Hopefully your does all kid easily and without any intervention. If they need help, follow-up care will depend on circumstances and the recommendations of your veterinarian. For now, let’s assume that everything went great, and you only needed to help a little or not at all.
During labor and directly after kids are born, I give my does warm water with a little molasses in it, followed by fresh hay and grain. When I am sure that there are no more kids waiting to be born, I encourage my doe to get up and eat. This helps to keep her rumen functioning, avoids her having legs fall asleep from being in an awkward position for too long, and allows kids access to the udder. I make sure all kids are nursing and able to find the teat on their own. If they aren’t, I help them until they get the hang of it.
About an hour later, after I’m sure all the kids have nursed well, I milk the doe out almost completely to make sure she’s not uncomfortable and to encourage more milk production and shrinking of her uterus. If you don’t milk your doe out, she can end up with mastitis or a blown teat if her kids all decide to nurse from the same side.
The first few times I milk a first freshener, I just tie her to the wall and milk straight onto the ground or a towel. That way she can jump around without tipping over a bucket and freaking herself out. I just let her jump around and kick all she wants. I stay calm and quiet and don’t take my hands off her teats until she settles down.
I continue to milk out once or twice a day until the babies start eating more; then I milk out once a day.
If I am worried about a doe’s ability to produce enough milk for her kids, I will sometimes milk her out only once, shortly after freshening, and then monitor closely and milk only if needed. In these cases, I still put her on the milk stand every 12 or 24 hours and squirt a little milk out to make sure it’s not bloody or stringy. I also check to make sure neither side is staying more full or getting hard and that teats aren’t getting raw. It’s also a good way to make sure that new moms are getting enough grain.
I deworm does on day 2 or 3, disbud and vaccinate babies at 10–14 days, and start pulling babies at night and milking the dam in the morning at 2–3 weeks. I try to gradually keep babies separated from dams for longer and longer after pulling them at night so that they are completely weaned by 10 weeks and ready to go to new homes. I treat kids with Baycox® (Toltrazuril) because coccidia is such a problem around here. I check random fecals for other parasites, but only treat as needed.
If everything went well, and I don’t need to treat with antibiotics or address the need for further vet assistance, I too give warm molasses water and make sure they have access to whatever food they like. The does clean their babies completely. Babies stick around until the delivery process is good and done.
I milk the doe out completely when the kids are clean. I get my does used to being milked sooner than later. Nursing kids and being milked are completely different, so getting used to one process will not get them used to the other. And even if the kids are taking all of a doe’s milk, I would still suggest getting a doe on the stanchion and playing with her udder. First fresheners can have quite the learning curve when it comes to being milked. You’re better off starting sooner rather than later.
As soon as a doe kids, you don’t have to get her on the stand, start touching her udder while you assist the kids in nursing. Then afterwards continue to handle her, either milking once per day to relieve excess pressure, or just taking a few squirts to get her used to it. You may need to tie her or get her on the stanchion if she really fights it.
I bring the babies in the house, but it’s important they be out of sight and hearing of momma, otherwise it’s mean. Most of my does have never raised their own babies. I would imagine trying to start pulling kids from a doe that has raised her own every year would be quite upsetting. Because the majority of my herd are bottle babies I raised myself, the does actually don’t seem to care that much when the kids leave. They’re more worried about my leaving them. They would bond with their kids just fine, but they almost immediately transfer that bond to me. The few dam-raised does I have in my herd had a little more adjustment. But they, too, end up bonding with me more.
Back in the house, I get the kids to latch onto the nipple (some are easier to train than others) and try to get at least a couple ounces of colostrum into each one. I then go back to check on my doe, and I keep watch every couple hours to make sure she’s doing OK and passes her placenta normally.
After that things are pretty easy. I milk a minimum of twice daily, but often more frequently right after kidding to encourage milk production. I don’t always deworm after kidding, but I do as necessary. Kids are put onto a bottle-feeding schedule, introduced to hay pretty quickly, and eventually to grain when they’re several weeks old. I disbud at or after two weeks old, and deworm shortly before weaning, since many as leaving for new homes at that point.
If you don’t want to wait until the kids are fully weaned to start milking, after 4–6 weeks you can remove the kids at night, milk the doe once a day in the morning and return the kids to her to nurse during the day.
