grrrrrr......

[nmred]

Ah, yes, I remember it well!! It was just last year....it took three of us to milk. One to milk as fast as possible, one to hold up a back leg so she couldn't jump around or lay down, and one at the head to keep the food coming.

I was thinking about that just this morning as I was milking (by myself!!!). She just jumps up on the stand and stands quiet and still. As soon as I touch her udder, she spreads her legs a bit and squats. Great goat! When I got finished milking, I stood up and realized that I hadn't even latched the stanchion. And she just stood there! Never would have happened last year.

Please keep going. It's worth it, and it DOES get better. Hang in there, kid. You're doing fine.

 

[Chirpy]

Patience, patience, patience... if you get frustrated... she will get frustrated. Goats like and need consistency; so, over time as you do the same thing day in and day out they will get used to it and expect it.

I've had goats that tried to lay down while milking and did the staccato dance while milking. Using a larger bucket under their back end is a good start to try and stop them from lowering their backside. If that doesn't work I know a lady who actually had to put a strap under the belly and tie it up to the ceiling to hold her goat up for a few days. In my case the bucket didn't work and I didn't want to try the 'tie her to the ceiling' idea (although I was sorely tempted) so I just worked patiently every day with her. It only took her about a week to stop her behavior. I just didn't get upset with her but would wait each time she lowered herself until she stood up again and restart milking.

My biggest challenge was my Nubian doe who was sold to me because her previous owner, a friend of mine who told me how awful she was, didn't have 30 plus minutes of time twice a day to work with her. I did. It took almost a full two months but she now stands perfectly almost every day... two years later. Again, I used total patience and zero getting angry with her. I lost many buckets of milk during that time. Interestingly, my teenage daughter occasionally milks for me when I'm gone... she has very little patience and she can't milk this doe because the doe won't stand still for her most of the time. Goats know and feel who's frustrated with them and may react accordingly.

The other thing I've done with does that dance on the milk stand is to tie their back feet down. Like using a hobble but literally using a soft rope to tie their feet to the bottom of the milk stand. I use a quick tie knot (like what's used on horses) so that I can untie it in one motion if any danger arises and I have to release her instantly. Generally, two or three days of tying them down and they learn to stand perfectly still. I may have to remind them a week or two later at one milking by retying them but not always. A couple of 20 plus year goat owners shared that with me... it worked for me.

Good luck and don't give up... it will get better and you will eventually love to spend the quiet time milking your girl.

 

[AlaskanShepherdess]

My loopy girl will milk perfectly fine for weeks and then all the sudden one day she starts squatting and kicking. She''l do that for a while and then she is back to normal. Such a silly girl.

When she gets into her kicky moods I have the twine that held my bales together tied onto nails on the back end of the milking stand. At the end near her feet I have a slip knot, so she learns very quickly that trying to kick equals pain. Standing still equals no pain. The knot that is on the nails is a loose knot that I can quickly undo if for some reason it gets too tight and starts cutting off her circulation. Since it is adjustable that way I can also make sure that it is tied to hold her foot down firmly.

When I got my first milker I had no milking stand. Milking Cammie was a hour long job that took 2 people. Nothing was like what she was used to. She was used to a milking stand, with all the grain she could eat during milking time. She was used to being milked out in a few minutes, not hours.

Once we got a milking stand and I figured out how to properly milk she calmed down. Now I don't have to latch the stand at all for her. She LOVES being milked now. Literally. If she gets loose, I'll find her sitting on the stand 2-3 hours before milking time waiting to be milked. 2 hours from milking time she starts letting me know it's getting close to milking time, and if I'm late she comes looking for me baaing the whole time!

 

[poorboys]

iI TOO HAVE HAD MY PROBLEMS WITH FF, IT TOOK ONE 3 WEEKS BUT NOW SHE RUNS UP AND LETS ME PUT THE BUCKET UNDER HER, BEFORE I HAD TO MILK ONE AT A TIME AND IT TOOK FOREVER. HAD ANOTHER THAT TOOK 4 WEEKS BEFORE SHE WOULD STAND THEIR FOR MILKING, I STILL HAVE ONE THAT KICKS ON LEG ALL THE TIME AND SO I MILK HER ONE TEAT AT A TIME, PATIENCE, PATIENCE PATIENCE!!!!!!!!!!!