I need help with milking my goats they will not be still.

-- Lisa Hopple (hopplehomestead@safezone.net), April 18, 2000

Answers

Hi Lisa,

Be glad to help. Are you milking them while on a milking stand? Giving them grain usually calms them and keeps them occupied. Are they kicking a lot too? If you could mention a little more about where you are milking and how and if you are using grain.. etc... it would be helpful. Hope this helps.

Bernice

-- bernice (geminigoats@yahoo.com), April 18, 2000.

Lisa, in addition to Bernice's answer, how long have you been milking, and did somebody who knew how show you? Sometimes if we don't milk right it pinches; also long fingernails can pinch. Also, have your goats been milked before? By hand or by machine? (I've heard they actually like machine better!) How tame are they otherwise, when you aren't milking? Definitely you need a milking stand to hold their heads still, but they can still hop all over the place!! And as other postings on other threads have mentioned, their dirty feet seem to be drawn to a full milk pail like iron filings to a magnet!! I had one goat that I had to milk with one hand, while holding the milk pail in the other just as high and far forward as I coud get it, all the while keeping a wary eye on her feet! Put in some more info. and we'll try to help.

-- Kathleen Sanderson (stonycft@worldpath.net), April 18, 2000.

@yrs ago we had a doe that had never been milked befor. We put her in the milk stand but I couldn't believe the things she could do with her back end, she even stood on her head with her feet at least 3ft off the stand. I got some soft clothes line rope,fastened a piece on each side of the back of the milk stand and tied each foot ,so they were back a little. She still had fits but it didn't take long until she desided the fight wasn't worth it. she is now a perfect lady on the milk stand. She still hates to have her feet trimmed. This year we also have a first freshener. For about a month or so before she kided we put her on the stand and fed her grain and rubbed her body and touched and handled her udder. She never fought us a bit,when it came time to milk her. I love goats..Doris in Idaho

-- Doris Richards (dorisquilts@webtv.net), April 18, 2000.

At times some goats (especially those that have not been hand raised) won't co-operate. I have had to tie the back feet. Be careful with this, not to cut off circulation. You can put them on a stand and have small cat collars attached to either side of the stand and buckle the hind legs up. continue to give grain. This eventually teaches them to behave. Good luck. KJ

-- karen duby (k_seeker50@yahoo.com), February 22, 2001.

On another thread Skip has his website up that shows these hobbles for goats on the milk stand, well at least I think it is him! Though my girls are Nubians and are of the obnoxiously tame persuasion, they do not like thier udders touched when not on the milkstand. If you were to buy one of my goats and then proceed to milk her clipped to the fence on the ground, she would think you had lost your mind also! :) Not that you could eventually win the fight and teach her to milk this way, but it would be a fight! America's Funniest Home Videos kind of fight! My does have been machine milked and hand milked and act no different either way. Other than making sure your nails are short, can't really belive that a human could milk near as rough as a baby nurses! Keep at it! Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), February 22, 2001.

First, I wouldn't try to get clean milk yet if they are acti ng this way. It will only frustrate you to try, (at least it would me). Just concentrate on getting them to let you handle their udder and milk them. What I would do is to feed them some grain, after they gobble it down, do NOT replenish it. You don't want them to get the idea that they will get grain every time they act up! It could be that your milking technique is hurting them, be sure that you are not squeezing any part of the udder except the teat, even if the teats are annoyingly small. Milk with your right hand and hold the rear leg closest to you with the other hand, hold it just above the hock. If she tries to kick with your hand on it, be firm and hold it tighter. This is a contest of wills, and you have to let them know that you are the boss, and that things will be pleasant for them when they obey. Try very hard not to lose your temper(I know it's hard sometimes!). If they lay down, keep milking. Whatever she does, keep milking and handling the udder so she knows that she is not going to be able to get you to quit by misbehaving. Be stubborn, and get every last drop. When you're done, pet her and talk to her nicely until she calms down and let her go. Once she gets the idea that she is not going to get the better of you she will behave.

-- Rebekah (daniel1@itss.net), February 22, 2001.

We use leg tethers on a milk stand with stanchion. You can see a picture of the tethers at http://www.sundaycreek.com/goat_info_.htm These are pretty easy to make and work great. We always feed when we milk. After a few milkings with their rear legs tied back, they get the idea.

Skip Walton, www.sundaycreek.com

-- Skip Walton (sundaycreek@gnrac.net), February 22, 2001.

I just wanted to say thanks as I'm having the same problems with a 1st freshener. I'm trying my best not to get frustrated, lose my temper, etc. and your advice on this forum has helped out a lot. Thanks again, Tony

-- Anthony Bailey (abailey@mac.com), March 22, 2001.

Oh my gosh! LOLOLOLOL! I was perusing the archives for natural cold remedies for my little goat & came across this thread. This is hilarious, b/c I'm going thru the EXACT same thing w/ my first dairy goat, who also happens to be a first time freshener. I have no CLUE what I'm doing, so I'm fumbling around & we don't have a milking stand built yet, so I have an old door on top of 2 coolers & use a dog collar & leash to tie her up w/ a bucket of sweet feed in front of her. I haven't quite gotten the hang of milking yet, (just got her 2 days ago . . . ) so it takes me forEVerrrrrrrrrrrrrr. Poor little Maggie does real well & is pretty darn patient, but MAN is it enough to tick you off when you've slaved away for almost an hour & your back is killing you & your hands are cramping into something that look suspiciously like talons & you have your whopping 2 cups (or whatever) of milk & THEN . . .

she decides to kick & puts her manure-y foot RIGHT in it.

DRAT!!!!!

It was all I could do to not yell & scream & beat my head against the wall. I did grab her by her muzzle & looked her in the eye & told her thru gritted teeth that she needed to STRAIGHTEN UP! I didn't want to reward naughty behavior by stopping milking, which is obviously what she wanted, so I kept milking right into the tainted manure-milk bucket till we were done (we went thru this several times . . . ) & after all that work - dumped it on the ground.

Jerk!

So I'm considering the tying of the leg thing, too. I was going to cut up an old Tshirt.

So maybe us newbies can help each other out, here!

Nice to see that there are others in the same situation as Maggie & I are. We'll get it eventually!

Regards, Sarah in MI

-- Sarah/MI (colonel@frontiernet.net), April 01, 2001.