Drying off a pregnant doe

[DonnaBelle]

I have a pregnant Nubian doe, due in May. She is giving about 1 qt. of milk in the am, about a half a quart in the pm.

I have heard/read two opinions regarding drying off. One is to stop completely, cold turkey so to speak. The other is to milk once a day for a few days, then every other day, then stop completely. Also, some are for the teat antibiotic infusion, others are not.

Can I have some other opinions regarding this situation??

Thanks so much,

DonnaBelle

 

[ThornyRidge]

I have Nigerians and one of them is a massive milk maker.. the first time she freshened I was amazed at her udder capacity and the fact that she supported triplets with ease!!! Anyway being new to it at that time I researched and spoke with lots of goat folks I new who told me to go the cold turkey method with her once her kids were weaned and gone. I can share this.. it worked but I know she was horribly uncomfortable.. due to that I did end up having to release some nightly for her but she did dry up relatively quick.. others may have differing opinions on this.. looking back it seems like such a waste of milk.. guess I really should motivate myself into making soap or something productive! ONe other word of caution though by letting the udder fill like that and drying off the doe that way you may run problem of lopsided udders especially if you were to ever show goats.. The only other time I had to intervene was the step down method.. it was more time consuming for me (being selfish) did not appear as uncomfortable for goat but it took a lot longer for doe to dry up... this past year my kids did not all sell and I was left with 2 doelings from two different dams. Kids were left in and the dams finally totally weaned the kids themselves! ONe doe kicked her kid off much sooner than the other and dried up fast.. the other one finally told her kid enough right before Christmas!! you will definately find varying opinions on this subject.. just also make sure you cut out grain or cut down the amount you were feeding to help with her milk production when you do choose a drying off method.. good luck!! oh and check that udder frequently (give it a good rublooking for hardness and heat.. just remember that a verrrrry full udder will feel very firm and a goat's natural body temperature is warm thus udder will naturally feel warm.. don't panic!)

 

[Roll farms]

We dry ours by going to once a day, then every other day, then every third day...usually by the 2nd "third day" they're slowing down enough that you can tell they're ready.
Most of our dairy does would milk longer if we wanted, so we try to be more 'gentle' with them than we probably need to be. I don't want to mess up their next lactation by rushing it.

I would be afraid of complications if you went cold turkey.

The last time we milk them, we dip the teats as always...no infusions.

Just how we do it, since you asked....not a recommendation.

 

[Ariel301]

I stopped 'cold turkey' with mine, but by the time I did so, they were making very little anyway, because I had only milked once a day all season. It worked on everyone except Gracee, who was still producing milk a MONTH after I last milked her...then I realized that one of our other does was sneaking drinks of milk from her. They love their milk...My 9 year old doe tries to steal bottles and sippy cups from my nieces if they carry them outside! This year I will probably dry them more gradually.