When should you start milking after the kids are born?

[Angie]

I have 3 does who all kidded in the past 2 days (hows that for timing?) I saw a thread where someone said to milk them so their udders are not tight. What is the rule for milking them now? 2 have twins and 1 has triplets. The ones with twins have larger, tighter udders. I always make sure the kids are nursing but they don't seem to eat much right now. How long do I wait for the colostrum to be gone? Do I milk them in the a.m. and p.m.?

[DocM]

For dam raised kids, this is what I generally do.

First, I always pull the third (smallest kid) of multiples and bottle feed. If you think they're all getting a sufficient amount, do what you think is best.

I always milk the dams out completely after the kids have nursed the first time. The colostrum goes in the freezer for a time I may need it. The dams make plenty more for the babies. I let my dam raised kids nurse on demand and milk the dams (not out completely) twice a day, because the kids are generally not able to consume all the milk, it gets the dams used to being milked on a schedule, and because I usually have kids that are being bottle fed. Adjust as necessary to ensure the kids are getting plenty but the dams are never tight. They'll make more milk, and by requiring more "demand", they'll produce more milk. By three weeks, the kids should be on some creep feed and can go 12 hours without mom. So, starting at three weeks, the kids are separated from mom at about 7 at night, and mom is milked out completely at 7 AM. Usually around 6-8 weeks, the dam can be milked in the evening too, after the kids are separated from her. Buck kids are separated from mom at 12 weeks (and from the other doelings). I don't wean, I let mom do it. I let my doe kids continue to nurse during the day until mom doesn't let them anymore, or until mom is bred and doesn't need the leech sucking away her nutrients. At that time, I do separate them completely. This way, I get plenty of milk, and the kids get plenty of milk.

In general, the taste of colostrum should be gone after a week, although that's a general idea. I have does with nasty milk for nearly a month, and another that has sweet milk after 3-4 days.

As for how often to milk them, milk them as often as you need to keep their udders supple and even. Sometimes kids will only nurse on one side. Just keep an eye on them.

[Angie]

I just checked them. The one with trips has a very small udder and teats. They nursed till it was gone. The other one is very lopsided, I guess the milk on that one side is better. Should I worm the mothers? Safeguard? Orally? How much?

[deafgoatlady]

If the udder is lopsided and I would milk her out. Becuz u dont want that happened.. U know.. Yes I would worm mothers. Not safegaurd. Safeguard only takes care of tapeworms.. I would use cydentic(sp?) or invermtic( sp?). I dont use the chemical wormers so I dont know how to spell it LOL. I use herbal wormer that I made my own and sells them too.. LOL..

[ozark_jewels]

Originally Posted by Angie

I just checked them. The one with trips has a very small udder and teats. They nursed till it was gone. The other one is very lopsided, I guess the milk on that one side is better. Should I worm the mothers? Safeguard? Orally? How much?

I milk all dairy does twice a day to keep them even and keep their production up. I check kid tummies before doing this to be sure I am not robbing the kids.
I would worm the does with Cydectin Cattle Pour-On. Give it *ORALLY* to your goats. 1 cc per 25 lbs as it says on the box.

[collegeboundgal]

I milk the day they kid. if kids are going to be bottle fed, the first bottle they get is the colstrum. doe's don't even lick the kids off. they (doe's) bond w/ me. they see me as their kid so don't get upset when it's milking time. this way, you can make sure all kids get the amt of milk they need and momma's udder is milked out and checked for injury/disease.

-Melissa