Bringing Home a New Dairy Goat
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Bringing home a new dairy goat to supply your family with fresh, homegrown dairy products is one of the most exciting events on the homestead, but it also comes with challenges. The goat, being a routine-oriented creature, must adjust to the new situation, and you must overcome the learning curve of milking and caring for this disgruntled caprine while trying to keep her in good milk production. Here, we’ll discuss how to make that transition as smooth as possible through proper management, feeding, and milking.
Goats are like chips, you can’t have just one.
Goats are herd animals and need companions of the same species to thrive and produce well, so start with at least two. If buying a second female doesn’t fit your budget, find an inexpensive wether (castrated male). Ideally, the companion should be similar in size to the milking doe. Small kids, even if they’re her own, don’t fulfill the companionship needs of an adult doe.
How will a dairy goat react?
The person you purchase the doe from can give you the best idea of how she’ll respond to the move. Some cling to humans for security, whereas others are uncharacteristically flighty or loud. Be patient and gentle regardless of how she reacts. She’ll begin returning to normal within a couple of weeks.
Her milk production may drop due to the stress of the move. After she adjusts, production typically rebounds if she is properly managed and milked. However, her production might not reach pre-move quantities again during that lactation.
How to introduce a new dairy goat.
When you bring her home, pen the doe in a small enclosure around her shelter so that she is easy to catch. You can give her access to a larger area after she warms up to you and is in the habit of coming to be milked. Even a personable doe benefits from spending an “orientation” night in the smaller pen.
Visual acclimation across fences is usually unnecessary before physically introducing a new goat to a single goat or small herd. They might quarrel about the herd hierarchy, but generally, they work it out without incident. The main thing to watch is that the existing goats allow the new doe to eat at the feeder and enter the shelter.
If your herd is large or your goats are much bigger or more aggressive than the new doe, introducing them across a fence can help defuse the herd’s desire to put the interloper in her place. Introducing the new doe to a few submissive goats or older kids first is also a good way to integrate her into a less bossy group.
Maintain a stress-free environment.
Provide a calm environment for the doe. Establish a daily chore routine so she learns what to expect and when. Avoid startling her with sudden movements or loud noises. Train children to be gentle and quiet around her. Keep unfriendly dogs away from her.
What to feed a new dairy goat.
Before bringing home a new goat, ask her previous owner what grain mix they feed her and how much she gets per feeding. Try to provide the doe the same amount of the same brand of grain she ate at her old home. Though you might not be able to get the same “brand” of hay, feed her the same type of hay, such as grass/alfalfa. If you want to switch feeds, wait until she has settled in before adjusting her to the new feed gradually over 10 to 14 days to minimize disruptions to her nutritional intake and digestive balance.
How to milk a new dairy goat.
Ask the doe’s previous owner what her milking schedule has been. If possible, continue to milk her on that schedule for the first week or two. Then, if you need to change it, move her milking time by only 10 or 15 minutes per day. Altering the schedule too rapidly can cause her to dry off partially.
If this is the first time you’ve milked, you may feel like milking takes forever until your hands learn how to perform the correct motions consistently (which takes about a week). Though you may want to quit and try again another time, be persistent and fully milk out the doe every milking.
Does tend to hold back milk under stressful circumstances, so gently massage and bump (like a kid) her udder to prompt her to let down all her milk. Leaving milk in the udder encourages her to produce less.
Beginners can have trouble with a doe misbehaving during milking because she’s bored or testing you. Allowing her to get away with this behavior establishes bad habits that are difficult to correct and can ruin her as a milker. Don’t stop milking on a sour note since that puts the idea in her little goat mind that if she does this, she gets her way. Tell her “No!” sternly when she acts up, keep milking through the rodeo, and reward her with a kind word or scratches when she obeys.
If necessary, use physical restraints, such as hobbles for kickers or a bucket under the belly for squatters. Periodically pour the milk out of the pail into a separate holding container so you don’t lose all your hard work with an untimely kick.
You can reduce boredom-related misbehavior by mixing alfalfa pellets with her grain mix to slow down her consumption, giving you more time to milk while she’s happily munching. But don’t feed her more grain than she’s used to, as it can upset her stomach. If she still finishes her feed before you finish milking, you can offer her things like bagged silage to keep her busy.
When It Feels Hopeless
The first week after bringing home a new goat can be rough. Your hands hurt, and the doe is upset. You may feel like this whole milk goat idea will never work out. But grit your teeth and push through it! Within a week or two, your hands will develop the strength and dexterity to milk efficiently, and the goat will begin settling into her new environment and routine.
Use this time to bond with your doe. Most goats seek reassurance during transitions and are especially open to interacting with you. Spending time with her helps you understand her personality better, plus it helps her relax and make lots of delicious fresh milk.
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REBECCA KREBS is a freelance writer who breeds registered Nigerian Dwarf goats at Krebs Dairy Goats in the Rocky Mountains of Montana. She enjoys poring over pedigrees and participating in the DHIR milk test program. Find her farm online at www.Krebs.farm.
