Needing lessons on milking my Nigerian!

Hi Rhonda

If your goat gets pregnant while she is already being milked, you can continue to milk her until she is around 3 months pregnant. Most goats will naturally drop milk production significantly by this time as nature tells her to turn her energy to the kids that she is growing and will soon need to nurse.

If you are planning to let her raise her kids, and she has at least 2, you should wait until the kids are at 20# weight before you start milking her. At that time you can separate the kids from her overnight, and then milk her in the morning before allowing the kids to have access to her during the day. If she only has 1 kid, you can start milking her on day 1, just be sure that the kid has had plenty of colostrum. Deborah recommends the first milking to be at 6-12 hours for does with a single kid. You can milk her 2 times a day without separating the kid. This will keep her milk production up and help to prevent a lopsided udder as singles will sometimes decide they like one side better than the other.

As far as a good milk machine- anything that is designed with a goat's udder health in mind is going to be a bit pricey and may not be worth the expense for one goat. I use and recommend the Simple Pulse. It is going to be in the $1000 range.

Be sure to check out those links that were shared by Thrifty Hometeader Team =)

Tammy

Replies

Tammy Gallagher April 22, 2025 at 1:29pm

Hi Rhonda

If your goat gets pregnant while she is already being milked, you can continue to milk her until she is around 3 months pregnant. Most goats will naturally drop milk production significantly by this time as nature tells her to turn her energy to the kids that she is growing and will soon need to nurse.

If you are planning to let her raise her kids, and she has at least 2, you should wait until the kids are at 20# weight before you start milking her. At that time you can separate the kids from her overnight, and then milk her in the morning before allowing the kids to have access to her during the day. If she only has 1 kid, you can start milking her on day 1, just be sure that the kid has had plenty of colostrum. Deborah recommends the first milking to be at 6-12 hours for does with a single kid. You can milk her 2 times a day without separating the kid. This will keep her milk production up and help to prevent a lopsided udder as singles will sometimes decide they like one side better than the other.

As far as a good milk machine- anything that is designed with a goat's udder health in mind is going to be a bit pricey and may not be worth the expense for one goat. I use and recommend the Simple Pulse. It is going to be in the $1000 range.

Be sure to check out those links that were shared by Thrifty Hometeader Team =)

Tammy
- Rhonda Koehn > Tammy Gallagher April 22, 2025 at 4:29pm
  
  Thanks for that input!
  - Tammy Gallagher > Rhonda Koehn April 22, 2025 at 4:34pm
    
    Your Welcome =)
Thrifty Homesteader Team April 22, 2025 at 4:18am

Hi Rhonda! Here's a video of Deborah were she explains when to stop milking a goat when she's pregnant.

When to stop milking during pregnancy? https://youtube.com/live/-asYhE4AxYg

Also, check out this podcast on Sharing Milk with Baby Goats.

https://thriftyhomesteader.com/sharing-milk-with-baby-goats/

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