Extended lactations

minnikin1 · #1 04/04/08, 05:32 PM

How many of you try to keep a doe milking through more than one breeding season? (meaning not breeding her, no kids, just continued milking for as long as possible..)
What's the longest lactation you've had?
Are does who can do this rare?
Is it a trait that is inheritable?

copperpennykids · #2 04/04/08, 06:01 PM

We milked one of our Saanens through on accident (we thought she was bred. This was before we could send blood in to BioTracking to confirm pregnancy.)
Titania milked 20 months and was giving just over 1 gallon/day at the time we dried her up.
The following year she milked over 4200 lbs/milk. That is over 500 gallons! And she was 3 years old at the time.

I have heard of goats (usually Saanens. This might be because this is a trait they are known for or those are the folks I talk goats with , the most) that have milked 3 years straight and gave over a gallon a day the whole time. I know that Dairies will milk goats through quite frequently as they want milk, not kids. And that milk through the winter becomes a precious commodity.

Whether it is breed or line specific, I'm not sure. I do know that I sold a nice doeling to a gal in California and they milked this doe (Cambria), for 22 months and then dried her up. They didn't breed her again, and she came into milk 4 months later in the Spring and was giving 1 1/2 gallons/day. This doe loved to milk!

BTW, she is 1/2 sister to Titania so I think this has lots to do with the breeding/bloodlines as well as the specific breed. Go Saanens!

ozark_jewels · #3 04/04/08, 07:01 PM

It is very definately inheritable. It is also easier to milk the swiss breeds through as a general rule.
I don't want to milk through as I *really* like my two months off!

Alice In TX/MO · #4 04/04/08, 07:50 PM

The Alpine we got from OzarkJewels is still going pretty strong. She kidded in February of 2007.

According to the Biotracking bloodwork, she's not pregnant, but I'm looking at her waistline and wondering. We may go ahead and dry Orange off when we wean Princess's babies and have more milk from her.

pookshollow · #5 04/04/08, 09:07 PM

My big Saanen milked for 13 months her first lactation, when we dried her up (with great difficulty) two months before kidding. I didn't breed her for this year, (she kidded in July last year) so we'll see how long she goes - I expect I'll have to dry her up before kidding, when I do breed her this fall.

My little "wrong-side-of-the tracks" grade Alpine FF kidded one year ago tomorrow and is still milking. I cut her back to once a day several months ago, but she's still giving over a litre a day. I'll be interested to see how her SaanenX daughter milks when I breed her.

NYSaanen · #6 04/04/08, 09:10 PM

We now always choose one doe to milk through. We did not do it our first year, and having to go out and buy milk about killed me. There is nothing scientific about it on our part. When it comes to breeding time, we look at who is milking strong, and has the potential to milk through well for us. Sometimes one seems like she could use the break (no kids).

I don't know if the ability to milk through is rare, but I think you will find it is more common among the Swiss breeds.

I read somewhere that 60% of goats on the 305 day milk test (who are usually good milkers understandably) don't even produce the full 305 days. So if 60% of the best milkers don't make it 305 days, what are the chances for the rest of them? Maybe it is rarer than I thought.

lonelyfarmgirl · #7 04/06/08, 04:33 AM

I think I probably could have milked one of my alpines through. at the end of february I dryed her off (shes due in may), and she had been flat lined for a long time at 3qts a day. Im sure if I would have kept going, so would have she.

BlueHeronFarm · #8 04/06/08, 07:20 AM

In all my reading I got the impression it was not going to be possible with our Nubians. I had really only heard of Saanens and occasional Alpines, etc.

I have since talked to a few more people about this and there are definitely Nubian folk doing this. We are going to try this year. We'll see, come September/October, who is still really milking well and try it with a few. If it doesn't work, we will have to find milkers come Spring.

As a micro-dairy - we can't afford several open does, so this year it will only be a few that we try.

I would be much happier not to kid out every doe, every year.