# 3 cups is not enough!



## milkmaid (Sep 15, 2010)

Both my Nigerian does give only 3 cups a day. Is it just my goats, or do most Nigies give about that? IMO they shouldn't be called dairy goats if they don't give at least a quart a day, preferably more.
I would think it's the amount I'm feeding, but no matter how much I give them (within reason of course), they won't go over that.
I've heard of some that give 6 cups or more, but are they few and far between?
Also - in future years I want to improve my does with bucks from productive dams. What is a good daily amount of milk to aim for?


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

How long have they been in milk and how many freshenings have they had?

Is this with milking at 12 hour intervals?


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## milkmaid (Sep 15, 2010)

One's on her first, the other her second, freshening; 2 1/2 months fresh, 12 hour intervals.


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

With the FF, capacity is something she'll achieve with future freshenings, regardless of how much they are giving, keep up the 2x a day for as long as possible...."training" them to stay in milk is the key, also, the number of kids they had affects the amount. A doe that had a single won't make as much as a doe thats had 2 or 3, I found this out through experience.
I don't normally milk 2 x a day til the kids are at 7-8 weeks old, from 3 weeks on....unless I have a doe that is over productive...I milk once a day while the kids are on mom..I just take whatever she may have in her udder, wether it's 1 cup or 3, this actually ups her production because I'm the "extra" kid and I currently have a FF with 6 week old twins that keep her dry...A 2nd F cross with a 4 week old single buck that I get 1 cup from and a 5th F with 4 week old B/D twins that birthed 3 and lost one so I stepped in and took his share, she gives just under 3 cups.
They each get 2- 2 1/2 cups mix of 18%, calf manna and Boss 2 x a day as well as alfalfa and a mixed clover/grass hay, freechoice minerals, plentiful water and a salt brick.
Sometimes, regardless of how well fed a doe is...she sets her amount as well as what she wants you to take, really bumping and emptying the udder with each milking is important too..some will with hold and if they have no kids to hold it for, it sits in the udder and tells them they don't need to make any more than what was taken.


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## milk and honey (Oct 31, 2010)

Well, my FF nigi is giving me one pint each morning... She totally turns off the spiket at 1 pt. ! She is still feeding her little guy during the day, so I dont even try to milk in the evening... that 1=2 tablespoons just wasnt worth the effort!!! I'm hoping that she will improve when he's gone in a couple of weeks.. (not that I need all that much for cheese and soap and sipping..) and then next year I really hope to see improvement... She has had a difficult time learning to be a dairy goat...(me too) but she has good milk genetics...???


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

are you does from milking lines? My goal is to breed show milking goats. But not every mini goat is a "milker"

my doe Angie is out of a doe who milked quite a bit. But she just doesnt have it. No matter what I fed her or how often I milked she just didnt milk enough to make it worth breeding her (along with other things but that played a part).


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## RunAround (Feb 17, 2008)

If you want high capacity right away you need to purchase already freshned does. You need to get info about their milk production, her lactation lengths, ect. 

I have one doe who makes about a gallon a day, and others are lucky to make 3 cups. These are all ND's. 

Normally production will increase with each freshening. So FF's are not the way to go if you need the milk now.


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## Darla O'Neill (Mar 23, 2011)

There can be a wide range in production in ND's just as in the standard dairy breeds.

Since we're hoping to get a dairy going eventually, we have been deliberately purchasing goats with one or both parents having achieved their DHI stars. We've also concentrated on those from higher butterfat and protein production lines.

To get the bloodlines we wanted we had to purchase jr or ff does, so last year we had less than half the herd kid, and only regularly milked two due to other scheduling conflicts. One was a ff yearling and one 2nd freshening 2 yr old. They both milked at peak 3+ cups 2x daily. Both are Little Tots Estate bred, one sired by a +B buck and one out of a 3*M doe. And they are not tiny ND's either, they're very well grown girls!

