I initially found it difficult to find out how much milk a goat should give. So, I thought it would be a good idea to do a post on it. I wanted to find out whether or not I had good milkers or bad milkers. This is good information to know both as a breeder and as a simple homesteader that wants to get the best from their animal(s).
Variables
There are several different things that can affect how much milk your doe produces. Keep these in mind before you judge you does production . . .
First Freshener: If it’s a does first time giving birth and coming into milk, they tend to give a bit less milk then they will in future kiddings.
Number Of Kids: Your doe is going to give a different amount of milk based off of how many kids she gives birth two. A single versus quads is going to create different demands on the body.
Feed: The richer the feed, the more milk your doe will produce. Often grain and alfalfa is fed for optimal production, whereas plain old grass hay or no grain would result in a decrease in milk production.
Temperature: This more so refers to heat. If you live in a hot area, it can cause stress on your doe and cause them to drop in milk production.
Water: This should be obvious. Your goat needs water to produce milk and if they run out it can put less milk in the pail.
Stress: Any other stressors in your goats life can cause them to drop in milk production. Being separated from their baby, new goats in the herd . . .
What’s Butterfat?
Butterfat is much like it sounds. It’s how much fat or cream the doe produces which is used to make butter, sour cream, ice cream . . . with Nigerians in particular, their butterfat increases the longer they are in milk.
The chart reflects what the average good milker should be producing. If they are producing a little less, consider whether or not something is the cause for the lower production. If you straight up have a goat that’s producing a bit less, then it may just be the doe and bad genetics. You can either choose to replace the doe, or if she still produces a fair amount for your family then it’s not a big deal. Where it may be a problem is if you are a breeder and want to breed the best milking genetics, or if you are showing goats and want to compete in the show ring.
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Sources:
https://info.mannapro.com/homestead/dairygoatbreeds
https://www.betterhensandgardens.com/what-does-goat-milk-taste-like-anywa y
Photos From Pixabay: Oberhasli, Saanan, Nubian, Alpine
