# Feeding a lactating doe



## Nigerian dwarf goat (Sep 25, 2017)

Okay, so Baby kidded trips on May 9th, and i started milking her about 2 weeks after that. I had to stop around the 4th of July to go to a wedding in Arizona, because i cant find anyone who will milk for me when I am gone. I am still not milking her because of another family trip we were supposed to take, but never did. I am planning to start milking her on Monday, but have been putting her on the stand for a few weeks and pretending to milk her to get her used to it, and to feed her the extras that the milkers get. *She is still nursing one of her babies*
So, i have been feeding her:
1/2 c whole oats 2 x / day
1/2 c steamed barley 2 x / day
1/8 c pumpkin seeds (for natural deworming) 1 x / day
a pinch of BOSS 1 x / day
3 tbs of fiberpsyll https://www.valleyvet.com/ct_dethttps://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail.html?pgguid=faf8e624-3f72-440c-9b5d-806ec8b80c65ail.html?pgguid=faf8e624-3f72-440c-9b5d-806ec8b80c65 (Mine has no probiotics) 2 x / day
2 tbs calf manna 2 x / day
free choice alfalfa and grass hay
1 tsp of kelp meal in her feed once/day (I don't give it free choice because it is $$$ and nobody likes it) 1 x / day
Graze / Browse

she also gets 
Cargill onyx free choice
Replamin every other day for another week, then once weekly after that
Cobalt lick
Redmond block
trace mineral block
I will be getting Sweetlix soon

So, is there anything i could be giving her to boost milk production? Anything i could give that has more protein? this is her 2nd freshening and she makes about a mason jar and a half every day. (i only milk one time a day because that is what my life schedule allows me to) but i know she can make more than that... she has before. I cant wean her kid off right now because she was always fought of the teat by her 2 brothers, and so i want her to nurse until she is 4 1/2 - 5 months to grow and build her immune system.

@goathiker @Damfino


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## Nigerian dwarf goat (Sep 25, 2017)

@mariarose @Sfgwife @ScottE @healthyishappy
I know the call-outs may not be working


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## Sfgwife (Feb 18, 2018)

Just milk her every day. Separate the kid at night so you have mornin milk. She may not increase her production now though. You have to keep on milkin to keep up that demand. I understand life happens and you did what you had do. It could help to let the other kids nurse for a few days BUT then you gotta start the weanin of them all over again. So in the end that is a pain that i would not do. So for this freshening you might just only get that mason jar of milk esp this late in the game. My nigi is only giftin me not quite a quart now... but she is six months fresh and this is normal for her. 

You can slowly increase her grain amount and that might help. When mine are in milk they get as much grain as they want to eat while i am milkin. Mine get it twice a day. Just a bit over a cup is not a whole lot for makin milk.... or not for mine anyway. The “formula” is a pound of grain for a pound of milk made. So yours is gettin about a pound of grain and gifting you about that much in milk really.


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## mariarose (Oct 23, 2014)

Nothing will make milk like demand will make milk. Until you milk her more, she won't make more.


Nigerian dwarf goat said:


> 3 tbs of fiberpsyll


I don't see this as helpful. No real nutrition and takes up room that should be filled with good alfalfa


Nigerian dwarf goat said:


> 2 tbs calf manna 2 x / day


Unless she's severely underweight, I don't see this as helpful in making milk either.


Nigerian dwarf goat said:


> 1 tsp of kelp meal in her feed once/day (I don't give it free choice because it is $$$ and nobody likes it) 1 x / day


So, don't buy this after you are finished with it, or better yet, put it in your garden to help mineralize your garden soil and plants. With all you are feeding, and all the salt they have available, you don't have to force this expensive non treat.


