Anyone have any solutions for a goat that gives ALOT fo trouble when you are trying to milk her. My 2 year old Joelle is on her 1st freshening. She will hold still just long enough to eat her grain (which she inhales) and then begins to kick away my hands from her udder, upsetting the pail, and making a terrible mess. Is there anyway to cure her of this? I have never had any trouble with my other does and I have no idea what to try.

-- Tiffani Cappello (cappello@alltel.net), June 12, 2001

Answers

Response to bad rebellious goat

Hi Tiffani: This is typical for a lot of first fresheners. Put 2 or 3 fist-sized rocks in her grain bin so she can't inhale her grain and has to pick around them...it'll slow her down a bit. Talk softly to her and you may have to hold one leg down and milk one-handed for a few times until she decides she likes the process and relaxes a bit. Generally, after 3 or 4 times, they get the hang of it...especially if they know they're gonna eat! Good luck! :)patty Prairie Oak Miniatures http://www.minifarm.com/prairie_oak

-- Patty Putnam (littlegoats@wi.rr.com), June 12, 2001.

Response to bad rebellious goat

Tiffani, I know this won't help you, but as a suggestion for others who are about to have first time fresheners, I usually put my youngsters on the stand daily for a few weeks before they are due to give birth. I run a young doe in, let her eat, and gently imitate milking motions for just a moment. I stop faux milking when they bag up so I don't stimulate let-down. It's educational for me too because I am in closer daily contact with these animals just before they are due. There are so many things that are new to a first time mother. Letting the young does get used to the idea of getting on the stand and having their udders touched ahead of time just makes one less strange new thing for her to have to cope with.

-- Sheryl in ME (radams@sacoriver.net), June 12, 2001.

Response to bad rebellious goat

We use tethers to tie back their rear legs. It usually only takes several days for them to get the idea that they can't kick and that being milked is a good thing. Go to http://www.sundaycreek.com/goat_info_.htm for some pictures of the tethers I made. They really work well and will not injure the doe no matter how hard she tries to kick.

-- Skip Walton (sundaycreek@gnrac.net), June 12, 2001.

The suggestion about rocks is a good one I haven't tried before. Try to remember that your goat isn't really acting like this simply to annoy you (hard to believe, I know!), she is actually nervous, unfamiliar with this new routine, and TICKLISH! I read somewhere that a goat's teats are the most sensitive part of their body. For right now, I wouldn't even bother trying to salvage the milk for your family. Use the milk for pets until the milking can be done without incident. Get something solid and heavy, like a cast iron kettle or a 2 qt size Pyrex measuring cup, that will be harder for her to upset with every flick of her foot. Now that you don't have to worry about keeping the milk clean or her kicking it over constantly, there's the actual milking. A lot of first fresheners have teeny little teats, that are tender and ticklish and hard to grab. It is very easy to pinch them or the udder tisue above them in attempts to get ahold of them. Try not to pinch them (fingernails should be clipped short if possible), and if the hair around them keeps getting pulled while you try to grasp the teat, clip the hair on the udder. Above all, keep milking no matter what she does. Let her know that it doesn't matter if she stands on her head(!) you are going to keep right on milking until the udder is all empty. If they ever get the idea into their head that they can get you to stop by misbehaving, they will pull this sort of nonsense whenever they get impatient, hoping you'll quit and let them out. Be gentle but firm, and stubborn! Resolve that you are going to milk her onto the ground if necessary, and take all day if need be, but that you will not let go of those teats until you are all done. Then, when you're done, pet her pleasantly and talk to her a little while she relaxes, and lead her slowly off the milk stand. The idea here is that you don't want her to get the idea that milking is something horrible that she has to bolt off the stand and escape from. If you do these things, she should turn around and behave very soon, feel free to e-mail me privately if she is still causing trouble.

-- Rebekah (daniel1@itss.net), June 13, 2001.

Lots of folks don't want to hear this but you really can't be to firm with the new girls! I simply don't allow them to act like this. From the beginning as kids being taught to lead or not to jump up, I am very firm with them. In the pasture a momma goat will bite her kids on the neck if they misbehave. I simmulate this with a pinch. On the milkstand I slap their flank. Yelling very LOUDLY NO!! I mean really screaming loud. This really upsets the very calm life my girls lead. Soon the hard slap can be stopped and just the loud NO countinues. Now my girls know a stern NO means pain, and simply don't move their feet. My older girls know my tone of voice, when mom says "Don't even think about it"!!! When I milked lots of does I wouldn't purchase new does for the milk, unless I had milked them before. Some folks goats like their dogs and children are very misbehaved :) Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), June 14, 2001.