Lets talk about goats!

[Diannastarr]

awww i loved my pure bred Saanen goat named wimmzy ,I got her from a goat dairy, in CT. she was still milking when i got her, they are the best goats , very sweet, and gives the most milk , i got her for $100.00 since the other goats were mean to her, the farmer told me , thats why he was willing to sell her to a good home wile she was still giving milk, it was coming onto winter and was really cold, and wimmzy was the only goat in her small barn she shared with the chickens & geese , so I made my down jacket into a nice warm coat with a hood for my little wimmzy....lol... ,and she was so much warmer with her blue down jacket on ...lol.. i found a Toggenburg goat to keep her company , but soon her milk was running out and we had her bred to a beautiful Nubian owned my sister in law so in the spring wimmzy had twin kids, a male & female, they both went to good homes, the female kid was going to be a milk goat & the male kid was going to be a lawn mower....lol... & i found a good home for the toggenburg goat she was a hand full..! a very spunky goat indeed ..!! that loved to get into my car...lol... & she ate all my mail one day....lol. geezzzer bills and all.....lol.... so after the kids went to their new homes wimmzy gave us over 1 gallon of milk a day, I raised my 5 kids on her fresh raw milk ,it was around that time that I met a family of farmers from Switzerland at the feed store, they told me how the swiss people raised their goats , so they didn't have to breed their goats every year if they were raised the swiss way which helped to keep the milk going, i did what they told me & my wimmzy gave us a good amount of milk for a very long time , the lowest her milk went down to was about 2 quarts a day, it was around that time, my wimmzy was still milking, when i gave her to that same swiss family ,they promised me they would keep her into her old age & would retire her out to pasture when her milking days were over. they were very kind to all their animals & they had a beautiful farm in CT. and i knew she was going to a very good home, then we moved to FLA, I kept tabs on wimmzy in her new home & they told me she was still giving them milk for a year after , and she lived for many happy years , retired out to pasture with 2 older goats,

so yes i would recommend saanen goats to any one...!!!! but i must admit the Nubian goats are really cute to....lol..

 

[Findtex]

Kids do amazing things.

 

[LightningTFarm]

Dianastarr, what was the Swiss secret of keeping them in milk without breeding them?

 

[Stacykins]

Dianastarr, what was the Swiss secret of keeping them in milk without breeding them?

There is no secret that keeps them in milk without breeding, other than superior milking genetics and proper nutrition. Some does can go for years between freshenings because they are so difficult to dry up, but they are not the norm. There is a reason breeding a goat is called "freshening", their milk supply is refreshed.

 

[Diannastarr]

o gosh that was when i was in my 20's in the 1970's & i cant remember since I had 2 strokes a few years back, im ok now but some memories are gone, i hope that info could be looked up on line , but those Swiss farmers were older even back then in the 1970's and knew the old ways of the Swiss people and the secret was all about what they fed & how they did that... I remember I followed what they told me to the letter..!! it was all written down on a recipe i hung in my barn , their recipe for success and it really worked...! but that formula escapes me in now in 2014 sorry , I wish I could remember & if i could i would get more saanen goats ....lol...

i found a saanen breeder not far from were I live here in AZ , but i do remember there was some thing about using the best oats in that mix ...?? dang

 

[RTFchickens]

This thread doesn't see a ton of activity. Last post was 18 days ago...
I have a milking question/dilemma. I have 6 ND goats 4 yearling doe, and 2 bucklings. My yearlings have never kidded, but we are hoping to breed to kid in spring. We are new to goats (July) and due to family medical reasons, we needed a doe in milk. So the breeder that I purchased most of the others from had a doe in milk she was willing to sell. She is a first freshener and only milking about 1&1/2 to 3 cups per day. She is only milking once a day due to her prior owners busy schedule, and lack of need for the milk. She was just feeding the milk to her dogs etc.
my by big question is this: can I increase her production by milking twice a day or even increasing down the line to three times?
I don't know if goats resemble humans, but when I was nursing and working I would pump after I nursed to increase my production. Being a working mom, my body couldn't always adjust to growth spurts when away from baby so long. Is goat milk similar? More "pumping" or milking can increase the milk supply?
Thank you for any input!

 

[ChickyChickens]

This thread doesn't see a ton of activity. Last post was 18 days ago...
I have a milking question/dilemma. I have 6 ND goats 4 yearling doe, and 2 bucklings. My yearlings have never kidded, but we are hoping to breed to kid in spring. We are new to goats (July) and due to family medical reasons, we needed a doe in milk. So the breeder that I purchased most of the others from had a doe in milk she was willing to sell. She is a first freshener and only milking about 1&1/2 to 3 cups per day. She is only milking once a day due to her prior owners busy schedule, and lack of need for the milk. She was just feeding the milk to her dogs etc.
my by big question is this: can I increase her production by milking twice a day or even increasing down the line to three times?
I don't know if goats resemble humans, but when I was nursing and working I would pump after I nursed to increase my production. Being a working mom, my body couldn't always adjust to growth spurts when away from baby so long. Is goat milk similar? More "pumping" or milking can increase the milk supply?
Thank you for any input!

You could increase her food and then just keep on milking more! This might stimulate the udder to produce more milk!

 

[H Diamond]

There are a lot of factors that play into this answer. How long she has been in milk, how long she's been on one a day how much she milks normally twice a day, etc. Generally when you move a doe in milk, her production drops, sometimes for good for that lactation, and sometimes she can pick back up.
Provided she has a smooth transition, isn't towards the end of a normal (not a milk through) lactation, and you provide her with plenty of protein, there is a decent chance she might pick up a little bit. I wouldn't put my money on it though.
Even at the top end... is 3 cups of milk a day worth the cost of the doe nd the hassle?

 

[RTFchickens]

Normally I would not purchase a doe in milk only milking 3 cups a day, but considering my options of either buying a milk share, or waiting for my current goats to kid and lactate. I don't have much choice. My daughter has delayed gastric emptying among other things. This goat milk so far has been easy for her to digest.
This first freshener kidded this past spring, she has been milking only once a day for a long while now. I don't know how much she produces twice a day since I don't have her yet.
I hope to let you know in a few days how much I can milk.
Thank you for the input!

 

[chicken farmer2]

What kind of feed do you feed your dairy goat when there dry, in milk and pregant im looking to get a couple dairy goats either nubians or alpines. How much do you feed your goat a day, they will have a pasture and will have hay.