I have 5 nubian milk goats 2 are milking right now, 3 are just bred. We have only gotten alittle over 1 quart from each of them when they were giving their most. They have been in a small pen and only recently in the pasture which still does not have much folige, they get a little bit of hay and average amount of feed I guess. Does anyone know how to increase their milk production? Also 2 of my milk goats have really uneven udders and I do not know how to straighten them, or if it is even posible. Anybody have any information?

-- Emily Anne Schilling (lost_forever79@hotmail.com), December 15, 2001

Answers

Emily, Goats are ruminants so having forage or hay is very important. They need lots of good qaulity hay at all times. How much feed they get is often tied in with how much milk they give. You can not make up for lack of hay with more feed. An uneven udder can be hereditary or indicate a subclinical mastitis. It is very good that you put the goats in a larger pen. Even a small amount of forage is helpful in keeping your goats healthy. Vickie, it's your turn!

-- Karen in Kansas (kansasgoats@iwon.com), December 15, 2001.

I agree with the uneven udder being hereditary or mastitis. It may also possibly be caused if the kids were nursing off of them. The lack of milk could be what those animals have been bred to do, sickness or feed. You could try milking them more often, 3 times of day to help stimulate the milk supply. My milkers receive about 2# of alfalfa per day, free choice grass hay, access to pasture/forage and 1# of grain for every 3# of milk they give (1 gallon of milk weighs around 8#). My first fresheners milk from 6 - 9# at their peak. If your does have already been milking this amount for awhile it will be hard to make them milk more. You can look at your feed, but for a quart of milk I wouldn't give more than 1# of grain, perhaps better quality hay/alfalfa. With my bred does I only give 1# of grain up until kidding along with the hay already mentioned. Be sure they are vaccinated and wormed along with checking for cocci will ensure they are in good health going into kidding. I will gradually increase the grain once they start milking.

-- Leslie in Western WA (sundaycreek@gnrac.net), December 15, 2001.

Emily, a key to milk production in any animal is water. Make sure you have a good clean supply of fresh water. Water is often overlooked.

-- Del Grinolds (dgrinolds@gvtel.com), December 15, 2001.

What you feed as far as hay is very important.Years ago when we raised goats we were feeding cheap hay and we got awful tasting milk and awful production. It effects the amount as well as the flavor! We switched from cheap grass hay to alfalfa. They like warm water in winter, too! Big improvement, but I still don't like saanen milk!!

Do any of you have a subscription to Dairy Goat Journal? I think it might be helpful to you. They are listed on line at: Http://www.dairygoatjournal.com

-- Katie (Wi-cashcrop@excite.com), December 15, 2001.

Hi Emily! Dry lotting your goats is perfectly fine, if you understand just how much your goats need to eat. Figure just their rumen (first stomach) filled with hay is the size of a 5 gallon bucket. Filled with grain it is much smaller, and hence you don't have milk. I have 9 dry goats due to kid in March in one pen together, they are sort of forced dry lotted right now, with all the rain, certainly wouldn't want to get their toes wet :) and they are eating a 50 pound bale of hay each day. I can't keep alfalfa here so I use a 17% grass hay, with it I only need about a 15% grain mix, I do up the calcium of the mix with alfalfa pellets. If your hay is poor quality than your grain mix may need to be as high as 18% protein. In a dry lot your goats will rarely need to be cocci treated or wormed because they don't constantly pick it up out at pasture. You may also want to improve the fiber content of your grain mix with black oil sunflowerseeds, alfalfa pellets and or beet pulp. Bucks don't need the extra calcium of alfalfa pellets though. Loose minerals as their only source of salt is a help also. If after these improvements, which you are going to do slowly, and you still do not see better milk production than it is genetic. Use the best quality buck you can afford and hope for better daughters.

Uneven udders is caused by a couple of things. Letting kids nurse. Even with two kids, one may demand more milk from one side than the other, and this stretches the udder out, especially when only one kid is left to nurse! Subclinical (meaning no signs) staph is another biggy. Get some Pirsue dry cow infusions from your vet and use it at drying off, especially if your milk has very poor keeping quality, your udder walls are sort of thick feeling, not the soft as a glove milked out feeling they should have. Usually lowered milk production from staph is only detectible at weighing, so though all of this could point to staph, in milking our Nubians, I wouldn't suspect it for the reason we are all hoping. Have the girls always been asked to milk? If they in the past were only asked to nurse babies, they may already be programed to be poor milkers, you will be so much happier with their daughters who you freshen yourself, and ask to milk for the 10 months they should. Good luck with this, any paperwork on the gals? What buck did you use to breed them to? Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), December 17, 2001.

You can increase the milk production by 25% by free feeding sea kelp...

Believe me it works!

-- Ginny D (yehagirl@rockinredranch.com), December 17, 2001.

New to the goat world with my first four does ready to kid any day! You mention uneven udders...one of my saanens, due on the 28th (first pregnancy) has bagged up nicely, but has one teat that is much larger (wider) than the other. It is not hot or hard, the milk that I've milked out to check her is not flaky, has no odor or bad color. Any suggestions....is this just a defect in her genes or a clinical problem that I need to pursue? thanks for any help provided!

-- Lori Sawicki (sawicki@capital.net), March 18, 2002.