Hello!!
I was wondering what was the normal amount of milk from a Nigerian? My parents had full size Saanen goats I would milk and I knew my ladies wouldn't milk as much but I am receiving a little over a pint each. Is this normal? They have plenty of food and water left over every night so I know they are getting enough as well as I have a nutrition goat block and individual feedings with goat minerals.
Comments
I just saw this. As Patty said, you'd get more responses if you posted in the discussion forum. The "Blog" section is not really really for asking questions. This previous post in the forum will give you a lot of info on production:
http://nigeriandwarfgoats.ning.com/forum/topics/milk-production-exp...
If you posted this above in the forum section, you might get more answers. I've had my does milk anywhere from less than a pint per milking to a quart per milking. Length of lactation, and how long their peak is, also make a difference though. My pint a milking girl would milk a pint per milking for a long and steady lactation, while my quart a milking girl would have a shorter peak and was closer to a pint for the rest of the time. There are ND's that make more milk than this. I think half a gallon a day is really good for them though. They're certainly not Saanen, but some of them can give a Nubian a run for her money. That's my experience, anyway.
Do you milk once a day? Or twice a day?
When Caramel was a first freshener with a single baby, she peaked at a pint, once a day milking. So I'd have gotten more if I'd milked twice a day instead of letting the baby have it. She was bred way too early - 5 months - and kidded at 10 months, so it may have stunted or slowed her growth and/or production, I'm not sure.
On her second freshening, she milked about a pint for a longer time, and peaked at almost 3 cups. (Once a day)
When Oreo had her first litter, I didn't milk for about 2 months, and when I did she started right off at a pint or a little over, once a day. I'm really excited about her next round.
The does I have are not of the highest-end bloodlines; they were what I could afford. I added a new buck of the best milking genetics I could find, whose dam milks 3 quarts a day. !!!!! The breeder says that her goats usually increase production from the first freshening through the next few, so they don't start off at 3 quarts. I haven't had my goats long enough to see this in mine yet. Caramel will be a 3rd freshener this May.
From the research that I've done, it seems that there is a range of "normal". There are lines in the breed that milk less, and then carefully bred lines that milk like little cows (definitely more pricey). One of these days I will have a herd like the latter. :D
I am NO expert. This is just my own limited experience that I have to contribute. :) Hopefully there will be real experts that chime in here.