I have read several people that take the kids away from the mother at birth (after it gets colostrum). I need the milk for my own kids, so I plan to do this with my pygmies. (yes, I know, it won't be much milk) I am still looking for a good milk goat. Anyway, do you have a separate barn they are kept in? Are they kept in the house? Pygmies are so small anyway, I don't want them to get too cold. We aren't expecting any babies until Feb, so I have a little time to get ready. I have 4 females, not sure if they are pregnant or not, but supposed to be bred. Does anyone have any experience in milk from pygmies? How much should I expect? I imagine since I have 6 children, that I will still have to supplement the milk until I find a good milker..unless the pymgmies are enough. I am not real thrilled with the idea of having to keep breeding the larger goat to keep milk going here....we did not have a good first bigger goat experience. :-(

Cindy in OK

-- Cindy Cluck (cynthiacluck@yahoo.com), September 22, 2000

Answers

Cindy I always take my kids away from the mothers, and if I catch them in time, before they even nurse. (I milk and feed the colostrum) I know there are as many different ways of raising kids as there is goats but I do it this way for several reasons and it always had worked good for me. First off I know exactly how much milk the kids are getting, or if one is a little weak or needs extra help. I also think kids that are raised on the bottle are naturally tame and easy to milk later in life. The does also seem to adapt well as they look to me to milk them as opposed to kids nursing. All the kids are kept in a "kids pen" with free choice alfalfa hay and COB when they are old enough to start eating it.

When a kid is born I rub them dry with warm towels and if it is cold I bring them inside by stove to warm and get the first few feedings in them. If one is weaker or it is very cold they sometimes stay inside for a couple of days. Once they are bouncing around they go to the kid pen which has a nice snug building with straw for them to bury in and make a bed. Kids will lay in a pile and keep each other warm. If you have just one kid and it is really cold I would be concerned.

As for pygmies milking I don't know how much you will get as I have have had limited experience with them.

-- Marci (ajourend@libby.org), September 22, 2000.

The picture in my mind of little goats all curled up together in a snug warm place is so cute!!

-- Cindy in OK (Cynthiacluck@yahoo.com), September 22, 2000.

Cindy, how about finding buyers for the boys at birth, selling them very cheaply or for free at birth (yeah I know most of you know what I would do with them :) then just foster all the doe kids to a couple of does so anyone nursing is just nursing twin doe kids. Set yourself a goal of how many doe kids you want to grow out for sale or for keeping and sell the rest of the does also at birth. If you don't have a market for pets, find someone with a petting zoo who wants them. Then start milking the does that aren't nursing kids, you will soon be able to wean the doe kids who are nursing at 8 or 9 weeks for pygmys, and then you can add there moms to your milking string, allowing them to nurse will also keep them in a family unit, if you seperate at birth the moms will not know who they are and you will have to be very careful about introducing them back into the pen. Seems like an awful lot of work to milk the does for your own milk, and feeding all the babies, especially bucks, with replacer that is more expensive than milk! It's alot of work, and since you really are stuck using the pritchard teats, you couldn't even Lambar them so its individual bottles, you could have 4, 8, or 12 kids, even 16! 16 individual bottles 3 times a day, 4 or 5 times a day the first couple of days since they are so small and hold so little?

If you are serious about looking for a nice milker we all would love to help, there are some really great herds in Oklahoma, and with kiddings starting in our area in December, family milkers that don't make the show string are usually starting at 200$. Perhaps an add in a major newpaper advertising Pygmy's for trade for a nice dairy goat! Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), September 23, 2000.

Well, since you already have them.... I milked a pygmy for about six months (long story). She had kidded before, so teats were fairly long. Gave about 1/2 gallon a day when I was diligent about milking regularly. But the milk was absolutely great. Very, very thick and rich compared to my other goats' milk. Good luck.

-- Teresa (otgonz@bellsouth.net), September 23, 2000.

:-) 16 bottles a day 4 or 5 times a day is nothing compared to when my twins were premature and too preemie to nurse! ;-) Anyway, I have 6 eager children that all want to milk, though the thought of paying the extra money on the replacement doesn't sound good. I had wondered about that too. I hadn't even thought about trading for a milk goat!!! That is a good idea!! I had originally planned (being a country girl and all) on having some of the bucks for the dinner table. BUT since it would be my hubby doing the butchering and not me, he said no way after helping me with the chickens last week. Gotta love him, but he is so new to the country life. he is adjusting, but it will take time. If it takes 5 mths, then I am looking at late December or January. I caught the buck breeding one girl, but not real sure on the others. I guess if they start getting movement within I will know. I remember how it felt when I was a teen taking care of the larger goats, but this is my first experience with the pygmies. My father had never seen a pygmy before, you should have seen the look on his face when I told him that the goat (at that time) was 5 mths old!!! It was so funny! Thanks so much for all the advice! I REALLY need a milker goat for my children. Cows milk is not happiness around here.

-- Cindy in OK (cynthiacluck@yahoo.com), September 23, 2000.