# Milk production- FF Nigie and first time milker. Bad combo??



## cbrossard (Oct 4, 2014)

I have a Nigerian Dwarf goat who just had her first kids on November 28 (triplet bucklings). I started milking her once a day (penning the kids at night) when they were about 2 weeks old. I milked for a week or so, then stopped for a week or so because one of the boys was not doing too well after being disbudded, so I didn't want to separate them... Anyway, I have been milking again for a few days now and I am pretty consistently getting a 1/2 cup. She is pretty good on the stand, but fidgets a bit and then eventually won't let me milk any more (although her udder is not empty) after 10 or 15 minutes (I think). Her teats are small and I think her orifices are small, but I have nothing to compare it to, since I have never milked anything prior to this experience! Her dam had an award winning udder and was milking at least 2 cups per milking when I bought my doe (although that was her 2nd freshening) 

So what do you all think? Should I keep on keeping on, and eventually it will improve? Is there something I need to do differently? Is this typical for a first time milker/milkee combo??

Thanks for the advice... feeling kind of lame with my 1/2 cup in my quart jars! Ha!


Chelsea


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## harleybarley (Sep 15, 2014)

If your doe could make what her mom was making - 4 cups per day, 8 oz. per cup, 32 oz total - her kids could easily drink all of that (10 oz each). FFs don't usually reach their dam's production level. If mom thinks the kids _need_ the milk, she's going to save it for them. Sounds like she decided that 4 oz. was a good "tithe" to the barn owner, and the rest goes to her family.

Personally, I wouldn't milk a doe with only 2-lb milking potential until her kids were well started on hay and grain. 10 oz/day isn't much milk for growing kids. When they're 2-3 months old, mom can spare more for you.


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## emilieanne (Oct 15, 2012)

Just keep on keeping on! 
Milking one time a day & the babies not nursing much, can cause her to dry up but if they are nursing enough, she can be consistent.
If you're wanting to milk, have you considered finishing them on whole cows milk (in a bottle) and milking her 2-3 times a day? 

With nigi's you always get less milk, then with an FF, that cuts down more. 

Hope that helps!


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## cbrossard (Oct 4, 2014)

Thank you for your input. I should add that she is only nursing 2 of the boys as she rejected the 3rd, so he is on a bottle. Also, I am planning to sell the other boys at 2 months, so that the new owner can finish them on the bottle. 

That makes sense, that she wouldn't have much milk to spare me, when she has 2 growing boys to feed! But she always seems to have plenty more milk in her when I stop milking... she just loses patience with me.


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## harleybarley (Sep 15, 2014)

Been there. I'd milk every drop I could get (for a bottle baby), never enough, she was surely empty - and she'd step right over to her other kids and give them a HEALTHY meal. I would get so mad. They had all day's milk! The milk I got was all the goat's milk the bottle baby would have all day!

But that goat was smarter than me. She just wasn't making enough to share yet. She gave me what she had to give, and when she had more to give, she gave me all of it with plenty of love. 

You can try to get more from her. Bump her bag several times (watch the kids - bump the front, but not as hard as kids do). Make milking time super-calm. As prey animals, they hold back milk if they're scared (don't want junior nursing when a mastodon is hot on your heels) or tense. Do extended udder prep before milking (lots of gentle, massaging cleansing with a warm cloth). Keep at it while she gets used to it. But keep an eye out to be sure the kids are getting enough.


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## harleybarley (Sep 15, 2014)

It can be pretty hard to convince a dam-raised kid to take a bottle.


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## cbrossard (Oct 4, 2014)

Thanks for the tips harleybarley and for sharing your experience! It's not that I cant get more milk out of her, just that she doesn't want to stand any more :\ I think the boys are getting plenty as they are growing like weeds!

I didn't think they would be able to switch to a bottle either, but I am new at this, and since the buyer is a goat person, I assumed she knew... but maybe she doesn't! If they won't take a bottle, I will just keep them longer. 

I am not too concerned about getting a huge quantity of milk. I just want it to throw in when I am cooking and make some cheese for my family. I would be happy with a cup a day! But it doesn't look like I will be getting that


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## emilieanne (Oct 15, 2012)

At 2 months they should be pretty close to weaning! 
But some do not wean for a while after that. 

If they don't take to the bottle, and that requires about 1-2 days of seeing and they're still not eating grain & drinking from a bucket, then yes go ahead and put them back on mom. 

But make sure you take your time trying to bottle feed!


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## ciwheeles (Apr 5, 2013)

I would just leave the kids alone rather than try to bottle feed. It's a big hassle on the kids and dam to try at this point and your kids are only a few weeks away from being weaned anyway.

Orifices will never change in size. Teats may change a little bit, but they may just get a little bit longer as she nurses future kids. The best thing you can do is either start separating the kids at night to see what she has for production, or wait until after they're weaned. But, I wouldn't make any real judgments on production till then. It's a pretty good sign though that she has leftover milk even after feeding her kids.


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