How can I get the moms that have kids to produce more milk?

[arabianequine]

I just bought some goat chow. I thought I heard you can do this and/or add milk pellets to this or just regular sweet grain?

 

[ksalvagno]

Feed them a high quality goat feed and alfalfa hay or pellets. How much are you feeding now and what size are your goats?

My Nigerian is getting 3 measuring cups twice a day (she doesn't always finish the 3 cups) and my Alpine Cross gets 5 cups twice a day and I could probably easily go to 6 cups per feeding. I also have alfalfa/grass mix hay out all the time for them. They do go out in the pasture for a few hours a day with nice lucious grass too.

 

[arabianequine]

Feed them a high quality goat feed and alfalfa hay or pellets. How much are you feeding now and what size are your goats?

My Nigerian is getting 3 measuring cups twice a day (she doesn't always finish the 3 cups) and my Alpine Cross gets 5 cups twice a day and I could probably easily go to 6 cups per feeding. I also have alfalfa/grass mix hay out all the time for them. They do go out in the pasture for a few hours a day with nice lucious grass too.

Well two of the moms are boer goats so they wont probably have much milk to begin with. 1 is a toggenburg and has twins so might just be the way it is?

They get free choice grass hay right now....but I had alfalfa till just the other day. I cant find any alfalfa hay right now. They do love it

I may have to get some pellets then.

I have been giving them a couple cups each per day, if that of all stock...like sweet cob/grain.

I have the goat chow and it does not really have amounts to give. I will start giving some each day and increase gradually.

 

[ksalvagno]

My fullsize goat who is an Alpine gets 10 measuring cups of goat feed per day. She is fed twice a day and gets 5 cups per feeding. I'm thinking the all stock probably doesn't have everything in it that the goat chow does but also you will want to slowly increase. The Boer goats don't give much milk but the Toggenburg should give you a decent amount unless she isn't from good milking lines. But most full size dairy goats give around a gallon a day.

 

[arabianequine]

Not even a half a cup lol from the togg.

Even feeding 2 kids she should be able to give a gallon a day extra?

 

[ksalvagno]

Not if they are feeding kids. My alpine gives me about a gallon a day. She has triplets on her and I get barely a cup from her. I'm milking a Nigerian right now and I was getting almost nothing from her and she was nursing only 1 kid. Now the kid is gone and I'm getting 6 cups of milk per day from her. Once the kids are off of her, you will see how much she will produce.

 

[arabianequine]

The toggs kids are only a week old do I have time to improve the milk production for when kids are off and on I guess?

Is the boer milk any good to keep for human consumption?

So should I not even bother milking them until the kids are off of them?

Unless I see I need to for some reason....like one teat is too full etc.

 

[ksalvagno]

Boer milk is fine for consumption. I would wait until they are at least 2 weeks old. Then if you want, you can separate them at night and milk the mom in the morning. Then let the kids be on her during the day. I have to admit that I just let the kids have all the milk they want until 8 weeks old. Then they are usually sold and go on to their new homes. Then I milk mom. Depends on how fast you want milk for yourself.

 

[quiltnchik]

The toggs kids are only a week old do I have time to improve the milk production for when kids are off and on I guess?

Is the boer milk any good to keep for human consumption?

So should I not even bother milking them until the kids are off of them?

Unless I see I need to for some reason....like one teat is too full etc.

At a week old you can start locking the kids up at night - 12 hours on, 12 hours off of mom - and milking in the morning.

 

[nomad]

At a week old you can start locking the kids up at night - 12 hours on, 12 hours off of mom - and milking in the morning.

We practice this method, too. It works well for my does, kids, and myself.