# Milking doe feed recipes



## Selah123 (Mar 24, 2013)

Hi all

Just wondering what you all feed your milking does? Any good feed mix suggestions?:whatgoat:


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

I feed half sprouted oats and half bagged feed.


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## Selah123 (Mar 24, 2013)

Thanks for that. Just trying to find the best mixture to fatten up my doe for winter


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

If you prefer to mix your own feed, this one is good...My current bagged feed has begun to add way too much corn..so we are back to feeding this : ) 
6 parts whole oats
2 parts BOSS
2 parts Calf manna
1 part beet pulp

mix together and add one part mix to 3 parts alfalfa pellets...


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## Selah123 (Mar 24, 2013)

Thanks  I have heard beet pulp is good for weight....


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

My 2 milkers get 3 cups 18% Caprine Challenger by Blue Seal with 1/2 cup Calf Manna and 1/4 cup each of Beet pulp shreds and BOSS 2x a day.... one is feeding triplets and the other quads with me milking once a day. They also get an alfalfa, clover, grass mix hay with a mid day feeding of crushed alfalfa/timothy cubes.

The Blue Seal has minimal crimped corn with steamed crimped oats and pellets..... it's the one bagged feed I do like because of that.


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

milkers get Dumor goat pellet on the milking stand and at night they also get alfalfa pellets and beat pulp pellets


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## starrlinn (Apr 11, 2013)

Where do you guys get these different types of feed? All I can seem to find around here (Utah) are Alfalfa pellets, mixed grains (ie chicken scratch) and whatever hay I can find. 

What is BOSS?


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

BOSS is black oil sunflower seed. Have you asked your feed store what goat feed they can get? Sometimes they will order it for you.


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## Little-Bits-N-Pieces (Apr 7, 2013)

My does get purina dairy ration, noble goat, sweet cob, sunflower seeds, calf manna, and a few carrots at the end.
I have massive milkers so they get 6lbs of grain mix a day. 3lb in the morning and 3lbs at night when milking.
its normally 
1lb of purina
1/2lb noble goat
1/2lb sweet cob
1/2lb sunflower seeds
1/2lb calf manna
and then a carrot or 2

My supreme grand champion doe milks easly 3 gallons a day. All my other does (CH or not) are at least 2 and 1/2 gallon a day milkers. 
If they don't milk they don't stay, it cost just as much to feed a winner as it does to feed a looser.


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## CountryCrazy (Feb 28, 2013)

StaceyRosado said:


> milkers get Dumor goat pellet on the milking stand and at night they also get alfalfa pellets and beat pulp pellets


How much to you feed them?
What is the ratio of alfalfa to beat pulp?


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

About half and half 

There is no set amount. Each goat gets what they need individually. Mostly because they are all different sizes and produce different amounts


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## starrlinn (Apr 11, 2013)

Lil Bits N Peices,

Do you think your girls produce so much because of what you feed them?


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## Little-Bits-N-Pieces (Apr 7, 2013)

They produce more depending on what they are fed, but I only keep the best of the best, genetics are what plays the biggest role, nutrition and management comes next. The genetics and production in my herd is strong and passes on to every doe and buck born. They are all out of very stong milking lines. But any alpine doe that is a good milker should produce around 2 gallons a day, anything much less than that I don't keep as they are not worth the their feed (my opinion). My first fresheners last year produced around 18lbs a day at peak (+/- depending on the doe), that gets them an instant milk star at a competition.
BUT in order to get even bigger udders on a doe, milking on a schedule is a must. 12 hours apart every day. When they bag up it stretches the udder, the more it stretches the more it can hold, and the better they are fed they more they give and faster they fill.
If your does are not used to getting so much grain it is very important to slowly work them up, as you can easily make a goat sick with too much grain.
But I found out a long time ago that the sunflower seeds help quite a bit, so does the calf mana. 
They get so much grain as they are very heavy milkers and because it takes so long to hand milk them. One of my star milkers gives me a tad bit over two gallons even nursing trips. 
Doe like these are what you keep.


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## starrlinn (Apr 11, 2013)

Oh man! I would love milking and getting those numbers. We typically see a 1/2 - 1 quart from our oberhasli but she's a wonderful goat. I'd love to try anything I can to boost her production since we'd hate to give her up. 

So do you start milking them right after they give birth or do you wait a couple weeks. I read that waiting is counterintuitive. But I'd like to keep the kids on her. 

Also, what is sweet cob?


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## Little-Bits-N-Pieces (Apr 7, 2013)

I start milking them on their first freshen 1-2 days after they kid just so they get to experience having the kids for a bit, and the kids get all the colostrum they want. On the first freshen is the best time to stretch the udder, so on the next one they'll give even more. On the second freshen I let them have the kids for 6-8 weeks then pull them and put them on the bottle and start milking the doe 12 hours apart. On the third freshen they have I let them dam rasie full on. 
But if you really want bigger udders, don't dam raise the kids, every freshen they will give more and the udder will have to stretch more. Thus a bigger udder with more milk.
Sweet cob is just plain corn grain with lots of molasses. They sell it at any feed store, it's like $12-13 for a 50lb bag at my store
Try worming her and if she has lice or anything like that get a pour on to delouse her, give her full time access to loose minerals, fresh water at all times, good quality hay and UTD on shots and supplemtents. Also try giving her more grain when she's milking, but slowly. Calf manna and sunflower seeds help up production. 
I buy my manna, seeds and grain by either the 50lbs bag or by the drum.
I buy it by the drum when I'm milking all my does.

When you milk it really does have to be at least 12 hours apart. If you milk once a day you are influencing her to dry up, if you don't milk her out completely ever single time, you are influencing her to dry up.


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## starrlinn (Apr 11, 2013)

Lil Bits,

I spent the last week changing over our two goats feed to your mix. We've got the BOSS, the Calf Manna, they didn't have sweet COB, but they did have a very simple sweet feed that looked to be the closest I could find to the COB. Also bought the Purina chow. The does (saanen and oberhasli) kidded two weeks ago and they've been on the feed for about 5 days and their milk production has increased dramatically. Still not up to even a gallon a day but they're nursing and any improvement is a big improvement. 

Also we live up in the Rocky Mountains and spring has just barely come - we have been putting the girls and their kids on browse for an hour or so the last few days. There's not much growing here and we've mostly got maples and oaks that are only in bud as well as some misc wild plants. 

Anyway, I tasted the milk today for the first time and it's so bitter! I don't know if its something they've eaten on browse or if it's something from the mixture. What are your thoughts on this?

Also, how long will it take if we keep them penned up for the bitter taste to cycle out of their milk?


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## starrlinn (Apr 11, 2013)

oh i forgot to add - they have free access to minerals, fresh water, alfalfa hay and baking soda


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## Little-Bits-N-Pieces (Apr 7, 2013)

Are your does around any bucks, or have been within the past month? Bucks make their milk taste gross, just the scent being on them affects the milk. I try to keep my does from not eating anything browse wise other than clover and grass they get that grain mix, alfalfa, grain hay, minerals and clover from pasture. Leaves and shrubs and weeds will affect the taste.
Some does also just have very bitter "goaty" milk and these not much you can do to fix it.
If you have other does, go around and taste their milk, some have sweet milk, some have almost tasteless milk, some have horrid milk, and some is slightly bitter or goaty


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## Little-Bits-N-Pieces (Apr 7, 2013)

If it was something they ate from browse it should be out of their system in a few days to a week.
It shouldn't be from the grain, as its a sweet feed, it should, if anything make it taste somewhat better.


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