Let's talk about Goats and how we keep them!

[Marianne]

That's news to me......what breed of goat, did they say? I'm far from being an expert.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

You may be referring to a syndrome called Precocious Udder. It's not extremely common, but it's not exactly rare either. It usually happens to a doe that's from a strong milking line - but not always. There is lots of online info if you google it.

 

[rhoda_bruce]

I had bought a device to milk my doe and I did so so. I was getting a pint a day, which is only enough to cancel out one person's milk needs in my house, but the device is experiencing problems and the doe was fighting with me toward the end of her 3 month lactation period, so I let her alone. I was the only one seeing about her anyway.
I can google and see what all I can find out.
One way or the other, I will be buying a more heavy duty milker for my does. Besides I'll possibly be getting another doeling soon, from a pregnancy already in the working. Really hoping for doelings, because the dame and sire are mixed breeds, but all from known milk breeds. I don't mind spending over 200 if I can really cancel out my families milk expense.
But really if I can get milk, without kidding, I'm on it, because my 2 does are of unknown ancestry and I don't mind milking, but if I'm going to the barn, to milk, it would be nice if I return to the house with a few quarts, rather than just a pint. That, and it was depressing to pull a dead baby out of my doe and see how sad she was. It was nice to have 100% of her milk, without having to share with a kid, but sad too. I'd have had it the opposite if it were my choice.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Rhoda, I was wondering how your milking was going.

I get 1/2 gallon a day. I'm milking two does - but only once a day and they're about 9 months into their lactation. DH and I (mostly him) can use up that 1/2 gallon in about a day and a half.

Both of my does are first fresheners - one purebred Nubian and one Kinder (nubian x pygmy) and I'm getting a tad bit more milk out of the Kinder doe right now! I love Kinder's and will be concentrating on them in the future.

 

[rhoda_bruce]

As far as right now is concerned, the only good my does are to me is keeping a large area of my property clean, because I figured Dinah wouldn't be fighting me, if she wasn't hurt, so I let her dry up. But thats got to end because thats not the point of me having goats. Its time to either rebreed or attempt to lactate in another way.
I'm a nurse and a mother of several breast fed children, so I think I have enough knowledge to attempt this experiement in a reasonably intelligent manner. Its worth a shot. First to get a few more places to confirm the possibility.
I know I can adopt a baby human and feed it off of me, if I have a few weeks advance warning.......now to do that with a goat.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

It might work - it'll be an interesting experiment either way! Heck, my neighbor once had a pygmy BUCK that lactated, lol! Talk about weird... As best I recall she ended up taking him off of all grain and really cutting his intake of hay too until he dried up. We all got a good laugh outta that one - but his daughters were wonderful mothers and raised nice, fat babies!

 

[rhoda_bruce]

I don't see why she was concerned about it. I would have let him lactate and feed some babies and gotten more milk from does.

Well, as near as I can understand spontanous lactation is normally associated with pseudopregnancy and the treatment seems to be to dry her up and breed her for real. Okay, seems like thats fine if you unhappy about the lactation, but I can't see going that route if you really happy about it.
Also, it does seem that you can cause your doe to lactate, but you might only get 50% of what you can expect, had she gone thru a pregnancy. But then again, if she goes thru a pregnancy, she'd have a baby to nourish.
Well, I think its quite intriguing.

 

[mary court]

