Nigerian dwarf milk production

[Brynn]

Hi! I have one nigerian dwarf in milk. She has twins and both are still nursing. I have started to milk her... new experience for both of us! We are both learning. I'm getting better at milking. It's day three. Still getting very little milk. I get about a teaspoon or a tablespoon before neither of us can stand anymore. I milk her for about 10 minutes. It's generally one handed because she doesn't stand well yet. A good half gets on my sleeves, pants or the ground.

So I suppose I have two
Questions:
1. Is it normal to get such a small amount of milk?
2. Any ideas to Make milking more productive?

Thanks!!!

 

[Southern by choice]

How old are the kids? Are they full time with mom? and... is she a first freshener?

 

[elevan]

If the kids are full time with the dam then you're going to get very little. You'll want to separate them at night and then milk her in the morning.

Also if she's a first freshener, she may not produce a lot...but it should be more than a tablespoon

Do you know what kind of milker her dam was? If she came from a poor milking line then chances are she'll be a poor milker too.

 

[Brynn]

Her dam was a good milker. Kids are 3 weeks old and are with her always. Yes, her first freshening.

 

[Southern by choice]

To increase your milk production you will need to seperate the kids, overnight is best. Milk first thing in the morning and let mom go out with the kids for the day. Yes she will be pretty much emptied but the kids will continue to nurse on her which will cause her to produce more. There are different schools of thought as whether to do this at 3 weeks, 4 weeks, 6 weeks.
IMO it isn't always by age of kids but how many kids are nursing, how well they are growing, whether they have started to nibble hay and if they are nibbling pellets yet.
Many ND's are weaned completely by 6weeks ( usually bucklings) the average age is 8 weeks. Also consider your temperature... right now much of the country is dealing with extremely cold temps and you want the kids to be hydrated as well as bellies full with warm milk.
You do not want to short your nursing kids but you also don't necessarily want to wait too long as to where they are not going to momma much and are almost weaning age.
First fresheners often do not produce as much as they will with their 2nd, 3rd, so on.
Also check your technique. A good way to do this is to separate the kids and then milk... what are you getting? If you aren't really getting anything it may be technique.

 

[taylorm17]

I have never milked before, but have searched it on youtube. They do say a lot of stuff about technique. I'd find a good video to watch. They are short and easy to watch.

 

[Brynn]

Thanks Guys! I will try to milk her dry tomorrow. Lets pray for milk and snow! I did end up watching tons of videos before even attempting to milk. So I have the idea, but I can see my technique isn't perfect. I'll keep you posted (hehe - pun) on how much milk I get.

I could separate the kids, but want them to be as healthy as possible. They just started munching on hay and grain. I will probably wait at least another week before weaning.

Any advice on milking a fussy doe? She won't let me milk both teats at the same time without kicking the pail. I'm good with one at a time, but it is time consuming!

B

 

[Brynn]

Today went MUCH better!

I milked until I saw a noticeable difference in quantity of milk. The milk was flowing still but It was about 75% less for each "pull". Her behavior really increased around that time. I wonder if it is uncomfortable to go totally dry? Does she want some remaining for the kids? so we stopped before completely dry.

I ended up with just over 2oz. Kids are with mom full time and 3 weeks old. Kids are eating hay and grain on occasion.

 

[Banriona]

I have no experience to share - other than that Southern and Elevan and the rest on here are excellent teachers. I am interested in hearing your experiences though since I'll be going through this myself in the future.

 

[Brynn]

Just to let the new milkers out there know - a wide mouth 24 oz mason jar has proved to be an excellent size/shape for the milking jar. A gold cone coffee filter has been perfect for straining dirt/hair. I have been using baby wipes for an udder wash.