# Winter Milking



## Dulcy (Jun 15, 2019)

We live in Western Wisconsin, and last year had windchill temperatures down to -52. This will be our first winter with goats. I have a few questions about making them comfortable. We have two two year old does, and expect to have then bred in December for late Spring kidding. 

1. We expect to keep them in our converted dairy barn, which is not heated, but which we can make snug for them. Tips for keeping them as comfy as possible? 
2. We received them in pretty skinny condition and are trying to put weight on them through good feeding, a worming, and copper bolus. How much should I worry if they aren't quickly building a fat covering before the weather turns cold? As the breeder put it, they're putting all their nutrition in the milk bucket.
3. Right now, before milking, we just wipe udders with a dilute Castille soap solution. But I was thinking about very cold weather and wondering: I very carefully avoid getting my skin wet when it's below freezing. What do you do about washing, teat dip, etc, when it's so cold?
Anything you wish you'd known about keel
ping goats in winter time? I've read a bit and will research more, but looking for personal experiences. Thanks!


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## Nigerian dwarf goat (Sep 25, 2017)

@Goats Rock ? I know you deal with cold winters. Do you have any suggestions?


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## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

My new place is going to have an insulated room and a pellet stove for milking.


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## ReNat (Jan 20, 2019)

In your climatic conditions, in winter you can wash the udder with warm water and wipe with a dry towel. I usually use a dishwashing sponge , one with alkaline soap, the other for rinsing.


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## Trollmor (Aug 19, 2011)

If the goats lie down on a very clean bedding, I do not wash udders before milking, unless they have managed to hit a wet poop heap. First drops in a test bowl, or just throw away.

Warning for machine milking when it is very cold. Hand milking avoids the teats getting wet on the outside of the tip.

When it is really cold, I feel it is more important to keep udders dry and warm, rather than overdo the milking hygien. After all, there are both filters and pasteurizing! With clean beddings, and make sure the goats do not lie down for half an hour after milking, so the ring muscle in the teat end has closed again, there is little risk for infections.

But what to do with goats who put all their nutrition in the milk bucket ... ??? Only make sure they have a nice ebbing time (word?) before giving birth again ...


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## Dulcy (Jun 15, 2019)

We ha


Trollmor said:


> If the goats lie down on a very clean bedding, I do not wash udders before milking, unless they have managed to hit a wet poop heap. First drops in a test bowl, or just throw away.
> 
> Warning for machine milking when it is very cold. Hand milking avoids the teats getting wet on the outside of the tip.
> 
> ...


We hand milk exclusively, so no trouble there. Thanks - this is helpful. I've been more worried about mastitis risk for the girls rather than anything. The milk is for our use only and we are pretty clean, but the idea of mastitis is sobering.
So what constitutes clean enough bedding? I think we do ok bit we are still pretty new to goats. I do a total clean out of their stalls down to the concrete floor weekly and layer dry straw on top daily, over soiled spots.


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## Goats Rock (Jun 20, 2011)

As long as a barn is dry with no open drafts - but you need ventilation, they will be good. I don't clean the barn every week in the winter, let is pile up and keep adding straw or their wasted hay to make a warm pack. When you kneel in it, your knees should not get wet. The pack keeps them warm. (And is a giant pain to clean up in the spring!) 

Regarding milking, they get milked in a small parlor and the teats are washed, dried and milked. Depending on if I am shipping milk, they either get sprayed with "Fight Bac" (if not shipping milk, isn't approved for goats, according to milk inspector) or an iodine teat dip. Teats are dry before they leave the parlor. 

My kids born (and stay in the barn) in Jan. and Feb. do better then the late Spring kids. Barn was zero degrees a few years ago and kids were born. They did fine. No coats, heat lamps etc. (manure pack and a dog house)


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## Dulcy (Jun 15, 2019)

Goats Rock said:


> As long as a barn is dry with no open drafts - but you need ventilation, they will be good. I don't clean the barn every week in the winter, let is pile up and keep adding straw or their wasted hay to make a warm pack. When you kneel in it, your knees should not get wet. The pack keeps them warm. (And is a giant pain to clean up in the spring!)
> 
> Regarding milking, they get milked in a small parlor and the teats are washed, dried and milked. Depending on if I am shipping milk, they either get sprayed with "Fight Bac" (if not shipping milk, isn't approved for goats, according to milk inspector) or an iodine teat dip. Teats are dry before they leave the parlor.
> 
> My kids born (and stay in the barn) in Jan. and Feb. do better then the late Spring kids. Barn was zero degrees a few years ago and kids were born. They did fine. No coats, heat lamps etc. (manure pack and a dog house)


Why do you think your winter born kids did better than your late Spring kids? We just chose breeding time period based on the breeder's recommendation, and she doesn't like to deal with kidding in the winter. But as I said, it can be extremely cold here in January and February. More than 30 straight days below zero this last year, with very cold wind chills.
Do your goats mostly stay in the barn in the cold weather?


