Southern by choice
Herd Master
How's the milking going?
Nigerian dwarf milk production
- Thread starter Brynn
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ragdollcatlady
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My mom of 3 week old kids is giving me 2 cups in the morning and nursing the kids 3 times a day but she is a 3rd freshener (nigerian) with twins. I waited until they were 2 weeks to separate at night.....she topped out at 5 cups a day last year, and gave a steady 3 1/2 + cups for the majority of her lactation. She was also feeding one of her kids during the day so.....
One girl gave me 1 1/2 quarts a day last year at peak and a steady 3 3/4-4+ cups a day for the better part of her lactation, but she is a many freshener that had quads last year and a couple years before, twins this year and is currently helping to feed 3 kids that aren't hers as well as her own little chunky monkey.
If you milk long enough (in one sitting), you will learn the milk letdown....they hold some back. Once you get her past that point once, you will understand what I mean. The milk flows faster. I milk one teat at a time, hold 2 cup measuring cup in the other hand, so I can move the cup out of the way of errant hooves. I milk from the side I am sitting on as the girls are most comfortable with that. If I reach under them, they can't see who is trying to "nurse" that side and get upset.
Hope it is going well for you.
I know real milk folks weigh their milk, but measuring in cups is easier for me.....
One girl gave me 1 1/2 quarts a day last year at peak and a steady 3 3/4-4+ cups a day for the better part of her lactation, but she is a many freshener that had quads last year and a couple years before, twins this year and is currently helping to feed 3 kids that aren't hers as well as her own little chunky monkey.
If you milk long enough (in one sitting), you will learn the milk letdown....they hold some back. Once you get her past that point once, you will understand what I mean. The milk flows faster. I milk one teat at a time, hold 2 cup measuring cup in the other hand, so I can move the cup out of the way of errant hooves. I milk from the side I am sitting on as the girls are most comfortable with that. If I reach under them, they can't see who is trying to "nurse" that side and get upset.
Hope it is going well for you.
I know real milk folks weigh their milk, but measuring in cups is easier for me.....
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Brynn
Chillin' with the herd
Thanks for asking! The milking is going a lot better. I am getting around a half cup a day. It is a definite improvement in quantity. Kids are still with her full time. Not weaning at all.
My technique seems to be improving quite a bit too. I'm definitely a right handed milker!!
Ragdoll, do you continue to milk off a teat that slows down and then eventually it will come back stronger? I've never kept milking on the same side that long. How long does it take for the milk to come back strong? Does it totally dry up before that point?
My girl is doing very well now behaviorally speaking. She loves running into her milking stand. It is the cutest thing ever.
My technique seems to be improving quite a bit too. I'm definitely a right handed milker!!
Ragdoll, do you continue to milk off a teat that slows down and then eventually it will come back stronger? I've never kept milking on the same side that long. How long does it take for the milk to come back strong? Does it totally dry up before that point?
My girl is doing very well now behaviorally speaking. She loves running into her milking stand. It is the cutest thing ever.
ragdollcatlady
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I milk for about 8 minutes a goat, each sitting. After about 1-2 minutes or so, it feels like they have almost no milk left ( I may have about 1/2 cup at that point). I would sometimes milk the second side then go back and start over on the first. Now I know what I am doing and I just keep going until they let down. There is a point when they "let down" and all of a sudden you start to get more milk faster....still in the same sitting. I found that it helps to "bump" the udder a time or two about the time they slow down. If you watch the kids nurse, you will see them do that several times. It stimulates the letdown. Once you get past that point, you will know exactly what I mean. The very first year I milked, I never really got that clear picture.....Now I know and I get alot more milk. My technique has improved dramatically too.
I am not actually weaning my kids yet, though I see the moms walking away from the kids more now. They kind of start the weaning process themselves. I do separate at night though. I make sure that all babies get full tummies, but after all have eaten breakfast, I milk out the rest for us (and of course to use for morning bottles the next day). It doesn't make sense to me to take all the babies milk or to supplement with a product I have to buy over what the mommas make themselves, so I feed kids first, then take the extra.
When I first started I had to train my Stinker Jane and she took an extra person sitting next to her, sometimes holding a leg up or preventing her from sitting in the cup.....She is called Stinker Jane for a reason! But after awhile, she got a bit easier, not great, but I enjoy milking even her with her tiny teats and shorty shortness......
I am not actually weaning my kids yet, though I see the moms walking away from the kids more now. They kind of start the weaning process themselves. I do separate at night though. I make sure that all babies get full tummies, but after all have eaten breakfast, I milk out the rest for us (and of course to use for morning bottles the next day). It doesn't make sense to me to take all the babies milk or to supplement with a product I have to buy over what the mommas make themselves, so I feed kids first, then take the extra.
When I first started I had to train my Stinker Jane and she took an extra person sitting next to her, sometimes holding a leg up or preventing her from sitting in the cup.....She is called Stinker Jane for a reason! But after awhile, she got a bit easier, not great, but I enjoy milking even her with her tiny teats and shorty shortness......
Homestead Journey
Herd lurker
We just started with goats last summer and had our first kids earlier this month. Thanks for the milking information, we have been trying to milk one of our does, but she seems to be holding back. Like the OP, we just get a little bit of milk from her. I guess we'll continue to work with her and hopefully she'll give us a lot more once we start to wean the baby!
SA Farm
Herd Master
I'm a new milker too. My ND doe didn't get her milk in this year (last year I left her to her kids), so I had to take and bottle feed her kids. I decided to milk her in the hopes that her milk would come in and it was trial and error for both her and myself! I'm finally getting about 2 cups out of her/day which is still pathetic, but her udder is less than half the size it was last year, so I'm not surprised. I'll keep at her until her kids are weaned, then breed her and let her dry off.
At least drying her off shouldn't be too difficult!
At least drying her off shouldn't be too difficult!
Sweetened
Herd Master
Grip. Fill (slight push up), pinch (close up your top two fingers, however you're holding it), wrap (like you're making a fist from a fully open hand. That works easiest for me.
I'm going to get one of those Udderly EZ milkers ordered up, this payday or next.
I'm going to get one of those Udderly EZ milkers ordered up, this payday or next.
OneFineAcre
Herd Master
Udderly EZ's work great. We have used for 4 years and have had to replace parts on ours that we have worn out. It really works as well as it shows on the video.
