Increasing production, is it possible

[dwbonfire]

I have been back and forth with so many people on how this all works. I have been told u need to milk an animal every 12 hours to keep production up because it trains the udder to produce more milk as if calfs or kids need it. I have also been told goats are different than cows and can get by milking once a day, and it will not decrease the production. I am so confused at this point. Here's my situation:
I got a 6 year old doe and a 9 year old doe, Nubians. They both had kids nursing for the past 3 months and finally have been weaned off and I bought them. I was told right off the bat they won't be giving quite so much because as the kids weaned they have decreased in how much milk they needed to produce. I was told if I start milking twice a day I can get their production back up, of course with good nutrition. I have been trying this, and of course they are being awful about being hand milked since it's been so long since they were. So I am getting different amounts each time, but I think the most I got from one of them at one time was 3 or so cups. The other doe seems to have less. Also as I milk them out it seems to stop so I massage and tap the udder some and I can get more out, but then it stops, so I massage and tap more and then I can get more out. Seems I really have to coax it out of them! Why would that be? And what is really the best way to increase their milk production? Milk every 12 or 24 hours? If I milk every 24 will that tell the doe to start drying up? I am just so confused and I skipped tonight's milking after being told once a day would be sufficient. Now I think I should have milked...

 

[babsbag]

If you are trying to increase production at this stage of the lactation you need to milk more often; even 4 times a day would be good but for sure 2 x. A doe that is in full production can be milked once a day and not have a drastic difference in production, but at this point these does think that their milking days are done and the only way you might turn that around is to milk, milk, and milk some more. And push the grain and or alfalfa.

As to why they stop letting their milk down is really anyone's guess. They might just not be comfortable with hand milking, they were used to kids doing frequent quick trips to the milk bar.

 

[dwbonfire]

I have been milking twice a day and seem to get the same or maybe slightly more than if I only milk once a day. It seems to fluctuate day to day though and I don't know what causes that? I would think I'd get roughly the same amount each milking or day, but say some mornings I'll get 2 1/2 cups and 1 cup pm, then next day same doe I'll get 1 cup am and 1 1/2 pm. Just seems odd to me to get different amounts when following the same schedule.
So there isn't any supplemental feed that can help increase production?

 

[babsbag]

In my experience a 16% grain ration is as good as it gets. There are some herbal treatments you can buy but I have no experience with those so can't say yeah or nay on the effectiveness.

I just reread your post and see that the kids were weaned off at 3 months. That is really on the downhill side of the lactation cycle if the does aren't being milked as well. They usually peak at about 8 weeks and then production declines as the kids start to eat hay. I am not sure there is much you can do at this point. But if you are home during the day milk more than twice; I was serious when I said 3-4 times a day.

 

[dwbonfire]

I can maybe fit a milking in around 3:00. But that will be 7:00am, 3:00pm and 7:00pm bc i don't have lights out there yet and I need to get it done before dark. Would that be ok? And what if I couldn't do the mid day milking every day? Would that still be ok?

 

[Southern by choice]

I agree with Babs- milking more often will help bring up production.

Feed for dairy goats with 16-18% protein and high in fiber.
Minerals are important as well.
24/7 good quality hay as well as forage is best.

Make sure you have plenty of clean water for the does.

Do you know if these does were milked at all in previous kiddings?
If they were never milked and only kidded and allowed to dam raise with no milking their udders may be trained for a very short lactation cycle.

At their age and being Nubians they should be giving 8# per day easily. (approximately 1 gallon) so the fact that they are giving you less than a quart is concerning. Sometimes the weaning and the move can shut them down... all you can do is do the best you can and hopefully they will increase for you.

 

[ragdollcatlady]

If you really want milk, they should be milked very consistently and often. 12 hours apart is the minimum. If you milk more, you may get more, but since they weaned the babies, they may not come back much this season. I like to milk once a day for my convenience, but if I want to push production, I do 2 times. Maybe this year you will be milking more for the experience and training them so that next season you can maximize on their milk production and convince them to do it your way. A few of my girls put up a new fuss at the start of milking season, but they get back into the routine quick enough since we all know the drill by now.

Your girls sound like they aren't really wanting to give you all their milk. Mine prefer to hold back some for their kids. Maybe that is part of it. Also if they weren't milked much before, they might be objecting just because they can.

Another thing is feed. They may be eating different amounts of hay/grain/browse/water, etc on the different days/nights, so that will affect how much milk you get at any particular feeding. Another thing I found was that any difference in their grain even once, and the next several milkings were negatively affected.

 

[Dorinda Oakes]

Type of feed effects components of milk. Fiber will give you more cream but sugars will give you greater volume. All though this article is primarily about dairy cows it applies to goats AND sheep because they are both subspecies of the bovine family. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK218193/

 

[dwbonfire]

These goats are very picky eaters. They mainly prefer oats, so I mix purina goat chow which is a sweet mix with oats and they eat it. I have been getting more milk lately, especially from one doe. I have got her to increase by a cup each milking. Honestly I'm getting enough milk for my small family, and we almost can't keep up! I give older milk to the pig and he loves it. So I guess it is possible to increase the production slightly, just with increasing feed and keeping steady with milking.

 

[Mini Horses]

This is a perfect example of why dairies bottle feed the kids. If you continue to milk more, you will probably keep them producing enough but, if you want to use them for this purpose after next kidding, you need to plan now to keep them milking next time.

Their bodies do produce to demand in a way, respond to feed and need (enough feed and fill the need for production). Its tricky. I would keep them milking for a while now JUST to keep them trained and producing, even if not amount they would be producing had they been handled as "milkers" not just "moms". They will dry but, you could get some amount for a while.

My best milker is hard to dry up. She could go over the normal 10 mos lactation and while reduced output, still about 3/4 gal a day....normal for her is about 1 1/4 gal.

Training is tough for everyone...people & animal.