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Author Topic: Milking routine query  (Read 3603 times)

Anke

  • Joined Dec 2009
  • St Boswells, Scottish Borders
Milking routine query
« on: April 02, 2010, 09:14:09 pm »
Hi, for various reasons (the main one being very small teats) I have decided to milk my BT type once in the morning and then let her have her kids back during the day, taking them out overnight. Questions I have though are: Do I milk her out completely in the morning and then let the (very) hungry kids on, or do I just take lets say a litre out and let the kids take it form there? Do I need to do some stripping out in the evening? Also is 8pm ok to take the kids out and then milk goat at around 7.30am? Can I get the kids onto a bottle later on if I find that her teats change and it makes milking easier?

Problem is Skyee just wont stand and I cant reach for her teats, and my wrists hurt quite badly. (I have a feeling that her udder wont win her many points...) GG is ok and now stands quite well. With lambing going on too I don't want to get so upset about milking (and it just takes too long) at this early stage, and hopefully this once a day routine will give us some milk and leave enough for the kids.

ballingall

  • Moderator
  • Joined Sep 2008
  • Avonbridge, Falkirk
Re: Milking routine query
« Reply #1 on: April 02, 2010, 10:00:44 pm »
Small teats is what they want in the showring! But it doesn't always make them easy to milk. I would say you would be fine taking them out at about 8pm, and back in with her at 7:30am. We give our kids their last feed about 10:30- 11pm and their morning feed is at about 7am. BUT, we only do that until they are 2-3 weeks old, then they get their last feed when we are milking the goats in the evening. I would recommend stripping her once a day, whether you chose morning or evening. If you don't want to take all her milk in the morning, therefore you would need to strip her out in the evening instead. I think until the kids are a few weeks old that would be the routine I would chose. She should have less milk in the evening, making it easier to strip, then you can just take however much you need in the morning.

Beth

Roxy

  • Joined May 2009
  • Peak District
    • festivalcarriages.co.uk
Re: Milking routine query
« Reply #2 on: April 02, 2010, 11:28:55 pm »
Yes, I agree with Beth on stripping out at night - if the kids are not with her overnight, you are not pinching their milk are you?  My goat kids are coming up for three weeks old, and still with the nanny, as my workload on the farm, and my job, at this time of year, is big, so milking twice a day would be an additional job I can do without.  I therefore deliberately left the kids with her.  She does have plenty of milk, so I will now start stripping her out once a day so we have some milk.  Jasmines kids are big strong ones, so in a couple of weeks I will probably separate them at night and milk some off her in a morning too.

Jasmine is a first kidder, so has never been milked, and she too has little teats, although with the kids sucking they are bigger than they were!!
I think I will have to tie her up to milk, and will probably have a few upturned buckets before I get my yearned for milk!!  I am very fortunate that I have small hands, so can just about cope with small teats.

Anke

  • Joined Dec 2009
  • St Boswells, Scottish Borders
Re: Milking routine query
« Reply #3 on: April 03, 2010, 09:53:15 pm »
Thanks for the replies, I will try and strip out at the pm milking and take some for us in the morning. The GG is being milked out twice a day and is getting better at standing, but so far one hand milking the other holding the jug so I can take it out of the way of the kicking legs... Her kid is taking almost all she's got, but  wasn't expecting bucketloads anyway.

Anke.

ballingall

  • Moderator
  • Joined Sep 2008
  • Avonbridge, Falkirk
Re: Milking routine query
« Reply #4 on: April 03, 2010, 10:16:43 pm »
We always milk the first day or so into a jug, makes it easier. Some goats do just stand better than others. I am now up to milking both Evita and Surf on the milking bench, and they get stripped out morning and night. Evita stands as far back as she can, even tied up, with the result that her back feet can slide off if she moves them, which then makes her kick! Surf is the opposite and likes to stand as far forward as possible, but likes to stand with her back legs tucked together, which makes it harder to get the milk out!

The good thing is that we are back to having lots of milk, as they are both giving about 4 litres each, and they only have 2 kids each to feed out of that, plus Romily is still feeding Christina's two as well.

We still have 2 first kidders to go, and one of them Comet, her mum was I think one of the hardest goats I ever milked, tiny teats and it took so long to milk her.

Beth

ballingall

  • Moderator
  • Joined Sep 2008
  • Avonbridge, Falkirk
Re: Milking routine query
« Reply #5 on: April 03, 2010, 10:18:03 pm »
Do you try feeding them anything when they are getting milked? We don't personally, as I would rather they chewed the cud, but it can be a good way of distracting them from the fact that you are milking them.


Beth

Roxy

  • Joined May 2009
  • Peak District
    • festivalcarriages.co.uk
Re: Milking routine query
« Reply #6 on: April 03, 2010, 10:27:11 pm »
I feed before milking and then they chud the cud - hopefully.  From experience, the goats that have never been milked before, tend to kick the bucket with milk in, and also the bucket with food in otherwise.  Obviously the older goats, stand no bother to be milked, although an old one of mine was not co operative ever, unless she had her food in front of her.

Anke

  • Joined Dec 2009
  • St Boswells, Scottish Borders
Re: Milking routine query
« Reply #7 on: April 03, 2010, 10:30:10 pm »
I don't feed while milking, they cud (well the GG does, the BT is still too worried about her kids). I am worried that if I start feeding while milking, they finish before I do and demand more or lots of leg kicking...would rather not get into the habit.

I am sure we will get the Bt sorted one way or another, I don't think I will have the time to show her, so we are keen on her milk and kids (for sale, in theory....)

 

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