# What constitutes a good quality milking doe?



## archsteve (Nov 12, 2010)

What constitutes a good quality doe? One that gives a lot of milk and has a proven pedigree? We inherited our 7 lamanchas 2 nubians and 1 boer with a property we bought. We hope to breed them, and milk them at some point. We have 6 really friendly goats. I'd think that would be the best quality in a milking doe!


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## TheMixedBag (Oct 16, 2010)

*Re: LaMancha's and horns?*



archsteve said:


> What constitutes a good quality doe? One that gives a lot of milk and has a proven pedigree? We inherited our 7 lamanchas 2 nubians and 1 boer with a property we bought. We hope to breed them, and milk them at some point. We have 6 really friendly goats. I'd think that would be the best quality in a milking doe!


A good quality doe is one who milks well (a lot), and looks to be built for milking. ADGA has a guidebook for breed standards, and looking online at champion does can give you a good idea as to what to look for in your does.

That being said, I think this would be better as its own thread :greengrin:


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

> That being said, I think this would be better as its own thread :greengrin:


 great idea...so I decided to email..archsteve that I did so... and made it a new thread ... :thumb:


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## archsteve (Nov 12, 2010)

Thanks for the input, and starting the thread. I would like to breed some of our does, not all. They are not registered or anything, but they have the lamancha ears. When I think about which ones I'd like to milk, it would be the ones that are easiest to handle and like to jump onto the milking stand.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

> Thanks for the input, and starting the thread.


 No Problem.... :wink: :greengrin: :thumb:


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## myfainters (Oct 30, 2009)

archsteve said:


> Thanks for the input, and starting the thread. I would like to breed some of our does, not all. They are not registered or anything, but they have the lamancha ears. When I think about which ones I'd like to milk, it would be the ones that are easiest to handle and like to jump onto the milking stand.


Always a good start to have an easy goat to work with but remember.....a heavy milker with a quality udder can be trained to be milked. A friendly goat that doesn't give much milk can't be trained to milk more. :wink:

So hopefully you luck out and get a heavy milker in your easy going does!!!!


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## milkmaid (Sep 15, 2010)

Somebody posted this link a little while back:
http://www.kidnacres.com/id16.html

And here's AGS's scorecard and faulting:
http://www.americangoatsociety.com/educ ... ulting.php

Anyway, I thought I'd throw those out since they have helped me a lot.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Great links....milkmaid.... :thumb: :hi5: :thumbup: :greengrin:


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## milkmaid (Sep 15, 2010)

Thanks!


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

myfainters said:


> Always a good start to have an easy goat to work with but remember.....a heavy milker with a quality udder can be trained to be milked. A friendly goat that doesn't give much milk can't be trained to milk more. :wink:


Totally agree with you there Jess! 
Practice makes perfect with both the doe and yourself, any doe can be milked, just takes time and it's always good to have a relationship with the goat first, show her that you are more than just a food source, though most goats are food driven, feeding and brushing on the milkstand before you actually start them freshening really helps. Most does strive to please regardless of the amount they put in the milk pail.

Something to keep in mind as well....not every first freshener will have a jaw dropping udder, each doe is different depending on bloodlines and once you see your girls full udders, you have opportunity to make improvements with their doe kids by choosing a buck with qualities you'd like to change.


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## Oat Bucket Farm (Dec 14, 2009)

Also, an easy to handle doe does not mean she will be perfect the first few times you milk her. Sometimes she has to get used to the idea of be milked, especially if she has only raised kids in the past.


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## keren (Oct 26, 2008)

I think it's important to consider that 'quality' can be defined as 'fitness for purpose'. So in that regard, quality very much depends on context. 

What constitutes a good quality goat is different to the person who wants a home milker, which is different to the person who wants to breed and show, and different again to the person who runs a 1000 head commercial dairy, and then again to the person who just wants a pet or a lawnmower. 

For a commercial dairy farmer, the 'good quality' doe is going to be the one who produces the most milk, regardless of how she looks, whether her coat colour is correct for her breed, whether her udder is neat or her legs correctly angulated. To the breeder and shower, the 'good quality' goat is the one who excels in breed phenotype, correct angulation, breed character, udder conformation and dairy quality. To the person looking for a pet or lawnmower, the 'good quality' goat might be the friendliest one, or the one which doesn't escape the fences. 

So consider your context first, then decide what factors equal a quality goat for YOU, then go looking for one


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## Squires (Sep 14, 2010)

A few other things to look for:

If you plan on milking a doe by hand, it helps if the teat is comfortable in your hand (not too small or too big) and check to see if the teat-orifice is large so that milk comes out easily. A doe with a large capacious and perfect udder, lots of milk, and a small teat-orifice is going to take a lot longer to milk! :roll: 

Most dairy animals have been selected for countless generations for good "milk letdown" -- this means that they relax and let you take all their milk. A wild or untrained goat might give you some trouble by not letting down all her milk for you -- yes, they can hold it back if they are not happy. :shrug: 

A goat that milks well for one person may not like something about another person, so might not perform as well for them. This might be overcome with time and training. 

Some goats mature later than others, so may take a few years to come into their prime and be really good milkers. Also may take a while to develop so that they look like good goats. The ideals for goat conformation are based on a mature goat in her prime, not on a first-freshener.  

You can eat female goats as well as male. BBQ is an option if a goat really makes you mad! onder:


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## milkmaid (Sep 15, 2010)

Also - and I am certainly no expert, so someone correct me if I'm wrong - an ideal udder doesn't have a lot of extra tissue. It collapses well when milked out.


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