# Pasture and Milk Production



## AncientBlue (Dec 21, 2014)

Is it possible that too much pasture in the diet is why my does produce so little milk?


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## BrokenArrowRanch (Jun 6, 2013)

I wouldn't think so. My does production dropped from over 4 pounds to 2 a day. I started letting her out and within 3 days her production is up to 3 lbs and climbing.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

What is out in your pasture? Did you previously feed grain and then stop?


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## TDG-Farms (Jul 12, 2013)

Pasture grass of pretty much any kind is low in nutrients, minerals and protein. BUT because there is so much of it, they can do all right on it. Not nearly as good as being fed a dairy quality alfalfa. Which is best for a milking goat.


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## AncientBlue (Dec 21, 2014)

They still get grain, hay, BOSS and alfalfa pellets. Their pasture area has trees, grass and weeds. They love to "trim" the oak tree. 

I'm just trying to trouble shoot here. Rosie (2F) gives me 2.5 cups a day. I guess that's somewhere around a 1/2 a pound. I don't have a weight scale in my barn to know exactly. Annabelle (FF) gives me 1 cup (1/4 lb??) a day. I'd like to try to get these up as it seems like a ridiculously low amount.


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## ariella42 (May 22, 2014)

What breed are they? Did you milk Rosie last year too? If so, what did she produce then? Also, when did they freshen?


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## AncientBlue (Dec 21, 2014)

Just got Rosie in November. No idea what she produced for her previous owner. Her babies were born November 1, 2014. All of my goats are Nigerian Dwarf breed. I get the same amount if I tape her teats or not, so I don't think it's the kids drinking. She was giving me about 1/2 cup more per milking (milking 2x a day) about a month ago when the weather was cooler. I realize weather will have an effect on milk production, but percentage wise, that's a lot. Annabelle has been consistent 1/2 cup only and always every milking. I'm not as sure of when she delivered. Her previous owner indicated it was in the November - December range.

Also, while I'm asking tons of questions, how much of a milk increase should I expect with each freshening?


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## ariella42 (May 22, 2014)

Their milk production will naturally start to decline a bit 3-4 months into a freshening (around the time they would start weaning their kids), so I think you're mostly noticing that with Rosie. Last year, once my mini Nubian started declining in production it went down quite quickly then leveled out. As far as Annabelle goes NDs typically won't give you as much milk in general, especially if their not from lines bred for high production, so it might just be a combination of being past peak production, being a FF, and not being from high volume milk lines. There are some herbs I've read about, such as fenugreek, that you can give them to help increase milk production past their peak, but I haven't done much research on that. I'm not entirely sure about how much milk production will increase, but I believe there are a few factors involved with that.


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## AncientBlue (Dec 21, 2014)

I'll look into the fenugreek. 

Annabelle is at least stable. Rosie fluctuates so much. I'm thinking that when Annabelle is a 2F she will probably give a bit more and that will be fine. I think they bread her too soon as her weight was not to wear I would've felt comfortable having her bread. She was less then 50 lbs when I got her (early Feb). I've gotten her to over 60 lbs, which looks healthier to me. Rosie is supposed to be from milk stock. Annabelle I have no idea who she comes from.


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## Tapestry (Feb 5, 2015)

I always heard "A pint's a pound, the world around." So I'm assuming 2 cups is 1 pound and 1 cup is 1/2 pound. Is this the case with milk? I've never milked anything, so I really don't know, but I would think it at least had to be close.


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## ariella42 (May 22, 2014)

A pint of water is a pound. Milk is a bit over a pound per pint, a little over 8 pounds (industry standard says 8.6) to the gallon. It's not exact with milk, since it can vary based on the fat content.


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## grindylo (May 15, 2014)

It's probably right that they're naturally going into "weaning" stage and will level out. And it's true that Nigies don't usually produce a whole lot unless they're from super-duper milking lines.

Wanted to add that I recently came across something saying that eating too much fescue can put a doe off milk. Saw somewhere else that it can poison goats in large amounts. Didn't have time to read the whole articles though. It might be worth looking into just in case.


