Do You Share Milk?

[Star Creek Dexters]

For those of you that milk, I am wondering what you have found that works best for your routine. Do you share milk with the calf or take the calf and bottle feed? If you share milk, how soon and how long do you seperate? How do you train mama to let down for you? How much milk do you average?

I share milk. I start milking the first day of calving, after I know for sure that calf has had a great first meal. I never milk mama out, but take a little colostrum for my freezer. Do the same thing day 2 and 3. Day 4 I seperate mama and calf for 4 hours. I put calf in a small pen, 12*24 that has cover, fresh hay and a little water. I also halter calf on day 4.

A goat halter works best at the age.

From then on I increase my seperation time until I reach 12 hours. Calf is with mama during the night, mama gets to graze in peace while calf is safe in her pen during the day.

To increase let down, I bring mama into the stanchion, feed her some alfalfa. While she is eating, I brush her down, spray her with fly spray. I take a warm rag and message/clean her bag. Most of the time this works. For Madi, so far, it's not. I will start bringing in Zoe to nurse for a few secs. to create a let down if Madi does not learn how to let down her milk for me.

These are all questions that I have been asked. I have my way of doing it, but I always am open to learning and wanted to get ya'lls formulas and ideas.

Please share!

[davstep]

Hi Star Creek,

I can't comment on milking my Dexter yet (I have 1 bred heifer) but I do plan on sharing the milk with her.

Over the years of raising goats though I have tried many different things. I have dam raised but found the kids to be less friendly on average, although some have also been the friendliest too. The does that dam raised completely seemed to have a shorter lactation and it was also impossible to fully wean the kids because even if seperated for 2 months, the instant they were put back with there mother they would nurse again and she would let them.

We tried sharing the milk by seperating the kids from the mother at night, I would milk in the morning and then place the kids back with her. My problem with this was that the mothers frequently would not let down their milk fully.

I also tried letting the mother feed them by me carrying the mother to her kids several times per day but the results were the same as when she fully raised them.

Two years ago I had one first freshening doe completely refuse to let her kids nurse and that was our first year of bottle rearing. Since then we have reared on 100% raw milk, 100% formula and a combination to test our results on individuals. Obviously the 100% raw milk yielded the healthiet individuals and the 100% formula seemed to have weaker immune system even between siblings. So now we raise only on 100% raw milk by bottle feeding. However there are a couple of does that we still let dam raise their wethers if we do not need their milk for our house at the time. This leaves the option of still milking them after the wethers are weaned or sold.

This is just what works for us and I'm sure I will keep notes with milking our Dexters as well. Our plan is to keep the calf with the mother 24 hours each day but will likely try to seperate from the mother some to work with them. Cows luckily have enough teats for the calf to have a couple while I milk the other two. Goats are not that easy.

[rezzfullacres]

We share milk...We do not start milking until the calf is 7 days old.. We only take enough milk for our use, we aim for 3 quarts per cow a day, we leave the calf on momma until we can not get that amount in 1 milking than we start to seperate usually 6 hours to start and increasing until weaned. We bring the cow into the milking stanchion, give her some grain, brush her down, wash her udder with warm soapy water and start to milk...If she won't let down more massage and try again, if she still won't let down we bring her calf to her and usually just the sight of the calf getting into position is enough to start the flow....We milk one dexter and one jersey both with the same routine...We seperate at night and milk in the morning...

[dexterfarm]

I start milking at 4 days. milk twice a day until the calf is taking most of the milk during the day. Start separating at night at 2 weeks. when milking I do bring calf out to tie by her head while milking so she can lick and smell the calf.

[lsg]

I share milk also. I let the calf run with the cow and bring the cow in and milk her twice a day. When the cow starts holding back her milk, I separate the cow and calf and bring the cow in twice a day for milk and for the calf to nurse.

[Star Creek Dexters]

For those of you that are share milking, how much milk are you typically getting? I know each Dexter can vary widely, but I'm just curious.

The last cow that I milked fostered a calf, as she lost hers. At first I milk her out all the way and then bottle fed, so I knew how much I should take and how much to leave for the calf. But then I grafted on the calf. Calf got nice and big and I still took in no less that 1.5 gallons a day, usually 2.

Now I am milking Madaline. She freshened a little over a week ago. We have been going round and round. She is sweet as she can be, but a stinker in the stanchion. I have to use a flank rope on her every time. As long as I have it on, (I don't even have to tighten it), she is quite as a mouse.
The first couple milkings, with out seperating her calf, she was giving between 1-2 quarts a day. I started separating her calf and I am not getting anything...litterally...a couple squeezes and then nothing. I bring Zoe, her calf, in, let her nurse, nothing.
Today I caught my yearling heifer nursing on Madaline, right before I brough her in to milk! So that's where the milk is going!!!

I was SO frustrated...So now I have to separate Zoe and Glory...

Anyways, I know it's just the frustration and hastle that the last week and a half have brought, but I'm wondering if I will ever get any milk out of this girl...And watch, tomorrow, I'll probly come in with 1/2 a gallon

[lsg]

My heifers usually don't milk all that well the first lactation, but improve with each lactation. My main milking Dexter gives right around 3-4 gallons a day. I milk one side and let the calf have the other side. I am bringing in one gallon twice a day at her peak. She tapers off a lot when the grass is gone.

[Star Creek Dexters]

Thank you lsg.
I am very happy to say that today I had success! I separated both Glory and Zo'e from Madi for 4 hours. I just milked and got 1/2 gallon from the front two teats. Ahhh...feels so good to have Dexter milk in my fridge again!

[denwally]

I have milked my cow, Molly over three lactations so far, always sharing with the calf. Last time I started milking right away on one teat that baloons, so the calf doesn't drink from that one at first. Then after about 5 days, I found that the calf was only drinking from one side, so i just milked out the other side. At that time, I was getting about a gallon and a half from the one side. Once the calf learned about the other teats (at about six weeks), I tried just taping the two I was milking. I got another month doing that before the calf sucked the tapes off. After that, I separated them during the day (neighbors complained if they bellowed at night). I was getting almost a gallon from an 8 hour separation. As time went on the milk decreased until I was only getting two quarts per milking.

Molly is about to freshen again in two weeks so I am eager for that fresh raw milk again.