How to milk a goat: rules, care features, expert advice

It is important to know how to properly milk a goat. After all, the duration of lactation and the amount of milk depend on this procedure. The main thing is not to rush, that is, do not start milking the female ahead of time. It is advisable to wait for the first lambing. Immediately after birth, the udder begins to produce milk. It should be fed to goats up to 3 months of age. In parallel, you can express a small amount of milk for personal use.

Why give out a goat

As a rule, a goat is bred for milk. Lactation in animals begins after the birth of the first kid.Before giving birth, it is advisable not to milk the female. At a young age, all the nutrients should go to the development of the skeleton and various organs. A goat is covered only after it reaches 12-18 months. Earlier 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 they take a few minutes to touch the goat's udder and squeeze the nipples.

When a female gives birth to babies, she immediately produces colostrum. This is a substance with a high protein content, antimicrobial components and growth stimulants. Colostrum should be completely spent on feeding goats. This substance disappears after 1-2 weeks, regular milk appears instead. It should also go to feed the goats. Cubs are fed with mother's milk until 2-3 months.

The female immediately after the first lambing begins to gradually give out. The first milking is carried out immediately after childbirth in order to stimulate uterine contraction and improve the discharge of the placenta.It is recommended to give colostrum to goats. Cubs can feed on their mother's milk and live under a goat for up to 2-3 months.

Kids should eat their fill. Remaining milk should be expressed daily. It is recommended to 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 goats are full (2-3 times a day). They do this so that she gives a lot of milk. If the female is not given milk and let this process take its course, then after a few months lactation may stop.

You can remove just-born kids from their mother, milk colostrum, and then milk (by hand), and feed the cubs from a bottle with a nipple. In this case, you need to immediately set the schedule. At 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.

You need to cover the female once a year, not more often, otherwise the animal's body will exhaust all nutrient reserves. Mating is carried out to prolong and increase lactation. Already after 2-3 lambing, a dairy goat will produce 4 liters of milk per day.

Udder preparation

You can't just walk up to a goat and milk it. This capricious animal at first may not even allow a person to approach him. It is necessary to teach the female to touch 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 imitate milking, squeeze the nipples (do not pull), wipe the udder with a warm, damp towel, give your favorite goat treats (a piece of sugar) 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. Their pregnancy takes place during the winter months. During this period, the percentage of vitamins and nutrients in hay and vegetables is reduced. A young goat needs to be fed with finely chopped carrots, Jerusalem artichoke, pumpkin, and beets. In winter, it is recommended to give spruce and coniferous branches, pharmaceutical vitamins and minerals (“E-selenium”, vitamins D, A). The female should be kept in a clean, dry and warm room.

It's completely different to feed a goat that has already given birth. This animal continues to produce milk even after mating. 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 food. 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 gradually increase the interval between milkings. Already a month after the launch, the goats are milked not two, 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 need to constantly monitor the udder and, if necessary, express milk. 2 months before birth, milking of goats should be completely stopped. The neglected female diet can be improved.

How to milk a goat after the first lambing

Pervokotka is milked immediately after the birth of the cubs. A small amount of milk is expressed and given to the goats. Before milking, the udder is washed with warm water and dried with a clean towel. Babies can suckle until they are 3 months old.

Some breeders keep babies away from the heifer so they don't damage the nipples. In this case, immediately after lambing, the female should 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 already milk the goat 3 times. The main thing is to fully milk milk, every last drop, to stimulate its production in the udder.

If the mother lives with the kids, unnecessary trouble can be avoided. True, it is desirable to milk a 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 owner of the goats decides how the kids will eat. Each method has its own advantages. A female without kids will start milking faster and will retain lactation for a longer period.During milking, the goat should be given juicy food, grains, vegetables and root crops, minerals and vitamins, water with sugar.

Give out a nulliparous goat

You can milk a nulliparous goat from the age of 12 months. True, such a procedure is resorted to if it is not possible to carry out mating (there is no goat nearby) or the female is not capable of fertilization, that is, she is barren. A he althy goat should preferably be covered and milked after lambing.

The distribution of a nulliparous goat is carried out gradually. First of all, the diet of the animal 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. Such nutrition stimulates the production of milk in the udder.

At first, the goat is just being massaged. It is necessary to stroke the udder, squeeze the nipples, simulating the milking process. The procedure is carried out 2-3 times a day (daily, without interruptions). After some time, a light liquid will appear, and then the milk itself.

Usually, dairy goats produce girl's milk at 5-7 months. These are the consequences of good nutrition and hormones. True, they don’t touch it and don’t pump it if the udder doesn’t burst much.

How to milk a goat after a false pregnancy

After a miscarriage and a false pregnancy, the female is milked as usual. These physiological processes are perceived by the body as normal childbirth, and colostrum begins to be produced in the udder, and then milk. Dispensing is carried out immediately after the expiration of fluid from the uterus. Usually this happens with hormonal failure and malnutrition. Subsequently, the goat can be covered again.

It is easier to milk a running 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 is harder to milk a nulliparous goat. The animal will first have to be accustomed to the hands and the milking process itself. Milk after the end of a false pregnancy should immediately arrive in the udder. It is pumped 5 times a day, then gradually switched to three times milking.

What do experts advise?

The distribution of goats is carried out only after childbirth. It is recommended to cover females no more than once a year. It is advisable to keep the born kids on milk feeding for up to 3 months. Switching too quickly to plant-based foods can cause various diseases and non-viability of kids.

In newborn cubs, even the stomach is not adapted to digest grass or hay. With mother's milk, kids get exactly those substances that they need for normal development.

Don't expect big milk yields from a goat that has given birth for the first time. Initially, the female will give 1-2 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 yields will drop. Old animals are recommended to be replaced by young ones.