# How to increase milk supply??



## Georgiamainers

We have two first time freshener goats.  The Togg is only giving us maybe 8 to 10 oz. twice a day (sometimes way less.)  We feed our 8 month old baby boy the milk and need more than that!
The kid is still with mom full time and I plan to separate them at night this coming weekend @ 2 weeks age.  He can stay with her after a.m. milking.

Any tips are appreciated. First time for us.

BTW the mom gets a quart yogurt container of feed 2 times a day. here http://www.nutrenaworld.com/nutrena/products/more-species/goats/index.jsp


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## julieq

I don't have any experience with leaving the kids on the doe and milking at the same time, as we bottle feed, but if we want increased milk production then we milk three times a day for awhile.  Some of our cow dairy friends milk three times a day and get really nice production out of their cows (not that I'd want to do that full time with our goats!)


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## ksalvagno

Make sure they are getting enough food and water too. Alfalfa hay should help increase milk production a bit.


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## Roll farms

You can try adding BOSS or calf manna to her feed, too.  
Alfalfa usually 'does it' for our does, too.


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## julieq

I should have added that we also feed alfalfa, in fact that's all our ND's eat as it's cheap here in cow dairy country!  Also, we pretty much challenge feed our does on the milk stand.  They get to eat grain the entire time we're milking.


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## mistee

i plan on starting mlking for the first time this sat.. not sure how it will go ,, sure the girls arent going to be happy at first,,lol... not sure but i thought i read somewhere barley can increas milk,,, dunno,,lol..


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## freemotion

Some does are really good at withholding the milk for their babies.  Try spending more time washing her udder with a warm rag and massaging as you do....more than just to get her clean, to stimulate let down of milk.  Also, gently but firmly bump your fist up when you think she is withholding like her kid would do.

I only got about 16-20 oz from my ff Nubian/Alpine/Boer doe last spring  when she was feeding her single ginormous doeling.  I separated at night and milked AM and milked her dry....then when I put her back with her kid, the baby would butt her udder and milk would spray out several feed and often got my  glasses all spotted......2 minutes after I'd milked her dry!  They have strong instincts.

Keep trying, be persistent.  If you have two milkers in the family you might try having one person milk one teat while the other milks the other teat if that goes faster.  The faster you can milk, sometimes the more you can get.  It also took me about 15 min to get those meager ounces, whereas I could milk 3 quarts from my other doe in about 3 minutes.

If you really need that milk for your own baby, you might have to get that kid onto a bottle of store bought whole cow's milk so you can have all the goat's milk for your baby.  Then you can add any leftovers to the buckling's bottle so he gets at least some of the good enzymes and beneficial bacteria in the raw goat's milk.

Chopped veggies can make a difference sometimes, too.  You can have friends save food prep scraps in their freezers.  The goats will eat them frozen, thawed, or partially thawed.  Just chop 'em up or they will fling them all over in their attempts to eat them on the milking stand.  Learned that one the hard way.


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## phoenixmama

I say put the kid on a bottle...transition it from the goat's milk to store-bought whole milk.  Many dairy goat people around here get them right on a bottle from birth...and allow the kids to access their mamas through livestock panels so they aren't "alone" but look to people for milk, not mama.  

If you are going to pull the kid from it's mama, I think you should just do it cold turkey and not take the kid in once a day to be with the mama.  I think that is just delaying the inevitable.  And be prepared for lots of yelling...

JMO, good luck!


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## Georgiamainers

My parents own a cow dairy right down the road from us.  Maybe feed buckling the raw cow's milk and take doe's milk for my own. I just don't want to run into any health problems, kwim??  Raising buckling (soon to be whether) for meat (if our hearts can handle it.)

Separated him from his mom today to bring him in the house to play with the children.  My daughter brought him back to the barn and somehow the mom had jumped out of her stall and was coming down the barn attic stairs looking for her kid!!!!!!  How the heck she did that I do not know.  Need to set up a spy camera.


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## 20kidsonhill

Georgiamainers said:
			
		

> My parents own a cow dairy right down the road from us.  Maybe feed buckling the raw cow's milk and take doe's milk for my own. I just don't want to run into any health problems, kwim??  Raising buckling (soon to be whether) for meat (if our hearts can handle it.)
> 
> Separated him from his mom today to bring him in the house to play with the children.  My daughter brought him back to the barn and somehow the mom had jumped out of her stall and was coming down the barn attic stairs looking for her kid!!!!!!  How the heck she did that I do not know.  Need to set up a spy camera.


It is my understanding that raw cows milk isn't as good for the goats as the store baught milk because of the homogenizing(spelling) process. something to do with size of protein particles. 

other people on here could tell you more about that.


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## AlaskanShepherdess

Fir Meadow has a herbal formula to help increase milk production. I know some of the herbs that she uses in it do work! I grew one funegreek plant last year and one day fed it to my girls in milk. There was a noticeable difference in the amount of milk they had that night, but it started dwindling. To really help you have to feed it at least once a day. I plan on buying that as soon as I can afford to to help increase milk production.


