| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| yasmine |
Posted - Sep 26 2008 : 9:56:41 PM
Hey, would anyone please give me a list for a simple minded girl to give directions and some neccesities to breed our girly nigerian dwarf?
Tell it like it is #1, #2 , # 3 and so on .. i promise Ill read up on it, but I want to see if I should even think about it. Is it hard to do? I have 5 children 15 months-10 years, all homeschooled. so is it a big deal? Alot of attension needed? or not really until delivery? what do you think?
Reason is I would like the option of getting milk once and a while while the kid is nursing |
| 14 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Brew Crew |
Posted - Oct 01 2008 : 09:02:21 AM
I am sure if you wanted to try to milk your does just a couple times a week, there's nothing *wrong* with that. You could certainly try! My does, however, took a couple weeks of milking every day to get the hang of it, and that was only after many spilled pails, tied feet, and tears. I would be concerned that if you only milked a couple times a week that your does would be very unsure of what was going on, and it would take longer to get them used to it (meaning a longer period of adjustment and struggle).
Also, if the kids are nursing off the mom all day long, you are very unlikely to get much milk at all. I have tried it, and gotten tablespoons of milk, not quarts. If you want to go that route, I would try separating the kids from the mom half way through the day you are going to milk, so that there is still a decent amount of milk to make it worth your while! Good luck!
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| Beverley |
Posted - Sep 30 2008 : 7:22:36 PM
Just remember that the kid needs that colostrum that comes in the first 24 hours and then after that. The kid needs the stuff that are in that colostrum to be in good condition when they are growing and older. So I my advise is to let the kids nurse for the first month and then start to milk along with the kids. I have had to bottle feed a few baby nigerians and replacement milk is not good at all. the kids don't do well on it. so let the kid nurse and milk too. Just MHO Beverley
Folks will know how large your soul is by the way you treat a dog....Charles F. Doran
beverley baggett Beverley with an extra E...
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| yasmine |
Posted - Sep 29 2008 : 8:18:24 PM
the reason I asked is because I want the babies to be able to nurse and then like a few times a week , milk the moms for a quart.... is that something that is not really done , once a day, the goat HAS to be milked even though though the kid in nursing? Just wondering about all my options, haha. i know that they haved to be milked consistantly, if you begin the milking every day. I have nused 5 oof my own....OWchy if you are not able to nurse the baby regularly...
BUT if we do not want the milk everyday , does anyone do it like once a week?just wondering |
| Brew Crew |
Posted - Sep 29 2008 : 5:59:45 PM
I did about the same as Terri, and had great success that way. The kids seemed to always have enough and so did I! When the kids were gone, I started milking twice a day until their peak had passed and slowly went down to once a day. I still get plenty for our family this way!
The Biz www.tvalahandmade.com
The Blog: http://blog.tvalahandmade.com/
The Bits www.happydalehobby.blogspot.com/
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| 5 acre Farmgirl |
Posted - Sep 29 2008 : 2:41:30 PM
I have had Goats for 15 years, minus the last 3, because I sold them....but, I did...when my goatee Girls kidded, I (after the first 4 or 5 days), becasue the colostrum is gone after 4 or 5 days....would lock the kids up at night, and then milk their mamas and then turn the kids loose and they would eat, they did fine,,,,they always seemed to get more than their need of milk.
Remember....there is colostrum 4 to 5 days after they kid, it tastes awful, so dont drink it, it is VERY sweet and thick....I found out my mistake, yuk! But, I also, would milk just 1/2 cup out every day to freeze for kids that needed a little shot in the arm at birth....
So, all that to say, yes, you can lock the kids up at night and then milk mom in the morning, and turn kids out to their moms and they will be fine.
Farmgirls are Farmgirls no matter where or how we live.....we can't help it! ;)
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| shepherdgirl |
Posted - Sep 29 2008 : 12:33:34 PM
I have been breeding goats for 6 years now, (I have Nigerians too!), though I have not yet milked my own does I do know others who do and they all agree on one thing-- you HAVE to be consistent in your milking routine. The does could suffer severe mastitis if a specific routine is not followed. Most home milkers will bottle feed their kids from day one. That way the does are milked on a regular schedule, the kids are well fed (and FRIENDLY to boot!) and everybody is happy! I understand another reason that kids are bottle fed is because allowing them to nurse from the doe will ruin the udder and teats-- undesireable in a SHOW goat.
