winter milking?

[bettybohemian]

I know know pretty much everyone NOTil in the southwest is going to thumb their nose at me,LOL, but I was wondering if you folks dry your does off for.winter? I have Nigerians so they can be bred any time ( I.was told). Anyway- I don't want to be milking in 30-40 degree.weather. especially if its windy And raining.

I was thinking if I bred in June or July, we would kid late fall, let mama have her nursing time.with babies for the 6 weeks of unbearable cold ( I know, I know) and then start milking in Feb when the temps.are more reasonable??? OpinYourLinkGoesHere ions Anyone?

 

[helmstead]

Totally up to you. I've been milking since December. And we don't have the milking parlor closed in yet! So I'm just sitting in a cold barn...

(in GA my milking parlor was in our unfinished but climate controlled basement)

 

[Roll farms]

I'm w/ Kate....I start milking in winter.
I milk in the barn, temps this week are supposed to be -10.
Happiness on a cold day is a big old udder to warm your hands on.

 

[freemotion]

I know know pretty much everyone NOTil in the southwest is going to thumb their nose at me,LOL, but I was wondering if you folks dry your does off for.winter? I have Nigerians so they can be bred any time ( I.was told). Anyway- I don't want to be milking in 30-40 degree.weather. especially if its windy And raining.

I was thinking if I bred in June or July, we would kid late fall, let mama have her nursing time.with babies for the 6 weeks of unbearable cold ( I know, I know) and then start milking in Feb when the temps.are more reasonable??? OpinYourLinkGoesHere ions Anyone?

Really, really trying not to thumb anyone's nose! (just poked the cat, he likes it)

If you really consider 30-40 ABOVE ZERO to be unbearable cold....worry not, the kids will be just fine. Just provide a heat lamp and sweaters when needed. Remember, they are provided with fur coats at birth. They still need a little help, though.

Seriously, I am not making fun of you for not milking. I would rather not milk in the summer when it is hot and sticky and there are flies and mosquitoes! In the winter, I find that if I put on more clothes than I normally would (think Michelin Man outfit...down vest over shirts and sweaters, big parka over that, heavy hat, fleece pants with snow pants, heavy socks and rated boots...yes, rated to the temp below zero...) then my hands stay perfectly warm (enough, the doe doesn't complain) for the 3-4 minutes it takes to milk, including udder washing and teat dipping.

But it is all relative! By all means, schedule your breaks when YOU want them, whenever possible.

 

[mossyStone]

I love milking in the winter, no bugs...... my only downfall is mud and keeping my parlor clean and the girls clean.... in the summer i put o fan on them to keep flys and bugs away

 

[freemotion]

It never dawned on me to set up a fan! Brilliant! Thanks! I hope I remember this tip in a few months when I need it.....

 

[cindyg]

I'm getting so many ideas lurking around here. I was worrying that my shed, which is now a chicken coop, but am moving all my chickens into one coop so it will now be the goat house, at least it will when I get goats, would be too small, but now I think I can just bring them to the garage to milk, and then take them back out to their shed and yard. This will be great, closer to a fridge, and water. Thanks everyone.

 

[chandasue]

Resisting... resisting... ok. No nose-thumbing. I won't do it. I understand is all in what we get acclimated to. I was just saying to DH the other day that I want to move to where it doesn't get any colder than 10 degrees. This below zero stuff hurts! Milking in the basement would be awesome, too bad we finished ours. Maybe in the next house... But to your question. You certainly can time the breedings with the NDs to work out not to be milking during the colder months if you really don't want to milk then. But boy oh boy---It's going to get up to 38* here this weekend and I can hardly wait I'm so excited for a warm day!

 

[PattySh]

Winter milking I am thinking I'm also not looking forward to it. Last year kids started arriving early April. I bred the girls to start kidding Feb 23rd- June and we have been pounded with snow this year. I am wondering how I'll manage the 3 times a day bottle feeds and 2X day milking going to the barn with all this snow. Still snowing! Barn isn't too far from the house luckily and at least my milking room/nursery is draftfree and pretty warm. Got the heat lamps in place! I am not a winter person and am dreaming for spring.

 

[julieq]

We just dried off our mini togg after milking her all winter. We get in the sub zero temps here quite often due to the wind chill. Our vintage dairy barn is drafty and gets below freezing. But then in July and August we'll be facing facing extremely high temps and have to use a fan in the milking area to keep it comfortable. We just need to win the Lotto and we'll have a climate controlled barn built!