Milking goats is a process you need to be well informed about before attempting to go ahead with it, so in this article I’ll try to cover the basics of milking pygmies and how it’s done.
Do I have to milk my pygmy goat?
Your goat will only produce milk under certain circumstances, which I will get into shortly.
You must understand, however, what you are getting into if you want your pygmy goat to begin lactating.
Once your goat begins lactating, it will need to be milked every single day, twice a day.
It’s a lot of work, and that’s the first point you need to be aware of, especially if you are going to have multiple lactating goats.
Pygmies may be smaller than regular goats, but this is part of what has made them so popular as pets.
They are much easier, in general, to care for than full size goats.
However, when it comes to lactation, the work is virtually just as taxing, especially if you have no experience of doing it.
So, yes, if you have a lactating pygmy goat you will have to milk it every day, twice a day.
If you don’t, the milk will begin to swell up in the udders causing extreme pain and discomfort and will eventually lead to an infection.
This gives you an idea just how destructive it can be for your goat if you don’t milk it.
If you’re thinking of getting a pygmy goat and would like to be able to milk it, then, you need to be aware of this.
It’s no small amount of work and requires daily attention multiple times a day.
Does a pygmy goat have to be pregnant to produce milk?
The only way you will get a pygmy goat, or any kind of goat or cow, to lactate is by having a male goat impregnate it.
The goat will then need to carry the kids to term, at which point she will begin lactating.
Once the goat has given birth, you will then need to hand-feed the kids in order that they don’t drink all the milk.
So, that’s an extra piece of work to consider on top of the milking, at least for the first 8 weeks.
That is typically how long they would feed from their mother before turning to more solid foods.
At that point, if you don’t wish to keep the kids, you can sell them.
After this, your pygmy goat should continue producing milk for up to a year.
The quantity will gradually reduce over time, until it dries up entirely.
So, for this time, you’ll need to be milking your pygmy goat very regularly, so it is not a short time commitment.
Goats generally give birth once a year, and any more than that would likely be harmful for them.
This is especially true of pygmy goats due to their smaller stature.
Just like dogs who have been selectively bred by humans for desirable aesthetic traits like being smaller, it has had some effect on their breeding process.
So, you should wait a full year after your goat first gives birth to attempt getting it pregnant again, even if the milk dries up before that.
For a small farm, this makes pygmy goats perfect.
They will produce small amounts of milk for up to a year and need less space than regular goats.
They make great pets as well if you want milk for your family, but you must keep in mind that you are signing up for a long-term commitment.
What can I use pygmy goat milk for?
Pygmy goats produce an extremely high-quality milk, and lots of it despite their size.
As I said, around 1-2 quarts a day is entirely common for the small goats.
It has a very high fat content, so it is very often used to make creams and other thick products.
Many who rear and milk pygmy goats have reported that the consistency and thickness make it great for dessert toppings like cream of all kinds.
It can also be used to make soap since it is so high in fat.
Many soaps are made by this process of taking the fat content from animal products.
Equally, it’s good to just bring it to your table and enjoy in your coffee or on your cereal!
It’s a very versatile milk with a great variety of functions.
Pygmy goats, then, are very unassuming but produce a lot of milk for their size.
Milking any animal can be hard work, though you certainly have an easier job milking a pygmy goat than a full-sized dairy cow.
But, don’t forget how much work it will be to take on.
You will not only need to take care of all the basic elements of goat rearing like feeding and cleaning, but you’ll also need to breed and then milk your goat every day, multiple times, for as much as a year.
If you are prepared to take on all this work, your pygmy goat will be a great producer.