Should I just dry her up??

TheLoveOfGoats · #1 06/22/11, 05:26 PM

So I have had my new doe now for 2.5 weeks now, she has settled in pretty nice and all seems well. I have been milking her 2x a day and receiving 1 cup a milking(2cups a day). She seems to fill up to the capacity of her udder, I let her fill for 18 hours one day and she was pretty tight/full, (I got a cup and maybe a 1/4 that milking). We aren't using her milk right now and my plan was to show her in milk the next couple shows, but her udder isn't going to do well in the ring because of capacity. Should I just dry her up and let her have a break tell I breed her this winter? If I keep milking her is it going to help anything for next year?? Does a doe's capacity get better every year? Any suggestions!?!?! Her dam has a nice huge udder and so does her full sister and her sires dam, I dont know if she just dosent have it or if she wasent milked like she was supposed to be from the start?

Her are a few pictures. This is after a 14 hour fill.

Feel free to give your 2 cents about her udder too, you wont hurt my feelings

hyamiranda · #2 06/22/11, 05:31 PM

how old is she? Is she a first freshener? From what I've heard, you don't want to dry her up early because then she'll be more likely to dry up early next year.

TheLoveOfGoats · #3 06/22/11, 05:38 PM

Hahaha .... ooopppsss! Forgot that minor detail!

She is a 2nd freshener 2ry old ND. I just got her 2.5 weeks ago and her kids have been weaned sense late April, the owners before didn't keep up on milking her correctly and she also said a kid that wasn't hers would nurse her now and then. ??

Govero Farms · #4 06/22/11, 06:18 PM

She was stressed out from moving into your farm and it will make her milk production go down becuz of the BIG change. My doe is doing the same thing when I got her.

bknthesdle · #5 06/22/11, 06:23 PM

If you want her to have a bigger udder and give more milk, can you try milking her three times a day?

Alice In TX/MO · #6 06/22/11, 06:24 PM

If her kids were weaned in April, she's drying off.

TheLoveOfGoats · #7 06/22/11, 07:15 PM

So I just found out I got told the wrong info, well some of it was wrong! She had her kids (twins) May 4th and they were bottle raised. She said she milked her for the first few weeks 2x a day but wasn't getting to much milk from her because of a kid that wasn't hers nursing from her. The 2 weeks before I got her they would milk her off and on and just put her on the milking stand to feed her grain. Any thoughts?? Will she get better now that she is more relaxed in her new home, and sense it hasent even been 2 months sense she kidded?? Will milking her 3x a day help? Thanks for your help on my first journey in the milking world lol.

Natural Beauty Farm · #8 06/22/11, 07:23 PM

Milking her more will help.
She might dry up on you...... not being milked reg before and the move.
If you want to show her then I'd push her this year as far as she will go until she has dried off.
What is she being fed? make sure you fed her like she is milking well, lots of high calcium feed (alfalfa, etc) and put her on the stand with good grain for as long as she milks something for you

TheLoveOfGoats · #9 06/22/11, 07:46 PM

She has given me 2 cups a day consistently the 2.5 weeks I have had her, so its not going down, but not going up either. I am feeding her ( along with my others) free choice alfalfa pellets, free choice nice green orchard grass ,and I give her a mix of Boss,rice bran pellets, and Noble Goat Dairy Parlor on the stand. (And they have free choice minerals and baking soda).
That's what I wasn't sure about... was if I should let her dry up and try again next season or keep at it tell she gets bred again and see what she does. But I don't want to be wasting my time you know

TheLoveOfGoats · #10 06/23/11, 12:16 AM

Help!

steff bugielski · #11 06/23/11, 06:18 AM

In my opinion if you dry her up now she will never milk well. She may not ever milk well but drying her up now almost guarantees that.
You are not wasting your time if you want more milk next year. Put her on the stand milk her feed her then go do something else. When she is done eating she will let you know.
I would milk 3x a day make sure she is really empty and after she is empty keep milking , asking for more like a hungry kid would.

TheLoveOfGoats · #12 06/23/11, 01:04 PM

Thanks Steff. When I milk her I make sure I empty her completly out, to where I have to really work at it to get any thing else out. And thats the other thing about this gal, I cant get her to really eat on the stand. She will eat a little when first up, but then just stands there tell I let her down,even if I just leave her standing there. Or I have to let one of the others out and as soon as they start eating the grain she will eat.... weird goat!

JJFarmer · #13 06/23/11, 02:39 PM

Something I do that helps. If you have the time and she isn't too impatient don't end the milking when she's done but sit there for another 5-10 minutes and keep asking for milk. A kid growing will continue to ask for more milk and the body has the ability to produce more. Adding another milking or even two will certainly help matters as well. You have to remember that milking is a supply and demand sort of deal. While specially bred dairy goats produce more in the beginning even they will cut down in production if there is not enough demand.