How old..how long? Milking question.

[Sherry in Iowa]

I am curious. How long would you milk a seven year old doe? Lucille is still milking..she's passed a year in milk now. She does great..but I am wondering if taking older does long distance is taxing on their systems.

Lucille is touchy. Out of the blue she will shake and be "off feed". It's usually when there is a brisk raw breeze..don't know if that is coincidence or not. Just setting the story.

I did NOT put apple pieces on her feed today. She gets oats and BOSS and a half an apple in her feed once a day. She gets milked once a day. So..half way through milking .. she started shaking.

I come to the house..give put a teaspoon of vinegar, tablespoon of sorgum and warm water, mixed and she drank it right down. Went to her house. Five minutes later she is back outside and chomping down the alfalfa hay. Just looked out..she is on her hind legs chomping hay. No shaking. Fit as a fiddle.

She gives 3 pints a day or a little more. It dawned on me today that she IS seven. Maybe she is telling me she needs a break? She is not as heavy as I would like her..but I think it's going to milk.

I would love to hear your thoughts. She did this one other time..it was cold cold and a draft caught her in their shed. She was recovered by the next day.

[trnubian]

Seven really isn't that old if she is in good shape I would keep her milking. If you can get some cmpk and give her that when she starts shaking it will not hurt her and she probably will fell better. If you feel she is under conditioned can you increase her fat intake? Add corn oil to her feed. Maybe a little beet pulp? A tiny bit of corn will giver extra calories too.

Or if she just puts what you feed her in the bucket, dry her off for a few months before you rebreed her. Some does handle long lactation better than others.

[Sherry in Iowa]

Lucille has never raised kids. It sounds like she has been milked, bred, dried off in time to kid and be milked again. That's been her life. So, I think maybe a break from April to say November would be a good thing for her. Breed her in November and go from there. 7 isn't all that old..but it sounds like she has been a work horse for those years.

[JBarGFarmKeeper]

I believe I told you that Umber just turned 9 on the 13th. She kidded for the 5th time a week ago. She dried herself off about 6 weeks before she kidded and was in milk (according to the DHI records) for 719 days since her last freshening! She is a LM. She is a big bodied doe and looks like a million bucks.

And then there is Anise. She is 6 and about as "dairy" as they come. She puts EVERYTHING into milking and I am very curious to see how she milks this year. I have 3 of her daughters now. A newborn and 2 two-year-olds in milk. The girls in milk are much heavier bodied than Anise so I hope the newborn takes after her dad and builds a big body too.

My point is...goats are like people. Some of us are built to have babies and stay "in-milk" forever, and others...not so much. Do what you think is right for her. You 'might' find that she will miss milking, and then again, she may welcome the change.

[Sherry in Iowa]

Thanks Gena..I appreciate your post very much. Ray said Lucille is 4 on the Alpine chart. She isn't very big..I think Peaches is built "stouter". And carries more weight in comparison. Lucille seems to like being milked. Just contemplating if it would be better healthwise for her to dry up for a while.

[Alice In TX/MO]

No, actually, it's healthier to keep her going in milk. I think the record for long term 'milking through' is something like nine years.

[Sherry in Iowa]

How far through Alice?

[JBarGFarmKeeper]

Originally Posted by Sherry in Iowa

How far through Alice?

Not understanding your question, Sherry?

Milking through is when you just keep milking until you breed again. I have a doe that is over 6 and her dam was milked for over 900 days at the longest point. Good milkers will milk until you breed them, then they naturally dry off 6-8 weeks before kidding.

Katie read your post and says the same as Alice. Our goats are happier being fed and milked everyday. That's what they do...

[chewie]

maybe I'm awful, but I let old ethel breed this year--she's turned 11. she spit out 3 kids without my help, and that girl loves to milk. she's got skinny teats and has been founded way before I got her, so I won't milk her but its like she was sad not being pregnant, have kids or milked. this is what she was bred for and is happiest doing. she is the mother of ----y, of my other thread. not sure if her age did this or not. but she's doing super, so at 7, if that doe is in good shape, I'd keep milking or breeding her. ethel had last year off, I had planned her just retiring but she wouldn't stand for that. love that goat! but after these kids wean, she IS done.

[Sherry in Iowa]

Thanks for the answers. Don't think I asked the question right..but that's my fault. Guess time will tell on what is bugging me..lol. Thanks again.

[Alice In TX/MO]

Possible answers to milking/breeding/long term questions

1. Milking through = not breeding every year and keep milking at least once, if not twice a day. Healthier for the doe, as pregnancy and delivery is more taxing on their bodies. I've had two go for two years. I wish I hadn't rebred one of those, as she's eleven, but she SO wanted to snuggle with the buck.

2. How many years to keep breeding every year and milking a doe? Eleven seems a common retirement age here, but I've heard of one kidding at thirteen. I think that's stretching your luck.

3. Seven is prime production age for a well kept dairy doe.

4. Does she have a source of calcium in her diet? Browse? Alfalfa hay or pellets? Calcium carbonate topdressing her feed? Low calcium can cause the shakes.