kid to start immediately milking mama to make her body think she has more kids than one so she will produce more.
Phebe February 22, 2015 at 8:40pm

Katharine,
I'm new to goats, so I'm no expert at all. I had a ff give birth to triplets one week ago. We lost 2 kids the first night, but one survived. I've milked her every morning, and keep baby every night (its been down to -30 degrees here). I have been getting 400cc of milk in am, then put baby with mom right away after milking. He is fat and happy, and I'm getting almost a pint of milk. I would suggest milking after 12 hours of separation, and put hungry baby with mom. Then maybe separate for a few hours, milk, and put hungry baby with mom again? I've done this a few times now so I would have milk for bottles.
Good luck!!!
Katharine Norton February 22, 2015 at 3:26pm

Julia, I'm always asking weird and wonderful questions on this list!! The kid is 6 weeks old and I started milking after 1 month, so that's 2 weeks ago.

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