dismal milk production

[Suburbanfarmer]

Ok, here's the story... We have ND goats. We got a doe late last summer already in milk and milked her through the Fall, bred her and we are now able to milk her again in the mornings (babies are 4 weeks old). We have always gotten at least 2 cups a milking off of her. Now we are getting a solid 2 1/2 cups each morning. This is her second freshening - she had twins both times.

I just bought another doe so that we would have two does in milk. She is a little smaller than our other doe, but not majorly so. This is her second freshening (triplets), but her first freshening (single doeling) was pulled as a bottle baby and the doe was dried up. I bought her with her two doelings still on her a couple of weeks ago (they kept the buckling as a bottle baby). The doelings are 2 1/2 weeks old and I pulled them last night to milk this morning. I didn't even get a cup off of her. ?? This is really the first time her udder has had a full fill ever. Could it be that it just needs to stretch for greater capacity? She comes from really good milking lines (milk tested). Will she ever come up to close to two cups a milking? Or should I think about selling her and looking for a better producer? We really like her and she has a really sweet personality. So, we want to keep her if possible, but we are truly urban farmers and don't have the space to keep an animal that is not producing.

Thanks,
-K

 

[BarredRockMomma]

I had this with my FF last summer. When I started milking a cup was a good milking it took a while, but she did increase the amount she produced. I'm not sure on the time frame or amount because I don't have my records next to me, but she did improve.

 

[Mamaboid]

I would give her a bit of time. She may just not have let her milk down since this was her first morning away from the kids. My fainter mom took 3 days before she would give me anything when I first took the kids away at night. She just knew she had to save it for them. She turned out to be a great milker for a meat goat and I like her milk best of all my goats, including the Nubians and Mini Nubs.

 

[Suburbanfarmer]

This is great news! Thank you so much. I will continue to milk her and see what happens. I really hope she improves because she is really really sweet and we like her personality.
-K

 

[ragdollcatlady]

Last year Jane fought and kicked and at the start, one cup a day was decent for her. A few months in, 3 cups or a little less was normal....they give slightly different amounts based on how much and what they eat on any given day.

This year I am getting 2 full cups am and 2 pm from the same little pooper.

One of my girls that gave me 3 1/2 cups a day last year...and I was satisfied with that....is giving me 3 full cups am and 2 full cups pm and still feeding one kid all day.

Give her some time and double milk her....when you milk the second side empty, go back to the first and milk again. They always hold back some. I can get 1/4 cup (average) or up to 3/4 cup extra per side, depending on which doe and how much she is trying to hold back for her kids.

 

[Suburbanfarmer]

This gives me hope! I also really wanted to keep one of her doelings, so maybe her milk production will come up enough to justify keeping one of her girls.
-K

 

[alsea1]

Maybe give her a little alfalfa to increase milk production

 

[doxiemoxie]

Realize that they are only going to produce as much as there is a demand. So you have to increase the demand, and do so over time. Are you going to put her babies back on her during the day? Because that will help stimulate production, but you'll have to watch the babies to make sure that they are getting enough to eat, especially if you milk her again in the evenings. Please keep trying because in another year I will probably be in your situation and will need to ask you all kinds of questions!

 

[madcow]

Realize that they are only going to produce as much as there is a demand. So you have to increase the demand, and do so over time. Are you going to put her babies back on her during the day? Because that will help stimulate production, but you'll have to watch the babies to make sure that they are getting enough to eat, especially if you milk her again in the evenings. Please keep trying because in another year I will probably be in your situation and will need to ask you all kinds of questions!

I agree with doxiemoxie, supply = demand. You can try milking 3 times a day, by adding another milking at noon (if your schedule allows), and that will increase her production over time. Give it a couple of weeks to pick up. Milking 3 times a day helps her produce to her maximum. Also, my does each seem to both give about the same amounts of milk each day, and that can vary by as much as half, considering what's going on with them that morning. The mornings they are most relaxed is when they give the most milk. I also found that after I milk the first teat dry and begin the second teat (keep in mind I use a pump) I let her baby loose to come and nurse on the first milked teat and she will let more milk down on the teat I'm milking. I didn't realize the kids bump as hard as they do to simulate them to let down milk until we started doing this. It's pretty darn hard! Be sure you are massaging and imitating the kid's bump to help milk let down. And I agree that you can always go back and try to get a little more from the first teat after it's been milked, because I sometimes too get more when I do this, but I won't milk it again if I've allowed her kid to nurse since I've milked it, because I would have to clean it again before milking more.

Keep in mind it takes time for their milk to get up to full production. I think it's somewhere around 8 weeks or so will be their maximum volume, and then it will very gradually taper off over time, but of course that also depends on the doe. They are all different.

Also, do you give her a second feeding in the evening? Feeding them twice a day helps increase milk production, too. They must be drinking really well too every day to produce milk, so plenty of cool, fresh water always.

 

[ragdollcatlady]

Feed does have a very immediate and drastic effect on milk production. A 16 percent grain and free alfalfa hay will increase your milk production. Even one feeding of lower quality/protein grain or hay will cut your milk way down and may take 3 milkings to get back up assuming an immediate correction of the feeding problem. I found that BOSS increased the richness/cream right away and cutting the feed with oats will thin your milk a little and may reduce a bit how much you get. Free ranging this year on grassy weeds could also account for a difference in how much milk I am getting. The fresh greens have more fluid.....