# difficult milking goat:  update



## treeclimber233 (Jun 19, 2012)

I am beginning to believe my doe is never going to be easy to milk.  Here is her history.  I bought her a year ago as a dry doe from two young girls maybe 9 and 12 years old.  They had a herd of milking does that they sold shares on for milk.  My goat seemed to be fine to handle ( a bit on the "pully" side") but not too bad.  Several days after I got her home she came into heat and I bred her.  I handled her some -- petting her at feeding time and getting her out occasionally to tie out to eat grass.  Getting her out and leading her was easy enough.   However putting her back was terrible.  She tried her best to drag me back to the barn as fast as she could.  I tried working with her to lead  better but she just got worse.  She supposedly was a show goat but how they did anything with her in the ring is beyond me.  When it came time to  kid I had mono.  I did manage to be at the barn when she delivered but was so sick and weak for about 3 weeks all I did was throw hay in for them (3 does) and make sure everyone was still standing and alive.  When I started to milk her she threw a real hissy fit that I have already posted about.  Her baby is now 3 months old and I am not getting hardly any milk from her.  Tonight she was kicking so hard she kicked the quart jar out of my hand and sent it flying.  So I only got about an inch of milk in a second jar from her tonight.  She will not eat much grain.  She is not even eating a quart jar of grain which my other two does (mini mancha doe and nigerian/netherland mix doe) have no problem cleaning up.  They are still looking for more.  For example the other night I put grain out in the field (not a milking night) for everyone (lots of different troughs placed randomly).  My problem doe only ate for a bit and went into the stall.  All the rest hoovered up the rest only raising their head long enough to run to the next trough.   I have not weaned the babies on all my does because I need them to "milk" for me when I go away for weekends.  So I tape my "milker" (HA HA) on one side so her baby can nurse and I can get milk for myself.  I a 24 hour period I only get 1 quart maybe from her.  She in a Nubian.   Any suggestions on what I can do the improve her behavior on the stand or up her production will be greatly appreciated.


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## ksalvagno (Jun 19, 2012)

I would start milking her twice a day. Also, you would be surprised how much the kids will drink. Hobble her legs or have someone with you to hold her legs. Try something like alfalfa pellets or calf manna instead of the usual pellets.


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## mama24 (Jun 20, 2012)

My goats are picky eaters, too, and I have one who I have to milk with one hand while I use the other to hold one of her back legs in the air. My goats like alfalfa pellets, but the only feed they will eat is a textured goat feed with whole grains. The only 2 kinds I've found acceptable to them are Purina goat chow and Southern States co-op 16% textured goat feed, which seems identical to the Purina, but doesn't smell as good. They all turn their noses up at pellets, and I see a very obvious drop in production if the store is out of their grain when I go and try to give them something else. I agree with milking her twice a day.


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## treeclimber233 (Jun 20, 2012)

I just got back from Tractor Supply.  I bought some grain that said it would increase milk production. And some alfalfa.  I do seperate the babies from the mothers for at least 12 hours when I want to milk.  But there have been times that I have seperated them for 24 hours and still only get 1 quart of milk from my Nubian.  I have a mini Mancha that gives twice as much milk in the same time period.  The Nubians udder is still soft and pliable so I know she is not full of milk.  My mini Mancha is tight with milk so she is probably maxed out at her production. My mini Mancha hoovers all the grain I give her and still begs for more.  My Nubian will only eat a small amount and then she is not interested in eating any more.  I don't understand why she wont eat more.  Oh well all I have to say is she better start producing or she is heading down the road.  Is there any way I can check on her mothers milking ability?  Maybe it is genetic.