Hi guys. Well, I've read that goats are desert makers and it does look like mine have made their pen a barren waste land, even though I have given them a much bigger area than they really require. So to fortify their diet, I give them a crate of hay to munch on, as well as goat rations and let them eat a bit of grain. I also walk around and bend down the bushes, so they can reach and eat the lagustrum leaves and branches. I avoid the oak, if they are pregnant because of it being an abortificiant.....so if the smaller one happens to be pregnant, I always tell myself to trim the oak, so she can't jump up and munch the leaves. I assume it wouldn't be so bad, so long as its not her only source of leaves and she gets other bushes and trees to eat on.
From time to time, I do a clean up in the garden and give them whatever is going to be discarded for their consideration, which they appreciate. Mine seem to be afraid to wander too far from their comfort zone, so I really don't have to worry much about them. When I see they are loose and eating somewhere, I more rejoice that they are getting free food. I actually curse whatever scares them back in their pen. It doesn't take much to scare them either. Now I might not feel that way, if they'd make it to the asparagus bed or to the greens, but just to eat on some overgrown weeds around my hives.....I'm not going to do anything but say,"Please stay...please, please"
Well, I can probably go on and on....they bed down in the barn, which they share with 4 poultry projects, which is connected to my primary coop of about 30 birds and I don't seem to have any problems, except when one of my geese chases one of the goats, or if one of my dogs comes in the barn with me and the goats try to hoof em. But there is one thing I want to share or ask...however I'll put it:
I, of course, have several books on SS living and my sister just gave me a new one. In this particular book, I was reading last night about goats (I decided to just pick a subject and see what it said). Well, nothing really new for the vast majority of what I read and then I read that goats are one of the few dairy animals that can lactate without mating. Okay...this is a new piece of info that I have not read previously in any of my books; even books that I borrowed, specifically on goat farming. I won't say that I've read every Dairy Goat Journal, cover to cover because I fell behind when I was studying Basic Herbology, but I know I didn't read that it was possible to get them lactating, without breeding/kidding. So, I guess I want to know if any of you have read this or have first or second hand knowledge of this.

Hi guys. Well, I've read that goats are desert makers and it does look like mine have made their pen a barren waste land, even though I have given them a much bigger area than they really require. So to fortify their diet, I give them a crate of hay to munch on, as well as goat rations and let them eat a bit of grain. I also walk around and bend down the bushes, so they can reach and eat the lagustrum leaves and branches. I avoid the oak, if they are pregnant because of it being an abortificiant.....so if the smaller one happens to be pregnant, I always tell myself to trim the oak, so she can't jump up and munch the leaves. I assume it wouldn't be so bad, so long as its not her only source of leaves and she gets other bushes and trees to eat on.
From time to time, I do a clean up in the garden and give them whatever is going to be discarded for their consideration, which they appreciate. Mine seem to be afraid to wander too far from their comfort zone, so I really don't have to worry much about them. When I see they are loose and eating somewhere, I more rejoice that they are getting free food. I actually curse whatever scares them back in their pen. It doesn't take much to scare them either. Now I might not feel that way, if they'd make it to the asparagus bed or to the greens, but just to eat on some overgrown weeds around my hives.....I'm not going to do anything but say,"Please stay...please, please"
Well, I can probably go on and on....they bed down in the barn, which they share with 4 poultry projects, which is connected to my primary coop of about 30 birds and I don't seem to have any problems, except when one of my geese chases one of the goats, or if one of my dogs comes in the barn with me and the goats try to hoof em. But there is one thing I want to share or ask...however I'll put it:
I, of course, have several books on SS living and my sister just gave me a new one. In this particular book, I was reading last night about goats (I decided to just pick a subject and see what it said). Well, nothing really new for the vast majority of what I read and then I read that goats are one of the few dairy animals that can lactate without mating. Okay...this is a new piece of info that I have not read previously in any of my books; even books that I borrowed, specifically on goat farming. I won't say that I've read every Dairy Goat Journal, cover to cover because I fell behind when I was studying Basic Herbology, but I know I didn't read that it was possible to get them lactating, without breeding/kidding. So, I guess I want to know if any of you have read this or have first or second hand knowledge of this.

I raised dairy goats for years and they only lactate after kidding, unless you give them harmone injections. I had nubians and eac of them had names and knew their names and what order they went on the milking platform. Azaleas are poison to goats.

 

[mary court]

I live in town now and sure do miss my goats,chickens, and horses. I never tried my hand making goat cheese but wish now I had, it is so yummy!

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Sorry, Mary - I'd miss mine too if I didn't have 'em around!