It's a start!

[DustyBoot]

I'll try adding evenings and see how it goes. And stop letting her off if she fights. I wasn't sure what the balance was between making it a good experience and insisting that she cooperate, although I figured on moving toward the latter as we get the hang of things.

 

[DustyBoot]

Today was about 2.6 lbs., or a quart. I stuck with it till I couldn't get anything else out, much to Dottie's consternation. Toward the end she was doing handstands. Hopefully after a few days of gymnastics she'll settle down. And hopefully between milking at night and consistently milking her out every morning, the quantity will go up. If not, not the end of the world... but I've got a book on cheese making I'd like to try out.

 

[DustyBoot]

Got a whopping half-cup out of her this evening. The kids saw me coming and hurried to get a last meal before they went into their pen for the night. But she was completely cooperative, and I'm pretty sure there wasn't any more left when I was done. If nothing else, it's good practice for me! If I keep up the evening milkings while the kids are with her all day, I may just milk into a bowl for the dogs or something. I don't mind the milking, but sanitizing all the equipment for half a cup of milk feels like overkill. We'll see what the morning brings!

 

[Latestarter]

The biggest thing is routine... You really need to have one & not vary from it much unless you have no choice. Goats are a lot like us in the respect that they hate change.

 

[DustyBoot]

I like routine too, so that works well. I think this morning went well. Still not getting as much as I'd like, but she was more cooperative and let me bump and massage her udder to get a little more out a few times. Maybe it'll just take time for the supply to catch up to the demand. Or maybe I need to find a way to get her to eat more. Hmm.

On the subject of routine, the next two Sundays are going to be an issue. The kids' choirs are singing in church which means we need to leave an hour earlier than usual, which means I'd need to milk her around 6 a.m. instead of around 7 a.m. Am I better off doing that, or just leaving her with the kids overnight and skipping the milking? I'm not sure which disruption to routine would be better, although at a guess I'd say the 6 a.m. milking is the better choice.

 

[Latestarter]

Life isn't perfect... you TRY for routine, then do what you gotta do. If you want to milk earlier (or later) or not at all and leave the kids on her, then do so... It's all up to you!

 

[DustyBoot]

I bravely got up at 5:45 a.m. to milk the goat before church. It actually went really well. It was still early enough that the kids weren't yelling for mama while I was milking,so she didn't get agitated toward the end. 2.8 lbs or a little over a quart. I tried milking her out last night and got hardly anything. Those kids are efficient! As much as I'll hate to see them go when the time comes, I'm kind of ready to be getting all that milk they're taking!

 

[DustyBoot]

Things have been staying more or less steady, with the exception of a couple of days ago when the kids wormed themselves out of their pen and helped themselves to my milk before I got there. Good thing they're cute. Still got some, but less than I'd have liked. Today I've forgotten the weight measurement but it came to 5 cups. The most I've gotten previously is a generous 4 cups. I'm hoping that means we're moving in the right direction!