Not Enough Milk

Ernie · #1 06/07/08, 04:56 PM

From my Nubian doe I'm getting about 3/4ths of a quart of milk per session. It's good quality, but it's just not as much as I'd hoped. I don't have a lot of experience with Nubians, and I understand they're supposed to give less milk (but with higher cream content) but exactly how much should I be getting from her?

sungirl · #2 06/07/08, 05:49 PM

First off I can't really tell you anything because you forgot ALOT of info.
1. What State do you live in? (Heat affects milk producion.)
2. What are you feeding her?
3. Is she in pasture or drylot?
4. How old is she?
5. This would be her ____ time milking.

Patty.

Ernie · #3 06/07/08, 05:56 PM

Ah, ok ... here's the info requested:

1. Illinois. It's been moderately warm here. Ranging from 70-90
2. She's on pasture with a little grain.
3. Pasture.
4. She's about 18 months old.
5. This is her first time milking.

I'm trying to decide if we should keep her or phase her out.

sungirl · #4 06/07/08, 07:11 PM

Did you milk her or let her raise her kids? What do you mean by "lilttle grain?" I give just over 1 1/2 pounds per 3 pounds of milk. (With the smallest amount being 1 pound.)

I would try her again this coming spring. She is still young and may be a bit thin so keep trying. No use selling her now & finding out she became a gallon+ milker.

Patty.

DQ · #5 06/07/08, 07:46 PM

how is her condition? parasite managment? how far into her lactation is she? did she kid on your property of did you buy her "in milk" ? are you seperating kids out at night to milk or are they not in the picture? sorry about all the questions but there are ALOT of factors to take into account.

grain isn't necessarily a make or break with the milk production from my recent experience and many accounts from others but alfalfa is a huge milk maker. if she is not getting any alfalfa I would bet that is your major problem. second would be parasites, disease or poor genetic potential for milk production. work her up to 4lbs of alfalfa pellets per day. don't jack up her grain without the alfalfa because you will mess with the ph/ca ratio in her diet and it will only compromise her milk production capability further . if you suspect worms due to her condition do a fecal and check for parasites. she also must have a good loose mineral available to her if not that would be a huge factor too.

LomahAcres · #6 06/07/08, 07:53 PM

Yes, how far into her lactation is she?

My nubs will average a gallon a day, but I consider that a little low, I'd like to see 1 to 1 1/2 gallons a day. For a FF more like 2 - 4 quarts a day.

Ernie · #7 06/07/08, 08:25 PM

She's almost a year into lactation, so maybe she's winding down. Plus she hasn't been milked as regularly as I would have wanted. She started out as a problem goat with a very poor attitude towards being milked. She's settled down since then, but it made for infrequent milking (we'd just turn her kids in with her instead of putting up with her nonsense).

For rations, she gets about 1 pound of grain per day while she's being milked. It's mostly just to keep her settled down. This time of year I don't worry about their diet too much. She's not in a drylot nor a true hay pasture, but rather out in a 4 acre field where she has everything from wild hemp to three types of clover to feed on. She and all the other goats have put on weight rapidly since March.

Thanks for the responses. I feel like now if we just work with her some more and then perhaps this coming year when we breed her again she'll come up to par. Her teats have certainly improved and gotten much easier to milk with my big ol' man-hands.

A gallon a day is on par with other milkers, so I'm going to rethink the ol' Nubian experiment. I do really enjoy the creaminess of the milk.

sungirl · #8 06/07/08, 08:35 PM

If she is almost a year in milking that can and most times will lower milk produced. Being a young goat as herself I would dry her up and try again in the spring. Milking regularly is very important, milking at 5pm one night and then milking at 3pm then 7 the next night is messing up her. She won't know when milking time is.

Patty.

Ernie · #9 06/07/08, 09:04 PM

We did really poorly at being consistent. I just "let it go" more times than not and only now, here at the end of her run am I really getting the hang of it and working it into the schedule of everything else I've got going on.

The plan is to dry her up at the end of summer, then breed her this fall. We'll see how she does this year. For the rest of the summer I'll just take the little bit of milk we're getting and set it aside for soap. It's also good practice for me to get into the habit of milking regularly.