The first few times I milk a first freshener, I just tie her to the wall and milk straight onto the ground or a towel. That way she can jump around without tipping over a bucket and freaking herself out. I just let her jump around and kick all she wants. I stay calm and quiet and don’t take my hands off her teats until she settles down.
If everything went well, and I don’t need to treat with antibiotics or address the need for further vet assistance, I too give warm molasses water and make sure they have access to whatever food they like. The does clean their babies completely. Babies stick around until the delivery process is good and done.
About an hour later, after I’m sure all the kids have nursed well, I milk the doe out almost completely to make sure she’s not uncomfortable and to encourage more milk production and shrinking of her uterus. If you don’t milk your doe out, she can end up with mastitis or a blown teat if her kids all decide to nurse from the same side.
As soon as a doe kids, you don’t have to get her on the stand, start touching her udder while you assist the kids in nursing. Then afterwards continue to handle her, either milking once per day to relieve excess pressure, or just taking a few squirts to get her used to it. You may need to tie her or get her on the stanchion if she really fights it.
Back in the house, I get the kids to latch onto the nipple (some are easier to train than others) and try to get at least a couple ounces of colostrum into each one. I then go back to check on my doe, and I keep watch every couple hours to make sure she’s doing OK and passes her placenta normally.
A doe’s udder and two teats come in all shapes and sizes, but all are relatively small prior to her first breeding. Afterwards, usually, they grow large enough for a farmer to wrap her fingers around. But sometimes it’s more practical to wait until a doe has been pregnant more than once, so the farmer can get a better grip.
On large dairy farms, does are milked using machines outfitted with suction cups. Backyard farmers rarely invest in such contraptions and prefer the bare-hands-and-bucket method.
The first milky fluid a doe produces after giving birth is called colostrum. Just as in humans, this highly nutritious milk is rich in fat, growth hormones, vitamins, minerals, and antibodies that help the newborn get off to a healthy start. Colostrum has a yellowish tint and does not taste like regular milk. It should always be saved for a doe’s kids, who need it to thrive.
Most often, farmers choose a middle path, allowing kids to nurse for a few weeks, then separating the doe from the kids for part of the day so that the milk she produces during that time can be collected. Every mammal’s milk production works by the law of supply and demand. If a doe is milked frequently, she will produce more milk. If a farmer waits 60 days before milking a doe, her kids begin nursing less frequently and eating hay and grain sooner, as the doe’s milk production slows.
When we decided to welcome a buck into our pen last winter, I had goat’s milk and goat cheese on my mind. I had not milked our Buttercup after her first kids were born in 2020, but this time I pictured myself getting up at the first light of dawn to hand-squeeze warm goodness into a silver pail.
Don’t Overlook Postpartum DOE Care This Kidding Season! Dairy Goat Care Guide
FAQ
How long can you milk a goat after kidding?
How soon after birth does a goat need milk?
When can you start milking a pregnant goat?
How soon after birth can you drink goat milk?
When to start milking a goat after kidding?
If you can wait for 3 months (12 weeks) that’s preferable. Then you can be sure that the kid has learned to eat on its own well enough to survive and thrive. In this article, we explore these variables and provide sound advice on when to start milking a goat after kidding.
How long does it take for goat milk to improve your skin?
Goat milk is a natural exfoliant for the skin. It removes dead skin layers by exfoliation. It also consists of triglycerides and fatty acids that help in maintaining and nourishing the skin. Some soaps contain goat milk and are ideal for patients with eczema. The lactic acid brightens the skin complexion and may take around 3 weeks to do so. Consistency is key.
When should you stop milking a goat?
So, after a goat or cow freshens, she is typically milked for 305 days – that means that you should definitely quit milking her two months (60 days) before she is going to freshen (give birth). So, if you bred at the end of October, you could continue to milk to the end of January.
Can You Kidding a goat during pregnancy?
Let me show you goat kidding tips the “pros” teach so you can successfully help your own goats through pregnancy, labor, birth and beyond. If your mama doe has kidded before, plan to give her about a two-month break before kidding again. This will dry up the doe’s milk from any previous kidding by two weeks before any new kids arrive.