production after weaning?

Deborah Niemann-Boehle April 28, 2011 at 12:40pm

If a doe is only nursing twins, and I separate them at night, I always milk her out completely.

Kare at Chaverah Farm said:

Our milking ability has improved =) We are now getting a cup in the morning and still leaving some for the two doelings. They will be 7 weeks old tomorrow. At what point should I milk her out completely in the morning? I don't want her supply to dwindle, but then again I don't want to deprive the little ones either! I know we still need to be more efficient milkers cuz it takes us two servings of grain to get that cup, but we will keep getting better =)

Kare April 28, 2011 at 10:53am

Our milking ability has improved =) We are now getting a cup in the morning and still leaving some for the two doelings. They will be 7 weeks old tomorrow. At what point should I milk her out completely in the morning? I don't want her supply to dwindle, but then again I don't want to deprive the little ones either! I know we still need to be more efficient milkers cuz it takes us two servings of grain to get that cup, but we will keep getting better =)

Jan April 13, 2011 at 4:46pm

I have a second freshener with4 week old triplets (well fed and chubby)who is giving me 2# each morning. My ff who lost her kids has been giving me about a 1 1/2# per day since the fourth day after freshening. She is quite small and I didn't expect much. However her milk is so sweet I will continue to milk her until the triplets from my good milker are weaned.

I do think, however, I am a good milker since I have been doing it for many years.

Deborah Niemann-Boehle April 11, 2011 at 10:50am

I mix the grain with alfalfa pellets when I know it's going to take me awhile to milk a goat. Some goats will be happy if you just refill their bowl with straight alfalfa pellets, but you never know until you try, and it can be ugly if they don't like you trying to pass off second-rate alfalfa pellets instead of yummy grain. If she only laid down when you ran out of grain, she's doing great!

To answer your first question -- you have to play it by ear. There is no scientific formula for sharing milk with babies. If you know you're getting all the milk out, and it's only 1.5 pounds after 12 hours, and the doe is one month fresh, and she is feeding twins, I'd only separate her two or three times a week. The kids will probably manage to get a couple pounds out of her during the day, but that's only one pound each, which isn't quite enough as a daily ration of milk. The added demand should push her to increase her supply, especially since they hit their peak at six weeks. Between six and eight weeks, depending upon how the kids are doing and how the doe's supply is, you can start separating every night in this scenario. But if you only got out 1/2 cup, you really didn't take anything away from the kids, so feel free to separate every night until you start getting a more realistic amount.

Kare at Chaverah Farm said:

So if someone were to separate the kids at night, and milk out a pound and 1/2 in the morning (which is about 6 cups, correct?), would that leave enough for the 2 kids throughout the day?

We have been "practicing" since before she freshened, but we milked my FF doe for the first time this morning after separating for 8 hours and got slightly under 1/2 cup. Not very much and hardly worth the effort, but I know we didn't get it all. However, she was not happy about it and I didn't want to keep giving her grain to keep her quiet. When she ran out of grain she would sit. I kept my hands on her udder and then she would stand again, but I couldn't do both that and milk her. =) Because we (my daughter and I) are new to milking Nigerians (her teats are fairly small - about an inch long I think) and we were very slow. The kids are 4 weeks old. Tonight I will give it the full 12 hours and tomorrow will be the second time milking her, so hopefully she will be better and we will be faster! The babies are thriving, so I know she is giving more than 1 1/2 cups per day!

Any advice? Questions? Comments?

Adrienne April 11, 2011 at 9:24am

As soon as you are done milking she starts making more. I think, generally speaking they can keep up with demand. Deborah is right though, my milking ability has gotten much better than it was when I first started. I think I will do much better in the next lactation.

Kare at Chaverah Farm said:

So if someone were to separate the kids at night, and milk out a pound and 1/2 in the morning (which is about 6 cups, correct?), would that leave enough for the 2 kids throughout the day?

We have been "practicing" since before she freshened, but we milked my FF doe for the first time this morning after separating for 8 hours and got slightly under 1/2 cup. Not very much and hardly worth the effort, but I know we didn't get it all. However, she was not happy about it and I didn't want to keep giving her grain to keep her quiet. When she ran out of grain she would sit. I kept my hands on her udder and then she would stand again, but I couldn't do both that and milk her. =) Because we (my daughter and I) are new to milking Nigerians (her teats are fairly small - about an inch long I think) and we were very slow. The kids are 4 weeks old. Tonight I will give it the full 12 hours and tomorrow will be the second time milking her, so hopefully she will be better and we will be faster! The babies are thriving, so I know she is giving more than 1 1/2 cups per day!

Any advice? Questions? Comments?

