# How to dry up a doe ASAP! HELP!



## DixyDoodle (Nov 15, 2005)

Fun adventures in goat milking.....NOT!

Me: never milked a goat in my life.

Her: udder full of milk.

Ok, here's the story: I just bought a Nubian doe from someone. There was no mention from them about her needing to be milked. They said she had delivered a kid a while ago and was weaned off. So, the seller drops off this doe and upon leaving, casually says, "Oh, BTW, she is still producing some milk and may need a bit of milking for awhile." I'm I'm like, "Ummmm, ok."

I am NOT prepared at all for any milking right now. No milking stand. No milking machines. One of her teats is very small and extremely hard to get ahold of, let alone milk it (she's just over a year old). I don't suppose I have to go into the details of how hard it is to milk a goat that won't hold still (I tried tying her head up and she still jumps around). The odds of getting a milking stand built here within a week or maybe more is slim to none.

So I'm calling around all the feed stores: no one has a milking pump. I'm going to try calling a few of the goat people around here in the slim chance that someone might have some suggestions, but dairy goats are very uncommon here. 

I need to know: will she dry up on her own if I can only manage to milk her a bit? Will I have to worry about mastitis? I'm trying my best but there is no way I'm going to be able to milk a substantial amount out of her. Last time, I got maybe a cupful out. Should I contact the vet and get some meds to dry her up or is this unnecessary?

And about drying up: how much milk should I try to get out----at this time, I don't want to keep her producing as I don't have the facilities ready to go here. So just enough to relieve some of the pressure? 

HELP!!!!


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## steff bugielski (Nov 10, 2003)

Give her some grain and tie her to a wal. Kneel down and milk. only enough to relieve the pressure. Do this every other day till she shows signs of not producing.


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## oberhaslikid (May 13, 2002)

Its a supply and Demand situation, The more you milk out the more shes gonna make.You dont want to take any more out.I would milk her once a day and no more than a cup .Then move to every 2 days taking no more than a cup for a week or so. Then every 4-5 days.once she stops making so much and filling up and her udder is soft and plyable I would stop milking.the more grain she gets shes gonna continue to put into milk.cut the grain back some too.


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

If you are planning to get into milking, build your own milk stand using the plans on the Fiasco Farm website. You can get it built in a day, easy.

http://fiascofarm.com/goats/milkstand.html

You can make a milking device, using the concept on the Maggidan's Milker website. But, I'll tell you that it is NOT quicker than hand milking. Shop for a drench gun or an applicator for pour-on wormer...that's the pump part. Get a 35 cc syringe and some vinyl tubing. Assemble as per the pictures on the website.

http://www.maggidans.com/


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## AnnaS (Nov 29, 2003)

Do you know how much she is actually producing? If her udder is hard & tight with milk you can cut out grain and taper down to no milking. If her udder has some give in it, or if she is making less than 3 lbs a milking, just take away her grain and quit milking her. Put her on grass hay instead of alfalfa. She will dry up just fine- my does all do. Might have a couple of uncomfortable days, but they absorb the milk. If you want some extra insurance, use a couple of tubes of Tommorrow which will prevent some kinds of mastitis during the dry period. 

BUT! If you are going to milk goats, you will need to know how to hand milk. Even if you plan on machine milking, there will be times you must hand milk- a sick or quarantined doe, at shows, first fresheners with itty bitty teats, when the power goes out or the pump goes haywire. It is just like playing the piano or riding a bike. Your hands need to learn what to do and then it becomes second nature. It seems awful but the only way to learn is practice.

The other BUT! You said this doe is a first freshener. If you dry her up now, she will always want to dry up at the same time every year. She is not going to be much of a milk goat if she will only work for four months and spend the other eight getting fat.


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## Shazza (Nov 20, 2004)

Just stop milking her. If you want a doe to stop producing milk then just stop milking her. That is all I do and everyone else I know...you keep an eye on the udder perhaps give it a quick feel once a day to make sure it isnt hard and hot.


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## AnniesGoats (May 18, 2007)

Shazza, that is exactly what I do!  

In prior years, I would milk less and grain less, gradually cutting down over a few weeks. Someone then told me just to quit milking, and to watch the udder closely to make sure it does not get hot or lumpy (watch for mastitis). I thought it was a crazy idea, but I have since tried it, follow it, and the best thing I find to do is just to stop milking altogether, and either cut the grain out, or cut way back on it, until the doe is dry.

I have only had one case of mastitis, and it was not from the drying off. For that doe, when I dry her off, she gets a tube of Tommorrow just as "extra insurance," as AnnaS pointed out.

Personally, I would not milk the doe, DixyDoodle, sometimes the doe will continue to make milk for a while after you stop milking her (as I suspect the prior owner and you are experiencing). If you continue to milk her, she will continue to get milk in.


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## fcnubian (Sep 7, 2006)

Well here, When I want to dry does up I remove all grain and alfalfa hay. They get grass hay only. Makes a big difference in milk production. I'll cut back to one milking a day for a few days and then quit completely. Obviously I check the udders morning and night just to make sure they are not getting too tight or hot. 

Goodluck with her!


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## DixyDoodle (Nov 15, 2005)

Thanks, everyone!

No, her udder is not tight, there is a little give and it is soft (gives to the touch a bit). So ok, I will maybe just keep milking her that little bit for a few days to relieve pressure. 

Yes, I did think about getting into milking.....but at a time when it is convenient for me to start: that would be when I have all the equipment ready to go. I don't even have a milking stand, and like I said, getting one built right now is probably not doable.....this is probably the busiest part of the year for me (work-wise), and fun time is short. And add that to having to learn how to milk on top of it? Ug, although I have been doing quite well at hand milking (I think so, anyhow). It's just to get her to hold still and she does not do so when just tied to the wall. 

So long as she is ok this time around; I just didn't want her uncomfortable. When I do decide to breed and milk her, I want to be ready with everything on hand.

Thanks for all the great advice! 

DD


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