Thank you, Sue Huston, for this wonderful article on milk testing:
How much milk is that Kinder
doe giving? Just because she feed three kids are her udder looks full are maybe
you are milking three does and the gallon bucket is about full with this
specific doe probably giving half of this. Is this your answer to the quantity
of milk this doe is milking? If so
then you really don’t have any idea to the milking ability of this doe.
You don’t think that the
amount of milk being given by a certain doe is important? Well it may not seem important as long
as you are getting enough milk for the family are the kids seem to be growing
well. If you are selling Kinder stock then the real milking ability in you herd
is very important and you need facts to prove each and every does milking
capability. You might have someone looking for does to milk in a diary
situation. You would be more likely to make a sale if you had the figures on
all your does giving not only the quantity of milk but also the amount of
butterfat and protein. Kinder does in general have higher butterfat content
than many of the other breeds which make them great candidates for cheese
plants.
There are several options
available to those interested in milk testing. There is individual official testing, group testing and one-day testing. Each will
give you official test results. If you cannot afford any of these then just
keeping personnel records would certainly be better than not testing. The KGBA
can furnish forms for your personnel use. There will be links with discussion
on the official tests available in the following paragraphs. I thought you
might be interested in reading this web page:
How to Get Started on DHI Milk Test with ADGA.
http://www.thegoatspot.net/forum/showthread.php?t=136415&referrerid The Kinder Association use the same rules for DHIR
testing as ADGA so for a Kinder doe to earn her star she must meet the same
requirements as that of an ADGA doe. Please view each of the videos in the link
above whether you plan to do DHIR testing or not. Langston does such a
wonderful job and offers so much for breeders.
You can decide on official
testing, group testing or one-day testing to prove the milking ability of your
herd. I think official milk testing has been explained fully in the link
above. If there are 3 or more
breeders in your area that all wish to become testers then they can test each
other's herds monthly OR you can each do the Owner/Sampler Test Option and run
Verification Tests on each other's herds. There are breeders, having a friend living near by to become
an official tester, that friend can then come to test their herd. Testing can
be done at shows too making it possible for several breeders to participate in
a one-day testing.
I hear so much about record
keeping programs. Milk testing is a great program for record keeping for your
herd. Not only are you proving the milking ability of that doe but that buck
and all those daughters and sons in the line.
One-Day Test is considered a
separate event, which requires a separate sanction and registration fee.
Contact KGBA regarding these fees. Points in One-Day Testing are earned by the
quantity of milk produced, length of time since kidding and butterfat content.
A Kinder doe must earn 18 points or more to earn a star in One-Day Testing.
Below is the system used to calculate these points.
Milk Point System
One point per pound of milk
produced, calculated to within one decimal point.
One-tenth (0.1) point for
every complete 10-day period that the doe has been in milk since her last
kidding, with a maximum of three and six tenths (3.6) points or 360 days.
One point for every five
one-hundredths (0.05) pounds of butterfat yielded.
Milk weighs about 8.4 lbs.
per gallon. Below are the figures from a 2000 One-Day Test. Notice that only
one doe receives enough points (18 or more) to make her star. The other does
scores are good and ones that I am proud of. These are official scores and
prove that these Kinder does are good milking does even if they did not make
their stars. Ebony milked about 1-½ gallons in One-Day Testing with a total of
22.7 points thus making her star
Milking testing is the only way to prove that your
Kinder does are truly good milking Kinder.
Sue Huston
