# How to milk a Mini-Nubian with Small Teats



## AngelGoats (Jan 28, 2010)

Ok all, I have a first freshener and am having troubles figuring out how to milk her with her small teats. I am used to her mamma, a pure Nubian, that has huge teats. Any ideas or where can I find the info? Thanks so much! :hair: :?


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## JessaLynn (Aug 30, 2009)

I use to raise mini nubians.You use your thumb and two fingers is all and just pinch with your thumb and pointer finger and middle finger kind of slides downward to extract milk.Kind of hard to explain honestly but it can be done.One reason why I stoped raising minis cus I got hand cramps bad from it :/


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## milkmaid (Sep 15, 2010)

I had a hard time finding anything on milking nigis when I first started! This is how I do it: Curl your index finger around the end of your thumb. Now roll your thumb downward, pressing it against your middle and then ring fingers.
Do this a few times right now, then do it on the teat. Hope this helps! 
As JessaLynn said, you might only be doing it with your thumb and two fingers.


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## heavenlyhaven (Apr 17, 2008)

you milk little teats same as big teats
you just use less fingers
lol
start by dropping your pinky
if still too much
drop your ring finger 
that should do the trick :wink: 
also
grab a little more of the udder at the top
"Practice makes Perfect"


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

heavenlyhaven said:


> you milk little teats same as big teats
> you just use less fingers
> lol
> start by dropping your pinky
> ...


EXACTLY! :thumbup:

LOL...I have large hands and milking nigies took some practice but definately very rewarding once you get the technique down :wink:


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## Kat404 (Jun 15, 2013)

Could someone make a video or show some pictures?


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## Sensible (Jun 14, 2013)

This is one problem that I don't think that a lot of people who started developing these so-called miniature dairy goat breeds gave much thought to when they started. I can't imagine that it's any fun, or very efficient to milk them. They're basically a novelty, not really suitable for intensive milking.


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## AmyBoogie (May 20, 2013)

I have a full size breed with smaller teats so I looked up videos. This one helped me





She milks different goats with different teats and the video is from different angles.


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## WarPony (Jan 31, 2010)

AmyBoogie said:


> I have a full size breed with smaller teats so I looked up videos. This one helped me
> 
> 
> 
> ...


This video was a life saver for me when my Toggenburg does first freshened, they had teats that made the Nigerian does in this video look huge. i called them micro-teats. My mini nubian has bigger teats than they had, but the skills I learned from this video and from practice on my Togg girls really prepared me for milking her.


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## AmyBoogie (May 20, 2013)

WarPony said:


> This video was a life saver for me when my Toggenburg does first freshened, they had teats that made the Nigerian does in this video look huge.


My girl is 50% Togg and a FF Please tell me they get bigger.


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## WarPony (Jan 31, 2010)

AmyBoogie said:


> My girl is 50% Togg and a FF Please tell me they get bigger.


It depends a lot on the doe. I sold the one that was bred for a second freshening and it looks like hers got a little bigger but I am not sure since she isn't mine any more and i only saw her at two weeks fresh. Her sister (the one with the super tiny teats) didn't manage to get pregnant for this kidding season so I don't know if they will be better the second time around yet.... but they did not increase in size noticeably through 6 months of being fresh. Their udders were otherwise gorgeous and the one i sold is milking a gallon a day with a wonderful high tight udder with strong attachments..... but those teats, ugh.... I got a mixed breed doeling back from the one I sold (buyer bought her bred but just wanted her for milk, had no need for mixed breed babies so gave her back to me) and at 10 weeks old her teats are already bigger than her dam's were when she freshened the first time.


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## AmyBoogie (May 20, 2013)

Thank you. The udder attachment on this doe is really nice. She has decent show confirmation as well. I didn't even think about the teat size until I got her home. She's a sweetheart but I'm planning on breeding up so her daughters will be better. We love her so I'll deal with the tiny even if she doesn't get bigger.


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## peggy (Aug 11, 2010)

I have an alpine FF that has really small teats. Her dam had large teats so I was surprised that hers were so small. This has been a helpful thread.


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## mjs500doo (Nov 24, 2012)

Typically yes teats get larger with age. In width, and length. Not like a drastic 2 inch growth per year or anything obscene but they do stretch out with usage.


