How to milk a difficult goat?

[Duckfarmerpa1]

I’ll try the wet stand..mine has the wood slats too. Last night I finally got Chris to come see what I’m complaining about..so he can rig something up for me. Of course she wasn’t near as bad. Only tried to sit 6times...and didn’t kick the bowl. Ugh. But, at least he got th3 pictUte, so I gave him ideas..@jesusfreak has, like a bunk bed in her barn and used to hang a doe with a cozy strap around her belly. So, I told him that, once again, and showed maybe how we could do that? And a few other options. Now we’ll wait and see...he’s typically very great at getting my issues taken care of very fast. But, last night, I had a leaky rabbit hutch...stupid one we bought, not made...and I lost two kits.... So, today he needs to put a new tin roof on it...but I moved the family to a better hutch, and I’ll only keep bucks, and single moms in there...but it’s a 5 stall hutch...ugh.

ok, thanks ladies...once again..BYH comes through!

 

[Duckfarmerpa1]

So, yesterday my hubby rigged this thing...he used a flannel bedsheet, folded it about 6” wide...screwed it with wood on each ends. Then he screwed it to the wall, bungee strap on the other end. I put her in....put it under her, I can really hike her up...she can’t kick or sit, I can get to the teaTS! It seems to be working!! He is soo great..I knew if he just looked at the situation, he’d come up with a fix in a hurry!!

 

[Mini Horses]

Eventually she'll probably decide it's ok without it. Maybe. Eventually!! We hope.

 

[Ridgetop]

Is this goat necessary to your home milk supply? Did you buy her with the idea of using her for home milk? If so, you should have put the kid on a bottle of her mother's milk on Day 1 and milked out this doe twice a day. If this doe is not necessary to your home milk supply, dry her up. You can leave the kid on her and let her wean naturally if you prefer.

Otherwise, if you need the milk, remove the kid cold turkey. If it screams, ignore it. Don't worry about the noise upsetting other barn residents. They can't call you up to complain. When the doe is very full of milk and realizes that you are the only one who will relieve her, she will let you milk.

If you want to tie the kid to the front of your stanchion where her mother can see her an talk to her, this sometimes works but at this point, that doe has learned you will give up. Also, don't milk into a bowl. There is no stability in a bowl. You need a bucket. If the goat tries to sit down the bucket will jab her in the belly, making her stand up again.

I always had full size dairy does, and our kids were never nursed since we heat treated and pasteurized them. No experience with NDs, but even regularly milked dairy does in a full time milking situation can get obnoxious. A good swat on the rump and heavy scolding will work. Loving your animals does not mean not disciplining them and letting them become brats. just like children.

Don't be so "nice" use a really stern "stop it!!" command and yank the collar. They must learn commands and respond -- much like training a dog. When mine want to dance, I reprimand fast....then praise them for stopping and continue the job. Honestly, most of mine will milk just tied next to a fence. But they have a "place" to go, be fed and get milked. Creatures of habit. If milking several, always do them in same sequence. Trust me, they know who's turn it is -- to be fed, milked, stalled, etc. Don't go out of order unless an emergency.

By the way, referring to order of milking, they go in order of hierarchy. The herd queen goes next followed by the next dominant, etc. Once DH accidently pulled the wrong doe out to milk first. The herd queen was furious. Not only did she beat up the other goat, but she would not speak to DH, look at him, or respond to him when he called her for 4 days! You have not known hurt feelings until you have been snooted by a goat.

 

[thistlebloom]

You have not known hurt feelings until you have been snooted by a goat.

 

[ancient]

Sounds like my Snickers! Were a very rustic farm(half the time the power doesnt even work properly) no power at barns at all or water. So with Snickers I tried making a sling thing around her belly but then she would just kick, without it she sits down. My husband says I'm the typical stubborn Scot, which means I'm not going to let her get the best of me(though there was a lot of swearing involved). The only thing I found that works when milking her is to milk her from behind kneeling on the ground with one knee and the other leg foot on the ground leg bent at 90 with my knee under the edge of her bum and I do the reach around. Absolutely no fun but she is also my best milk goat(most milk and biggest thats to work with).

 

[Duckfarmerpa1]

Ok, right now I have my line up rearrangEd beca Busty...my herd leader had been on penacillan, so her milk is just for us. So I use the bowl last....so as it has absolutely no residue from her milk. But I’ll jus5 take out another milk bucket. I just lovevthis one because it has a pour spout. So, I’ll get my order back today!! This goat was bought after the kid was already two months. I was, and am, a wimp at weaning. A wimp in general. I let her nurse and didn’t milk, because I had two then that I was milking. Things ramped up, bought another dairy goat, who is awesome!! But I need Honey’s milk. So I pulled Sugar off...yes there is the bawling..I’m ignoring it...I have one neighbor...what can I say? She is doing better..but, as soon as I relieve her, she starts her fits...ugh! So I will tie sugar to her..but, the only issue, is..Sugar is pretty dang fat by now..,so, I’m trying not to let her have extra grain. If she’s by mom..they will share...and Suge jus5 doesn’t need those calories...she’s almost as fat as her mom, and mom is perfect size ND..., there is always drama in the barn!!!

 

[The Old Ram-Australia]

G'day ,i am hoping to join the goat gang again soon after a break of almost 20 years....We had goats for almost 20 years before we moved to sheep.We were using Dairy does with meat bucks for the milk fed meat market...

So what we learned was ,you need a raised stand with a head bail .she needs to be fed in the bail ,we had a little tray in which we placed some feed,but it had to be something they "loved".Once she is eating ,gently rub her along the milk vein and very "gently" bump the udder the way the kids do to encourage her to "let down " the milk..It will take a little training but she will settle down after a few days i am sure .I used this technique in sale pens to gauge the quality of the milk of does i was intending to purchase and it never failed me ...Good luck .T.O.R.

 

[Duckfarmerpa1]

Thanks, she is doing much better after being hung in her sling that hubby created last week. She still manages to kick the bowl, so I have to milk one-handed, but she’s got tiny teats, so probably would anyways. We’re making progress!!

 

[Ridgetop]

Good to hear. Net kidding, don't let the kids nurse. Milk her out twice a day. That way she will be full and willing to be milked. Remember the kids are taking enough to make her comfortable many times a day, why should she welcome you tugging on her private bits! LOL She needs to want to be milked.