# Nigerian dwarf milk production



## Brynn (Feb 10, 2014)

Hi! I have one nigerian dwarf in milk. She has twins and both are still nursing. I have started to milk her... new experience for both of us! We are both learning. I'm getting better at milking. It's day three. Still getting very little milk. I get about a teaspoon or a tablespoon before neither of us can stand anymore. I milk her for about 10 minutes. It's generally one handed because she doesn't stand well yet. A good half gets on my sleeves, pants or the ground. 

So I suppose I have two
Questions:
1. Is it normal to get such a small amount of milk?
2. Any ideas to Make milking more productive?

Thanks!!!


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## Southern by choice (Feb 10, 2014)

How old are the kids? Are they full time with mom? and... is she a first freshener?


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## elevan (Feb 10, 2014)

If the kids are full time with the dam then you're going to get very little.  You'll want to separate them at night and then milk her in the morning.

Also if she's a first freshener, she may not produce a lot...but it should be more than a tablespoon  

Do you know what kind of milker her dam was?  If she came from a poor milking line then chances are she'll be a poor milker too.


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## Brynn (Feb 10, 2014)

Her dam was a good milker. Kids are 3 weeks old and are with her always. Yes, her first freshening.


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## Southern by choice (Feb 10, 2014)

To increase your milk production you will need to seperate the kids, overnight is best. Milk first thing in the morning and let mom go out with the kids for the day. Yes she will be pretty much emptied but the kids will continue to nurse on her which will cause her to produce more. There are different schools of thought as whether to do this at 3 weeks, 4 weeks, 6 weeks. 
IMO it isn't always by age of kids but how many kids are nursing, how well they are growing, whether they have started to nibble hay and if they are nibbling pellets yet.
Many ND's are weaned completely by 6weeks ( usually bucklings) the average age is 8 weeks. Also consider your temperature... right now much of the country is dealing with extremely cold temps and you want the kids to be hydrated as well as bellies full with warm milk.
You do not want to short your nursing kids but  you also don't necessarily want to wait too long as to where they are not going to momma much and are almost weaning age. 
First fresheners often do not produce as much as they will with their 2nd, 3rd, so on.
Also check your technique. A good way to do this is to separate the kids and then milk... what are you getting? If you aren't really getting anything it may be technique.


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## taylorm17 (Feb 10, 2014)

I have never milked before, but have searched it on youtube. They do say a lot of stuff about technique. I'd find a good video to watch. They are short and easy to watch.


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## Brynn (Feb 10, 2014)

Thanks Guys! I will try to milk her dry tomorrow. Lets pray for milk and snow! I did end up watching tons of videos before even attempting to milk. So I have the idea, but I can see my technique isn't perfect. I'll keep you posted (hehe - pun) on how much milk I get. 

I could separate the kids, but want them to be as healthy as possible. They just started munching on hay and grain. I will probably wait at least another week before weaning. 

Any advice on milking a fussy doe? She won't let me milk both teats at the same time without kicking the pail. I'm good with one at a time, but it is time consuming!

B


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## Brynn (Feb 11, 2014)

Today went MUCH better! 

I milked until I saw a noticeable difference in quantity of milk. The milk was flowing still but It was about 75% less for each "pull". Her behavior really increased around that time. I wonder if it is uncomfortable to go totally dry? Does she want some remaining for the kids?  so we stopped before completely dry.

I ended up with just over 2oz. Kids are with mom full time and 3 weeks old. Kids are eating hay and grain on occasion.


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## Banriona (Feb 11, 2014)

I have no experience to share - other than that Southern and Elevan and the rest on here are excellent teachers.  I am interested in hearing your experiences though since I'll be going through this myself in the future.


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## Brynn (Feb 14, 2014)

Just to let the new milkers out there know - a wide mouth 24 oz mason jar has proved to be an excellent size/shape for the milking jar. A gold cone coffee filter has been perfect for straining dirt/hair. I have been using baby wipes for an udder wash.


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## Southern by choice (Feb 14, 2014)

How's the milking going?


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## ragdollcatlady (Feb 14, 2014)

My mom of 3 week old kids is giving me 2 cups in the morning and nursing the kids 3 times a day but she is a 3rd freshener (nigerian) with twins. I waited until they were 2 weeks to separate at night.....she topped out at 5 cups a day last year, and gave a steady 3 1/2 + cups for the majority of her lactation. She was also feeding one of her kids during the day so.....

