Milking through - increase in production

are there any breeds that are more susepticle (sp?) to miking on? Or is it pretty much an individual doe thing?

http://www.helium.com/items/1351857-goat-breed-lamancha Article mentioning the Lamancha and milking on.
http://www.dairygoatjournal.com/issu.../Tim_King.html extended lactation in dairy goats

I have two lamancha does and am milking one on. She is still a solid 2-3 quarts a day. She'll go down to 2 quarts when she is wanting the buck and not eating as much. So I will see how she holds up through next winter. She's a first freshener. They are so laid back, it doesn't matter if my milking schedule is irratic. I don't let them get too full of milk though. Lamanchas are great in my opinion.

I have a grade doe Alpine that I'm going to try this on. Her kids are not valuable to me the way the 100% does are, but she does provide a lot of milk. She is due to freshen in another week and I'm not going to breed her this fall/winter, so we'll see how she does by next summer. I wish I had milk records from last year so I could compare.
edited to add- this doe is currently dry so I guess I will be "milking on" next winter with an unbred doe

Just my opinion, but I don't think milking through the five months of a pregnancy could be healthy for the doe. She needs the two month break from milking to build her calcium reserves and grow the kid. I think you'd be setting her up for hypocalcemia (milk fever) and losing the doe.

I know there have been cases of it happening when someone didn't realize the doe was pregnant, but I don't think it would be a good management practice.

I think the best solution would be staggered breeding. Breed one doe every couple of months. That way, when one is dried off the others are still producing.

Just my dos pesos.

__________________
Alice
* * *
"No great thing is created suddenly." ~Epictitus

We thought about milking a doe through once but when mentioned to a vet got ripped a new one. I see both sides of the story, but would consider it for one of my does.

We have also milked one for our goats milking on and she was giving a gallon so thought that there was no need to dry her, bred her, just to get the same gallon. It worked well for us.

Been here a short time and have learned so much, you guys are awesome!

Very true! I thought the same, but when I saw the title to this thread I thought we were talking milking thru pregnancy! Definantly some good thoughts there! I would almost bet it would be no bueno for the doe! Won't be doing that! lol. But I will definantly look into milking on with one while rebreeding one and after the newly bred doe freshens, breed the other.

Ah, now I understand. You interpreted it as "milking through the pregnancy." But it's "milking through the years." Easy to see where the confusion came in.

Cocoa, the one I'm milking through now, is still increasing. She's approaching three quarts per day now.

The second kidding took place yesterday with her herdmate, Orange the Alpine Herd Queen. I saw an increase in Cocoa's production this morning.

This is such a wonderful experiment!

__________________
Alice
* * *
"No great thing is created suddenly." ~Epictitus

My two cents worth - I have a French Alpine doe that I have milked for two years without breeding back, twice now. I dry her up before next kidding. Her kids are valuable to me, but her milk in the winter is more valuable. The first time I milked her through with a calf to do the winter milking, weaned him in March and took over the job. After milking 22 months, she was still milking 4 quarts a day, but I wanted her to have a two month break before kidding again. Second time, her top production was probably 6 quarts a day, and she was still giving three quarts a day in January when I sent her to someone else's farm so that I could attend my Dad's funeral. She came home only milking one quart a day, and I didn't get that one more batch of cheese that I wanted, but that is OK. That goat is due again in three weeks and I am looking forward to some nice kids. If she has a doeling, it is already spoken for.

__________________
Eunice

Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass...
It's about learning to dance in the rain.

I have an Alpine doe who just wouldn't conceive. She kidded last in 2006; in summer 2009 she was still giving nearly a gallon a day (much less in the winters between). Her milk yield rose each spring whether or not her companion doe kidded.
I think I got her bred this year, and she dried herself off pretty effectively starting 10 weeks fro her due date, whereas when I bred her after only a year I had to struggle to dry her off between 6 and 8 weeks from her due date.

Wow! THAT is a long time milking!!

A lady who bought a Saanen from my GF milked her Saanen doe for 5 years straight, without rebreeding her. She was giving 1 gallon/day when she sold her at 8 years of age. She would decrease in the winter - about 3 quarts - and come right back to 1 gallon when Spring came.

Milk was more important than kids to her, even though the doe was a well-bred registered Saanen.

__________________
Camille
Copper Penny Ranch
Copper Penny Boer Goats (home of 4 National Champions, 4 Reserve Champions)
Copper Penny Pyrenees
Whey-to-Go Saanens


www.copper-penny-ranch.com