I don't know about milking does while the kids are nursing off her at the same time. That might be a little hard on the doe. It would probably be best to choose one method or the other (bottle feed the kids, or let them nurse on mom, but not BOTH) I have heard of people letting the kids nurse a week or two, then milking the doe and bottle feeding the kids-- they will be eating solid foods by then anyway and won't require as much milk. There is a lot of good information on the internet about milking goats, their general health and such. "Saanendoa" (sp?) is a good site to look up, and so is "Fiasco farm" They have excellent information listed by very experienced goat breeders. You might find the answers to your questions there. Good luck!
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. ~~ George Carlin |
| kmbrown |
Posted - Sep 28 2008 : 5:21:51 PM
I actually don't know of any one who does that. The only problem I see is as the kids start weaning your doe will start to dry out...you would only have a little bit of milk for about 4 weeks. |
| yasmine |
Posted - Sep 27 2008 : 7:35:53 PM
ooohhhhhh...interesting!
hey do you know if anyone ever just does not milk much but every couple days milks in the midst of the kid nursing? |
| kmbrown |
Posted - Sep 27 2008 : 1:45:46 PM
Ha..its ok..! Yeah, I've heard that you can milk once a day as well, I guess it just depends on how much milk you want! The main thing is whatever you decide to do you have to be pretty consistent at it for their sakes!! If you nursed your babies then I know you can relate to how miserable it is when you don't get relief!!!
It's kinda hard around here to stay totally consistent due to my childrens ages but we always are out there in the morning and always out there in the evening just not at the exact same time!
Just a note though, if you do breed your doe, once the kids are born they say the milk doesn't taste good for human consumption for about two weeks due to the colostrum. They say only give the milk to the kids for that two weeks then as the kids use less you can start using the surplus. |
| yasmine |
Posted - Sep 27 2008 : 10:39:03 AM
I AM A HORRIBLE TYPIST |
| yasmine |
Posted - Sep 27 2008 : 10:38:01 AM
I have been sold by many that if you do not want to milk 2x a day, you can milk morning only... Or just milk when you need it in the midst of the kid nursing, any thoughts? |
| kmbrown |
Posted - Sep 27 2008 : 09:48:02 AM
They are a great little animal. We got ours from some very good friends of ours in West Virginia. They have been dairying with Nigerian Dwarf's for about 9 years. They have a huge set up...a VERY future goal of ours!! Right now we are just doing it for the milk, but when my children get older I have hopes of making cheese and butter ect. We'll see!! |
| yasmine |
Posted - Sep 27 2008 : 08:46:29 AM
we have negian dwarf too!
we are in ny we bought them from melinda widmark in garrison ny |
| kmbrown |
Posted - Sep 27 2008 : 05:28:08 AM
We have 3 Nigerian dwarf does and two bucks. This coming spring will be our frms first breeding season but I will tell you what I have been taught and told from the very experienced lady we got our goats from. We were told the breeding process is done in several hours. Put the doe and the chosen buck together and if the time is right the doe should be very receptive. When the breeding is complete the doe will no longer accept the bucks advances and even the buck will appear less interested. Wait apprx 28 days and try again with the same buck. If a pregnancy has been established the doe WILL NOT accept the buck. So if nothing happens that second attempt then you can be fairly certain that you have a pregnant doe. This breed of goat almost always has multiples. Two of our does came to us pregnant and they are due in two weeks. So far, the care has been extremely simple. They get their grain two times a day, hay is always available to them and of course water. My three year old son LOVES to help with feeding them and so if you have children as old as ten a lot of the responsability could be theirs if you wanted!! I have three children 3 and under so I completely understand where you are coming from. So far this is very easy. I may not say the same thing once we have kids and we are milking twice a day but at this point we LOVE our goats and are very excited about having fresh milk!!
Best of luck to you! |
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