Hey guys, this is my first year for milking. I am working on a doe right now who's kid was sold last week.
My first question is how do I go about teaching her to lead? I have to walk her about 100ft. to the milking stand and so far walking her on a lead is not working well. I either drag her the whole way or I wind up picking her up and carrying her. That hurts the back and I cannot continue to do that very often. LOL
My second question is how to get them to quit laying down on the job. I am using a hand held milker so milking goes quick, but when I am ready to start on her second teat, she is trying to lay down and I wind up having to support her in the middle with my right arm and continue to milk with my left.
I have been milking her for about 5 days now and it just seems I am fighting her more and more every day.
Any thoughts? Thank you!
Replies
Oh good Kelly, this is good news, do what works best for you and your goats. I do think over time you and hubby will not have to hold her.....lol.....it would be so cute to see a picture of you three.....lol.
Thank you all for the good advice. We did hobble her back legs and we have had no more problems with milking her now. Of course, the hobbles we are using are our hands. LOL Hubby holds her collar while she eats and holds her right back leg. I hold her left back leg and use my left hand to pump up the milker. I just wish we had a 3rd person to take a picture of us. It would be one for the memory books, for sure. I have also started leading another one of my does out to the garage and onto the milk stand to eat. I pet her while she eats, but I still will not milk her until her kids are weaned since she has 3 to feed. All in all, things are going much better!!! YEAH!!
Hej From Sweden !
Yes I did a little planing ahead of these births, but as we all know , this is not a guarantee that I will have success in milking. I still will need luck in the actual milking process. I too will be using a hand milker. I know one thing , goats thrive and perform at their best with repetition. They love things to be done regularly and the same way. Just work with your ladies and do it the same way every day and they will come to not only expect it , but enjoy it and look forward to it. I hope you do well and please say a special thought for my ladies and me.
Kelly Wood said:
Oh dear, Kelly, sounds like you do have your hands full!
You can also hobble a goat. But I find hobbles that are available on line do not fit a Nigerian. But you could make your own too. Some opt to tie down each back foot to the stand, but you have to be careful not to use something that will cut into their legs near their hooves. I found when I hobbled my mini milkers, (they are a bit bigger than my Nigerians) that the hobble worked really well. Over time the doe got used to being milked and I didn't have to use the hobbles anymore. My first freshners all did the dance, moving around and I had one doe even when she was hobbled could lift her whole hind end off the floor of the milk stand to keep from being milked.....lol.
Here is a link from fiasco farm's website on the proper way to put on hobbles. http://fiascofarm.com/goats/hobble.htm
New ones to the milking stand that are not hobbled do dance, and can even put a foot into that beautiful pail of milk you just worked hard getting when you are new at it too. One thing you might try especially if they are not hobbled is to take a 2 to 4 cup measuring cup out with you and hold it closer to her teat and milk one teat at a time. That way you can move your cup out of the way quickly to keep her from stepping in it. But I have had them step in it too this way.....lol, I wasn't fast enough in getting it out of the way of her foot ! You could possibly try this until they get used to being milked and then return to a pail.
Keep at it, keep trying, all that you describe has happened in one fashion or another to all of us. And yes I have even cried over it myself, thinking what in the world did I get myself into....lol.
It might be a good idea to start working with your other doe now. It will be a bigger challenge, especially if you can't even touch her......again time spent daily and giving her treats separate from the other doe may help. Take care.
Well tonight was the worst milking exp. ever. LOL Leading her to my makeshift stand was a breeze this time since I bribed her with treats all the way. (thank you Debbie for the hint)
However, my new auto hand milker broke so I had to hand milk her and being a beginner, I am slow. Well, she decided to pitch a fit the whole time. Like I said, each time I go to milk her seems to be worse than the time before. Needless to say I was unable to finish milking her this go around.
When I get my stand build, I have decided to add side rails to it also. This particular doe wants to move everywhich way and having side rails would stop her from doing that.
I have another doe I am going to try milking in a couple of weeks, but I have a feeling that one will be a bigger fight because I cannot even pet her. UGH!
KSweden, sounds like you did some planning before jumping head first into things like I do. I bet you will have a great exp. milking since your girls are already familiar with the stand and you touching them. I sure wish mine were. LOL
Your very welcome Kelly. When you get your new stand, maybe it will go better for you. Yes your hubby is correct if you can get the feed pan at a higher height that may keep her from laying down too. It seems like most critters, food is a big motivator....lol!
Best to you too KSweden, I wish you and Kelly both blessings in your new milking experience. Just remember we all had our firsts too and it does get better over time for you and your goats.
Oh K, did you ever find any of those colored chain type collars for your goats?
Hej from Sweden!
I am about to start miking myself for the first time after 4 births in my stable. I have trained my 3 ladies to get on the milk stand to get their grain for the past 2 months. They are so good , now. In the beginning I had one lady who went to her knees immediately and all I could do was wait for her to stand. We are lucky to have the stand right outside the box of two of my ladies so sometimes they don't even use the ramp , they hop right up. They are so good now that I can have one of the stable doors open and I never have to worry about them running out. They are now all three very comfortable on the stand and I have bee touching their sides and working my way down to the tummy and then toward the udder. They now accept my touch and I can do that as they munch on grain. Now the challenge will come when I begin to milk. I hope they are as cooperative. But I tell you, I will be prepared for one or two of them to lay down on the stand.
I wish us both luck!
Hello Debbie
She is not a first freshener, but I do beleive this is her first time being milked. I do feed her on the stand and she eats for awhile and then that is when she starts laying down.
Right now, what I am using for a milk stand is stricly makeshift and my Hubby thinks that the box that holds the food is too low and should be raised. If I can figure out how to do that, I will. I have a friend building me a real milk stand, but until it is ready, I will have to continue using my makeshift one.
I like the idea about using treats to lead her. She loves animal crackers so I think I will give that a try when I get her on the stand for tonight's milking.
Thank you again Debbie for the advice!
Hello Kelly,
This can be very frustrating indeed. Is she a first freshener? Usually first timers can give you this kind of problem or Doe's that have never been on a milk stand before. Do you feed her on the the milk stand? Usually once they figure out that getting on the stand gives them food they are very eager to get to it. This may also solve the problem of laying down too if she has stuff to eat. You could feed her daily ration on the stand and if she scarfs it up before you get done with milking you could offer her alfalfa or timothy pellets or even hay to keep her busy. I find that if a goat, and even kids if they have never been exposed to a milking stand it is a good idea to let them "check it out" in a supervised environment, to get some treats in the stands feeding pan without being locked in. Once they get used to that I proceed in locking them in for a short time, let them loose and let them investigate the stand on their own again with more treats and repeat the process. They soon think, well hey, I like jumping up and climbing on this thing and getting something to eat.
As far as leading goes, holding a special treat out in front of her may help. If she walks a few steps forward, praise her and offer a treat. Keep doing this until she gets to the stand and offer another treat so she will get up on the stand. Once she does, praise and pet her and offer another. Then offer a treat to get her to stick her head through the head lock on the milking stand. Hopefully you have a feed pan already on the milk stand and you can then put her feed in it and begin milking. Once a goat makes a connection of milking stand = food/treats you may eventually not even need the leash!
Goats are pretty smart and each is different and even the above tips may not work, and others here will have good tips too.
It takes time, and being patient. I have learned too if I stay calm and not show my frustration that helps too. But oh yeah the little buggers can frustrate me too. Hang in there kido, it does get better. Take care.