How do you dry up dairy goats?

[Bricheze]

I thought you just stopped milking them and they dried up naturally... but my teacher says we are supposed to milk them and just leave a little more each time so they stop producing as much or something... lol I'm confused.

[copperpennykids]

We dry up our Saanens by

1) Milk once a day. Milk completely out.

2) Put on grass hay

3) Reduce grain to about 3/4 of normal

4) After a week of this, we just stop milking completely. No more grain for a week or so and grass hay only.

Please note that we milk our girls until 3 months bred - so once they are dried up, we only have 6 weeks or so before they kid, so they are put back on alfalfa and start getting grained again.

If you are drying them up long before their kidding date, then you may need to leave them on grass/no grain longer, depending of course on their condition. You do want to start them back on alfalfa at least 60 days before they kid and start on the grain as well to provide energy and prepare their rumen for their grain ration once they are in milk.

ALWAYS milk a goat out completely. You are just begging for mastitis to leave the milk in. Reducing the milkings is a much safer way to go.

[Bricheze]

Thanks a ton for the info, I'm drying them up early this year because of school and I don't have enough time to deal with the milk.