low milk production

[Jubel]

My goat is giving me less and less milk. She started out giving me a gallon a day. Then went to 3 quarts. This is way more than my family needs so I went to milking once a day. Then it went a little less than 1 and half quarts, not I'm down to 1/2 quarts a day!!!! She kidded in April.

I feed her plenty of grain formax for dairy goats
plenty of water
and hay.

Her coat looks great. Infact, she looks better than when I got her.

Any ideas, oh yes the hay is just orchard grasses. Would alfafa help that much?

[Alice In TX/MO]

Alfalfa has calcium she needs to produce milk. Yes, it will help.

Milking once a day reduces production.

Also, what breed of goat is she?

[Jubel]

She is a nubian. Would pellets or alfafa hay be better?

[nehimama]

I agree with Rose on both points. Alfalfa WILL help. If you can't find good quality alfalfa hay (consistently), I'd go with the pellets. She may not like them at first, but leave a few out, and she'll eventually go for them.

Also, milk at least 2X a day, 12 hours apart. By milking her once a day, you're telling her you don't need her to produce, and she's drying up on you.

She's not an "only" goat, is she?

Good Luck, and hope you can get the production back up.

NeHi

[Jubel]

That would be sad. I have two kids from another mother. I bottle fed the babies and the sold the mom. I guess you could say I'm there mom. I thought they might have been nursing during the night, so I separated them for the night and still no difference in milk production.

Do you think I could try pellets first? I don't really care if I get any more than 1 quart a day. That's perfect for my family. I'm really enjoying the milking once a day :].

[Jubel]

How soon will a see the affects of the alfalfa pellets? One day, two days, ect.

[HollyBearFarm]

If I give my girls a big load of alfalfa I usually see results at the next milking. You could definitely try the pellets first. I use both...there's plenty of alfalfa in Oregon, but I always toss a few pellets in with their grain ration. It slows down their munching, giving me more time to be really careful with the milk.

[Vicki McGaugh TX Nubians]

Don't be giving anything a load of anything they aren't used to, you won't get more milk you will get entero or founder

Going to milking once a day is what ruined your production. Figure half the calories, half the milk coming out of the udder, and it is the first step in drying up a heavy milker.

Even though a doe starts out the year as a gallon milker she will not stay a gallon milker for the whole 10 months you milk her. They peak for about 8 weeks, then start the slow decline. Does who keep that slow decline the slowest win. It also teaches your doe that she is not expected to milk if you continue to do this, why when you depend on a doe to produce milk for your family it's important that she is a working girl and not a pet. She would have been much better off with her milk supply had you started milking once a day from the beginning if you are going to only milk once a day so early in her lactation. Vicki

[Jubel]

Good point. Would it do anything if I went back to twice a day?

[Alice In TX/MO]

If I were you, I'd milk three times per day for a week, then back to twice.

We have an Alpine who almost shut down, and now she is back up to half a gallon per day, given in two milkings of one quart each.

[vlyons]

Goats naturally decline in milk production about 5 or 6 months after kidding. You can also cut some shrubs and low hanging branches for them. Vegetable table scraps like lettuce, spinach are good.

Virginia Lyons
Able Oaks Dairy Goats
Rusk, TX