# My Milk Production- UPDATE 7/12



## Itchysmom (Apr 3, 2010)

Or should I say Sasha's! :laugh: 

The kids are now almost a month old. I milk at around 6:30 am. I know that the kids are drinking before I get there...obviously. Right now I am getting a pint a day out of a Saanen! That my friends is so not enough! Some days I may get almost two pints. Still...not enough. I need to seperate the kids at night. :roll: The kids are barely tasting the grain..Noble Goat with a bit of cob. Sasha gets the cob with a bit of molassas. They all get as much grass as they please during the day and alf/grass at night. Sasha is in good weight. Babies are growing.

I am hoping that by seperating the kids at night I will get more milk in the mornings. I only want to milk once a day but, should I go to two milkings to try and up her production? Or by seperating the kids at night hope for more in the am? 

I have been waiting to seperate til the kids are a month old, which they are,and I still have to figure out how I am going to do that. This is where hubby comes in!  If I do it now when they aren't really interested in the grain, will they be Ok during the night? I will put water, grain and hay in their pen. 

I just need to get more milk form this girl! :GAAH:


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

*Re: My Milk Production*

Separate them now. Leave a little grain and hay for them. They will be fine for the night even if they don't eat the solid foods.


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## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

*Re: My Milk Production*

You could try upping her alfalfa consumption also. Good solid milk production usually comes from alfalfa.


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## Itchysmom (Apr 3, 2010)

*Re: My Milk Production*

I can't afford any hay at this time, so they will have to keep eating the alf.grass I have. I will get more alf for the winter, but of course that doesn't help right now, does it!

How much space do the kids need? I only have one pen and would like them to be next to mom. So, I will have to block off a part of the pen for them.


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

*Re: My Milk Production*

its just for a few hours at night I outline in a stall or as crate


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## WarPony (Jan 31, 2010)

*Re: My Milk Production*

I think you will be surprised at how much more milk you get if you separate the babies from the moms at night. I actually did it gradually during the day then switched them over to night time, because my girls were first fresheners and they got fussy a couple of hours after being away from their babies. I let them get used to having fuller udders slowly by starting with just 2 or 3 hours then over a week or two moving up to about 10 hours over night.


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## Itchysmom (Apr 3, 2010)

*Re: My Milk Production*

Thank you guys! I guess I will go sit out in the pen and let my mind wander!

WarPony: More milk is what I am hoping for!


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

*Re: My Milk Production*

Once you separate at night, even if it's only for 8 hours you will be surprised at what she gives.....Be sure to let us know her output too.

And....if you do put them in a separate pen/stall...be sure they aren't going to be jumpers, I had 5 nigi kids in a 4x4 stall this past year and had to put a piece of plywood over it because 2 of them bailed, putting the cover over it kept them from jumping.

A large dog crate would work...big enough for both and a small pail of water and you can put hay on the outside that they can pull through the wire.


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## Itchysmom (Apr 3, 2010)

*Re: My Milk Production*

I was concerned about the jumping. They sure can get high off the ground in play! I don't have a large dog crate...but maybe the dogloo will work. They can stand up in it and move around. I can block off the front so they can see mama but, not get to her. They have been sleeping in it since birth and mom huddled in there with them for the duration of the fireworks. So, I am thinking they will think it is a safe place. Now all I will have to do is find something to throw across the front. That is if you guys think that this will work. The only problem I can forsee is that Bella likes to push it around. I would have to find a way to anchor it to the ground.


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## Itchysmom (Apr 3, 2010)

*Re: My Milk Production*

I put up a divider today. So, tonite will be the first nite they are seperated. I will try to do that as late as possible. She did give me a full quart this morning. It will be interesting to see how much I get tomorrow.

BTW, how much grain should she be getting all total a day?


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

*Re: My Milk Production*

During my mini girls lactations, they get 2 cups 18% plus 1 cup alfalfa pellets twice a day, as they start to slow in production, I back off the grain but still milk 2 x a day as long as they're still giving at least 3/4 what they started giving.


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## Itchysmom (Apr 3, 2010)

*Re: My Milk Production*

Sasha is getting 2 cups in the morning and one at night...so I can up it a bit as she is just coming into her full production?


