# Please look n tell me what you think(new pics)



## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

This is Binky at 8 weeks fresh. I started separating her girls at night around 8 til milking at 4:30 am and again at 4:30 pm. Since its not quite 12 hours for the morning milking she gives me 1and 3/4 cups....afternoon has been at a bit over 3 cups. I tried to get a decent pic but she really wasn't co-operating. Her teats don't point forward the way they did when she first freshened and she is easy to milk.



















Thank you for your opinions. Also, Binky is a small doe...almost 3 years old and stands at 17 1/2 inches and weighs 45# wouldn't this contribute to the amount she's giving me?


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## hornless (Oct 5, 2007)

*Re: Please look n tell me what you think*

Wow! It really improved, I love it! I think attachments could be better, but it's not that bad. Her udder looks really nice!


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

*Re: Please look n tell me what you think*

Thank you , hornless! I thought there was improvement too. Now, after her kids leave, Cricket (Aggie) is going to her new home next week and Nugget is still available, I won't have to worry about the time frame being un even as I let them all out together before it gets really dark outside...it just breaks my heart to hear babies crying for mommy that I can't not let them together for a little while.lol


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## Muddy Creek Farm (Oct 5, 2007)

*Re: Please look n tell me what you think*

Like I said in the other thread, I really really think it has improved. It looks really nice. Are you sure you measured her right!!! That is tiny! I would say she is producing really well for being that small.


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

*Re: Please look n tell me what you think*

I will measure again, though at the shoulder and level with the # on the yard stick it did say 17 1/2 last August.
Thanks again Chelsey, I was just "fishing" as the other post didn't seem to get much "traffic" so to speak.lol.


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## Muddy Creek Farm (Oct 5, 2007)

*Re: Please look n tell me what you think*

I know, some sections sure don't get as much traffic as the "Photogenic" section as people are always interested in PICTURES!!!!

You did a great job picking her out!


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## Sweet Gum Minis (Oct 6, 2007)

*Re: Please look n tell me what you think*

Looks good, looks very similar to some of my black doe's udders. Best thing to do to check attachments is clipping. I learned that black goats tend to give a false line around their udder with their hairs and it gives the illusion of poor attachments. When clipped it corrects the illusion and you can really see the attachments.


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

*Re: Please look n tell me what you think*

Thank you both so much!! If I can actually get her to stand decently I'll clip her again...thanks for the tip on that Ashley, she isn't too fond of being on the milk stand without grain in front of her! Nugget was sold tonite and Aggie(Cricket) has been ok so far without her sister, she's buddied up with Angel and Lily.

BTW...I did end up re- measuring her, sort of difficult to get a level reading cause she kept moving! 18 1/2" was what I got this time!


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## Muddy Creek Farm (Oct 5, 2007)

*Re: Please look n tell me what you think*

Ashley, you said exactly what I was thinking. Those black girls are harder to clip and photogragh to.


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

*Re: Please look n tell me what you think*

Binky had been getting her kids with her after the afternoon milking, Well now both kids are with their new owners(BTW...THANK YOU GINA AND JEANNIE!) I milked her at 4:30 yesterday afternoon and got 3 cups....didn't want to get up at 4:30 this morning so I milked her again at 9:30 last night and got 1 cup, milked this morning at 9:30 and got 3 1/2 cups, milked tonite at 8:30 and she gave me 3 1/2 cups,so I figure that her having her babies with her for 5+ hours she was making that extra cup for them! So I hope she keeps doing this good for me! So as of todays milking she gave me a cup shy of 2 QUARTS!!!! Now I can't wait til Bootsie and Tilly are ready to start weaning in another 1-2 weeks....Ice Cream and Cheese will be in abundance again!!!


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## Muddy Creek Farm (Oct 5, 2007)

*Re: Please look n tell me what you think*

Wow she is milking really really well Liz! You should be very proud! :dance:


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

*Re: Please look n tell me what you think*

I AM!! Thank you Chelsey on your attentiveness to this, I am very pleased.


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

*Re: Please look n tell me what you think*

thats a good amount i would say - I have nothing to judge it on due to not having milked a nigerian before. :shrug: But I should get my chance this spring/summer

her "new" size sounds pretty good for her. That would be my idea of an average nigerians height.


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

*Re: Please look n tell me what you think*

Thanks again, she does so good too....as long as she has grain in front of her!! I get 3/4 of the way done and have to give her a handful so she stands to finish. I've learned how to milk minis and it is still difficult at times cause I have "massive" hands! So it took me awhile to get my technique down, thumb and index finger! I loved my moms nubians...they literally had "handles".

