Maximum duration of milking cycle

A doe will adjust to any care. Continue milking her, she will have normal lactation cycles just as if she had kidded, increasing in the spring, and declining with the daylight length in the fall. But do breed her before you decide to dry her up. Vicki

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Vicki McGaugh
Nubian Soaps
North of Houston TX
www.etsy.com/shop/nubiansoaps

A 3 decade dairy goat farm homestead that is now a retail/wholesale soap company and construction business.

pooks, so you can be already milking a goat and it can STILL be bred at that time also? How odd. You'd think her body would assume she's still nursing and not allow another breeding. So much for goat contraception! LOL

I guess I need to go to that fiascogoats site again and read up on breeding, etc.

DD

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"The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese in the trap."

Of course we know that many many humans become pregnant while still nursing a baby

We would be in big trouble in the cattle industry, if our cows would not breed while they had nursing calves We expect our cattle to be bred back w/in a few months of calving (after all, gestation is 9 months!). We strive for a calf on the ground as close to every 12 months as possible. A healthy cow should have no problem with this. Cows not in good condition will of course not start cycling as early as those in good condition and the 12 month program gets longer.

If you expect to have your doe kid about the same time every year, and considering the 5 month gestation period, then you figure you can breed her back month 7 after kidding and continue to milk to month 10, then 2 months off milking and then kidding again month 12 It is a neat-cut program on paper at least and something to strive for.

And we all know about the best laid plans of mice and men - don't we?

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"Crivens!"

Half Caper Farm - breeding Saanens, Boers and Nigerian Dwarfs

LOL I was thinking that, but thought it might be different for goats.

Huh, so ya learn something new every day. I didn't know they bred dairy cows while they were still nursing either. Never gave it that much thought as to how they managed with that. I just assumed they weaned the calves young and then rebred the cows.

So, if you can milk right through a pregnancy, why do you stop milking 2 months before birth? Is that to allow the colostrum to form for the kid? What happens to the doe's milk if you did that? Wouldn't it be like a abrupt drying up?

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"The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese in the trap."

Just because you can, doesn't mean you should. Those last two months of gestation is when the kids do the most growing, so the doe is putting an awful lot of herself into the kids. If she's producing milk as well, that's putting stress on her body. She needs that time off to help her gain some condition and build up her reserves. She deserves a vacation too, you know!

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"Crivens!"

Half Caper Farm - breeding Saanens, Boers and Nigerian Dwarfs