Longevity of goat's lactation?

[francismilker]

How long do you guys generally milk your goats before drying them off? I know with a cow it's about nine months. How about the goats?

[Laverne]

Generally a goat has a 10 month lactation then dried up 2 mos. before kidding. I've been milking my doe for 24 mos. straight though. Hopefully she'll just keep milking for a couple more years.

[Alice In TX/MO]

My Alpine went 22 months without being re-bred. I think the world record is nine years.

[Rockytopsis]

Good question and good answers. One more question on the subject. Do you continue feeding them the same way to milk that long?
Nancy

[Alice In TX/MO]

Yes. Good feed equals milk production.

Here's a quotation and the link to the whole article:
Segal's current does exemplify this unusual philosophy. Her registered Alpine doe, Gravel-Ends RB Tenessa, now 11 years old, was purchased as a bred doeling in 1995. She had twin doelings in 1996 and has been in milk ever since. She has never been bred again.

http://www.dairygoatjournal.com/issu.../Tim_King.html

[saanengirl]

Goats with good production lines will milk a long time without being rebred. The does I have milked through in the past drop production during the winter, but come back into full production in the spring. This makes it convenient for once a day milking during the winter when the weather is bad, and going back to twice daily milking in the spring.

I have had some does come into milk spontaneously in the spring even when dried off and not bred back.

[francismilker]

How do you get the doe to rebreed during lactation? I've had a fresh doe since February that's in good health and I haven't seen her cycle.

[Alice In TX/MO]

Dairy goats cycle in the fall normally. Wait till October, and you'll see tail flagging and bleating and flirting.

[pookshollow]

I have a Saanen doe that kidded last year as a yearling - wasn't too impressed with her at the time, kinda skinny, not a big producer. I milked her through the winter (never caught her in heat) and wow, is she ever a nice doe now! She filled out, lost the "pocket" at the front of her udder, is now giving a good 4 litres per day - a really nice-looking doe. I've milked two other does (Saanens) for 22 months each. I find with the Saanens, if they're not bred, it's pretty darned hard to dry them up.

I had a Nubian kid for the first time last year - fought her every single day on the milkstand and when I finally gave up on her, she dried up in two days. So, you never know.

[francismilker]

Originally Posted by Alice In TX/MO

Dairy goats cycle in the fall normally. Wait till October, and you'll see tail flagging and bleating and flirting.

The reason I ask this about "when do they breed back?" is because I've always thought they typically bred in the Fall when deer do. However, last month my son bought a few boer/kiko cross does that were separated from their babies the day of sale. Within a few days, (I didn't have a buck with them then) they were all flagging, flirting, and riding each other like heifers do in heat. I figured they were like cattle and could be "forced" into heat cycle by milk production demands, (Or lack thereof.)

Well, two weeks later, I put a nubian buck with them and he's awful disappointed. He's sniffing and snorting at everything on the place but can't find a willing participant.

BTW, I used to know a retired vet that had a pretty large cattle herd. (500+ head). Annually, he rounded up all his cows and calves for working at the same time. When the calves were worked they were put in a lot away from mama for 24 hours. After 24 hours, the calves were turned out to mama and the bulls were turned out of solitaire confinement and allowed to breed the cows. He used this method to syncronize his herd. He said the natural oxytocin level caused them to cycle because of the lacking demand of milk production for the period. I've never tried it so I don't know if it works. I've pretty well always just took a calf when I could get it.

[copperpennykids]

Dairy goats generally cycle from September thru February. Especially Swiss breeds.

Some folks are able to get their Nubians to breed "out of season" - one gal we know is kidding out her Nubians in November/December.

Boers can and will breed year round. Higher conception rates in the Fall than the late Spring/early Summer breedings however.

[Alice In TX/MO]

Goats are not cows. I know, as I've raised both. Used to have Beefmasters, and now I have dairy goats. Dairy goats are more complicated but MUCH nicer to deal with.

[Laverne]

I gave my does vitamin D in the winter and put coats on them when temperatures dipped so they wouldn't spend energy into keeping warm but producing milk. I had a level lactation from them and was making cheese all winter long.