Some advice for a new mother goat and milking

[Chaseb4]

Hey everybody, so I posted a few months ago about a new dairy goat we got a few months back and how we were told that she was pregnant. Well 2 nights ago she gave birth to one cute baby and she appears to be in good health. The question I have is with the mother. The baby appears to be nursing as she is energetic, going to the bathroom and we have seen her nurse. However her moms utters are huge and her nipples are red an she looks uncomfortable. Iam not sure if we should milk her or what because it appears she is making much more milk than what one baby can drink. Will she adjust to the amount of milk she needs to make? Maybe we have been a little paranoid about this because we want everything to go great but I was just wondering if anybody had some experience with this and maybe some ideas on what to do. Thanks

 

[Alaskan]

Did you want the mother to be a milk goat?

In which case, definitely milk her.

If you do not want her to be a milk goat, then milk her just a little, so that she is not quite as swollen. You do not want to let her udder get hard and red.

After a week or two of milking just barely enough so that her udder is not hard and red, her production should have decreased enough so that you do not have to keep milking her.


Just a note... if you milk her dry, especially if you milk her dry 2 times a day, or even more often, then her milk production will increase.

if you let her udder get completely hard and red and swollen, she might develop an infection or issue.. so not good either

if you let her stay always a bit full (but not hard and red), then her body will slowly produce less milk without and medical complications

 

[uchytil]

There are some good websites dedicated to goat husbandry. One of my favorites is Fiasco Farms. Just google it. Also there is a member on BYC that lives in Michigan screen name Stacykins. She is a good resource for information.