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## nmred

I think that when you separate the kids you will get a lot more.  Last year we were milking 2 first fresheners (Nubians).  I tried milking just a bit after the first week to try and get them (and me ) used to milking.  Only got about a cup, same as you.  At two weeks of age we separated the kids at night (yes, get ready for lots of bawling), milked out mom in the morning and then let the kids in.  The first day we got 5 and 6 cups from them.  It gradually went up to slightly over 8 cups from each (that's a little over a gallon a day combined!) and then back down to settle at around 6 cups each a milking until we bred them.  We completely weaned the kids at 2 months and then started milking 2 times a day.  Still about 6 cups a milking.  After breeding, it dropped fast and they dried themselves up at about 2-2 1/2 months into it.

As I re-read your post I saw that you were going to separate this weekend (today?) and hope you have similar results.  Good luck!


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## Georgiamainers

Yes, we started separating buckling at night and we're getting more milk in the morning.  Also, we've tried milking her in the afternoon and removing kid a couple hours before hand.  With a single kid she's not producing a lot.  I think the more we milk her and take him away the more she'll produce.  She's a stinker though, I think she's holding it back.  Mom's got to do what a mom's got to do.


 I got some alfalfa cubes(horse section ) and soaked them and they gobbled that stuff up!!


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## ChksontheRun

We have been separating our 6-7 week old mini nubians from their mommas during the day for over a week.  Our FF is tiny, and her teets are tiny.  We have decided to sell her to some friends with a wether so we are not milking her.  So we have 2 that we are milking.  When we first started, we were struggling to get 1 lb combined.  They were clearly holding back as now, only a week later.  We are getting 2 1/2 to 3 lbs combined and we have not increased their food that much.  The kids are eating hay during the day, and are let back with mommas at night after evening milking.  It seems that the mommas are getting much more comfortable with the arrangement and are actually enjoying the time away from babies now instead of worrying themselves about it all day.  

Of course ours are a little older, but we are very happy with how this has all worked out.  We plan on weaning in a couple of weeks and keeping all of the milk for us.  I can't wait to see how much we get. 

Good luck, I know she will start giving more soon, just keep up the demand.


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## Emmetts Dairy

I agree with "Free" separate and give them time..and it will get better. She is withholding the good stuff for her baby! I really dont exspect much from my girls in the first few weeks.  I let them nurse.  I steal a little colostrum for freezing. But I always give them a little time. Things will change for you soon enough.  The kid will start filling on hay and grain..and you will be able to expect more!!  

Another note..I noticed the web site for the feed you are giving her said "limited copper to reduce toxicity"  I would make sure you are giving her enough copper.  I notice your in NE and we dont have alot of copper or selenium in the ground here and I have to give a copper bolus to my guys because they were copper deficient.  Make sure she is getting enough copper in the feed and I also give loose goat specific minerals.  And with the minerals and feed..I still had to bolus due to deficencies.  Just something to look into anyway???  

Hope she gives it up soon enough for you!! Happy milking!!!


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## Georgiamainers

Soon they'll be turned out to pasture, once we can get our fence put up.  Don't plan on making separate pens outside the barn, so will only be isolating the kids at night.  Looks like I'll be just milking mornings until they are off their mamas.  Waiting on our Sanaan to kid real soon.  She hops everytime I touch her udders.  This should be fun.


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## Margaret999

Georgiamainers said:
			
		

> My parents own a cow dairy right down the road from us.  Maybe feed buckling the raw cow's milk and take doe's milk for my own. I just don't want to run into any health problems, kwim??  Raising buckling (soon to be whether) for meat (if our hearts can handle it.)
> 
> Separated him from his mom today to bring him in the house to play with the children.  My daughter brought him back to the barn and somehow the mom had jumped out of her stall and was coming down the barn attic stairs looking for her kid!!!!!!  How the heck she did that I do not know.  Need to set up a spy camera.


Set up a spy camera is a good idea,let the spy camera to record everything.


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## kstaven

Georgiamainers said:
			
		

> My parents own a cow dairy right down the road from us.  Maybe feed buckling the raw cow's milk and take doe's milk for my own. I just don't want to run into any health problems, kwim??


We have raised hundreds on raw cows milk. So as long as your friends dairy has a good clean supply then there should be no issues.


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## kstaven

Emmetts Dairy said:
			
		

> I agree with "Free" separate and give them time..and it will get better. She is withholding the good stuff for her baby! I really dont exspect much from my girls in the first few weeks.  I let them nurse.  I steal a little colostrum for freezing. But I always give them a little time. Things will change for you soon enough.  The kid will start filling on hay and grain..and you will be able to expect more!!
> 
> Another note..I noticed the web site for the feed you are giving her said "limited copper to reduce toxicity"  I would make sure you are giving her enough copper.  I notice your in NE and we dont have alot of copper or selenium in the ground here and I have to give a copper bolus to my guys because they were copper deficient.  Make sure she is getting enough copper in the feed and I also give loose goat specific minerals.  And with the minerals and feed..I still had to bolus due to deficencies.  Just something to look into anyway???
> 
> Hope she gives it up soon enough for you!! Happy milking!!!


Ever tried kelp? Since we have gone over to it with our dairy herds we have never had to bolus.


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