[Hounddog23]

Hi yall.. i have a 2 1/2 yr old doe nubian/sanaan X.. she had her first babies in November.. i statted milming her aftsr about 2 weeks a d she only have 1/2 quart but i was thankful.. now her kids are 8 weeks and just weaned.. her production has dropped in half some days less.. she eats hay ..mineral.. sweer feed eigh alfalfa pellets.. up to date on deworming.. so im wondering why the huge drop in production also she is not currently in heat either. When i first started shed fill her bag.. now she barely does.. shes never full like before i milk ever 12 hrs ..

 

[Hounddog23]

Hi yall.. i have a 2 1/2 yr old doe nubian/sanaan X.. she had her first babies in November.. i statted milming her aftsr about 2 weeks a d she only have 1/2 quart but i was thankful.. now her kids are 8 weeks and just weaned.. her production has dropped in half some days less.. she eats hay ..mineral.. sweer feed eigh alfalfa pellets.. up to date on deworming.. so im wondering why the huge drop in production also she is not currently in heat either. When i first started shed fill her bag.. now she barely does.. shes never full like before i milk ever 12 hrs ..

Sorry for the typos guys my phone makes me struggle lol

 

[Cedarwinds Farm]

Can you post the amounts of the feed and hay she's getting? Maybe also post a picture of your doe. That seems like an awfully small amount of milk for a Nubian-Saanen cross to give. Is she crossed with any other breed?

 

[Cedarwinds Farm]

Also, what kind of hay are you feeding?

 

[Sfgwife]

Hi yall.. i have a 2 1/2 yr old doe nubian/sanaan X.. she had her first babies in November.. i statted milming her aftsr about 2 weeks a d she only have 1/2 quart but i was thankful.. now her kids are 8 weeks and just weaned.. her production has dropped in half some days less.. she eats hay ..mineral.. sweer feed eigh alfalfa pellets.. up to date on deworming.. so im wondering why the huge drop in production also she is not currently in heat either. When i first started shed fill her bag.. now she barely does.. shes never full like before i milk ever 12 hrs ..

Are the kids away away from her so no sneaking sips? Is she a self nurser? Try taping her teats and see. How much feed are you giving her and how many times a day. Feed makes milks.

 

[Hounddog23]

Also, what kind of hay are you feeding?

I feed coastal and alfalfa but its hard to get fresh alfalfa in my area

 

[Hounddog23]

Are the kids away away from her so no sneaking sips? Is she a self nurser? Try taping her teats and see. How much feed are you giving her and how many times a day. Feed makes milks.

Her kids went to their new home so thats not it.. bug there was one day whwrd i suspected self nursing b/c her udder was half empty n her teat looked curved like shed been pulling on it but i havent actually seen her do it yet

 

[Hounddog23]

Are the kids away away from her so no sneaking sips? Is she a self nurser? Try taping her teats and see. How much feed are you giving her and how many times a day. Feed makes milks.

I feed her a mixture of alfalfa pellets n sweet feed twice a day on the rack she eats about 2 and a half pounds each time but she does seem to be getting full quicker on the alfalfa pellets

 

[Hounddog23]

Can you post the amounts of the feed and hay she's getting? Maybe also post a picture of your doe. That seems like an awfully small amount of milk for a Nubian-Saanen cross to give. Is she crossed with any other breed?

Not that i know of this evening ill get pics on the rack she doesnt have as big as an udder as her sister but shes not even filling it up

 

[Hounddog23]

Got pics of her and sister. Ok ao cricket the one in question ia the chamoise colored.. her sister tilly is the white doe.. she makes a quart a d a half on her own. Cricket used to give half a quart full but now its like 1/2 cup

 

[MadHouse]

Could it be that her sister is dinking from her?
I second the teat tape trial. It will tell you pretty quickly if someone is trying to rip it off.
After milking her, you can use a band aid first (so the opening doesn’t get sticky stuff on it), then paper tape around the ends of the band aid.

 

[happybleats]

Both a Nubian and Saanen are great milk producers. Its a nice cross of breeds.. A quart and half seems low for even a low day. Of course genetics can play a role to lower productivity..but a few things you may look into..along with ruling out the self nursing/or sister stealing milk now..(since her productivity has dropped) are
Copper. If they are low on copper..milk productivity will be down.
Hydration. If they are not drinking enough water, which is common when cold..product will drop.
Over all mineral imbalance can affect things as well.
Parasite burden..both internal and external. A fecal and good combing to check for lice would be good idea.
Of course getting plenty of groceries...but neither look like they are suffering there .

 

[Hounddog23]

You know i watch them alot but it could be someone else is drinking from her also.. i will use some tefla pads and cover her teats and give that a shot n see what happens.. thank you all for the advice!! Im not at all new to goats but this is my first time doing a anything dairy so tips always welcome thanks yall!!!

 

[goatblessings]

I would test tape her to begin with to see if someone is nursing. Also, rule of thumb to start is one pound of feed per 2# output. Make sure total calcium is high enough

 

[Cedarwinds Farm]

I second @happybleats suggestions!

 

[TexasGoatMan]

You didn’t say how big your does are. I am curious what they weigh. A good milk goat and Saannan and Nubians are tops, should produce around a gallon of milk daily or close to that if they are healthy and getting plenty of good foods. Do you know the breeding of your does? What their dam produces?

 

[Hounddog23]

You didn't say how big your does are. I am curious what they weigh. A good milk goat and Saannan and Nubians are tops, should produce around a gallon of milk daily or close to that if they are healthy and getting plenty of good foods. Do you know the breeding of your does? What their dam produces?

Unfortunately i dont know that about the parents

You didn't say how big your does are. I am curious what they weigh. A good milk goat and Saannan and Nubians are tops, should produce around a gallon of milk daily or close to that if they are healthy and getting plenty of good foods. Do you know the breeding of your does? What their dam produces?

I do not unfortunately.. crickets is around
80 pounds or so tilly her sister is more like 90-105 also tilly produces a lot more than her im wondering if next time i need to just bottle feed the kids she was doing great in the beginning i did the practice of waiting 2 weeks.. pullin babies off at night then milking once daily. The shortage seemed to start when I weaned her kids at 8 weeks.

 

[Hounddog23]

Im wondering also if i should just let her dry up and take a break. I dont plan on breeding her until the fall. I have a ND who will be in milk around may who would fill the gap.

 

[Cedarwinds Farm]

Unfortunately i dont know that about the parents

I do not unfortunately.. crickets is around
80 pounds or so tilly her sister is more like 90-105 also tilly produces a lot more than her im wondering if next time i need to just bottle feed the kids she was doing great in the beginning i did the practice of waiting 2 weeks.. pullin babies off at night then milking once daily. The shortage seemed to start when I weaned her kids at 8 weeks.

80 lbs. seems very, very small for a 2 1/2 year old doe. I've got Nubians, and my smallest doe is still a bit over 100 lbs. I'm not familiar with Saanens, but I'd be tempted to wonder if there is some sort of an issue going on, such as internal parasites, not absorbing nutrition properly, or some kind of a mineral imbalance.

 

[Cedarwinds Farm]

Are you familiar with body condition scoring? If not, this pdf will help you out https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...FjABegQICxAB&usg=AOvVaw2p2_vG38f7yfjZqNyxK7Z4
What is her score?
And I'm assuming you've ascertained that she's not self nursing?