How to milk a goat and care features, expert advice
It is important to know how to milk a goat properly. Indeed, the duration of lactation and the amount of milk depend on this procedure. The main thing is not to rush, that is, not to start milking the female ahead of time. It is advisable to wait for the first lambing. Immediately after giving birth, the udder begins to produce milk. It should be fed to kids up to 3 months of age. In parallel, you can express a small amount of milk for personal use.
Why distribute a goat
As a rule, a goat is raised for milk. Lactation in animals begins after the birth of the first kid. It is advisable not to milk the female before giving birth. At a young age, all nutrients must go to the development of the skeleton and various organs. The goat is covered only after it reaches 12-18 months. Previously, mating is not recommended. Pregnancy lasts another 5 months. During this period, they slowly begin to accustom the animal to human hands, that is, every day a few minutes are taken to touch the goat's udder and squeeze the nipples.
When a female gives birth to cubs, she immediately produces colostrum. It is a substance with a high protein content, antimicrobial components and growth stimulants. Colostrum should be completely consumed for feeding the kids. This substance disappears after 1-2 weeks, ordinary milk appears instead. It should also go to feed the kids. Cubs are fed with mother's milk for up to 2-3 months.
The female, immediately after the first lambing, begins to gradually distribute. The first milking is carried out immediately after childbirth in order to stimulate uterine contraction, to improve the discharge of the placenta. Colostrum is recommended to give to kids. Cubs can feed on mother's milk and live under a goat for up to 2-3 months.
The kids should eat their fill. The remaining milk must be expressed daily. It is recommended that you ensure that nothing remains in the udder. Such an event will stimulate the production of more and more milk. After lambing, the goat is milked only after the kids have eaten (2-3 times a day). They do this so that she gives a lot of milk. If the female is not distributed and this process is allowed to take its course, then after a few months lactation may stop.
You can remove the newly born kids from the mother, milk the colostrum, and then milk (with your hands), and feed the cubs from a bottle with a nipple. In this case, you need to set a schedule immediately. First you need to milk a goat 5 times a day, after a week - 3 times a day, preferably at the same time. In this case, lactation will continue until the next lambing.
Udder preparation
You can't go up to the goat so quickly and milk it. At first, this capricious animal may not even allow a person to approach him. It is necessary to accustom the female to touching even during the first pregnancy, or rather, a month before lambing, but not earlier. The udder should be stroked, but not roughly massaged. You can simulate milking, squeeze the nipples (do not pull), wipe the udder with a warm damp towel, and give your favorite goat treats (sugar cube) during a light massage. It is desirable that the goat enjoy this procedure.
Care and maintenance
During pregnancy, a goat that has not yet given birth should be fed with quality feed. Usually females are covered in autumn. They become pregnant during the winter months. During this period, the percentage of vitamins and nutrients in hay and vegetables is reduced. A young goat should be fed with finely chopped carrots, Jerusalem artichoke, pumpkin, and beets. In winter, it is recommended to give spruce and coniferous branches, pharmacy vitamins and minerals ("E-selenium", vitamins D, A). The female should be kept in a clean, dry and warm room.
In a completely different way, you need to feed a goat that has already given birth. This animal, even after mating, continues to produce milk. In the second month of pregnancy, the female needs to be started, that is, gradually stop milking. This is done so that all the nutrients go to the development of the fetus, and not to milk. Milking cannot be stopped immediately. The animal can get mastitis.
The process of stopping lactation makes it easier to choose the right feed. The goats are kept on the same hay; they do not give juicy vegetables and grains. The amount of water is also reduced. To maintain vitality, pharmacy vitamins and minerals, spruce branches are given. Then the interval between milking is gradually increased. Within a month after the start, the goats are milked not twice, but only once a day. And not completely, the udder is emptied only by ¾ of the volume. A small amount of milk should remain.
Then the females are milked every other day, two or more. You must constantly monitor the udder and, if necessary, express milk. Milking of goats should be completely stopped 2 months before giving birth. The diet of a neglected female can be improved.
How to milk a goat after the first lambing
First calves are milked immediately after birth. A small amount of milk is expressed and given to the kids. Before milking, the udders are washed with warm water and dried with a clean towel. Cubs can suckle milk up to 3 months of age.
Some breeders keep babies away from the first calf to avoid damaging the nipples. In this case, immediately after lambing, the female needs to be milked 5 times a day, and the colostrum should be poured into bottles with a nipple and fed to the babies. After a week, you can milk the goat 3 times. The main thing is to completely milk out the milk, every last drop, in order to stimulate its production in the udder.
If the mother lives with the kids, unnecessary trouble can be avoided. True, it is advisable to milk the goat every day, otherwise she will get used to giving all the milk only to her cubs, and will be reluctant to share it with a person.
The goat owner decides for himself how the kids will feed. Each method has its own advantages. A female without kids will begin to milk faster and will keep lactation for a longer period. During milking, the goat needs to be given juicy feed, grain, vegetables and roots, minerals and vitamins, water with sugar.
By the way of a nulliparous goat
You can milk a goat that has not given birth, starting from 12 months of age.True, such a procedure is resorted to if it is not possible to mate (there is no goat nearby) or the female is not capable of fertilization, that is, it is barren. It is advisable to cover a healthy goat, and milk after lambing.
The section of the nulliparous goat is carried out gradually. First of all, the animal's diet is adjusted. The young female is given more juicy vegetables (carrots, turnips, pumpkin), boiled potatoes, green grass or silage in winter, water with sugar. Pharmaceutical vitamins and minerals, diuretic herbs (chamomile, parsley, birch leaves) improve lactation. This diet stimulates milk production in the udder.
At first, the goat is simply massaged. It is necessary to stroke the udder, squeeze the teats, simulating the milking process. The procedure is carried out 2-3 times a day (daily, without interruption). After some time, a light liquid will appear, and then the milk itself.
Usually in dairy goats, girl's milk appears at 5-7 months. These are the consequences of good nutrition and hormones. True, he is not touched or decanted if the udder is not very bursting.
How to milk a goat after a false pregnancy
After a miscarriage and false pregnancy, the female is distributed as usual. These physiological processes are perceived by the body as normal childbirth, and in the udder colostrum begins to be produced, and then milk. Breaking is carried out immediately after the fluid has flowed from the uterus. This usually happens with hormonal imbalance and malnutrition. Subsequently, the goat can be coated again.
It is easier to milk a neglected female after a false pregnancy. They begin to milk her, as before, that is, at first 5 times, and then 3 times a day. It's harder to milk a goat that has never given birth. The animal will first have to be accustomed to the hands and the milking process itself. Milk after the end of the false pregnancy should immediately arrive in the udder. It is decanted 5 times a day, then gradually switched to three milking a day.
What do the experts advise?
Breeding the goat is carried out only after childbirth. Covering females is recommended no more than once a year. It is advisable to keep the newborn kids on milk feeding for up to 3 months. Too fast transfer to vegetable feed can cause various diseases and non-viability of kids.
In newborn babies, even the stomach is not adapted to digest grass or hay. With the mother's milk, the kids get exactly those substances that they need for normal development.
Do not expect large milk yield from a goat that has lambed for the first time. Initially, the female will give 1 to 2 liters of milk per day. After the second and third lambing, lactation will improve. The peak of productivity will come after 5 births. Dairy breeds will produce up to 4-6 liters of milk per day. By the age of 9-10, milk yield will drop. It is recommended to replace old animals with young ones.
