# Milking Minis



## NewbieNubian (Nov 7, 2011)

Along with hundreds, likely thousands, of others; I love mini animals. Frankly, Nubians and Boers are my fav goats, but minis are definitely in a close second. So, I just can't help but ask what sort of milk production some of these miniature dairy breeds (MiniMancha, Kinder/MiniNubian, etc) or Nigerian Dwarfs can actually manage to accomplish? I'm sure it varies, but what's considered to be the average?


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## Di (Jan 29, 2008)

Good morning! Well, I milked my NDG's for the first time this year. I didn't do it right! I started milking after the kids started leaving, so the girls had cut back on their production. I was getting about a quart of milk/day on 2/day milking. Next spring I plan to do it right, seperate the kids at night and milk in the morning. That should show me what their capacity truly is. :? 

I'm so looking forward to it! The Nigerian milk is so superior to what you get in the store that I actually miss it!

While I loved the Nubians I've had in the past, I've decided they are too loud and demanding! The Niggy's are still demanding...but the noise level is much lower! lol.


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## PznIvyFarm (Jul 25, 2010)

Di said:


> Good morning! Well, I milked my NDG's for the first time this year. I didn't do it right! I started milking after the kids started leaving, so the girls had cut back on their production. I was getting about a quart of milk/day on 2/day milking. Next spring I plan to do it right, seperate the kids at night and milk in the morning. That should show me what their capacity truly is. :?
> 
> I'm so looking forward to it! The Nigerian milk is so superior to what you get in the store that I actually miss it!
> 
> While I loved the Nubians I've had in the past, I've decided they are too loud and demanding! The Niggy's are still demanding...but the noise level is much lower! lol.


I got about a quart a day from my ND that had no babies and about 2 cups each from the other two - Mine weren't from a high production line but it was plenty for us.

And if NDs are quieter than nubians, i am never getting nubians b/c the NDs are plenty loud enough, esp right now during breeding season!


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## milkmaid (Sep 15, 2010)

I think a quart a day is about average for a ND from a non-milking line. That's what mine give at their peak. But I'm aiming to find some higher production goats and add their genetics to my herd. The most I've ever heard of from a ND is a gallon a day.


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

I get just under 2 quarts a day from my Binkey.....she'll be on her 6th freshening the end of January AND as far as I know, her breeder didn't milk her dam so I can't say wether she comes from "milk genetics".

I raised Pygmy/Nigerian crosses up til 2007 and the cross does that I milked gave a quart a day...Bootsie is my oldest at 11 years and with her last freshening in 2008, she was giving a quart and a half and continued to stay in milk til I finally dried her off 26 months later.

Penny is my soon to be 2nd freshener and I know she has the genetics behind her to be a producer, this past year she was giving just over a quart a day and I know that she'll just get better with each freshening.

It's truly a gamble on what each doe will produce...all I knew about my cross does was their parents and I know for a fact that they weren't raised to be any more than pets....I got lucky with the fact that they each produced well and had decent udders.


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## eliya (Nov 20, 2007)

It varies a lot from herd to herd, from doe to doe and of course from breed to breed. I raise MiniNubians and I get a MINIMUM of 2 lbs (1 quart) per day. On average we get more like 5 lbs per day (just over 1/2 gallon). My heaviest milkers will give nearly a gallon a day. I have had does peak at over 10 lbs in one day (1lb = 1pint, so that is 1 gallon and 1 quart). Butterfat ranges from 3.7% to 6.8% average over the year. Of course it is higher in the fall and lower early in the freshening, but average for my herd is around 5.5%. You can see more on my website.


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## RMADairyGoats (Jun 20, 2011)

We had a Nigerian doe produce a half gal a day as a FF  The other does produce about two quarts a day.


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## Willow (Jun 12, 2011)

My Nigerian DwARF ff gave 3+ quarts/day for 9 months. She is preganant and due in early April. Cant wait to see what she does next time around.


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