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## treeclimber233 (Jun 22, 2012)

An update on my goat--I fed her some of the grain and alfalfa as suggested to increase her milk.  After I milked her she was still messing with her feed so I loosened the stanchion so she could get down when she wanted to while I fed other animals.  After she got down to go eat grass I checked the trough.  It still had some grain and almost all the alfalfa in it.  She is not getting all that much feed.  I am giving her two cans of feed (27 ounce size) and she is eating only 1/2 of that.  She also has all the hay and grass she wants.  She looks like a skeleton compared to my Mini Mancha doe that is giving twice as much milk. Is it possible that she has  that wasting disease(not sure of the name. starts with a J ).  When I got my does tested for CAE the vet said they did not look like they needed to be tested for that one too.


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## ksalvagno (Jun 22, 2012)

I would have a good fecal run first. Not the quick fecal float at the local vet. One that actually takes a few days to complete. Usually state labs or veterinary colleges offer them. Certainly Johnes is a possibility but I would be ruling out parasite issues first. There is a coccidia called Emac and you can't find it on a quick fecal float and there are other parasites that don't show up on a quick fecal float. I know that Ohio State Lab does a great job on fecal testing but your vet has to send it in to them.

Also, have you checked her mouth for any sores or issues? If she has never had alfalfa pellets before, she will take a while to eat them. I would try Calf Manna too.


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## treeclimber233 (Jun 28, 2012)

update on my doe.  I called my vet and told him all I have told everyone here.  He said that in our area he is having a really bad time with cocci and parasites in ruminates.  So he gave me some ivomec injectable and some excede injectable  which I used this morning.  He also said I needed to put some corrid in the water which I have not done yet because I do not know the amount of powder to put in a gallon of water.  Any help there would be appreciated.  He also told me to wean her baby so I tapped her teats 48 hours ago and there is no milk in her udder so she must have already started drying up.  I have not seen any sign of cocci in my babies this year so this is catching me by surprise.  I thought adults don't normally get it. Just the babies.  Also I am worried by her silence tonight.  Usually she is hollaring all the time. Tonight I was wishing she would hollar some.  I also picked some fresh orchard grass for her and she came running and grabbed a big mouth full like she was starving.  After several chews she spit it out.  She would eat one piece at a time (looong pieces).  I wondered if her mouth hurt and rubbed and massaged all over her chin/cheek area.  I pressed on her teeth thru her cheek and she did not give any indication of pain.  She ate a few pieces of grain and it sounded like she crunched it up all right but she stopped after only a few pieces.  All butts are clean at the barn. I have seen the ocossional "log" here and there.  Everyone is alert. Coats are clean and shiny.  The one that is not eating has pale eyelids so I gave her some red cell which she seemed interested.  Sorry if I am ramblling all over the place but I am writing as the thoughts enter my feeble mind.


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## ksalvagno (Jun 29, 2012)

Have you really checked her teeth good? I mean the ones in the back. 

Not sure on the dosage for Corid. A better drug for coccidia is DiMethox.

I would still strongly recommend a good fecal test done. And yes, adults can get coccidia.


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## sawfish99 (Jun 29, 2012)

So you bought a dry doe from a family that is production oriented and the doe doesn't produce a lot?  Have you considered that they sold that specific doe because she was a poor producer?  Yes, the kids will drink a lot, but if you are keeping her isolated for 12 hrs and only getting a quart, that may be her yield.

Consistency definitely plays a part in this.  You can't expect a doe that you only milk a few times a week to give you a gallon when you show up.  If you want the milk, milk her regularly.


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## treeclimber233 (Jul 1, 2012)

I finally got a vet to come out. The vet office wanted me to make an appt for next week and I told them she would not still be here next week if somebody did not come look at her now. He checked her mouth and did not see anything wrong.  He gave her a Vit b shot and a Banamine shot.  Also got a tube of Banamine to keep giving her for a while.  The other vet had me pick up Ivomec injectable and anitbiotic so with all this hopefully she will get better.  Her udder looks like it has been very large at some time in the past so hopefully next year things will be better.  She did seem to eat a little better this morning.  Another doe has a dirty butt this morning so I am going to start treating for cocci.  And do a round of worming for everyone.


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## hcppam (Jul 2, 2012)

Oh geez, good like with them.


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