One girl gave me 1 1/2 quarts a day last year at peak and a steady 3 3/4-4+ cups a day for the better part of her lactation, but she is a many freshener that had quads last year and a couple years before, twins this year and is currently helping to feed 3 kids that aren't hers as well as her own little chunky monkey.

If you milk long enough (in one sitting), you will learn the milk letdown....they hold some back. Once you get her past that point once, you will understand what I mean. The milk flows faster. I milk one teat at a time, hold 2 cup measuring cup in the other hand, so I can move the cup out of the way of errant hooves. I milk from the side I am sitting on as the girls are most comfortable with that. If I reach under them, they can't see who is trying to "nurse" that side and get upset.

Hope it is going well for you.

I know real milk folks weigh their milk, but measuring in cups is easier for me.....


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## Brynn (Feb 15, 2014)

Thanks for asking! The milking is going a lot better. I am getting around a half cup a day. It is a definite improvement in quantity. Kids are still with her full time. Not weaning at all. 

My technique seems to be improving quite a bit too. I'm definitely a right handed milker!!  

Ragdoll, do you continue to milk off a teat that slows down and then eventually it will come back stronger? I've never kept milking on the same side that long. How long does it take for the milk to come back strong? Does it totally dry up before that point? 

My girl is doing very well now behaviorally speaking. She loves running into her milking stand. It is the cutest thing ever.


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## ragdollcatlady (Feb 16, 2014)

I milk for about 8 minutes a goat, each sitting. After about 1-2 minutes or so, it feels like they have almost no milk left ( I may have about 1/2 cup at that point). I would sometimes milk the second side then go back and start over on the first. Now I know what I am doing and I just keep going until they let down. There is a point when they "let down" and all of a sudden you start to get more milk faster....still in the same sitting. I found that it helps to "bump" the udder a time or two about the time they slow down. If you watch the kids nurse, you will see them do that several times. It stimulates the letdown. Once you get past that point, you will know exactly what I mean. The very first year I milked, I never really got that clear picture.....Now I know and I get alot more milk. My technique has improved dramatically too. 

I am not actually weaning my kids yet, though I see the moms walking away from the kids more now. They kind of start the weaning process themselves. I do separate at night though. I make sure that all babies get full tummies, but after all have eaten breakfast, I milk out the rest for us (and of course to use for morning bottles the next day). It doesn't make sense to me to take all the babies milk or to supplement with a product I have to buy over what the mommas make themselves, so I feed kids first, then take the extra. 

When I first started I had to train my Stinker Jane and she took an extra person sitting next to her, sometimes holding a leg up or preventing her from sitting in the cup.....She is called Stinker Jane for a reason! But after awhile, she got a bit easier, not great, but I enjoy milking even her with her tiny teats and shorty shortness......


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## Homestead Journey (Feb 23, 2014)

We just started with goats last summer and had our first kids earlier this month.  Thanks for the milking information, we have been trying to milk one of our does, but she seems to be holding back.  Like the OP, we just get a little bit of milk from her.  I guess we'll continue to work with her and hopefully she'll give us a lot more once we start to wean the baby!


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## SA Farm (Feb 23, 2014)

I'm a new milker too. My ND doe didn't get her milk in this year (last year I left her to her kids), so I had to take and bottle feed her kids. I decided to milk her in the hopes that her milk would come in and it was trial and error for both her and myself! I'm finally getting about 2 cups out of her/day which is still pathetic, but her udder is less than half the size it was last year, so I'm not surprised. I'll keep at her until her kids are weaned, then breed her and let her dry off. 
At least drying her off shouldn't be too difficult!


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## Sweetened (Feb 23, 2014)

Grip. Fill (slight push up), pinch (close up your top two fingers, however you're holding it), wrap (like you're making a fist from a fully open hand.  That works easiest for me.

I'm going to get one of those Udderly EZ milkers ordered up, this payday or next.


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## OneFineAcre (Mar 5, 2014)

Sweetened said:


> I'm going to get one of those Udderly EZ milkers ordered up, this payday or next.



Udderly EZ's work great.  We have used for 4 years and have had to replace parts on ours that we have worn out.  It really works as well as it shows on the video.


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