# Stimulating Let Down



## swgoats (May 21, 2010)

This is more a question for those who dam raise. How do you get them to let down all the milk so you can empty them? I seem to have alot of trouble with this. This morning I had a doe about done (not soft, but got everything I could), and then her little doeling came running by, stopped to drink, and I noticed she had a good strong let down. I milked her again and doubled the amount. This time the bag was soft. I understand getting the bag soft is going to stimulate production better, but I don't know how to make them give it up. I massage and bump. What else can I do? Does the milking machine stimulate let down better than hand milking? We are still putting ours together. I'm milking three and all three are doing this to some degree. Now I started separating the first born, and that doe let me milk her to soft in the morning but not at night.


----------



## fmg (Jul 4, 2011)

I don't think the machine is going to help. I have used my machine a few times now, and there is usually some left over in the udder that I have to strip out at the end...I think it's getting better now though. I think the goats just have to get used to the routine of being milked. A machine will have a different feeling than being hand milked and they will both be different than being nursed. Maybe you could try having the kid on one side emptying her, and you milking on the other side. If the kid is not hungry at the time, what about separating for a couple hours, then bringing out the hungry kid and milking at the same time? Just some ideas, not sure if they will work.


----------



## deppo113 (Mar 21, 2012)

I use a warm cloth. I wipe her udder down with a cloth soaked in warm water and hold it there for a bit. Then use a "wipe out" and start milking. It was suggested to me last year on a doe that wasn't letting her milk down and it worked.


----------



## swgoats (May 21, 2010)

Thanks, I'll give these suggestions a try!


----------



## Golden Delta Alpines (Mar 8, 2012)

I didn't even think about my does holding back some milk.
How do you know if they let down all of their milk? Any pics of udders for examples?


----------



## Ziggy (Nov 13, 2009)

tayloer - You can tell by waiting 5 minutes after you finish milking them and seeing if suddenly there is more milk there...


----------



## swgoats (May 21, 2010)

Well, making progress. With Birdie I get better cooperation if I separate her kid at night. If I keep him on, then she makes me "share". I have to milk her, then put him on, then milk again. 

I sold one of Candy's, so she is milking well now. 4 lbs a day plus feeding the doeling 24/7. I'm happy with this from an 80 lb goat 3 weeks in.

Strawberry has been a harder case. It seems she has put fat in her udder. And right around one of her teats, weird. She isn't over conditioned. *sigh* I wasn't getting anything at milking time. Just stripping out an ounce. It felt like there was milk, but no dice. So last night I decided to let her fill her udder. I pulled her triplets. Whoa, 3 lbs at the morning milking, so I guess the little bugs are getting fed. This is also a small goat.

Merrylegs is off to a good start. She's the one with "spigot teats", and it takes me just a couple minutes to pull out the surplus. She seems put off by milking but doesn't seem to hold back.

This is *alot* harder/more work/more time consuming than just letting the kids nurse and getting what I get at weaning, or separating a month in for half a day and only milking once a day. *I am so sick of milking!*. But the resulting surplus of milk is exciting. Getting to see the girls maximize their potential is exciting. Looking forward to my milk machine!


----------



## SANDQ (Dec 27, 2011)

I try imitating the kids, if you watch them, they will butt the udder to release more milk. I have does who dont milk fully after the machine has been on them, so I remove the cluster, surround the teats with my hands, ( as if it was the sleeve ) and GENTLY! give them a couple of upward butts as the kids would do, I have found that this stimulates the does to relase the remaining milk. You cant be heavy handed about it, but this method works for us.


----------



## doublebowgoats (Mar 6, 2008)

Angie, that is why I ended up pulling all the kids this year and just bottle feeding. The last few years, I have been milking twice a day plus worrying with the kids who were always underfoot and keeping the mamas agitated about me taking any milk. Yet if I didn't milk twice a day I ended up with uneven udders on my does. Just pulling the babies at birth has been easier. Not saying I won't ever dam-raise again though, because there are benefits from that, too.
Quentin, isn't it amazing how much more milk you can get from bumping the udder like that?


