i only milk once a day. can i bump it up to 2 times a day?

[littlequail]

hey everyone, i own 3 minis and one large Oberhasli doe. my minis all kidded in December and are all doing great out of the 3, each of the adult does give about 1 quart each and my younger mini gives about Half i only milk Once a day, My Oberhasli (i just got a month ago) she is due in July and even though she gives roughly a half quart to i want to stop milking her since she is also skinny and am trying to get weight on her. Since i started milking back in December i have missed 3 days total, normally then my milk levels go down for about 2-3 days then they are back to normal production....well i missed a day last saturday and am still very low on milk...can i kick it up to milking 2 times a day...do you think they will not only go back to normal levels but produce more milk? or did i just kill my whole season of farm fresh goats milk ** at lest till July when my Oberhasli is due**

[francismilker]

Sure you can bump it up. You will see your production swing a little low for a bit but it should rebound and even increase a little if they're fed right. (At least that's the way it is for milk cows.)

[Alice In TX/MO]

Unfortunately, their bodies got the signal to dry off. Also, if the Ober is due in July, this is about the time her milk production would slow.

You can try, and also increase feed. You have nothing to lose.

[Hollowdweller]

You are supposed to milk a goat TWICE a day, for 10 months and then dry the goat off for 2 months prior to kidding.

If you milk them less then you are cutting down on their milk production just by not milking them the proper way.