When to start milking after birth

[BellaM]

Hi everyone, I have a 4y.o Saanen doe Nougat, who is not a great milker. She has great udders with lots of milk INITIALLY. This will be her 3rd kidding.

With her mom I don't start milking until the babies are at least 3 months old and I leave her babies with her for a year and we get lots of milk!

But by 3 months old, Nougat has just about weaned her babies and is drying up.

My question is, when can I start milking Nougat without affecting the babies? I'm not a fan of separating them but I'll consider everything.

My thinking is if I start milking before she weans the kids I might be able to improve her milk production?

What do you think?

 

[Mini Horses]

If you want to have her raise the kids AND still get milk from her after weaning, start when kids are 3-4 weeks. They will have gotten colostrum & starting on a schedule that isn't every half hr. The does system adjusts to this.

Milk is very much supply & demand. If you let them wean, the doe has already begun making less. Many separate kids & bottle feed for a good milker. That is best for a consistent flow. She'll fill for 2x day milking. For some, bottling is hard on their schedule, after all, a kid drinks a little & often. Some have success with crating kids at night, milk mom in morn & leave kids with her all day.

I have Saanen & love them. I also have meat breeds. So both methods have been used...bottle & share. For the best results, to keep as milkers, it's bottle feeding. Currently I'm milking 1x day, an older doe, who raised a kid this year. This works for my personal need & schedule. If I want more quantity or training a FF for a miker, I bottle kids.

Obviously the doe needs a good amount of feed for optimal production. I'm sure you know by now

 

[Mini Horses]

This is if she has twins. Singles, watch, collect & freeze colostrum. Keep both sides milking out, even if you give milk to chickens, etc. then milk for yourself at about 7-10 days out. After milk stabilizes for taste.

 

[Ridgetop]

Waiting till the kids are 3 months old is too late. She is already weaning them and starting to dry up. If you are miking you can expect a 10 months lactation because the doe will continue to maintain the amount of milk beig produced. We used to pull the kids, milk the does, asteurize the milk and bottle feed the kids. We did not pasteurize our house milk and we raised our children on goat milk. We also had enough milk to raise a couple calves as well. Of course that was back when you could pick up dairy bull calves for about $100.

 

[BellaM]

Waiting till the kids are 3 months old is too late. She is already weaning them and starting to dry up. If you are miking you can expect a 10 months lactation because the doe will continue to maintain the amount of milk beig produced. We used to pull the kids, milk the does, asteurize the milk and bottle feed the kids. We did not pasteurize our house milk and we raised our children on goat milk. We also had enough milk to raise a couple calves as well. Of course that was back when you could pick up dairy bull calves for about $100.

Thank you for replying.

I don't have issues with my "system" with any of my other goats and especially not with my other Saanen. I've always left the kids with mom until it's time to dispatch or sell (usually 6-12 mths) and we've always had more than enough milk. We freeze sufficient to see us through winter as well as making yoghurt and cheese during the "flow".

It's just this one lass that weans very early (in my opinion) and dries up quickly. So this go-round I'm going to start milking earlier. See if that will make a difference?

 

[Mini Horses]

If she's from a less productive milk lineage, it can happen. Is her udder smaller, less full, at birthing? I have some heavy producers, a couple less so. And the buck needs to carry heavy milk lineage.

Starting to milk her much sooner will help to keep her in milk but, if she's just a less hardy producer, she won't produce far beyond her genetics. It's where you decide if she's a keeper or not -- often dependant on volume you want/need. Let us know how it goes for you.

 

[BellaM]

Her mother is an amazing milker, but I have no idea about the buck. She has beautiful udders but I'll only know now what her milk production is actually like. She's a keeper regardless because she has easy births, always has strong twins and I love her!

Thank you to everyone for your input. I'll try remember to let you know how things go.