# Nigerian Dwarf Goats how much milk do you get per milking?



## NataliaTwoDoes (Mar 24, 2011)

I started milking my goat Mocha and it has been quite the fight getting her to allow me to milk. She tap dances and attempts to sit down on me. Of course she is perfectly happy to get the grain but does everything she can to stop me from milking..... and I do it anyway.... 
She is one month and a week in-milk and I just started to milk her last Monday once a day. She is separated from her doeling overnight but I hear that normally people get 2-3 quarts a day w/ NDGs (two milkings) since Im milking only once at the moment I would expect to get about a quart a day but I am only getting a half-a-quart of delicious creamy sweet milk. 
Does the milk production start off small and ease in later to the higher amounts? She is bred for milking so she should be producing a decent amount. She eats rye/alfalfa/pasture grass 3 way and grain and acorns when she get the chance and she has free choice minerals. I did not worm her prenatally as I had spent the bulk of two weeks in the hospital around that time and it just didn't get done. She seems to be copper deficient despite free choice minerals and Ive been thinking about bolusing but I dont know much about it.

If this amount (1/2 quart in a milking) is considered especially low please feel free to give suggestions but Id love to hear what is normal for others to get from there NDGs.


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## LoneStrChic23 (Jul 30, 2010)

I can't help you on the Nigerian amounts............. I milked a tiny mini Alpine this year & she averaged 2 1/2-3 quarts. 

Is this the first time she's been in milk? First fresheners do tend to give less but improve with future lactations. 

I personally would copper bolus her, deworm her (I deworm all of my does with Quest Horse gel, 1cc per 100lbs the day they kid & they are usually good to go for several months) & make sure she's getting plenty of alfalfa.....Alfalfa is a great source of calcium. I can't get alfalfa hay so I put out alfalfa pellets..

Also, she may not be letting down all the way for you, so when you think shes empty perhaps try massaging the udder & see if she lets down more milk?

Hopefully some Nigerian people will come in soon on typical amounts given...


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## NataliaTwoDoes (Mar 24, 2011)

Thanks, she has freshened now at least twice. Do you milk through the quest dewormer?


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## April (Nov 28, 2006)

You do need to milk her like normal after you worm her, but most people throw the milk away for a few days. I don't, but that's me.


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## NataliaTwoDoes (Mar 24, 2011)

Thanks April


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## Creamers (Aug 3, 2010)

My FF Nigi doe gives 6 cups a day.


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## mabeane (Jun 5, 2010)

With NDs the amount really depends on the genetics. My ff is giving me 1 quart in the morning after separating the twins through the night. I don't milk her at night. She has great genetics behind her.


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## Creamers (Aug 3, 2010)

Genetics make a huge difference. My FF Nigi doe above has good milk genetics. 1/2 quart isn't bad - it is probably quite average for a Nigi. I've know many people to get 2 cups a DAY! lol


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## NataliaTwoDoes (Mar 24, 2011)

I am told that she is from very good milking lines so I expected a little more I thought the fact that she had a single kid might be making a difference in the amount of milk I got assuming that if she had twins we might be getting more since there would be a higher demand. It tastes really great and my kids love it, it just does not cover our milk needs  My goal was to switch over to raw milk once she had freshened..... If folks get two cups a day though maybe I should just see it as a quart half full rather than half empty...heh


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## Hollowdweller (Jul 13, 2011)

NataliaTwoDoes said:


> I am told that she is from very good milking lines so I expected a little more I thought the fact that she had a single kid might be making a difference in the amount of milk I got assuming that if she had twins we might be getting more since there would be a higher demand. It tastes really great and my kids love it, it just does not cover our milk needs  My goal was to switch over to raw milk once she had freshened..... If folks get two cups a day though maybe I should just see it as a quart half full rather than half empty...heh


People mostly have Nigerians for the cute factor. Most of the people I know that have them select for color and size not milk production. I feel they are a novelty breed. 

With the nigerians you will be able to sell the kids easily due to the demand for novelty in the goat world. But you can get way more milk with much less effort out of any of the dairy breeds.


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## mekasmom (Jan 19, 2010)

Creamers said:


> Genetics make a huge difference. My FF Nigi doe above has good milk genetics. 1/2 quart isn't bad - it is probably quite average for a Nigi. I've know many people to get 2 cups a DAY! lol


I agree with you on that amount. I have only had one Nigi that we milked, but she only gave about 10-12oz twice a day, morning and night. She was feeding twins at the time though. It just wasn't worth the stress of milking her with the tips of your two fingers unless you didn't have another milk goat handy. Maybe experienced nigi people do better, but I didn't have a lot of luck with my girl. She was sweet though.


