I'm so frustrated with my doe!!!!! She's a bad milker, she just won't let her milk down for hand milking or machine. Baby is weaned and she is huge with milk, meets me at the gate asking to be milked but trys to kicks the milk pail across the barn. I get about 3 big squirts. She wants her grain. This is the same goat I wrote about back in December, she started to get better and I was getting about a 1/2 cup per milking but now she's gone the opposite direction. As soon as I start to milk she starts the foot stomping, then, the bucking begins, she completely spazzed out tonight and I dont think it is healthy for her. I don't know what to do at this point. I'm not one to give up. She is not a very friendly goat so I am trying to spend time with her, brushing, feeding treats and telling her how much I love her (@#%&). She is very beautiful and has a great udder. But maybe better would be better if I let her dry up until her second breeding. I don't want to quit until I'm sure she's done. Ugh!
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Excellent news! I'm so glad she's calmed down. Time and patience are key. I doubt the weather had any effect. Since she's been at your place for a few months, it's been long enough for the stress of the move to have worn off. I'd say she's just one of those really good mamas who was trying to save her milk for her baby. It's good that you know that she will calm down for milking now; just might take a few days after weaning. Congratulations! You have a milk goat!
I am really glad I found you guys! Thank you for all your support and knowledge. I am the only person in my area who raises Nigerians and the "big goat people" think they are not real dairy goats and are really mean about them. The lady I get them from is not currently milking because she has 3 babies (human) and no time. I think this is where the problem begins. She has some employees that take care of the goats and I think they may have been rough with Fern. She h She leads beautifully and has such a kind eye I feel she needs more time. Fern is so beautiful and her baby is friendly and wants to be with me all the time. I don't want to get rid of Fern.
On that note a strange turn of events has taken place??? Baby is weaned, weather has changed to 40 - 50 degrees and Fern has changed. Is it possible that she has been stressed by sub zero temps.? Yesterday a.m. I went to the barn to bring her to the milking stand and she was eager to get to her grain. I hobbled her and she ate calmly, no shaking or screaming and let me milk and massage her udder. I got 1 cup of milk twice yesterday and today with no fight. Occasionally she would look at me kindly and give me a Maa ee ee and at one point she nuzzled my hair. What the heck! I'm wondering if the stress of having a winter baby, extreme temps, new home, new career as a milking goat just really upset her. Now that some of the pressure is off she seems to be getting better. Fortunately I am just as stubborn/patient as these animals. I hope to overcome this ordeal and turn Fern into a stellar milker, she has the udder.
Deborah Niemann-Boehle said:
Wow! You've been through a lot!
Unfortunately, some goats will never let you milk them as long as they have kids on them. If she does not calm down within about a week of having the kids weaned, the odds of her calming down are pretty slim. Most of ours are in the routine with no fuss within a couple days, whether they still have kids on them or not, but this is something that we've been breeding for since we started eight years ago. If they're not good mothers AND good milkers, then they are not suited to our style of farm. It doesn't mean they're not good goats. They generally work perfectly on a farm that bottle raises all the babies.
Of the first three goats I bought, two would not let me milk them when they had kids on them. We kept a dam-raised doe out of one of them, and she had the same personality. All three of those goats were sold. One of the owners has kept in touch, and the goat milks without a problem if you take her kids away at birth, which is what I had told him when he wanted to buy her. Some goats just do not have the personality to raise their kids AND let you take their milk too. They're just being good mothers, and they want their babies to have their milk. I would NOT expect this doe to change with subsequent freshenings, and I'd expect her dam-raised babies to be the same.
If you want to keep her, I'd suggest that you bottle raise her future kids. She will probably not give you any trouble with milking, and her kids should be easier to handle. If you don't want to do that, you could sell her to someone who either wants to just dam raise pets or knows they'll need to bottle-feed her kids.
What about milking while dam raising? With a couple of the difficult goats, we did try milking from Day 1 while leaving their kids with them, and they were excellent on the milkstand until we skipped a couple days. That was all it took for them to decide that we weren't allowed to have their milk anymore. Since we don't want to bottle raise babies, we decided to sell those goats.
I'm sorry I don't have any advice that will help you today. It sounds like you're doing everything you can. We've certainly been there. But we live and learn, and we haven't had a problem milker in about five years.
First I want to thank you for your help and compassion on the phone and on this site. You are truly a dedicated goat girl with lots of knowledge. I am so appreciative of your willingness to share your knowledge and the time you spend to help newbys like me. I am the only person in my area who raises Nigerians and the "big goat people" think they are not real dairy goats and are really mean about them. The lady I get them from is not currently milking because she has 3 babies (human) and no time. I think this is where the problem begins. She has some employees that take care of the goats and I think they may have been rough with Fern. She h She leads beautifully and has such a kind eye I feel she needs more time. Fern is so beautiful and her baby is friendly and wants to be with me all the time. I don't want to get rid of Fern.
