How long does a doe stay in milk?

[ajneal30]

I feel like I have asked a bunch of dumb questions, but I wasn't prepared to have a dozen goats dumped on me in the middle of December. The only doe I kept kidded mid February. She gave me 3/4 of a gallon every day until recently. I can't think of anything that has changed, but overnight her milk decreased by a third. This morning I didn't even get a quart. Is this normal? Is there anyway I can keep her in milk longer or increase her production?

[ajneal30]

I did just realize that I ran out of the grain I had been feeding her and got something else. Is there anything in sweet feed that would cause her to lose her milk?

[Alice In TX/MO]

ANY change will cause digestive distress (and lower production) because it takes different gut bacteria to digest. Sweet feed has molasses on it. Not a great goat food.

I've have had goats in milk for close to two years.

[mygoat]

Digestive change is a serious event with dairy goats. Most feeds can very well be tolerated (unless you're seriously neglecting some basics) but rapid change cannot.

My feed has molasses in it, the key is how much. Our mix is the same as the custom mix that the mill offers for goats, but with half of the molasses. Molasses is essentially just a basic sugar that the gut microbes can digest REALLY fast. This leads to a large influx of acid in the rumen which leads to problems. Grains also do this but much slower, and forage (the basis of any ruminant diet) takes a long time to digest, hence multiple stomachs (to increase time in the gut) Ruminantion (to increase cellulose surface area by rechewing) etc.

The microbes in the gut adjust appropriately to the feed available, over time. When the diet changes rapidly, it can cause a surge of unwanted bacteria growth because suddenly there is more food (or different) food than what is normally available - that means that any opportunistic bacteria now have a chance to begin rapidly dividing. Entero is a common side effect.

As for milking, all does are different - is she a dairy? What breed? How old? Some does take a major hit in production when they go into heat, and yes, ACIDOSIS from a rapid feed change can severely impact feed intake (They don't feel good, so they stop eating) and also production (and milk quality - milk fat decreases in the acidotic doe).

[coso]

A goat can stay in milk from three months up to three years. Management and genetics are the two things that determine how long. Feed change can definitely determine milk production. If you went straight from a feed without molasses to one with, you may be dealing with acidosis like mygoat said above. Do you have some bicarb out for them ? Might help, grass hay will also help, if she is acidotic. If she goes off grain completely, you might try a piece of bread.

[ajneal30]

She still eats like a pig. I let her graze and/or feed her a grass hay. She has access to baking soda whenever she wants it. She's a Nubian/boar/??? mix I inherited from my father in law. Should I back off grains completely for a while?

[Alice In TX/MO]

Don't do anything suddenly. Get the original feed if you can, mix 1/2 and 1/2 with the new stuff if that's what you are planning to use.

Gradual. Your new mantra.

[Cyngbaeld]

Boers do not milk for extended periods so the Boer genes may be kicking in. I've milked several of my does for 2 full yrs at a time before rebreeding and they weren't dry then.

[mygoat]

My boer does tend to dry up on their own, even with kids still on them, at around 4-5 months after freshening. A dairy goat should be able to produce adequately for at least 10 months.