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Post By Alice In TX/MO
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Post By Alice In TX/MO
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Post By Doug Hodges
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12/28/13, 03:14 PM
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Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Oregon
Posts: 187
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milking around weird work hours
I have my first set of kids due any day now and am really getting excited about having fresh milk at home once we are able to start milking our doe. I am currently planning on hiring someone in the neighborhood to help me milk when I am away at work but I wanted to see if anyone else with long work hours is able to make it work for them to do their own milking. I work 24 hour shifts. I am only planning on once a day milkings. I plan on milking in the mornings around 8:30am. My hang up is every third day I leave for work early in the morning so if I was to do all my own milking I would have to milk at 5:30am on the days I work. I can't always milk at 5:30 because on the mornings I come home from work I don't get home until 8:30. It seems pretty straight forward that I'll need to get help when I am at work so our doe doesn't go too long but since I am new to this I figured I'd ask those with more experience. Thanks!
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12/28/13, 03:28 PM
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More dharma, less drama.
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Join Date: May 2002
Location: Texas Coastal Bend/S. Missouri
Posts: 30,482
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They will be fine. 
When we have to go somewhere early, I milk early, and if I get back late, I milk late.
__________________
Alice
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"No great thing is created suddenly." ~Epictitus
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12/28/13, 04:54 PM
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Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Oregon
Posts: 187
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Really? So if she goes 27 hours between milkings rather than 24 hours that is ok? It would obviously not be every day but it'd be every three days most of the time...
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12/28/13, 07:09 PM
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Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Bellflower, MO
Posts: 3,695
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Wow I thought my hours sucked...
5 days a week I am gone for over 12 hours so I was only milking in the morning and I kept the kids on the momma during the day. When I got home I would separate the kids at night. Weekends I put the kids up later so I could milk a little later in the morning.
Since you already plan on hiring someone just let them know what time they need to come and milk.
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12/28/13, 07:37 PM
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Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Northwestern, WI
Posts: 1,792
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If you are only milking once a day, stretching that time to 27 hours would be OK, although your does may give you dirty looks on those mornings.
My concern would be hiring someone to help, unless they are very dedicated to you and your goats, and to following your routine to a tee, and mentioning any issues. Trusting others to help with my goats is always a personal issue and usually ends up costing me more time in the long run checking to make sure things were done right. But I'm a bit crazy that way, ask my husband and kids!
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12/28/13, 10:49 PM
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Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Nebraska
Posts: 693
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Wow - I don't know, but I would never consider just milking once a day my newly freshened does. Are you leaving the kids on to nurse as well? Maybe if your girls don't give a lot of milk? But my heavy dairy gals would either burst or go into milk fever if I didn't milk them at least twice a day when just fresh. I prefer to milk 3 times a day - once every 8 hours - on my just kidded does for the first two weeks, but that is kinda pampering.  Really helps them along. I guess just watch and see.
__________________
~ Kristen in SE Nebraska
Raising Nubian, Alpine, First Gen. Mini's & cross breed dairy goats. Est. 2004 www.LomahAcres.com
& Handmade Children's items KootieZ.com & Our Etsy Shop
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12/29/13, 12:17 AM
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Join Date: Jul 2012
Posts: 1,297
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I wonder would it be possible to let them dam raise the kids and pen the kids just the nights before you plan to milk in the morning. Would that be too much fluctuation in supply/demand? Too disruptive to the kids? Maybe when the kids are a few months old and well transitioned to feed. And the does' production has dropped? Has anyone tried this?
Late lactation once a day milking can be quite flexible. A few hours early or later doesn't seem to bother them since it takes more than 24 hours to fill their udder. A newly freshened goat is a whole other matter.