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

*Re: My Milk Production*

As big as she is...maybe I feed my nigi girls too much but 3 cups of grain seems low for a standard doe, I would gradually up the amount because she is going to be in peak production here soon and will need a good bit to keep condition too. Some will go by the old way of feeding and give a pound for the doe and a pound for each quart of milk she makes....not sure how many cups of grain will make a pound by weight and of course you don't want to give her too much, just enough to keep condition while she is in milk as well as produce enough to feed her kids.


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## Itchysmom (Apr 3, 2010)

*Re: My Milk Production*

That is what I have heard about grain amount also...seems like a lot of grain to me! Right now she is in really good condition so I will just watch her weight and if she starts to drop I may up her grain a bit.

Also, I have noticed that several times during the day she will walk away from the kids when they want to drink. Is this normal for them only being a month old? She can't be wanting to wean them already!

Oh, and my friend who had all the dairy goats said to go ahead and milk her out in the morning as she will hold back some for her kids. Is this a good thing to do? I was going to leave some, but she said that she will hold back for her kids so to go ahead and milk her out.


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## luvmyherd (Apr 9, 2011)

*Re: My Milk Production*

Yeah, it is okay to milk her out. That way, when the kids hit her right after; they will empty her and further up her production.
I am anxious to hear how much you get in the morning. My gallon a day gals sometimes have nothing when left with their kids.


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## Itchysmom (Apr 3, 2010)

*Re: My Milk Production*

Well, I didn't seperate them last nite. I got the kids on thier side then noticed that I had not tied up the squares, so mom would be able to get her head through the squares above where I put the chicken wire for the kids. Soooo, I let them together last nite...got a pint of milk this morning .

Then the parinoid me got to thinking...My pen is almost completely covered. The side that I want to put the kids in has more open space on the top. Which means they are less protected than the does side. Ugg...I'll just take some pictures and you guys can tell me if I am being too pariniod..OK! Be right back!

That took longer than expected...stupid photobucket!

Anyway, this is looking at the pen from the outside...it is the left side where the kids will be. there is cover for them and the dogloo, but it is more open than the other side. Where you see the cross bar, just to the right of the wall feeder, that is where the seperation fence is.









This I hope shows that the outside part is smaller than the inside part which is why I choose it for the kids.









We do have coyotes but they are not known to come this close. This pen is also situated where I cannot hear if anything goes wrong. If it were you, which side would you put the kids in?


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## Itchysmom (Apr 3, 2010)

*Re: My Milk Production*

I seperated the kids last night! They were all very quiet and calm. I notice during the day that Sashas has been walking away from them when they want to drink. Does this mean she already is weaning them? They are only a month old. They will nibble on grass and hay and eat a little grain, soi I guess it is ok. Barb asked me if I was going to start milking her twice a day....I don't know yet.

BUT...this morning I got a 1/2 gallon of milk! I probubaly could have gotten more, but my hand started cramping! But...YAY! From a pint to a 1/2 gal..not bad!


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

just that amount answers your question about the weaning. Mom knows that they kids dont need to nurse as often since they can get more at once. That half gallon you got the kids were nursing off her through the night previously


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## luvmyherd (Apr 9, 2011)

Itchysmom said:


> From a pint to a 1/2 gal..not bad!


Told ya so  
Congratulations! My mamas often walk away from their babies. Cuz they are little piggies and would just hang on all day.


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## Tenacross (May 26, 2011)

*Re: My Milk Production*



Itchysmom said:


> BUT...this morning I got a 1/2 gallon of milk! I probubaly could have gotten more, but my hand started cramping! But...YAY! From a pint to a 1/2 gal..not bad!


Woo! Right on. Now we're talkin'! I've been lurking your threads and could feel your frustration. I bet you get good at milking here in the next couple of weeks as you and your doe fall into a routine.


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

Ah Ha!! See...you now know that she's definately a producer!! At 4 weeks, they are too young to be weaned but now you know that they are definately still nursing, otherwise Sasha wouldn't have given you as much as she did.

You can continue to separate at night and milk in the mornings for the next 4 weeks or however long her kids will be there with you.


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## Itchysmom (Apr 3, 2010)

Thank you all for your kind words, your support and your help! :hug: Yes, being new to all of this I was getting fustrated. But....now I know how it works so next year should be a breeze!


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