Chat
06-23-2014, 09:05 PM
This morning I was very excited to see Petunia's kids bouncing around with full tummies while Petunia still had milk left in her udder. The mastitis test came back well within the normal range. However, Phil and I had to be gone all day and I wasn't able to do the massage and hot compresses till this evening and her milk was back down again. The left udder feels almost normal and the healthy right side has a lot less congestion, so now it looks nearly even. But the kids had drained the udder dry and were still hungry tonight. I'm hoping it improves by morning or Lilly may have to supplement them again.
Petunia's appetite is great, and if she could just make more milk I'd feel that all was right with the world. I'm sad for her kids because she won't hang out with them much when she's out of milk. This morning when she had plenty for them she took them for a walk and was snuggling up with them and really bonding. This evening she left them in one shed while she went and ate in another. They've been sleeping in Daisy little Dogloo a lot, and Daisy seems to be filling some of the gaps left by their mother. Snickers came tottering out of Daisy's house the other day with his fur all stiff because Daisy had curled up in there with him and licked him from head to toe. She loves having babies to look after. She really wanted to adopt Finn when he was born but Lilly wouldn't let Daisy near him. Petunia doesn't care who adopts her babies. She comes to them if they cry, but otherwise she's a fairly indifferent mother. Somehow I feel like all that would change if she could feed them better.
So if anyone has any tips for increasing milk production, I'm open to suggestions. The goats get free choice alfalfa and during the day they get fresh browse of all kinds--grass, weeds, trees, bushes, bark, even old tires and the stucco off my house! What more could they want?? I keep their water fresh and clean, and they get free choice loose minerals and baking soda. I feed about 1.5 cups of grain, a handful of sunflower seeds, and 1 cup of alfalfa pellets twice a day. Petunia's actually been getting a little more grain recently in hopes it will increase her production, but I don't want to just make her fat. She looks sleek and healthy. I suppose we could have her checked for worms, but so far we've never had any type of parasites in our herd. Hardly anyone in this area has problems with worms because of the dry climate, but I suppose it wouldn't hurt to rule it out. Anything else I can do?
Petunia's appetite is great, and if she could just make more milk I'd feel that all was right with the world. I'm sad for her kids because she won't hang out with them much when she's out of milk. This morning when she had plenty for them she took them for a walk and was snuggling up with them and really bonding. This evening she left them in one shed while she went and ate in another. They've been sleeping in Daisy little Dogloo a lot, and Daisy seems to be filling some of the gaps left by their mother. Snickers came tottering out of Daisy's house the other day with his fur all stiff because Daisy had curled up in there with him and licked him from head to toe. She loves having babies to look after. She really wanted to adopt Finn when he was born but Lilly wouldn't let Daisy near him. Petunia doesn't care who adopts her babies. She comes to them if they cry, but otherwise she's a fairly indifferent mother. Somehow I feel like all that would change if she could feed them better.
So if anyone has any tips for increasing milk production, I'm open to suggestions. The goats get free choice alfalfa and during the day they get fresh browse of all kinds--grass, weeds, trees, bushes, bark, even old tires and the stucco off my house! What more could they want?? I keep their water fresh and clean, and they get free choice loose minerals and baking soda. I feed about 1.5 cups of grain, a handful of sunflower seeds, and 1 cup of alfalfa pellets twice a day. Petunia's actually been getting a little more grain recently in hopes it will increase her production, but I don't want to just make her fat. She looks sleek and healthy. I suppose we could have her checked for worms, but so far we've never had any type of parasites in our herd. Hardly anyone in this area has problems with worms because of the dry climate, but I suppose it wouldn't hurt to rule it out. Anything else I can do?