milking

Hi guys and gals! So I am a big skeptic of online information because most of it I find is untrue! I prefer to get real goat owners oppinions. My two does kidded last spring and the kids were weined and sold off at the appropriate time. We kept the girls in milk and will continue to throughout...

Hi all, this is my first year with goats so I'd love some insight. My nigerian dwarf doe gave birth back in April and I brought her home at the end of May. I've been doing my best to learn to milk, but it was a long, hard learning curve. Anyway, I was getting nearly 1 1/2 cups each milking...

Thank you for welcoming me into your group! I’ve always dreamed of homesteading and I’m proud to say I’m one step closer!! A family member is gifting me a pregnant, lactating Jersey cow that is very small and I’m having a hard time figuring out how much supplemental feed I’ll need for her. I’ve...

A family member is gifting me a pregnant, lactating Jersey cow that is very small and I’m having a hard time figuring out how much supplemental feed I’ll need for her. I’ve never had a cow, let alone milked one. We have about an acre of grazing space but how much hay/feed should I expect to...

Has anyone trained their animals to stand for milking in the field? It's common pastoral painting for a cow to be simply tied to the post and milk there in the pasture. I've milked goats for years and milked one of my sheep one year. Going to be visiting a friend who has dexter cows about...

I am buying my first goats and I do not understand what the `milk` numbers are. Are they pounds of milk per year? Some kind of ranking system? Do i want a high number or a low number? Any help would be appreciated. I also don`t quite understan `age fresh` fully. I realize it is each freshening...

...and loving it! Getting back into sheep in a small way and need a place to journal about it all. Starting again with Katahdins, my fave breed, and will keep a very small herd of one full time ram, a wether and a few ewes until I see what my pasture can support. Won't have the wether until...

We have a Nigerian that I believe is pregnant. She’s my best mama goat we have. She literally takes a nap, stands up and makes 2-3 quiet cries, delivers her babies, nurses them, and never bats an eye. She always has strong healthy babies. BUT she doesn’t like us to touch her (pregnant or not)...

I am new at this goat thing. I want to make sure I am making the right decision for my herd. I currently only have one in milk. I have received mixed feedback about stripping dry after milking. Some have said it can cause mastitis, or damage the udder. Other have said the doe will produce less...

I want to build a goat barn but I don't know where to begin. I milk my goats, and I want a barn where I can keep my feed and milk my does. They are in a fenced in area with a dinky little shelter and I think they need something better than a little shelter. Their feed is in my house and I...

As many of you know, I’m still fairly new to milking goats and learning. Diamond is the first doe that has freshened on the farm that I’ve milked. (Nellie’s kid was pulled and sold a week before I got her and she was only milked once a day until I could pick her up.) Diamond freshened for the...

I have an odd question... If a 3 year old doe freshened earlier this season, the kids have been weaned and she has not been milked in about 6 weeks...would it be possible to begin milking her again? She had been giving about a gallon of milk a day from 2 milking.

The Long Background Story: My ewe Dora had a very bad form of mastitis last year that she developed just before she lambed. We caught it very early and she was able to produce enough milk to raise her lamb by herself. However, the vet warned that she could have problems in the future. We were...

We are getting a doe who is expected to kid early summer. We were planning on trying to do the once a day milking where you separate her kid from her at night and milk her in the morning. Will this still work if she has twins?

I have a Saanen FF who is giving 2 quarts a day. I also have a FF Nigerian Dwarf who gives a quart a day. Should I expect an increase in milk production in future years, or is that about as good as it will get?☺

hi all! Came out to the barn this morning to two cutie bucklings, still a little damp. I just missed it! My question is about nursing. My nanny has a very low hanging udder and the kids are having a hard time getting a hold of the teat. She won't let me try and help the kids latch. I'm not...

Any tips on getting a goat used to being on the milk stanchion when they've never been on one? I just brought home a Nigerian Dwarf doe and her doeling. She kidded on Jan. 2nd and her buckling was sold as a bottle baby to someone else a week before I bought mom & baby girl. The breeder said...

What kind of udder washes and teat dips are safe if the kids are still on them part-time? (Planning to do once a day milkings.) I was looking at the FiasCo Farms one with Clorox/water/Dawn. Will that be safe and OK to use? Any other recommendations? And do I need to use an udder balm regularly...

This is the season for baby goats, and unfortunately barn fires as well. :hit 2 barn fires in less then 10 days.... 60 goats dead, not sure if this was from a heatlamp or not... http://fox59.com/2016/01/19/dozens-of-goats-dead-after-fire-at-pittsboro-barn/ These folks lost their milk barn...

I've been milking my goats twice a day, but as winter is coming on, it will be harder on me to do that... if I start milking them only once a day, will their milk production decrease? Thanks!