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## healthyishappy (Mar 6, 2019)

The only thing I know to do is just milk her the best you can on a schedule.
But I did find this if she has the demand she should produce. I found this product:http://www.fiascofarm.com/herbs/mollysherbals.php/products/momilk
Never used it but it has good reviews. I might try it soon as I wean my kids


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## Nigerian dwarf goat (Sep 25, 2017)

mariarose said:


> I don't see this as helpful. No real nutrition and takes up room that should be filled with good alfalfa


She just likes it, and i want it to be gone, i got it for horses a few years ago, and they didnt like it. Since then i have gotten rid of horses



mariarose said:


> Unless she's severely underweight, I don't see this as helpful in making milk either.


She had lost about 20 pounds after giving birth, so i am trying to put a little more weight on her



mariarose said:


> So, don't buy this after you are finished with it, or better yet, put it in your garden to help mineralize your garden soil and plants.


The stuff i got is actually for the garden. It is marketed as fertilizer, but it is 100% kelp meal. I am also using it in my garden as well as with the goats until it is gone. I definitley wont be buying it again. I just wanted to try it out on the goats, but it failed. I only have one goat who likes it, and i give her a handful a day.


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## mariarose (Oct 23, 2014)

Nigerian dwarf goat said:


> I only have one goat who likes it, and i give her a handful a day.


The one who likes it may actually need it. Can you just offer her a small bucket, free choice? If no one else wants it, she'll be the only one eating it.


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## Nigerian dwarf goat (Sep 25, 2017)

mariarose said:


> Can you just offer her a small bucket, free choice


Sorry. It is, i put a hand full a day and she finishes it each day. I should probably put more in there though.


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## mariarose (Oct 23, 2014)

Whatever you want to do. She just may really need it is why I said something.


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## Nigerian dwarf goat (Sep 25, 2017)

mariarose said:


> Whatever you want to do. She just may really need it is why I said something


Somewhere on here, i read red edge has the same minerals as kelp. Is that true? if it is, i would get that bc its way cheaper


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## mariarose (Oct 23, 2014)

You can get the same kind of amino acids benefits from getting a quality salt. Redmond is the best in the world, imo.
Redmond Red Edge, or Redmond Goat Mineral, is not a good mineral mix but it is an excellent salt. Great salt, Terrible choice in names.

Kelp has a higher calcium level than most salts, and a higher iodine level than most salts, but these things are easily compensated for with easily obtainable resources, at least here in the U. S.
Kelp also has a bit of a roughage factor that salt doesn't have. Again, an easy work around here in the States.

So it isn't bad to give. It just can be too expensive for the benefits, Here in the U.S.


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## Nigerian dwarf goat (Sep 25, 2017)

mariarose said:


> You can get the same kind of amino acids benefits from getting a quality salt. Redmond is the best in the world, imo.


My opinion too!


mariarose said:


> Kelp has a higher calcium level than most salts,


That is why i like to give it to the milkers. They need calcium to make milk, dont they?


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## mariarose (Oct 23, 2014)

They'll get much more calcium out of a good hay than they will out of a teaspoon of kelp...


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## Nigerian dwarf goat (Sep 25, 2017)

mariarose said:


> They'll get much more calcium out of a good hay than they will out of a teaspoon of kelp...


well, thats true lol!


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## Nigerian dwarf goat (Sep 25, 2017)

I want to start milking her today (dance)
I have been working with her for a few weeks, and she is doing so much better on the stand with me handling her udder. I have another question
I usually like to use baby wipes for their udder when i am done milking, but is is so much paper product. I have a dip cup, and was wondering if the vinegar and water mixture works to clean her up? I have only ever used baby wipes and they work for me, but i am always open to change!


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## mariarose (Oct 23, 2014)

I prefer a weak iodine solution over a vinegar solution. Vinegar needs to be at a much stronger strength to be as effective, potentially being more drying and irritating. Most of our goats require more iodine in their bodies than they require vinegar in their bodies, too. So as the skin does absorb this stuff, vinegar makes less sense than iodine.

Again, imo.


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## Nigerian dwarf goat (Sep 25, 2017)

mariarose said:


> I prefer a weak iodine solution


and what would this solution be?


