Doe with too much milk???

Bubbas Boys · #1 03/12/14, 04:13 PM

So we got a 3 year old doe who has kidded twice before this year. She gave birth to 2 does, one did not make it for unknown reasons ( we are very new to this) haha. Her and the little doe are doing great but her utter is getting very tight and yesterday she would not let us touch it when the day she kidded she was fine with us touching it. I finally got her to let me milk it out and she is great now. My question is how much should I milk out to help relieve her without having a negative effect on the amount the little doe needs? This is our first milk goat and first kid born to us. Thanks for any help!!

Helena · #2 03/12/14, 05:14 PM

I would milk her completely out at least once a day. The little doe is nibble all day on Momma and do wetill. Or you can milk "some' twice a day if that would make you feel better. I would get the little doe to drink from a bottle too. It makes them more friendly. A few ounces here and there. Just check on the doe often and use your judgement..I'm sure things will be fine. Good Luck...

Clovers_Clan · #3 03/12/14, 05:40 PM

If she is a dairy doe she is bred to produce more milk than babies would need. AND her hormones are still telling her she has two babies to feed. If she is healthy there is no such thing as milking too much. Its a great opportunity to keep more milk for yourself. Or if you don't want the milk and just want her to raise the baby, you can ease her a few times a day as needed until she levels off. The important thing is to keep her comfortable and her udder soft enough for the baby to nurse, it will all work itself out. Sorry you lost the other doe.

Bubbas Boys · #4 03/12/14, 10:04 PM

Thanks we are still so upset. I guess it is part of raising animals. Thanks for advise.

dozedotz · #5 03/12/14, 10:34 PM

Remember that some day you may have the worse problem of not enough milk! This is better...save it. Freeze it. Keep her even on both sides, too. She will appreciate your help.

harvestmoonfarm · #6 03/12/14, 11:54 PM

Milk her out completely. Incomplete milking can lead to mastitis. You don't have to bottle feed the doeling to keep her friendly; she'll be just fine if left on her dam. At two weeks old, you can pull the doeling at night and milk the doe completely out every morning. Congrats on what sounds like a great dairy doe!

Bubbas Boys · #7 03/13/14, 06:30 AM

Doe with too much milk???-1394710196471.jpg

Taylor R. · #8 03/13/14, 06:52 AM

Awww, what a sweet girl! You can milk her out without worrying about the little doe. The more you milk, the more she'll make. Of course, there's a ceiling, if you will, but with just one little doe, you won't hit it.

Bubbas Boys · #9 03/13/14, 08:59 PM

So if we pull her from her dam at night in couple weeks to milk her in the am do we need to bottle feed the baby or will dam have enough for her after we milk? Thanks

wintrrwolf · #10 03/13/14, 09:36 PM

Momma starts producing milk pretty much right after you get done milking her, she will probable not let the baby nurse for a little bit but that's ok. If you milk her out in the AM be sure to check her udder in the PM just in case the baby is only nursing one side then you can milk out the other. If you are ending up with extra milk by all means freeze it, comes in handy for emergency bottle feedings. Try to freeze some of the colostrum milk too that is so much better then the store bought stuff.
Oh when you are done milking make sure you wipe the teets off with a clean wet cool cloth (IMO with the baby nursing on her) it helps to keep bacteria from going up into the teets and udder.

Clovers_Clan · #11 03/14/14, 09:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bubbas Boys

So if we pull her from her dam at night in couple weeks to milk her in the am do we need to bottle feed the baby or will dam have enough for her after we milk? Thanks

At 3-4 weeks old the baby(BTW, she's a looker!) will be fine without milk for 9-12 hrs through the night. Just make sure she has fresh water and a nibble of hay. If she's your only baby, penning her where she can see/lay next to mama through the fence will help. Milking mama out of baby's sight(and earshot, if possible) in the morning will help also. It's hard for the doe to relax with screaming baby nearby. Yes, at first, the doeling will be famished in the morning and pleading to get in with mama.

The baby will make up for lost time/milk throughout the day and keep mama's supply up. With the morning milking/baby during the day system I have found the doe increases production but not so much you can't skip a day and leave the baby on 24 hours. It is important to make sure the baby is getting a little extra in the form of hay and **a little** grain during its off time.