On that note a strange turn of events has taken place??? Baby is weaned, weather has changed to 40 - 50 degrees and Fern has changed. Is it possible that she has been stressed by sub zero temps.? Yesterday a.m. I went to the barn to bring her to the milking stand and she was eager to get to her grain. I hobbled her and she ate calmly, no shaking or screaming and let me milk and massage her udder. I got 1 cup of milk twice yesterday and today with no fight. Occasionally she would look at me kindly and give me a Maa ee ee and at one point she nuzzled my hair. What the heck! I'm wondering if the stress of having a winter baby, extreme temps, new home, new career as a milking goat just really upset her. Now that some of the pressure is off she seems to be getting better. Fortunately I am just as stubborn/patient as these animals. I hope to overcome this ordeal and turn Fern into a stellar milker, she has the udder.
Dianea Fay said:
Sory she is acting up again. We have one of those too but I can milk her and mom can be by her side but let my oldest close to her and she trhows fit. She hates him. Sad part of it is she is his goat. Have you had your husband try milking her and you standing by to hold legs put bucket under her belly? That way she can not sit down. I know I bribe mine for good behavior. She responded to it well. Marshmellow for each good behavior and praise. This little girl did not eat much gain when she was on milk stand. We did have to hold legs on a couple of the girls and it took a couple times of that and then they got better. warm cloth does help with milk let down. Hope something helps.
Unfortunately, some goats will never let you milk them as long as they have kids on them. If she does not calm down within about a week of having the kids weaned, the odds of her calming down are pretty slim. Most of ours are in the routine with no fuss within a couple days, whether they still have kids on them or not, but this is something that we've been breeding for since we started eight years ago. If they're not good mothers AND good milkers, then they are not suited to our style of farm. It doesn't mean they're not good goats. They generally work perfectly on a farm that bottle raises all the babies.
Of the first three goats I bought, two would not let me milk them when they had kids on them. We kept a dam-raised doe out of one of them, and she had the same personality. All three of those goats were sold. One of the owners has kept in touch, and the goat milks without a problem if you take her kids away at birth, which is what I had told him when he wanted to buy her. Some goats just do not have the personality to raise their kids AND let you take their milk too. They're just being good mothers, and they want their babies to have their milk. I would NOT expect this doe to change with subsequent freshenings, and I'd expect her dam-raised babies to be the same.
If you want to keep her, I'd suggest that you bottle raise her future kids. She will probably not give you any trouble with milking, and her kids should be easier to handle. If you don't want to do that, you could sell her to someone who either wants to just dam raise pets or knows they'll need to bottle-feed her kids.
What about milking while dam raising? With a couple of the difficult goats, we did try milking from Day 1 while leaving their kids with them, and they were excellent on the milkstand until we skipped a couple days. That was all it took for them to decide that we weren't allowed to have their milk anymore. Since we don't want to bottle raise babies, we decided to sell those goats.
I'm sorry I don't have any advice that will help you today. It sounds like you're doing everything you can. We've certainly been there. But we live and learn, and we haven't had a problem milker in about five years.
Baby has been weaned for a few days, I've been trying to milk this goat since mid Oct. I had to leave baby with her longer than normal because I got them in the last week of September and the herd was not accepting them. We went into very cold weather when the baby was just a few weeks old and I was afraid of loosing her to the cold. I live in the mountains in Northern PA and our weather is similar to Maine. We have had negative temps and windchill since December.
I have tried my husband holding her back legs and she screams like we're killing her. I have also tried a hand pump, I pump forever and get nothing but a really mad doe. Ugh! I think my lack of experience and an ornery first time freshener are working against me.
Deborah Niemann-Boehle said:
How long has her baby been weaned? Some goats can take four or five days to calm down after their kids are taken away.
Do you have someone who can hold her hind legs while you milk her? If not, you might need to hold one of her rear legs with one hand while you milk with the other hand. Not ideal, but she should calm down in a few days.
If she won't let her milk down, it sometimes helps to put a warm wash cloth on the udder for a minute or so before starting to milk.
Hey Dianea, I tried the hubby, leg holding and she screamed like we were killing her and started shaking in fear. We stopped that right away because she would not let the milk down at all when she was so scared. The milker worked for a few days and I even bought the Maggidans because I liked the pump, my hands are small. Now if I try to use the milker she kicks and struggles and again won't let her milk down, I can pump forever and nothing. This morning I hobbled her and held up a front leg and that worked better. I've been at this with her since mid Oct. and she is not getting better, getting a little discouraged. 2 weeks ago she kicked me in the face and gave me a black eye talk about ornery! I just keep giving her love hoping she will come around. I think she just might be a naughty goat. I have been thinking about buying an experienced milker due to my lack of experience.