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## mariarose (Oct 23, 2014)

I can get weak iodine at TSC, ready made. There's also a number of ready made teat dips there, too.


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## IHEARTGOATS (Jun 14, 2016)

Did I understand correctly that you are getting a quart and a half per day milking one time per day while she is nursing one of her kids?
You are separating the kid from mom for 12 hours?
That's pretty good.
I don't think you can feed her any better than you are.


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## Nigerian dwarf goat (Sep 25, 2017)

mariarose said:


> I can get weak iodine at TSC, ready made.


Oh, yup i have that for umbilical cords, thank you maria!!



IHEARTGOATS said:


> Did I understand correctly that you are getting a quart and a half per day milking one time per day while she is nursing one of her kids?
> You are separating the kid from mom for 12 hours?
> That's pretty good.
> I don't think you can feed her any better than you are.


I am using the one pint jars https://www.walmart.com/ip/Ball-Gla...wEUFDH012QLjtdhz_tYWvLmvOoMOBfRRoCoDEQAvD_BwE

And separating Jenny was my next question!
So, i have heard that if the kid and mom cant touch noses while separated, the kid will be rejected. Is this true?
Also, i know people usually separate their babies at night and milk in the morning, but i milk in the evening. I could change to mornings, but i would have to wake up even earlier than i usually do (5:30). i could definitley do that, but yikes! LOL! Thats early!

I milked her today and only got 1/2 a mason jar so i gave it to the dogs, but since the last time i milked her, she had 3 hungry, hungry hippos nursing and now she only has one lol! Since i started milking her today, i know her production will spike... Also, does the heat make her production drop? Last year when i was milking her in the winter (she was a FF) She was making mason jar and a half. I thought that was good for a FF feeding 2 babies with no separation. Now she was making the same feeding 3 babies, with no separation, but in 105 degrees vs 40-60 degrees. I also have her moms half sister (same dad) that gives me a gallon and her mom would give me about 3/4 gallon a day. Since then her mom has retired. I am expecting more from her than what i am getting i guess


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## mariarose (Oct 23, 2014)

Yes, heat stress will do that. But since you haven't been milking, her supply will have started to decrease to match the demand of the baby. You can't turn that around until the demand is consistently there.
If you can't separate, then you can't. Just feed well and milk daily and see what you can do. Also, since kids normally start weaning at around 3 months, the natural rhythm of lactation will be to naturally decrease. Just feed her as well as you can and milk consistently and next lactation, try not to let the milking lapse. It'll be OK.


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## Nigerian dwarf goat (Sep 25, 2017)

mariarose said:


> try not to let the milking lapse


What does this mean? Sorry lol!!


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## mariarose (Oct 23, 2014)

Nigerian dwarf goat said:


> What does this mean? Sorry lol!!


I mean the following. It helps production when this following doesn't happen.


Nigerian dwarf goat said:


> I had to stop around the 4th of July to go to a wedding in Arizona, because i cant find anyone who will milk for me when I am gone. I am still not milking her because of another family trip we were supposed to take, but never did. I am planning to start milking her


For approximately a month and a half, she's only nursed, not been milked as well.


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## Nigerian dwarf goat (Sep 25, 2017)

ok gotcha!


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## camooweal (Jun 27, 2015)

"1 tsp of kelp meal in her feed once/day (I don't give it free choice because it is $$$ and nobody likes it) 1 x / day"

We were watching a Jerry Brunetti DVD recently in which he said that animals will eat kelp more readily in the colder months. Kelp does indeed cost a few dollars but then so do vets and kelp helps keep the immune system in good shape. If an apple a day keeps the doctor away, kelp a day should keep the vet away !! 

camooweal


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## mariarose (Oct 23, 2014)

camooweal said:


> If an apple a day keeps the doctor away


Except it doesn't... Not really. Does it?


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## Dwarf Dad (Aug 27, 2017)

mariarose said:


> Except it doesn't... Not really. Does it?


Maybe organic, fresh off the tree.lol


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