milking and baby issues

No milk after 8 hours!!??

Brandi is from good milking lines, has a good udder and teats, as well as large orafices (no spell check...?) She is a 3rd freshener, and kidded with triplets 24 days ago. I normally separate at 2 weeks but decided to wait a bit longer since  the kids were so tiny.

About two weeks ago I found Joshua dead in the pen, and based on where, how and when I found him I'd say I couldn't have missed him by more than a few minutes...and that he was likely trampled by the larger goats in the herd. :(

Last night I took the babies up around 10PM and I milked Brandi around 8. Her udder was NOT full at all...I got enough milk for coffee...Out of a THIRD freshener??!! I am amaized that the two remaining - Aaron and Moses- are still alive if her production today was any indication. Moses has always been the least favored apparently because hes smaller and not growing as quickly as Aaron. I have thought of suplimenting him with cows milk and or replacer, but don't know how I can get him to take a bottle at this point.

My first inclination was that she might be holding back but that wouldnt explain the udder feeling so empty would it?? I've had girls hold back on me before but their udders are full when I start to milk...which is why I am questioning that. I realize that she probably doesn't have milk for 3 kids now that she has lost one and I didn't imediatly take on the role of 3rd kid, but even still...

It's as if she didn't make any milk for 8 hours!

I really need the milk right now too...David, who happens to be allergic to most man made drugs, is sick, and reaks of garlic that's being used as an antibiotic along with supportive and soothing herbs. The goats milk is not only good to buffer the stomach against the strong/spicy herbs  in adition to being really good for a person....but also is apparently alkaline, mucus reducing, (unlike cows milk which is mucus CAUSING) AND when drank while taking garlic will greatly reduce the stench...

Anyone else have a goat do this before? Suggestions about my runt kid?
Please...I can only hold my nose so long! LOL!!

You need to be a member of Nigerian Dwarf Dairy Goats to add comments!

Join Nigerian Dwarf Dairy Goats

Email me when people reply –

Replies

  • Yes! much better.  2lbs in the morning, and she is very quick about it too! Beautiful doe! I think that was just a fluke day, but I hadnt ever had that so I just freaked... Im sorry I havent updated. I just checked my email which alerted me to your comment. Ive been hanging out on my facebook goat group more.

  • Hi Adrienne!  I actually have one of Brandi's does from last year.  I bought her from Tammy.  I was a little curious how she has been milking.  Is she doing better now?

  • Aaron started out bigger, and Moses  was the middle weight. Aaron seems like his belly is always full and Moses always seems hungry . but they are nursing at the same time.  I think he may just be little. he does have muscles but he seems kinda squishy and rag dollish vs Aaron who is quite solid.  I don't know if that makes sense... but I hope it does. I'll weigh them in the morning and see how much they have actually grown since birth.

     

  • I separated them again last night and got 7 oz (weight) This is about tripple what she gave yesterday. I am SO glad! It's not great, but I will continue to monitor her and see what happens...It was just so odd...This was the first time I milked her, but I know her breeder and previous owner, and they both milked her and gave great reports. The last owner has decided to get more into showing, but still milks for her family. For some reason Brandi didn't do very well at show, ( I forgot the reason) and so she made the cut list in the most recent herd reduction sale. I had previously requested a doeling from her, but when she came available I changed my mind.....I think she is breathtaking to look at so I'd probably keep her even if she couldn't milk.

     

  • The name of this goat does not sound familiar. Is she new to you? Do you have personal experience milking her? It doesn't sound like it, so I'm wondering how much she is producing, especially since one of the triplets died. Being from good milking lines doesn't mean a whole lot. You never know how two goats are going to cross, especially if it was a cross with goats from two different herds. It is entirely possible to take two great animals and get offspring that does not come close to the parents. And this is why I'm always saying that if you're going to milk, you should buy from someone who milks. They could be crossing animals that just don't work together -- or they could have a buck that doesn't throw decent does -- but if they don't milk, they'll never know. And how far back in the pedigree are those great milkers? If her dam and her sire's dam weren't great, the rest of the pedigree doesn't mean much. It only takes one mediocre goat to dilute awesome genetics.

    To feed two kids, she has to be making at least a quart a day. Is the small one just small but well muscled, or is he bony? You never know if a kid will take a bottle or not. I had one last year who decided she should be bottle-fed after she got a bottle when we separated her for 24 hours for a  milk test! Every time she saw a bottle she was jumping on me like the bottle baby.

    There is always the odd possibility that this milking was just a fluke. It really does not take great genetics to give a quart a day at this point. Even a first freshener should be giving closer to a quart and a half by a month. You could try separating the kids overnight again in a couple of days and see what happens.

This reply was deleted.