Milking Frequency?

[LoneStrChic23]

Does the frequency of milking effect production?

Tootsie's production has been sporadic. She's still not eating all her grain, usually only half and is still calling to her baby. On mornings that he doesn't throw a fit she finishes the most grain and milks the most. On the mornings he decides to throw a raging fit, milk production is down and she doesn't eat her grain on the stand.....

IMO, no way to solve this until he's gone so I won't complain and I'm working on a solution to remedy the problem...

At this point I'm just happy that she's being good on the stand As long as I'm talking to her she'll stand there without fidgeting or fussing, if I stop talking she'll move a little and look at me.......lol So I guess in exchange for good behavior, I must entertain her..... lol

Anywho, I usually milk at 7:30am and 7:30pm...give or take 10 minutes.

Yesterday, we had some stuff come up and didn't have anyone to be here to milk, so I milked her out at 3:00 to keep her from being uncomfortable just in case we didn't make it home in time for milking...When we left we thought we wouldn't be home until after 9:00pm.

Well we got home at 7:45pm, and I milked her when we came in....

This morning I miked at 7:45am and her production was WAY up! 2 pounds, 14.5 ounces!!! She's never miked that at one milking...usually a hair under 2lbs or a hair over depending on how her kid is acting....

Could the extra milking be responsible? If I start milking 3x's a day will it up her production? Or was this morning a fluke?

Honestly at this point I'm not hugely concerned with production...... I can't expect fabulous production when she's stressed by hearing her kid and hasn't eaten even a full pound of grain a day for a week, but it is fun to watch the scale numbers climb (the only time I ever like to see a big scale #, lol)

But after this mornings weight it made me curious. My husband worked on a dairy when we were dating (cows) and they milked 4x's a day...

Oh a side note that made me laugh....My kids have been bugging me to try goats milk, but with teaching Tootsie to be good on the stand and the occasional kicked jar and such, I've just been bringing the milk in, pasteurizing it and feeding it to Sam.

This morning I was uber careful with the milk, filtered it and got it in an ice bath fast. Poured the kids a glass...

My son looked at my daughter and said "Shayla, lets take a sip first at the same time, then I'll decide what to do." lol

After that, he said "Okay, lets take a big drink when I count to 3"

Then they both looked at me, kind of disappointed, and at the same time said "Mom...it just taste like milk but maybe a lil sweeter" :smiley-laughing013:

Don't know what they were expecting, but they built up to this big deal and it was all anti-climatic!! LOL Silly kids

[prairiedog]

Yes the extra milking wil increase her production faster however the twice a day will get there too. The best thing is to be as consistant as possible with the times. It is real hard at a busy place to work in three milkings a day all the time.

[prairiedog]

How old is the kid? Is he on a bottle at all? If so feed him just before milking and maybe he will be quieter.

[LoneStrChic23]

Oh the kid is completly separated from her, 50ft away and out of sight. He's freezer camp bound, but is my needed temporary companion for the bottle buck I bought. He was born in December and has been separated for almost 2 weeks...

I consider him an uncontrollable factor at this moment, don't blame Tootsie for her behavior and will just deal with it until I can get my bottle baby's other companion here so this one can go to freezer camp.

Currently I'm home on leave of absence from work, and I don't go anywhere extra because I can't afford the stinking gas, lol So I could easily milk 3x's a day without a problem...

[CaliannG]

The more often you milk, the more she will produce. And sometimes, that can be a good thing, sometimes, not so much.

I had a doe once that produced 2.7 lbs per milking...period. She produced that 2.7 lbs per milking whether you milked her twice a day or 5 times a day. It was terribly frustrating. ~smiles~

[Gaby Rose]

I don't really have any advice about the milking. I like the questions you asked because I'll probably be there soon. I love the story about your children. I'm glad they liked the milk!