# Questions on nubians and milk goats in general...



## goat luver 101 (Jul 19, 2011)

Hi,
So I am thinking of adding a nubian doe to my herd of angoras for milk, and I just love how they look.
But I have a couple questions on milking...
if I get a Doe that has never been bred before and breed her and she kids, how long after the kid has been born do I start milking her?
And I know it probably depends how much milk she gives, but how often do I milk her? once or twice a day? 
And how long can I milk her for before she has to have another kid, so I can keep milking her? 
And finally, what do you have to do to the milk to make it safe to drink? Do you have to treat it, or boil it or something?
Thank you for the help!!


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## nchen7 (Feb 25, 2013)

I love Nubians! Mine are Nubian and alpine/togg crosses.

you can start milking after the colostum is gone, which is around 2 weeks. If you're letting her raise her kids, then what you can do is pen up the kids at night so she gets a 12 hr fill, milk her out in the morning and let the kids have milk the rest of the day. 
Fiasco Farm has great info on milking, and they put up their once a day milking schedule. http://fiascofarm.com/goats/milking.htm#onceaday

I've read it depends on the goat. if you plan to breed her every year, then you can milk for 10 months (breed her around the 7-8 month mark), and give her 2 months rest before she kids. or you can just keep milking and see how long she'll give you milk for. I read Nubians can come into heat all year long, so you don't have to breed her in the fall like alpine breeds who only come into heat from Aug-Dec usually. whatever you choose, give her 2 month break before she kids.

lastly, the milk is great to drink fresh out of the goat! just filter it, and make sure to keep everything clean and sanitized. you can pasteurize if you want, but we don't.

hope this helps! i'm still fairly new to milking goats and stuff, but I've done a LOT of reading.


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## cdanna (Dec 17, 2012)

If Nubians come into heat all year round then wouldn't it be easier to milk them through than other breeds? You might not have to breed every year... I am new to this too though so I could definitely have my info wrong.


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## Scottyhorse (Feb 11, 2013)

You _can_ milk them all year, but after a while they don't produce as much. Most people have multiple milk goats so they can stagger breedings and have milk almost all year


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## goat luver 101 (Jul 19, 2011)

Thank you, this really helps! I think I would lock the kids in a pen at night and milk the doe in the morning. Thanks again!


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## nchen7 (Feb 25, 2013)

yes, that works well. I have a large dog crate that's in mom's sleeping quarters. that way they can see one another.


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## Goats Rock (Jun 20, 2011)

Some Nubians do like to "talk". Meaning that they can be vocal. But not all are loud, just some.


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## goat luver 101 (Jul 19, 2011)

I don't mind them being vocal so much...the barn is far from the house so it won't bother me


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## howerygoose (Mar 14, 2013)

We have 2 nubians and I did read before getting them that they are one of the most vocal of the breeds. I think it just depends on the goat though. My one girl is quiet, the other is a big time talker. They only come into heat in the fall. We bred ours in Sept and they had thier babies in Feb. I strain the milk and then pasturize. My dad grew up in the 30's and saw people getting sick from unpasturized milk. I've read there's a couple diseases that can transfer to humans in the milk too. Those are the reasons we do it. But everyone is different. It seems to me more people drink it raw than pasturized. Good luck!! Nubians are awesome


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## janeen128 (Dec 31, 2012)

Nubians are seasonal breeders, Sept-March somewhere around there....


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## goat luver 101 (Jul 19, 2011)

I feel stupid, but what does pasturized mean?


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## janeen128 (Dec 31, 2012)

goat luver 101 said:


> I feel stupid, but what does pasturized mean?


It's where they heat the milk to kill all good and bad bacteria, that is what you buy in the store.


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