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## WarPony (Jan 31, 2010)

AmyBoogie said:


> Thank you. The udder attachment on this doe is really nice. She has decent show confirmation as well. I didn't even think about the teat size until I got her home. She's a sweetheart but I'm planning on breeding up so her daughters will be better. We love her so I'll deal with the tiny even if she doesn't get bigger.


That is the situation with mine as well. i even kept Ivy and sold her sister, who was, IMO, the better of the two.... just because i am so attached to Ivy. Not that she was not as nice a doe, just that she had the smaller teats and slightly lower production compared to her sister.... but she is just one of my favourites. So i will struggle through because I am a sucker for a pretty face, lol.


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## ETDairygoats (Feb 16, 2013)

My Toggenburg has very small teats. I put my thumb and index finger on the top of the teat and I pull down, be careful not to have your fingers too tight! I find this method really easy if your fingers are wet, so its handy having a cup of water to dip your fingers in. 
I can milk a Saanen that gives me 1.5l everytime I milk her in about 4 - 7 mins.


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## ETDairygoats (Feb 16, 2013)

We used to have a Saanen goat about 6 years ago and on her first freshening she had tiny teats but they stretched as she freshened. There was a big difference between her first freshening teats and 3rd freshening teats.


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## Texaslass (May 15, 2013)

mjs500doo said:


> Typically yes teats get larger with age. In width, and length. Not like a drastic 2 inch growth per year or anything obscene but they do stretch out with usage.


Our French alpines have tiny teats. They never got long enough for my taste; maybe 3 inches or so, and not exactly shaped for grabbing easily. This is their 4th F, and I geuss they've only strected an inch or so. I'm hoping their daughters from this year will be better, as we're hoping to milk them next year. I've milked some Nigerians that were easier.


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## lottsagoats (Dec 10, 2012)

I had full sized Lamancha doe with tiny teats. I would bump her udder with my hand so the tissue was moved up. Then I would grab some extra skin above the tea but make sure I didn't grab udder tissue. This helped. I have serious arthritis in my hands, so milking her the regular way was painful. This way was not.

I bred this doe to my Nubian buck who comes from a long line of national show winning udders. Her first 2 does just freshened this year with "too die for" teats!


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## OutdoorDreamer (Mar 29, 2012)

My Alpine FF had really small teats when she freshened last month, I could not even milk them. But now four weeks in, they are actually "milk-able" but still make my hands hurt. I hope to see them improve with next freshening.


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## LamanchaAcres (Jan 11, 2013)

I would reccomend looking into the Maggidan milker....look it up! Ive heard lots of good feedback from it and weve even ordered one ourselfs for our tiny teated ones. We also got a large teat cup for our bigger ones


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## WarPony (Jan 31, 2010)

Sensible said:


> This is one problem that I don't think that a lot of people who started developing these so-called miniature dairy goat breeds gave much thought to when they started. I can't imagine that it's any fun, or very efficient to milk them. They're basically a novelty, not really suitable for intensive milking.


My mini Nubian is the second easiest milker on my farm. It is the full sized Toggenburg does who had the tiny teat issue. And I get 6 pounds a day of milk out of her (she is 7 or 8 years old now and her production has dropped, it was higher during her second through fourth freshenings), for half the feed. Some may be a novelty, but mine isn't. She is one of two does who i can count on to conceive and produce enough to keep the family in milk year around as long as i have a buck mature enough to do the job. i thought the same thing about them before a friend basically gave me this doe, and was somewhat hesitant about taking her on thinking she would be the same amount of work and cost for less benefit but pound for pound my mini nubian doe is worth her weight in gold on the milk stand. Also, she is my butter-doe. Her milk is creamy enough for me to skim the cream off the top to make butter. I have one other who I can get a little cream off the top without any extra effort but nothing like hers.


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## mjs500doo (Nov 24, 2012)

I'll take a couple pics on how I milk my doe Crystal. Maybe I can compare. Lol


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## mjs500doo (Nov 24, 2012)

When I start, I use two fingers. Towards the end I can manage to use three, sometimes four if I grab some udder.


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## peggy (Aug 11, 2010)

I am going to start another thread on the Maggiedan milker. Thanks for the tip.


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