Farmer-tested advice for goat breeding and milking

Whether you're looking to grow your family of goats or simply want some delicious goat's milk, this detailed guide will cover everything you need to know: from mating season to milking technique.

• Female goats need to give birth before they start producing milk. When does reach 18 months, they should be bred once each year to ensure a continuing supply of milk.
• Though does can mate as young as six months old, waiting until they're fully developed guards against the permanent stunting that early pregnancy can cause.
• The breeding season for goats begins in the fall and lasts through to early spring. During these months a doe will come into a two-day-long heat every 21 days until pregnant.
• Pay attention to the signs of heat: restlessness, tail twitching, and bleating.
• It's best to arrange a buck in advance and take your female to be serviced when you're sure she's in heat.
• After about five months watch for signs that signal the young are about to be born. These signs include bleating, reduced feeding, engorged udders, and white vaginal discharge.

• Newborn kids must receive colostrum, the doe's antibody-rich first milk. Afterwards, the kids should be separated from their mother and fed from a pan or bottle.
• Give the young kids 500 millilitres (two cups) of milk three times a day for the first two weeks and make oaten hay or very dry hay available at all times. After that, you can gradually reduce the amount of milk and increase their grain and hay intake.

• Establish a familiar milking routine by spacing milkings as evenly as possible. A 12 hour interval is ideal but not necessary.
• Keep the atmosphere calm at milking time and allow the doe to settle down, then lift or walk her onto the milking stand. Put the doe's head through the stanchion, where a bucket of grain should be waiting.
• Wash the udder with clean cold water, remove the first milk (one or two generous streams), and wipe the udder with disposable paper towels. This will clean the udder and stimulate the secretion of a hormone that relaxes the muscles holding the milk in place.
• Milk each teat alternately with the proper technique (described in a later section). When the flow subsides, stop and gently massage the udder from top to bottom to stimulate the flow and then begin milking the doe again.

• For good-tasting milk, cleanliness is essential. Even a tiny quantity of dry manure or dust will damage the milk's flavour if it falls into the milk bucket.
• Milk in an area that's easy to clean, has minimal dust-collecting ridges or niches, and is separated from the animal's feeding and bedding areas.
• Keep hairs around the goat's udder clipped short to minimize the spread of dust. Keep the doe's coat free of dirt through frequent brushing.
• Wear clean clothes, wash your hands, and ensure that all equipment is scrupulously clean.

• Before starting to milk, wash the udder and gently pat it dry. Trim back any long hairs near the udder: an inadvertent tug on a hair could cause the doe to kick.
• If you're right-handed, sit with your right shoulder beside the animal's shoulder. Milk by pressing gently upwards against the udder, then closing successive fingers.
• When the flow decreases, massage the udder.
• Finish the procedure by running your closed thumb and forefinger down each teat to release the last drops of milk.

Goats are lovely animals that are very rewarding to care for a breed. Use these pointers to ensure a successful mating season, healthy offspring, and a large supply of delicious milk.