I know this sounds like a dum question, but............

[WoolyWabbits]

Do you have to breed nigerian dwarf goats to be able to milk them, and if so how will they produce milk once their breed? Sorry, newbie here.

 

[carolinagirl]

they have to have had a kid in order to provide milk. Some people let her raise her own kid, some prefer to milk her, feed some of the milk to the kid and some keep all the goat milk and feed the kids powdered milk. No one way to do it. but yes...she has to have a kid in order to milk.

 

[WoolyWabbits]

they have to have had a kid in order to provide milk. Some people let her raise her own kid, some prefer to milk her, feed some of the milk to the kid and some keep all the goat milk and feed the kids powdered milk. No one way to do it. but yes...she has to have a kid in order to milk.

but does sh have to have one each year or only once to get the milk coming??? :/

 

[Chirpy]

As carolinagirl already said - a doe has to freshen (have a baby) to produce milk. After having kids a doe may produce milk for just a few months or up to a year - ish before drying off by herself.

People who are wanting a milk supply from their doe - milk on a very regular schedule to keep the milk supply at it's highest production. They don't want the doe to dry off early. Even then a doe can start to dry off after 4 or 5 months. That means that her own body just starts to produce less and less milk and eventually you don't get enough to make it worth your while to continue to milk her. That is what happens naturally when a doe is weaning her kids.

If you have a doe from a really good genetic line of milkers you can often keep them milking up to the time when you have to dry them off so they can have kids again the following year. I always dry my does off about 3 months before they are due to kid again so that their bodies can put all their energy into their growing kids. Thus, I would be milking her for roughly nine months and then giving her a break.

Hope that helps. Keep learning all you can!

 

[carolinagirl]

they have to have had a kid in order to provide milk. Some people let her raise her own kid, some prefer to milk her, feed some of the milk to the kid and some keep all the goat milk and feed the kids powdered milk. No one way to do it. but yes...she has to have a kid in order to milk.

but does sh have to have one each year or only once to get the milk coming??? :/

She has to be rebred to keep giving milk and she will need a break with no milk for a while too, inbetween kids.

 

[WoolyWabbits]

Thanks for the info!!!!!! But just one last question, is their a breed that can only be breed once to produce milk the rest of their lives?? Thanks for helping the newbie over here!!!! :bun

 

[Mea]

Thanks for the info!!!!!! But just one last question, is their a breed that can only be breed once to produce milk the rest of their lives?? Thanks for helping the newbie over here!!!! :bun

There have been individuals of different breeds of goats that have had extended lactations. The longest i've heard of was 5 years. Two years is not uncommon.

 

[BetterHensandGardens]

That would be convenient but it doesn't work that way!

 

[WoolyWabbits]

thanks!!!!!!!

 

[Our7Wonders]

It used to be far more common, but sadly, it's not today. They call it "milking through" (meaning: milking on through a breeding season without needing to freshen again). Pat Colbey in Natural Goat Care highly recommends breeding for milking through and then only breeding every other year. She raised most of her herd that way - and if I remember right, culled those that weren't able to. I don't remember all the specifics but she didn't breed a doe until she was in her second year and then it was every other year after that. She claims the overall lifetime milk production was higher this way.

I'd like to try it but with my teensy weensy small herd I'm afraid to give it a try. I can't afford a year without milk just in case it didn't work as planned. Someday on my dream farm maybe.