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## janeen128 (Dec 31, 2012)

Huh..? Mine have all increased in production since our fields are growing nice tender grass. My queen Bella used to get 6 cups of grain morning and night. Now she is down to about 2 cups.. She also likes soaked beet pulp pellets... She is still producing 1.5 gallons a day, freshened in November... Maybe it depends on what's growing....


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## bornagain62511 (Mar 3, 2015)

i'm having the same concerns. i got two nigerian dwarfs a few weeks ago. one is a first freshener, so i'm not too concerned about her since i know milk production usually is much lower in first timers, but i'm only getting about 3/4 cup twice a day, or 1.5 cup total per day.

the other one though is a four year old. she gave birth 3 to 4 weeks ago, and i'm only getting about one cup morning and evening from her. is this normal or wouldn't you expect more, even from a nigerian dwarf? i've read that they often produce 4 cups morning and evening, or 8 cups (half gallon) per day per goat. i realize she may increase a bit until 2 months after birthing date, but then they level off and decrease from there.

they have good alfalfa hay, fresh green vegetation, and good minerals and supplements. any ideas would be appreciated


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## AncientBlue (Dec 21, 2014)

Bornagain62511, that's about what Rosie was giving me. It's tapering off now. Annabelle is my FF and just like you, I'm not worried about her production because FFs are usually low. I need to finish looking into the Fenugreek to see if that will help. Rosie is supposed to be from a milking line. No clue on Annabelle.

They dont' give too much milk, but man is it GOOD! It's like perfect milk.


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## AncientBlue (Dec 21, 2014)

I had to look up Fescue and found that it grows pretty much everywhere but here. lol Apearently climate zone 9 (lower parts) is not a good place for it.

That's one of the funny things about growing things or raising animals here in Florida. We have such weird little differences that you have to really tweak what works in other areas. It applies to gardening and beekeeping as well. We can't go with what the true tropical areas do nor really with what the rest of the country does. We're somewhere in the middle. Kinda neat and unique but really frustrating.


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## bornagain62511 (Mar 3, 2015)

AncientBlue said:


> Bornagain62511, that's about what Rosie was giving me. It's tapering off now. Annabelle is my FF and just like you, I'm not worried about her production because FFs are usually low. I need to finish looking into the Fenugreek to see if that will help. Rosie is supposed to be from a milking line. No clue on Annabelle.
> 
> They dont' give too much milk, but man is it GOOD! It's like perfect milk.


My goats are from someone who i think is a good dairy breeder of Nigerian Dwarfs too, but since this is all new to me, i'm not really sure since i don't know exactly what to look for.

i would really appreciate those of you who are more experienced if you have any comments after looking at her website, pictures and what not, if you have any comments of opinions on what you see or read. here's her website http://fallcreekfarm.net/srdoes.htm

her website seems to make her goats look good, but the living conditions and the condition of the goats when i got them wasn't as good as i thought it would be since i became familiar with her website and phone conversations with the lady before i went there to get the goats. 
if you look around the website, you will see Spirit under the "Senior Does" and Bandera under the "First Fresheners", those are the two that i got from her. she's won a lot of awards for her goats for the udder's, etc. but from what i've heard from the lady, i'm not too sure if she breeds specifically for higher milk production, or just better formed udders and teats, body, etc.

as you said, wow their milk is excellent! i make raw yogurt with it and wow that is one of if not the tastiest food i've ever had! i could live on it! very thick and creamy and has a hint of cheese flavor even. i bring it right in from milking and add a powder yogurt innoculant, and put it in my incubator for about 24 hours around 105 degrees. the milk doesn't even cool down from milking and it goes in the incubator. here's the yogurt culture i use, $50 a bottle but it goes a long, long way, : http://www.customprobiotics.com/custom-probiotics-yogurt-starter-1.htm


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## LibertyHomesteadFarm (Feb 1, 2014)

grindylo said:


> It's probably right that they're naturally going into "weaning" stage and will level out. And it's true that Nigies don't usually produce a whole lot unless they're from super-duper milking lines.


It's true that Nigerians don't tend to produce too much milk unless they're from REALLY good milk lines...average is about 1-4 pounds per milking, depending on the lines.


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