Low winter temperatures in some regions combined with increasingly frequent extreme cold waves have negative impact on animal performance, behavior and welfare. The objective of this study was to evaluate the physiological and lactational responses of dairy goats to cold stress. Eight Murciano-Granadina dairy goats (2.13 ± 0.36 L/d; 70 ± 2 DIM; 41.75 ± 2.02 kg body weight) were maintained in metabolic cages and randomly divided into 2 groups: thermoneutral (TN; 15 to 20°C) and cold stress (CS; −3 to 6°C). The experimental design was a crossover with 2 treatments in 2 periods (21 d each). Goats were fed ad libitum and machine-milked twice daily (0800 and 1700h). Feed intake, water consumption, rectal temperature, and respiration rate were recorded daily. Milk samples for composition were collected weekly. Insulin, glucose, nonesterified fatty acids (NEFA), β-hydroxybutyrate (BHBA), cholesterol and triglycerides were measured in blood samples taken weekly. Body weight (BW) was recorded at the start and end of each period. Compared with TN goats, CS goats had similar feed intake, but lower (P < 0.05) water intake (−23%), milk yield (−8%), respiratory rate (−6 breaths/min) and rectal temperature (−0.32°C). Furthermore, milk of CS goats contained greater (P < 0.05) protein (+10%), fat (+12%) and lactose (+4%). The CS goats lost −0.45 kg BW, whereas TN goats gained 2.2 kg (P < 0.05). Insulin and cholesterol blood levels were not affected by CS. However, values of blood glucose (64.1 vs. 66.7 mg/dL), NEFA (0.107 vs. 0.215 mmol/L) increased (P < 0.05) by CS, whereas BHBA (0.528 vs. 0.400 mmol/L) and triglycerides (22.0 vs. 18.2 mg/dL) decreased (P < 0.05). In conclusion, dairy goats were sensitive to low ambient temperatures with marked productive and metabolic responses. These responses included decreased milk production, increased milk fat and protein contents, and incremented blood NEFA and glucose levels despite similar insulin values. It seems that NEFA was directly used by the mammary gland (increased milk fat content) rather than metabolism in liver (lower BHBA and triglycerides). Study funded by Project AGL2013-44061-R (Plan Nacional, MINECO, Spain).