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## Creamers (Aug 3, 2010)

Now that my FF Nigi doe is broke to milk on the stand, and with her udder size. . .she is no harder to milk than the full size girls, eats much less. . . I think you get more bang for your buck in feeding costs with the Nigis. . . if you have good milk lines.


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## Caprice Acres (Mar 6, 2005)

Make milk lines your #1 priority with Nigies. This is my main reason for not wanting them. 

1. You CANNOT milk blue eyes or 'flashy', for goodness sakes. 
2. People become breeders because they are cute. ALL goatbabies are cute. 
3. MOST people do NOT put their nigies on the milkstand. 
4. Have you SEEN some of the tiny teats that these pet breeders produce? Yikes. And I thought FF alpine teats were bad at first...
5. I have seen SO many nigies that look like pygmies conformationally, and if not for the non-pygmy color I would think they were pygmy - if you aren't diligent about breeding for conformation, they tend to naturally return to their 'natural' appearance which is that of the pygmy. Nigies and pygmies were once the same breed - african dwarf - which is essentially a meat breed (pygmy). This is often noted as being 'coarse' by appraisers. Too meaty. They ought to look like tiny alpines. 

That being said, I know I've seen some impressive nigies, both conformationally and that can put it in the bucket. Nowhere near the capacity of a full size breed but with similar body size to milk production ratios. That should be a good goal, IMO.


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## NataliaTwoDoes (Mar 24, 2011)

Well I bought her from a small goat dairy that decided to close up, they had 9 goats total and I took two of them. The first thing I asked about was production and I was assured that they were bred for milking.... I guess that can mean anything without a milk test to prove it. I think you are right though (mygoat) about what people should be breeding for since I cannot afford "pets", or I should say I only keep pets-with-a-purpose.


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## emanuelcs34 (Dec 5, 2007)

I milk NDs...It all depends on the goat...I had 2 2nd fresheners this year...One was giving almost a half gallon per milking, the other just barely a quart per milking...I am breeding to increase milk production and so far it seems to be working. 
I have seen alot of ND Breeders around here that are breeding for quantity and selling all kids as great milkers and show goats. But the quality is not there. It doesn't matter how long they have been breeding, some are just in it for the money, and if they are not milking them, they can not know if they are good producers.


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## NataliaTwoDoes (Mar 24, 2011)

Wowee, a half gallon now thats what im talkin about lol.... exactly what I need. Do you have any does from this girl?  Ill take em off your hands.


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## KimM (Jun 17, 2005)

The best way, imho, to start milking a doe so she will be more accepting of you is right after the kids are born (I know you weren't able to) as this would create more of a bond (imprinting) between you and her. 
At this time, she is not only upset about the act of milking but she's not letting her milk down either. You're probably only getting half of what's she's producing. It might be better to milk her twice a day even if the kids are on her, keep the demand up.
My ff does are basically lower producers although I have a 3 year old ff that was giving 1 1/2 quarts at her peak (freshened in Jan). The other girls, all 2nd or 3rdF's are giving about that as well at their peak. One 2ndF that was nursing quads had an udder so big that I had to milk out half to relieve her and I got well over a quart. So it varies alot and genetics are most important but there are things you can do to get the most out of what you have. I'm still learning about what things effect production.
It seems as if you're feeding well enough (though you didn't elaborate on your grain) but you should get a fecal done and deworm accordingly and a copper bolus.

I breed for milk production, but not mega-production. My main focus is teat size/placement and better (especially rear) attachments, and overall sound structure. Blue eyes and loud color just happen to be icing on some of my little cakes!


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## NataliaTwoDoes (Mar 24, 2011)

Thanks for the advice Kim.... She is starting to cooperate more each day.
My grain is farmers lactating goat. I may switch back to purina goat chow which seemed my goats much more shiny their general appearance was healthier then.


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## mekasmom (Jan 19, 2010)

KimM said:


> The best way, imho, to start milking a doe so she will be more accepting of you is right after the kids are born (I know you weren't able to) as this would create more of a bond (imprinting) between you and her.


Now that is an interesting idea that I had never heard before. It does kind of make sense though in a way. Use those bonding hormones to teach her to like you to milk her.


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