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## lada823 (Apr 2, 2018)

Dulcy said:


> Why do you think your winter born kids did better than your late Spring kids


My winter born kids always do better also. I'm not sure what it is. Its wetter in the spring and I think the fluctuating temperatures in spring is what really hurts them.


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## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

Winter kids don't have to deal with parasites. Think about the wild life in your area, deer, elk, and caribou rarely have fawns after February. 
I like early March born kids because all my extra bucklings are the perfect age for Cinco De Mayo where they want milk fed kids. They bring around $75 to $100.
The odd perfect buckling gets held over a year and sold for Ramadan, intact and horned. I've gotten upwards of $400 for these.


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## Damfino (Dec 29, 2013)

I like to keep one doe open at breeding season so I can milk her through the winter. I don't have a barn so in winter I set my milking stand up in my basement where I have a wood stove. It's very cozy! If I had a barn, I would definitely set up some kind of heater or stove in the milk parlor. It's miserable to milk with frozen fingers!


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## Damfino (Dec 29, 2013)

goathiker said:


> Winter kids don't have to deal with parasites. Think about the wild life in your area, deer, elk, and caribou rarely have fawns after February.


Interesting! I'm in Colorado an our deer don't have their fawns until sometime in April and even early May. But then, in this dry climate, parasites just aren't an issue even in the spring. The parasites I deal with most are tapeworms every fall. Those weren't an issue before I had dogs.

I don't like winter kiddings myself. My goats live in calf hutches, so the shelter is minimal and I don't want to be out there in bare arms helping does and drying off kids in a winter blizzard. At least our spring blizzards are comparatively warm. We try to kid sometime in late April or May.


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## Trollmor (Aug 19, 2011)

Dulcy said:


> So what constitutes clean enough bedding?


I think you can judge that yourself! A daily fresh layer of clean straw (or hay waste) will do for much. It may be worse in summer; flies are a nuisance!

I agree with @Goats Rock that a weekly clean out may be unnecessary. And that draught is more dangerous than plain cold.

Me too, I prefer kids born in spring, March-April. But of course it depends on expected weather. wetness is not goats' favourite ...


goathiker said:


> Winter kids don't have to deal with parasites.


True. Another way of handling that is to always have a "Parasite Free Welcome Pasture", used only as the first pasture in spring, after the grownups having been wormed, or checked free from parasites, and the kids ready for their first taste of green.


goathiker said:


> The odd perfect buckling gets held over a year and sold for Ramadan, intact and horned. I've gotten upwards of $400 for these.


Oh, and killed by a Muslim who just cuts their throats??? Never in my flock!!!!!


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## Dulcy (Jun 15, 2019)

Damfino said:


> I like to keep one doe open at breeding season so I can milk her through the winter. I don't have a barn so in winter I set my milking stand up in my basement where I have a wood stove. It's very cozy! If I had a barn, I would definitely set up some kind of heater or stove in the milk parlor. It's miserable to milk with frozen fingers!


We only have two does and would like to keep milking for a while - the one gives over a gallon a day but is a first freshener. I understand we would dry her off in the last two months of her pregnancy, so we expected to go without milk for a while. But is there any way to know your odds of being able to milk through the winter? I was worried with the season changing she'd begin to produce less anyway. We don't need kids, we were really just breedin to freshen them.


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## Damfino (Dec 29, 2013)

Just keep milking her and see if she goes on. Some does will go for several years without needing to freshen again, but you can't know unless you try. Most will slack off in their production during the shortest days of the year in December - February but will start producing more again as the days get longer. If she's giving a gallon a day now, I'd expect her to cut back to 2-3 quarts/day in winter.


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## fivemoremiles (Jan 19, 2010)

I live in Montana i lamb and kid in April. I cant stand having pop cycle kids.
i milk in an insulated barn with water. so i keep the temp at 40F just make sure the goats are dry.
Remember feed in milk out and in winter feed in =warm goats


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