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12/29/13, 12:34 AM
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Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Nebraska
Posts: 693
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Yes, that is what I was thinking - leaving the kids on to nurse I could see it working out just fine. Here we do it at 2-3 weeks of age - pull the kids out at night (about 12 hours before the morning milking), milk once in the morning almost dry and then put her back in with the kids to nurse all day. Doing it that way, I don't see a problem, not even with the 3 hour difference on some mornings. But you would need someone else at home to pull kids the night before if you are working 24 hour shifts. OR if you left the kids on, you could just milk once a day - every other day. On the day's your home, pulling kids 10-12 hours before you milk the doe out. Just make sure the kids eat before you pull them out, don't milk the doe totally dry, and then put them back together after milking. You would get less milk - but your doe would give more in total too, being frequently challenged in her production. Plus then the kids are being fed. Sounds like it would work better that way to me - but I don't know what works best for you
__________________
~ Kristen in SE Nebraska
Raising Nubian, Alpine, First Gen. Mini's & cross breed dairy goats. Est. 2004 www.LomahAcres.com
& Handmade Children's items KootieZ.com & Our Etsy Shop
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12/29/13, 08:21 AM
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More dharma, less drama.
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Join Date: May 2002
Location: Texas Coastal Bend/S. Missouri
Posts: 30,482
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I was thinking about this while I was milking this morning. If you can milk an extra time during the hours you are home, at least four hours after the "regular" milking, it will help keep their production up. They will also be more comfortable.
__________________
Alice
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"No great thing is created suddenly." ~Epictitus
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12/29/13, 11:13 AM
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Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Mountain Home, Arkansas
Posts: 2,550
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Alice In TX/MO
I was thinking about this while I was milking this morning. If you can milk an extra time during the hours you are home, at least four hours after the "regular" milking, it will help keep their production up. They will also be more comfortable. |
Great suggestion.
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12/29/13, 01:26 PM
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Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Oregon
Posts: 187
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Thank you all for your insights! I appreciate the different ideas. My plan was to allow the kids 100% access to mom for the first two weeks. Then, I would stall them in the birthing pen at night (just a section of the larger goat stall closed off with a hog panel) and milk our doe in the morning before letting the babies back with her. The nights I work I would have someone at home to put the babies back in the stall. So she'd be nursing them for 12 hours or so during the day and only have them separated at night. Then when they are weaned hopefully by that point the long days with no nursing would not be as big of a deal if her production drops a little. And I could definitely do multiple milkings 2 of every 3 days if that would be helpful to her and not throw her off schedule.
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12/29/13, 01:56 PM
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More dharma, less drama.
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Join Date: May 2002
Location: Texas Coastal Bend/S. Missouri
Posts: 30,482
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Absolutely! Sounds like you have a good plan.
__________________
Alice
* * *
"No great thing is created suddenly." ~Epictitus
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12/29/13, 01:58 PM
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Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Oregon
Posts: 187
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Thanks so much! Again, I appreciate your advice. And it's a relief to hear I can do it myself. I am a bit of a weirdo with my critters and I prefer to be the one to take care of them.
Also, on a related note, we should have a few new members of the goat family hopefully sometime today …. !!
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12/29/13, 04:07 PM
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Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Northwestern, WI
Posts: 1,792
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Pictures are a must!
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12/29/13, 07:23 PM
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Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Oregon
Posts: 187
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12/29/13, 07:24 PM
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Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Mountain Home, Arkansas
Posts: 2,550
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Wow. Gorgeous
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12/29/13, 11:00 PM
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Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Alaska
Posts: 1,024
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When I worked off homestead, I'd pen at night and milk in the morning, the babies ran with mom during the day while I was gone. If I got home late or had to pull an emergency all-nighter, nobody blinked an eye and I didn't have to frantically find a sitter to come over and wrangle the critters
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12/29/13, 11:23 PM
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Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Mountain Home, Arkansas
Posts: 2,550
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Quote:
Originally Posted by PlicketyCat
When I worked off homestead, I'd pen at night and milk in the morning, the babies ran with mom during the day while I was gone. If I got home late or had to pull an emergency all-nighter, nobody blinked an eye and I didn't have to frantically find a sitter to come over and wrangle the critters |
This.
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12/30/13, 11:15 AM
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Banned
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Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 2,984
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I would not own milking animals if you are gone that much.
Just a recipe for calamity.
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