Dianea Fay said:
So sorry she is acting up again. We have one of those too but I can milk her and mom can be by her side but let my oldest close to her and she trhows fit. She hates him. Sad part of it is she is his goat. Have you had your husband try milking her and you standing by to hold legs put bucket under her belly? That way she can not sit down. I know I bribe mine for good behavior. She responded to it well. Marshmellow for each good behavior and praise. This little girl did not eat much gain when she was on milk stand. We did have to hold legs on a couple of the girls and it took a couple times of that and then they got better. warm cloth does help with milk let down. Hope something helps.
How long has her baby been weaned? Some goats can take four or five days to calm down after their kids are taken away.
Do you have someone who can hold her hind legs while you milk her? If not, you might need to hold one of her rear legs with one hand while you milk with the other hand. Not ideal, but she should calm down in a few days.
If she won't let her milk down, it sometimes helps to put a warm wash cloth on the udder for a minute or so before starting to milk.
Replies
On that note a strange turn of events has taken place??? Baby is weaned, weather has changed to 40 - 50 degrees and Fern has changed. Is it possible that she has been stressed by sub zero temps.? Yesterday a.m. I went to the barn to bring her to the milking stand and she was eager to get to her grain. I hobbled her and she ate calmly, no shaking or screaming and let me milk and massage her udder. I got 1 cup of milk twice yesterday and today with no fight. Occasionally she would look at me kindly and give me a Maa ee ee and at one point she nuzzled my hair. What the heck! I'm wondering if the stress of having a winter baby, extreme temps, new home, new career as a milking goat just really upset her. Now that some of the pressure is off she seems to be getting better. Fortunately I am just as stubborn/patient as these animals. I hope to overcome this ordeal and turn Fern into a stellar milker, she has the udder.
Deborah Niemann-Boehle said:
On that note a strange turn of events has taken place??? Baby is weaned, weather has changed to 40 - 50 degrees and Fern has changed. Is it possible that she has been stressed by sub zero temps.? Yesterday a.m. I went to the barn to bring her to the milking stand and she was eager to get to her grain. I hobbled her and she ate calmly, no shaking or screaming and let me milk and massage her udder. I got 1 cup of milk twice yesterday and today with no fight. Occasionally she would look at me kindly and give me a Maa ee ee and at one point she nuzzled my hair. What the heck! I'm wondering if the stress of having a winter baby, extreme temps, new home, new career as a milking goat just really upset her. Now that some of the pressure is off she seems to be getting better. Fortunately I am just as stubborn/patient as these animals. I hope to overcome this ordeal and turn Fern into a stellar milker, she has the udder.
Dianea Fay said:
Unfortunately, some goats will never let you milk them as long as they have kids on them. If she does not calm down within about a week of having the kids weaned, the odds of her calming down are pretty slim. Most of ours are in the routine with no fuss within a couple days, whether they still have kids on them or not, but this is something that we've been breeding for since we started eight years ago. If they're not good mothers AND good milkers, then they are not suited to our style of farm. It doesn't mean they're not good goats. They generally work perfectly on a farm that bottle raises all the babies.
Of the first three goats I bought, two would not let me milk them when they had kids on them. We kept a dam-raised doe out of one of them, and she had the same personality. All three of those goats were sold. One of the owners has kept in touch, and the goat milks without a problem if you take her kids away at birth, which is what I had told him when he wanted to buy her. Some goats just do not have the personality to raise their kids AND let you take their milk too. They're just being good mothers, and they want their babies to have their milk. I would NOT expect this doe to change with subsequent freshenings, and I'd expect her dam-raised babies to be the same.
If you want to keep her, I'd suggest that you bottle raise her future kids. She will probably not give you any trouble with milking, and her kids should be easier to handle. If you don't want to do that, you could sell her to someone who either wants to just dam raise pets or knows they'll need to bottle-feed her kids.
What about milking while dam raising? With a couple of the difficult goats, we did try milking from Day 1 while leaving their kids with them, and they were excellent on the milkstand until we skipped a couple days. That was all it took for them to decide that we weren't allowed to have their milk anymore. Since we don't want to bottle raise babies, we decided to sell those goats.
I'm sorry I don't have any advice that will help you today. It sounds like you're doing everything you can. We've certainly been there. But we live and learn, and we haven't had a problem milker in about five years.
I have tried my husband holding her back legs and she screams like we're killing her. I have also tried a hand pump, I pump forever and get nothing but a really mad doe. Ugh! I think my lack of experience and an ornery first time freshener are working against me.
Deborah Niemann-Boehle said:
Dianea Fay said:
Do you have someone who can hold her hind legs while you milk her? If not, you might need to hold one of her rear legs with one hand while you milk with the other hand. Not ideal, but she should calm down in a few days.
If she won't let her milk down, it sometimes helps to put a warm wash cloth on the udder for a minute or so before starting to milk.
Hope this helps!
Deborah