Deborah Niemann-Boehle said:

Well, that is problematic. I'd say you're not getting her completely milked out, and her supply is dwindling. If this is what she's giving at six weeks, it's downhill from here, because they generally peak at around six weeks. This is why I recommend that people who are new to milking don't pull kids and exclusively milk mom. I know lots of people do that, but you have to be a really good milker to get all the milk out.

If you're separating Isabel from her babies overnight and getting 1/2 pound in the morning, then you are definitely not getting all the milk, because she has to be giving two pounds minimum to raise two kids, so you should be getting at least a pound after 12 hours. Most second fresheners give 3 pounds a day without breaking a sweat, so I'd really expect a pound and a half after 12 hours separation from her kids. And to have nice, meaty kids, they need about a pound and a half a day each, so 3 pounds total.

Kare April 11, 2011 at 9:02am

So if someone were to separate the kids at night, and milk out a pound and 1/2 in the morning (which is about 6 cups, correct?), would that leave enough for the 2 kids throughout the day?

We have been "practicing" since before she freshened, but we milked my FF doe for the first time this morning after separating for 8 hours and got slightly under 1/2 cup. Not very much and hardly worth the effort, but I know we didn't get it all. However, she was not happy about it and I didn't want to keep giving her grain to keep her quiet. When she ran out of grain she would sit. I kept my hands on her udder and then she would stand again, but I couldn't do both that and milk her. =) Because we (my daughter and I) are new to milking Nigerians (her teats are fairly small - about an inch long I think) and we were very slow. The kids are 4 weeks old. Tonight I will give it the full 12 hours and tomorrow will be the second time milking her, so hopefully she will be better and we will be faster! The babies are thriving, so I know she is giving more than 1 1/2 cups per day!

Any advice? Questions? Comments?

Deborah Niemann-Boehle said:

Well, that is problematic. I'd say you're not getting her completely milked out, and her supply is dwindling. If this is what she's giving at six weeks, it's downhill from here, because they generally peak at around six weeks. This is why I recommend that people who are new to milking don't pull kids and exclusively milk mom. I know lots of people do that, but you have to be a really good milker to get all the milk out.

If you're separating Isabel from her babies overnight and getting 1/2 pound in the morning, then you are definitely not getting all the milk, because she has to be giving two pounds minimum to raise two kids, so you should be getting at least a pound after 12 hours. Most second fresheners give 3 pounds a day without breaking a sweat, so I'd really expect a pound and a half after 12 hours separation from her kids. And to have nice, meaty kids, they need about a pound and a half a day each, so 3 pounds total.

Deborah Niemann-Boehle March 9, 2011 at 7:09pm

You continue milking until you get nothing but drops, but if your technique isn't great, you'll get to the drop stage sooner than if your technique is better. And hand strength plays a role too. My daughter always gets more milk than I do. We weigh all the milkings, and it's obvious which ones I did, regardless of whether I use the machine or do it by hand. She's just really good. Out of ten goats, I'm talking about a five or six ounce difference, so that only amounts to about 1/2 an ounce a goat, but it would make a difference in the long run if I were the only one ever milking. If goat has small teats, it can be more difficult to milk them when you're learning. My definition of "small" has changed quite a bit in the last nine years. You have to have a different technique for short teats than for long teats, and for me, I actually find the shorter teats a little easier to milk now than long teats, which is a change from how I felt nine years ago, because the technique I use for short teats uses muscles in my fingers that are stronger. It just takes practice.

Adrienne March 9, 2011 at 2:58pm

The boys are big for sure. I figured It might be just because her (Isabel's)udder and teats are so small, but I am milking, and bumping her like the kids do until I can't squeeze out any milk. If she should be giving a full pound, you are probably right that I am not getting all the milk out. I do the same with Indiana. I am planning to breed them again in June drying them off in August so that they will kid in October, then try for fall kids every year after that... I think we will all like it better in the fall.

Have you got any suggestions for how I will know when I got everything out?

Deborah Niemann-Boehle March 9, 2011 at 11:55am

Well, that is problematic. I'd say you're not getting her completely milked out, and her supply is dwindling. If this is what she's giving at six weeks, it's downhill from here, because they generally peak at around six weeks. This is why I recommend that people who are new to milking don't pull kids and exclusively milk mom. I know lots of people do that, but you have to be a really good milker to get all the milk out.

If you're separating Isabel from her babies overnight and getting 1/2 pound in the morning, then you are definitely not getting all the milk, because she has to be giving two pounds minimum to raise two kids, so you should be getting at least a pound after 12 hours. Most second fresheners give 3 pounds a day without breaking a sweat, so I'd really expect a pound and a half after 12 hours separation from her kids. And to have nice, meaty kids, they need about a pound and a half a day each, so 3 pounds total.

Adrienne March 9, 2011 at 11:45am

This is Indiana's 4th freshening though which is why I am wondering . Isabel has two babies on her and this is her second freshening and she gives about.5 lbs once a day.

Forum

production after weaning?

Replies