Mitchell Family Farm
Adin, CA
(menu on top right)
Goat Gab
What milk test day(s) look like for me on DHI-APCS-02 plan.
I am on the DHI-APCS-02 plan
"Supervisor and owner share responsibility for collecting test day weights, alternating the AM & PM weighing each month. Supervisor also collects component samples when weighing. Annual herd VT required. Minimum DCR of 93 required for Top Ten awards."
I typically try to start my milk test Saturday morning or evening so that I can ship the samples and papers out first thing on Monday morning. Every test will alternate between morning or evening samples.
So for my first test this year I started in the evening, so I would be done by the evening of the next day. Saturday at 17:30 (have to record in military time for milk testing) I separate all the kids from their dams. They are all used to being separated for 12 hours at night by this point anyway so nothing out of the ordinary.
Regardless of if the doe has had kids on them all day or not, I milk and strip out each doe completely and return her to the barn. I make sure all does and kids STAY SEPARATE FOR THE WHOLE DURATION OF TESTING (the kids have a nice way of escaping on test days). Everyone has free access to minerals, water, grass hay, alfalfa hay and alfalfa pellets. The does get grain on the milk stand and sometimes mixed in with their alfalfa pellets. Again, my does get a grain mixture of 1:3 BOSS (Black oil sunflower seeds), 1:3 wet or dry COB (Corn, Oats & Barley), and another 1:3 extra Oats or Barley or even "Dairy Goat Grain" or "Lactating Goat Pellets". I'm really not too picky about the mixture but it seems to be working well for the goats and they love it.
I prep before I start so that I am prepared for official test day:
I make sure the scale has batteries and is working.
I have all the papers sent to me ready from DHIA that includes two forms.
I enter in all my does' information like barn names, registration numbers, their dams and sires, birthdates, dates freshened, their chain or control number.
I have my vials ready.
I have the milk machine or milk pail ready.
I have jars and extra jars ready.
I have a ladle ready to pull milk samples from the pail.
I have a permanent marker ready to label the vials and a pen to fill out the DHIA papers.
I have a notebook just in case.
I AM READY!​
About 11 hours later, I get up to offer EVERY kid a bottle, even if they are being dam-raised. First year, none but three would take the bottle, last year all but three would take the bottle. This year is eh. We have 4 bottle kids and two bummer lambs.
Twelve hours after I milked the does last, so at 5:30, I bring each doe in and milk her.
If I was just doing the milk pail, I milk her, pour all that milk into a spare jar, tare the weight of the pail, hang it on the scale, pour her milk in, record weight on DHIA paper, and she is done.
If I am using my milk machine, I hook her up to the machine, pour that milk into spare jar, strip her into pail, pour that milk also into said spare jar, tare the pail, weigh the milk and record it and done.
I also filter all that milk into their own jar using a coffee filter so we can use it for later. I personally like to keep each doe's milk in their own jar for milk test day because I like the visual of how much they are actually producing. It's fun to see pints, quarts, half gallons and gallons and look back at their lactation cylce at the very end.
​
I offer all the kids a bottle 6 ish hours later. If they eat great, if they don't, they will be fine until the evening. I make sure they have access to water and all hays.
​
Twelve hours since the does were last milked, so at 17:30, I bring each doe in and milk her again. I follow all of the same procedures as before EXCEPT DO NOT FORGET TO HAVE YOUR SUPERVISOR TAKE THE MILK SAMPLE FROM EACH DOE FOR THIS MILKING. So for this session, you will record both weight and sample. Label your sample on the vial and mark your DHIA sheets accordingly with which doe was which sample number. I try to keep the control number the same as the sample number just to make it easier for myself. Gently swirl your milk sample vials to make sure the preservative in mixed. Put those in the fridge if not shipping right away. I return each doe to barn and release the kids! I typically leave all kids back with their dams (if dam-raised) overnight so not to over-stress them and just don't expect to get a lot of milk the next morning. By the next evening I return back to our usual schedule of separating the kids at night from their dams.
Next, make sure your DHIA sheets are completely filled out and place them in a waterproof bag along with your fees. Gather your samples and make sure they are closed. I tape the tops of them with painters tape. I bundle them with a rubber band and stick those in a separate waterproof bag. I stick all those in a box to ship along with an ice pack. Fill out your address sticker, slap it on and then sharpie all over that box "MILK SAMPLES" and send them on their way. DONE!