----------



## swgoats (May 21, 2010)

Yes, it is very different from just letting them nurse and getting what I get at a once a day milking. I never understood why people get so fussy about uneven udders. In dam raising it just means one side has dried up a little. It's not damaged. Next freshening it goes right back. Of course for showing it wouldn't be desirable. But I can see why someone would say dam raising is just as much work as bottle feeding if they are doing the two milkings. I'm spending as much time as a part time job doing this. The jury is still out for me on whether or not this is right for our family. But it is nice to have confirmation on what the girls can do. I feel like I can ask more for them, because I have confirmed to myself they are not pet quality.


----------



## doublebowgoats (Mar 6, 2008)

Before I got "nice" goats, I just dam-raised until 10 or twelve weeks then separated or sold the babies. Easy peasy. But with my higher producing goats, I think I would have a lot of wrecked udders because those tiny newborn babies just can't empty an udder with a gallon or more milk in it. Either they would end up with blown teats or they would never fully meet their potential. 
It is nice to have that assurance that your girls can milk well but also important to decide what is right for your family. I think I enjoyed my goats so much more when I had goats that were not so well bred. LOL


----------



## In it for the Bucks! (Mar 12, 2012)

Sorry don't mean to take over and please let me know if I need to start something new but, I guess I have the same problem. I have really been working with my girls and thought at first it was thier feed. Changed thier feed around a little and milk production has gone up. But, I always feel like I can't get all the milk out. I can massage, milk, then dump and go back and I still get more but only a few ounces. Then dump and go back a few more ounces. I can't get them fully emptied. Is that "normal". (kidded in Janruary dam raised for 8 weeks)


----------



## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

It's not as easy as a 'show udder'. If you keep both sides filled with milk by milking twice or even once a day, when the 3 kids move to needing more milk, there will be a whole nother side filled with milk. If you hadn't milked both sides, the 3 kids would only have what the doe is able to fill from that one side, certainly not enough milk for 3 growing kids.

An engorged side also leaks milk and that is how bacteria that causes mastitis gets into the udder. It's prevention, and we teach it here because as you can tell from posts, not all treatments end the way we want. Vicki


----------



## swgoats (May 21, 2010)

Have you been milking twice a week during those eight weeks Cally? I think I figured out I had several things going on. Some of it was a little bit of early edema, a little bit of having more tissue in the udder than I realized, and mostly they are saving it for the babies. When I separate the kids for 12 hours, the udders get full and then the doe is more willing to let me relieve her of it. Strawberry screams at me though, sounds just like "no!". Even though she was so full she was leaking this morning. First time I ever had a leaking goat. I will probably keep at least one kid on her for awhile 24/7. I certainly don't have time for another milking!

As far as my minis, they don't freshen with huge amounts of milk. They are doing very nicely - I have a 2nd fridge full of milk despite feeding a bottle baby and my chickens milk. The two milkings has stimulated them to produce to their highest potential. But triplets on Strawberry keep her empty both sides. That means three 5 lb kids are taking a quart each a day. The goats with twins have a small surplus. I've come to the conclusion it is just a different ball game than your higher producing standards. Now I've got three nice Nubians coming up. That'll probably be different. I'm hanging in there. We're putting together a double milking machine, and I need stanchions still. And I'll sell some of the first fresheners when the kids wean. So hopefully I can get to the point I'm not spending 5 hours a day on goats. That would be fine if I had five hours to spend, but I don't. Things are slipping.


----------



## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

I actually was talking about my mini LaManchas. Vicki


----------



## swgoats (May 21, 2010)

Ok, different ball game with your high producing Mini Manchas than my little half gallon Mini Nubians.  I can only imagine a goat that feeds three kids off one side. Pretty impressive.


----------