For what she's giving she's not lost her condition at all which is a good thing, Bootsie is starting to look like a bony hipped milk cow with her 3 boys on her!


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## Sweet Gum Minis (Oct 6, 2007)

*Re: Please look n tell me what you think*

I've got a few milkers who are made to milk Big full udders, huge milkable teats. I LOVE it! Then I've got a couple who hate the milk stand and have tiny teats. I will be weeding them out since my herd goals are changing to milking more now.


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

*Re: Please look n tell me what you think*

Ashley, what is normal or should I say average production for a ND? I've just ever dealt with pygmy/nigi crosses with my girls and they usually gave 3 pints on 1 milking a day my full pygmy that I lost was giving me a quart and a cup....Is Binky in the "normal" range? I mean ND are little goats so I don't expect to ever get as much as what a "full size" girl would give but I am thinking that she's doing pretty good with 2 qts a day.
I'm planning on letting Angel dry off after Lily goes to Julie because she just has these bitty teats and what udder she does have don't look to be to promising and I feel she'll need the time and energy put into reaching her adult growth as she'll be a year old May 30. Binky has been VERY tolerable about getting woke up and having me pull on her teats before it's daylight so I hope she does continue to improve with standing in one spot on the stand!! We're working on it!


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## Sweet Gum Minis (Oct 6, 2007)

*Re: Please look n tell me what you think*

I haven't mesaured milk up to this point. I would think 3 pints is a good amount so that sounds good.


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

*Re: Please look n tell me what you think*

Heres a "reclipped" udder pic of Binky with a 9 hour udder. The difference when they get clipped close is amazing! I can see things I didn't before, like how heavy her "milk vein" is...I didn't even know it was there til I got the hair off of her!

She is doing great with milking too, not once has she "kicked the bucket"lol and giving me a cup shy of 2 qts a day!!

















With these "close clip" pics are there any "bad" qualities in her udder?


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## Sweet Gum Minis (Oct 6, 2007)

Doesn't look bad, some udders can be dimply and will show that when very very full. That's not a real problem. The teats are a little out pointing, but not too bad. If she's an easy milker then that would be awesome!!!


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

She is fairly easy to milk, I have well adjusted my technique with my other girls over the last 6 years and well, getting Binky prepped, milked and stripped in the wee hours of 4:30am...We're done in under 10 minutes! Works out that with 2 does added I should still be able to be at work by 5:20....including straining and putting in fridge as well as clean up of milking supplies...I may have to start at 4 to be on the "safe side" LOL. Thanks again Ashley, I appreciate you taking the time to give me your expertise, Your girls are so well bred that I trust your opinion! The dimpling on Binky looks like cellulite when she is 12 hours full, looks awful and very un comfortable!


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## Muddy Creek Farm (Oct 5, 2007)

One of my does gets dimply when full too. It does look like cellulite.


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

See, it's a very good thing that it goes away when you empty them.....unlike when age starts to creep in on you and you can't get rid of it no matter how hard you try! LOL


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## luvmygoats (Dec 1, 2007)

Wow Liz, I sure hope she passes that udder on to her little ones! We havene't milked before but thought we would give it a try. 

Gina


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

Ya Know Gina, I hope she does too! Her teats are smallish but given that this was her second freshening and first time being milked, they should improve with "use". Hanks dam had an ok udder, good attachments and her teats were pointing more down, but then again I saw her at 4 weeks fresh and not full as she was nursing twins. I do think that Cricket will be just as good if not better, I hope!


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## luvmygoats (Dec 1, 2007)

I don't know how much milk it takes to make cheese, but it look like if I only have one or two with an udder like hers, I should be fine. BTW Cricket was so funny yesterday. While I was out doing some yard work she was running back and forth between the barn and me yelling Baaaaaa all the way. She is still the first to greet us when we go out too!


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

I am so glad Cricket has adjusted so well! Most cheese recipes call for 3 to 6 quarts of milk, I use a book called Goats Produce Too and purchased it from Hoegger Supply Company....very simple and easy to follow.


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## luvmygoats (Dec 1, 2007)

I'll check it out, thanks. Tim just finished the milk stand he was building. Woo hoo!


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

A milk stand is a God send!! A little tip for ya....mine was built to accomadate both my buck and does...because of the horns, when I got Binky and she's hornless she just backed right out of it! No horns to keep her from doing this so I attached a 2x4 to the bottom front of the "headgate" part above the feed pan and Wa La....she can't get out and neither can Chief! Since Cricket has horns you should have no problem keeping her in there next year! Get your young does used to having their udders rubbed and stroke their teats now and then and the first freshening milking should go good for you and them, which Cricket did like her little udder scratched she would lay on my lap with her hind leg up in the air for me to do it!


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