Hi all, So Piper is my first milk goat. Her does are 9 days old and yesterday I separated them at nite for the first time so I could milk her first in the morning. So now day two of doing this I am only getting 2/3 cup of milk. Is this normal? I added Molly's More Milk formula. I have noticed though that she just doesn't eat much of her grain, sweet cob mix and prefers her browsing and alfalfa.
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So now the remain kid is 10 weeks and unfortunately Piper has started her bad habit of self milking...I separate the kid at nite and was getting 2/3 quart in the morning than last week she decided she wasn't sharing and no matter how early I get up to milk her teats are damp and empty...I have caught her in the past self milking...some one told me that it was a sign of mineral deficiency, but she has loose minerals as well as a salt block...Any ideas..ANYONE
I think it is a case of holding back....but I can wait a few more weeks...I would like to see her eating more and am hopeful that the sprouted grains will be a great addition to her diet...she swiped my sprouted "mana" bread the other day so that is a good sign. Thanks for all your insight everyone...and this is Pipers second freshening and my first milking goat...so that could have something to do with it...although I have milked a few goats before so that is not the problem...ha ha...I hope
My first thought is that 9 days is a bit early to start holding kids off to milk... but I could be wrong about that.
Q for you: is this goat a first freshener? You may have mentioned somewhere else... but I don't know. :)
If you haven't milked before, then you may get better with time, and so get more milk. It's good you have the kids to finish up the milking for you. :) Also, some does are quite good at holding back milk for their kids. That also may get better with time. Remember, lots of massaging of the udder, and "bumping" it like the kids do. That should help. Best wishes!