So if you're wanting serious milk production, your surest bet is to purchase from proven milk backgrounds. That doesn't mean a doe from unproven or distant DHI background can't produce just as well as one with a heavy DHI pedigree, or that a doe from a proven background can't be a poor producer for that matter. But you're increasing the odds of adequate production when you can incorporate animals from proven backgrounds or that have already achieved their own DHI stars.

ANDDA posts AGS and ADGA DHI records on their website: http://www.andda.org/milk.html#dhia

The AGS spreadsheets under the "Milk Records" column give not just their production in lbs milk, fat, protein, but also the age, height and days in milk. These are all variables to take into consideration. Perhaps you can compare some of the does -- of similar age and height especially -- on the sheets with your girls and see where they fall.

Darla O'Neill
O'Vation Farm
East Tennessee


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## kids-n-peeps (Aug 24, 2009)

Want to hear something funny? I've just started milking a first freshener who is only a few days fresh and I've been getting 3-3.5 cups a day and I thought that was pretty good considering what a small doe she is and being not even a week into her first freshening! But maybe I'm too easily impressed, lol!! As a side note, her kids are being bottlefed so the milk is going to them.


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## milkmaid (Sep 15, 2010)

Thank you everyone! What a lot of useful info!


> are you does from milking lines?


Why didn't I think of that? Silly me. No, they're not.  One's from pet lines, the other from show lines. But the bucks are from show/milking lines, so hopefully the doelings I keep will have improved milking abilities. I'm willing to wait a few years for my dream milker.


> I have one doe who makes about a gallon a day


RunAround, will you sell her? :greengrin: Okay, I'll aim for a gallon! I know it's possible!


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## Bellafire Farm (Jan 5, 2010)

So, I'm interested to know (as you should be too if your looking for strong milking lines) which doe is milking about 1 gallon per day there Ashley ???? :drool:

And when is she due for 2011 to pass on those outstanding genetics :thumb: !! <<<GRIN!! >>

Gotta run.... I'm off to check-out Ashely's website now.... :greengrin:


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## milkmaid (Sep 15, 2010)

Yes, which doe is she??? I want a goat from those lines!
Edit - I would also like to know what you feed!


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## Bellafire Farm (Jan 5, 2010)

Ditto... Me too... on both comments! :greengrin: 

I'm hoping it's Deviant cause she's my favorite @ Ashley's


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## RunAround (Feb 17, 2008)

LOL, It's Deviant Seven. She milks like a cow, and LOVES to be milked. I'm keeping her doe and buck kid from this year. Her other buck kid is sold already. 

I just bought her sire so we will see what he can do.  And he's cou Clair! a bit of color doesn't hurt.


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## kids-n-peeps (Aug 24, 2009)

:stars: :stars: :stars: :stars: :stars:


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## logansmommy7 (Nov 11, 2009)

kids-n-peeps said:


> :stars: :stars: :stars: :stars: :stars:


I second that motion.... :dance: :dance: :stars: :stars:


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## sweetgoats (Oct 18, 2007)

Now what about offereing them Molasses water? When I need my girls to produce more milk I always have Molasses waer out for them, the more they drink the more they make. Now I am NOT a milker so I do not know if it would affect the taste of the milk. 

Just a thought. :shocked:


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## milkmaid (Sep 15, 2010)

Deviant Seven is a beautiful doe!! The breeder we purchased both of our current bucks from has some relatives of Deviant. I'll probably be reserving a buckling from her within the next year!

About the molasses - I changed to a sweet feed recently and thought the milk production did go up. I'd have to look back at the records to be sure though.
The milk does taste stronger this year than last, but I thought it was the new FF's milk. I'll switch back sometime and see if it's just the molasses.


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

Grain is only part of the equation - does need lots of water and salt. 

I have minerals with salt in them and I change out their water twice a day. I use small buckets so that I don't waste much if they don't drink a lot. They like clean fresh water and will drink more of it if I provide it more often


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

I agree...what they eat is important but their water intake is even more so, I have a small salt brick on a ledge near the minerals....and they use it too, it's got little divits all over it from them licking it.

Also, I've always fed a grain mix with molasses and have never had any of my girls give milk that tasted anything but awesome.


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