These FF udders are driving me crazy! First I read to leave kids on them because they are hard to milk, okay easy enough then I'm told that they need to be milked to help get the teats bigger :GAAH: One has bigger teats, but the other does not despite me milking twice a day. The one with bigger teats is kicky I thought it would go away, but nope not getting a whole lot better. I'm also faced with a decision to keep a buck kid out of the one that's teats have not really stretched much. The buck she was bred to was a champion buck and I don't think I will ever have the opportunity to have her bred back if with following freshenings she developes a better udder. The buckling is a hunk, a lot like daddy and gorgeouse but above all I need him to produce daughters that can milk. Will this udder get better, I don't really have a problem with the shape of the udder and attachments, but she could have better capacity and those teats just don't really fill up with milk. Will this get better with her second freshening?
Yes capacity can change Look up ARMCH God's Love Farm Cloudy owned by Ashley turcotte of Phoenix rising farm - on her page you can see the change from her FF If the attachments are there but lacking capacity but capacity is in her background then she could grow into it. I'm nervous though to use a buck out of a FF if she is lacking in areas I'm looking for.
Nice reference - Stacey! Although I hate the thought of WAITING ... I'm an "I want it now" kinda person... but that gives me hope in this new battle over my FF's milk!! She doesn't want to share it with me! "slow and steady wins the race" That will have to become my mantra...
Paternal Grand Dam is: SGCH ROCKIN-CB QP ROMAN DESIGN http://rockincb.com/does.htm Maternal Grand Dam is: SGCH OAKS WHISPER TAFFETA http://oakswhisper.com/seniordoes1.html I had been letting this doe raise her buckling, but then decided to pull the buck and bottle him to see if her udder would improve with hand milking. I now have him back on her because her teats are a pain to milk. First two pics are her udder before I turned him back out on her. This buckling is a hunk, he keeps this doe empty even though she is producing just as much as my other FF.
So it looks good...... now what do you think about keeping the buckling? Also why won't her milk come down into the teats better? I find myself having to squeeze higher up on the udder just to get the milk, I read not to do this so I worry about messing her udder up or something.
I milk up into the udder - I don't know any other real effective way to milk. As to keeping the buckling - well its nicely attached and she isn't even at full peak production and her capacity isn't terrible. Adding in that she is bred to a nice buck you don't have access to anymore the only other option to consider is: do you have more does to breed him to?
Yep I've got about 9 does this year and then I'm keeping most if not all the doelings born this year too. I know I'll never get rich by keeping so many LOL, but I'm building my herd up.
when I googled "how to milk nigerian dwarf goat" I came to youtube.. and saw someone milking from behind... with the most peculiar finger placement... it seemed to work really well!!! Take a look.... both udders at once...
She has a very nice udder and her teats are a great size for a FF... I forsee future freshenings being even better!
Thanks liz and stacey. I'm gonna take some pics of her future freshenings also to see how we've grown and I'll put them on here and on my website to show. Loved the reference on phoenix rising website and how Ashley puts pics of each freshening, If I was buying a doe from her I would be super duper happy that I could go to her site and see what mom or grandmas udder looked like as FF's and know what I might expect out of the doe I bought from her.
She is really putting a lot into it isnt she? I love how its set up too. If you do the same that will be great reference
I think her udder looks pretty nice for a FF. I would probably keep the buckling if I was in your situation. Good luck!
