# Why is her milk production SO low?



## Whole Foods Mom (Jun 20, 2011)

Bonney has been doing great with standing for me now- no more squatting! I've even been milking without the sling the past few days. But now we have a new problem- the beginning of last week, her milk production went from 8-12 ounces per milking (she is milked twice a day) to an average of 4 ounces per milking. That just _isn't _cutting it. She is getting about 3 cups of grain per milking and extra "treats" such as carrots, lettuce, green beans- anything that is a "cast off" from the kitchen. What's going on? Did she eat something that made her production drop? Or is it stress? We possibly have a raccoon living under and going into the milk parlor at night. Could this cause nervousness which would in turn cause supply to diminish?

(Also, when I first got Bonney, she was giving about 16-22 ounces per milking. That lasted about one week and then dropped to the 8-12 when we ended the kicking the pail.)

Help, *please*! We're getting desperate for milk!


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

How long ago did she freshen? And...how many kids and how long did they nurse?

I ask because even with my FF ND doe, her production went from 2 cups twice a day down to 1 1/2 c. twice a day a week and a half ago...she freshened the 10th of February with twins and had them with her 24/7 for the first 5 weeks, then I separated at night for the next 5 weeks then they were sold, I'm attributing her drop with the heat of summer as well as the fact that my boys have started into rut, meaning that my does will also be having stronger heats. I now milk her once a day and get 2 cups from her.


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## freedomstarfarm (Mar 25, 2011)

Do you milk her out all the way each time you are milking?


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## lissablack (Nov 30, 2009)

What kind of goat is she? I would be thinking of the freezer if mine did that. But all of them have been here and had kids here and they are lifelong residents. If you just got her you might have to wait til next year to get good production from her. If she is an ND it is probably different, I don't know what is normal. 

Jan


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## Whole Foods Mom (Jun 20, 2011)

She is a Mini Mancha; first freshening. She had twins, who were about 2 months old when we got her, which was the 20th of last month. I do milk her out; she's easy to milk with large orifices and pliable teets. So heat and perhaps not being milked while with her kids? Would milking three times a day possibly bring production back up (even a little)?


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## freedomstarfarm (Mar 25, 2011)

I don't milk mine yet but I have 2 kids I breast fed. The more you take the more she will make at least to some extent.


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

You can try the 3x a day and see if it brings up her production, also be sure she has alot of water and a salt block...even though mine have a loose mineral, I still provide a white salt brick.

Try adding in some alfalfa pellets to her grain ration.. this may help with production too.


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## Amos (Oct 2, 2008)

Drops in production can also be caused by illness & worm overloads, so getting a fecal wouldn't hurt.


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## Tenacross (May 26, 2011)

freedomstarfarm said:


> Do you milk her out all the way each time you are milking?


This one makes a lot of sense. If you weren't getting her milked out all the way everytime you milked, she would start making less and less. If she is eating her grain well while you are milking, I doubt the **** is causing it. My does milk close to the same all the time as long as they are eating their grain. Even when the neighbors party with fireworks.


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## RMADairyGoats (Jun 20, 2011)

Try giving her beat pulp. That makes a HUGE difference! We give our does 12% horse grain but goat chow is better. One of our Nigerian does gets 3 grain meals a day and high quality alfalfa. Our two year old doe gets (we use a small coffee cup) 1 cup of beat pulp, 1 cup of grain and two hand fulls of BOSS three times a day. Good luck! :thumbup:


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## milkmaid (Sep 15, 2010)

I agree with Amos. Make sure she isn't sick/wormy. I had a doe suddenly get severe scours and her milk dropped dramatically. After treatment (worming and kelp) her scours quickly went away, but it was a while longer before her production was up to normal.


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## Whole Foods Mom (Jun 20, 2011)

We just wormed her; I wouldn't think that she would have worms. She had just been wormed when we bought her, also. (We use Fiasco Farm's Herbal Wormer.) I am going to milk three times a day. I am 99.9999999% certain I am milking her out every time. I milk until I can get no more, even with bumping and holding her udder up with one hand while milking with the other. Her grain is actually the sweet grain- it has grains and alfalfa pellets in it.

Lost Prairie- where do you buy your beet pulp? Or do you make it yourself?

Thanks, everyone, for your help! I was feeling really, really discouraged!


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## RMADairyGoats (Jun 20, 2011)

We buy our beat pulp at the feed store. There is beat pulp pellets and shreds. Our goaties will not eat the pellets.


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