WITH autumn approaching and winter not far behind it, it's time to consider how best to nutritionally provide for your dairy goat to ensure a winter supply of milk. This is particularly important if you are not planning to mate her again this year and want her to "run through" until next year.

If the kids from this year are not yet weaned, now is the time to do so, assuming they are around 16 weeks old and you have been following the regime of 12 hours with mother and 12 hours separated as suggested in the "Working Nine 'till Five" article. If you separated them soon after birth, then weaning will have taken place in any case.

If the kids are still with their mother for part of the time, separation must now be done abruptly.

The doe will be very happy to be given a rest and the kids will be well established in their own right and will no longer be dependant on their mother's milk. I know that some breeders continue to supplement their kids with bottles for several months longer, but I have never found this to be necessary and it will simply create you more work.

If your kids have been with your goat for a period of the day, you MAY need to milk at either end of the day in the short term. It is important to completely strip the udder at least once a day to keep the milk supply. It is all about supply and demand. The more you milk, the more the goat will produce, within reason.

Assuming that you have a dairy goat of good milk lines, she will be producing, during full lactation anything from 5 to 8 pints of milk a day. Inevitably as time goes by, during that period of lactation, the yield will naturally begin to drop.

We must remember WHY the goat is producing milk-basically, as nature intended, to feed her offspring. Nature did not intend her to feed her offspring until they are as big as she is and so NATURALLY her milk supply will diminish once the kids are of weaning age.

In the wild state, this would be anywhere from 4 to 12 months of age and so for our domesticated goat to continue what is an UNATURAL lactation period, we have to support that with both management and food. Many things must be considered when "running through" a dairy goat as follows:

Worming
Whatever your worming programme, your dairy goat needs to be wormed regularly and you MUST observe milk withdrawal periods as dictated by the manufacturer. All milk during this withdrawal period must be discarded. Do not give to other livestock but make sure you milk as normal or the yield will drop and disappear completely. Your worming programme should be very clear in your mind and written down so that you do not forget how you are going to manage the rotation of products. You should discuss with your vet how and what preparations you are going to use to maximise effectiveness and wormer resistance. If you use organic wormers, then this is also the time to have a worm count done. Used according to advice these wormers should be very effective but an annual worm count will reassure you. Again discuss this with your vet.

Vaccination should also be done around this time if it is due.

Vaccination
Avoid worming and vaccination at the same time. The reason for this is that giving both at the same time can create a stress reaction in the goat and lower resistance to other infection, cause scour and as a result reduce the milk supply which will never recover. Also the effectiveness of any vaccine relates to the good health of the animal at the time it receives the vaccine.

A preparation, such as Heptavac P Plus is the ideal vaccination for goats as it immunises them against dysentery (this affects kids more than adults) pulpy kidney, struck, tetanus, braxy, blackleg, black disease and clostridial metritis. Assuming that your goat has already received a standard course of this vaccine, you will need to vaccinate annually only. If not, then a course of 2 injections which are given four to six weeks apart will set her on the right course. Any kids which are being retained or sold on should also receive an initial course of this vaccine.

  • There is no milk withdrawal period for this product.

Blue Tongue vaccine - btv8
Eventually the whole country will be able to access this vaccine but currently only Surveillance and Protection Zones have been issued with it.

You will be sent a letter from Animal Health once vaccine is available in your area. You should order the quantity you require and absolutely no more than that from your vet. Sheep and Goats only require one injection of 1ml, given under the skin (subcutaneously).

  • There is no meat or milk withdrawal period for this product.
  • Make sure you enter ALL medicines administered in your Animal Medicine Record Book.

NB All and any vaccines should never be given together and a period of 2 weeks should elapse between each. Nutrition
To help maintain a good milk supply and keep the goat in good bodily condition, you will have to address her diet through the advancing cooler months of the year.

Hopefully, she has had a good supply of grazing and browsings through the summer months and you have kept an eye on her condition and she should really be looking her best right now. Whether she is to be housed, part housed or living out with shelter through the autumn and winter, the nutritional value of herbage drops quite dramatically after July and although there is often a flush of growth during October you will now have to supplement her food in order to maintain that milk supply.

She should be receiving an ad lib supply of the best hay you can find at all times and whether she lives in or out, the hay should not be fed on the ground.

She will require 2 to 4 feeds of concentrates a day if that is possible. If you are only able to feed twice a day, reduce the concentrate ration slightly and add some Alpha A to it instead. This is because large concentrate feeds can result in the goat developing acidosis.

Use a proprietory Goat Mix or a Goat Dairy Mix if you can find one. A standard goat mix is fine but add some Dairy Nuts to it, bringing the weights up to the following:
2 feeds weighing 1lb each plus a double handful of Alpha A in each
OR
4 feeds a day of 10 oz each plus a single handful of Alpha A in each
You can also add chopped fruit and vegetables, banana skins, stale bread which has been oven baked but legally nothing that constitutes "catering waste" and on no account anything that might have meat traces or animal fat on or in it.

Clean water which is changed at least daily and if possible warm water when she comes in at night.

A mineral block which is manufactured for goats.

Do not use sheep products-they do not contain copper and goats have a copper requirement. Use the herbs you may have dried through the summer, crushed and added to the feeds. Nettle in particular is thought to be helpful with milk production.

Essentially, your goat will thrive and be productive on regular routine, good forage and in particular long fibre as is found in best quality meadow hay.

Mind set
The final consideration is your goat's mind set. This may sound odd, but a happy and contented goat is a productive one.

Make sure her recently weaned kids are somewhere where she can see them
Do not isolate her from other goats
Human interaction is important. Talk to her whenever you pass. Make sure you and others are calm and considerate around her at all times, never raise your voice
Be patient and kind at all times, even if you are in a hurry
Attend to any minor ailments as soon as they are spotted
Keep her warm, dry and draft free
Make sure she as a plentiful supply of clean forage and water at all times
Provide a radio in the goat shed if possible, preferably not playing Radio One although I expect there are some caprine movers and shakers out there and I'm sure you will tell me so!
Happy Milking!

Next time: Growing on 2008 kids for meat and herd growth.

INDIVIDUAL RECORDING CONCESSIONS FOR THE SHEEP AND GOAT INDUSTRY - released 2nd July 2008
The following concessions on sheep and goat movements have been implemented from July 2008

  • No animals have to be individually recorded on a Movement Document until 1stJanuary 2011
  • No animals born before 31st December 2009 have to be individually recorded on movement document until 31st December 2011
  • No animal born before 31st December 2009 and moving to slaughter (either directly or via a market) have to be recorded on a movement document at all.

Personal comment by Felicity Stockwell: I am amazed at the final statement with regard to the spread of certain diseases particularly regarding the "via a market" clause. Personally I will continue to record such movements for my own records. Is it me or has someone lost the plot here??