How much feed for doe?

[mrstillery09]

Ok, in about two months we will have our first kidding ever!! I am ridiculously excited. In preparation, I've been doing a lot of reading and such. I'm trying to figure out how much grain to feed our dairy girls. Their kids will be left with them, but will be separated for once a day milking. I've seen some say to let them feed free choice, but I'm a milking newbie and they shovel food in so I'm scared they will get too much. How much is a good starting amount? I am currently feeding a 17% feed.

[mygoat]

Start putting them in the milkstand about 1 month pre kidding and feed them there. Pretend to milk at this time. I start them out at a cup or two at a time, and increase to a large cottage cheese container per day until kidding. At this time, I just feed grain (corn, oats, soybean dairy pellet). Free choice hay etc.

After they kid, I feed my lactation diet. 12 parts above grain, 6 parts alfalfa, 3 parts shredded beet pulp, 1 part BOSS is how we mix it. We free choice feed our does on the milkstand 2x per day (we also pull kids at birth). It sounds like it would be a lot, but its' really not. When I used to try to ration them, I ended up waiting on them to finish their feed because milking only takes several minutes per doe. Now I just free choice them while on the stand. The doe that hits over 2gal/day we allow to stay in the feed room eating until the other younger does are done being milked (which are producing less) and she eats just about what she would for a 'ration' at that rate. I've otherwise always heard 1lb of grain for every 2-3 lbs of milk produced. If you're milking once a day, don't forget to multiply it by 2 for the amount of milk they're producing in the other 12 hours while feeding their kid.

As always, feed to condition. Does will drop weight after they kid and are lactating - that's normal. They should however gain through mid-late lactation and through their dry period to kid out at a good weight and start the cycle again.

[Frosted Mini's]

Originally Posted by mygoat

Start putting them in the milkstand about 1 month pre kidding and feed them there. Pretend to milk at this time. I start them out at a cup or two at a time, and increase to a large cottage cheese container per day until kidding. At this time, I just feed grain (corn, oats, soybean dairy pellet). Free choice hay etc.

After they kid, I feed my lactation diet. 12 parts above grain, 6 parts alfalfa, 3 parts shredded beet pulp, 1 part BOSS is how we mix it. We free choice feed our does on the milkstand 2x per day (we also pull kids at birth). It sounds like it would be a lot, but its' really not. When I used to try to ration them, I ended up waiting on them to finish their feed because milking only takes several minutes per doe. Now I just free choice them while on the stand. The doe that hits over 2gal/day we allow to stay in the feed room eating until the other younger does are done being milked (which are producing less) and she eats just about what she would for a 'ration' at that rate. I've otherwise always heard 1lb of grain for every 2-3 lbs of milk produced. If you're milking once a day, don't forget to multiply it by 2 for the amount of milk they're producing in the other 12 hours while feeding their kid.

As always, feed to condition. Does will drop weight after they kid and are lactating - that's normal. They should however gain through mid-late lactation and through their dry period to kid out at a good weight and start the cycle again.

I can't imagine feeding 1 lb grain per 2-3 lbs milk. That would have my 14 lb milker over 4 lbs of grain a day, up to 7 lbs a day. Yikes! She is an easy keeper and I only have to feed her about 2-3 lbs a day (1-1.5 per milking) to keep her in great condition. The most grain I have ever fed a doe in a day was 4 lbs...she milked about like my other doe, but was just longer and thinner and less mature. I'd say that's pretty much the max you should feed, unless the doe's a heavy heavy producer, like say 18-20 lb milker.

I like the way Dona does it though, mixing the alfalfa pellets in. Because then they are not really eating all grain in that time that you are free-choicing them and they are probably still getting their fill of stuff. My does, I bring them in 2 at a time, and some of them are just finishing their feed when I finish milking the pair, and some are long done, though, so I dunno if that would work for all goats. Some goats do just wolf down the food!

[mygoat]

Originally Posted by Frosted Mini's

I can't imagine feeding 1 lb grain per 2-3 lbs milk. That would have my 14 lb milker over 4 lbs of grain a day, up to 7 lbs a day. Yikes! She is an easy keeper and I only have to feed her about 2-3 lbs a day (1-1.5 per milking) to keep her in great condition. The most grain I have ever fed a doe in a day was 4 lbs...she milked about like my other doe, but was just longer and thinner and less mature. I'd say that's pretty much the max you should feed, unless the doe's a heavy heavy producer, like say 18-20 lb milker.

I like the way Dona does it though, mixing the alfalfa pellets in. Because then they are not really eating all grain in that time that you are free-choicing them and they are probably still getting their fill of stuff. My does, I bring them in 2 at a time, and some of them are just finishing their feed when I finish milking the pair, and some are long done, though, so I dunno if that would work for all goats. Some goats do just wolf down the food!

That was the last time I heard someone put a weight of feed to weight of milk produced years ago and it's stuck in my head now... My heavier producers never came close to cleaning up that much and would generally stop eating before they finished it. I wasn't going to wait on them to finish it either. :P Thus, I stopped measuring. My heavy milkers drop a lot of weight but by fall and breeding they have a bit of fat on them. By kidding, they're at ideal weight to start all over again so I rather like it this way. My FF this year didn't get FAT either, so that's good. I'd probably ration an animal that was getting tubby this way, but so far the balance has been good between milk, ease on our end, and their gains for breeding season/kidding season. Of course, our lactation diet has quite a bit of fiber in there too, which I think is important.

[Doug Hodges]

When you say free choice, what do you mean? Until they quit eating? Until you are done milking? What?


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[mygoat]

Well, our setup isn't as easy to explain. :P

We let the oldest heaviest producing doe into the milkroom (#1) as well as #2 in the milking string. #1 jumps in the stand to eat, #2 goes to her feed pan on the floor. I milk out #1, then ask her to get down and they automatically switch places - #1 goes to feed pan on the floor, #2 jumps in the stand to get milked. After this, depending on where in the lactation I'll either leave #1 eating at the pan on the floor (she drops weight and hits over 2gal/day) while I bring in #3 to be milked, OR I kick #1 and #2 out if they are later in lactation and #1 is looking good/gaining. She is the biggest concern.

#3 then gets to come in and jumps right on the stand. She was the lowest producer so we'd just milk her out and let her back out of the milkroom. Lucky for her she also had tiny FF teats this year so it took us longer than it should have, lol.

The whole time the goats are in the milkroom, they have feed in front of them. They just aren't in the milkroom for THAT long. #1 if left in the WHOLE Time while #2 and #3 are being milked, often gets tired of eating and starts wandering around the milkroom. I've found the dairy does which get fed 2x per day aren't anywhere near as 'food crazy' as the goats who do NOT get grain regularly. They calmly come in, and start out eating a bit fast but slow down quickly to eat at a much slower, reasonable pace.