Just brought home a 4yo nubian doe.

[wannacow]

I had milked her when she was with her previous owner. She stood very well. Now, that she is here, she's not standing well at all. I'm trying to get into a routine with her, but she isn't really cooperating. We brought her and a 6 wk old doeling home on Fri. It didn't help that we went on daylight savings this weekend either. Thankfully the previous owner sent extra milk home for the baby, since I'm not getting much from the doe. Do I just need to be patient? I'm afraid she will dry up, since I'm getting less than a half pound at a time. She lets me milk for a short period then is just done. I was able to coax her a little yesterday while brushing her in between and milked a pound. I thought we had a breakthrough. No such luck. Last night and this am, very little milk. Helpful hints are appreciated. She's got to be uncomfortable. The previous owner said she is a very docile doe and I have no reason to doubt her. I just don't want to get into bad habits especially since I'm new to goats and am learning as I go.

 

[currycomb]

feed her grain ration while being milked. being on a stand with her head held in place at the neck will help. give enough feed to finish the milking. she has been stressed by moving from her herd and needs time to adjust. do you have other goats? i would give alfalfa in some form, boss and or calf manna to help up the production, and milk 2 X a day

 

[Melissa'sDreamFarm]

I just bought a doe in milk (nigerian dwarf mix) and I too milked her at the previous owners. Great manners and everything.

Well when I got home it was a different story. I found making it very peaceful (not being agitated by the other goats), milking from the same side she was being milked from before, and more milking experience has made the difference and she is now the super milker she was when I first milked her. Everything just had to fall in line. Give her some time and be prepared to make small adjustments so that she is more comfortable.

ETA: It is especially important to milk at the same time everyday and offer grain on the milk stand and have a locking head stall. Lots of udder massages and a few animal crackers in between milking. Bribery

 

[wannacow]

Do I only offer the bribery on the milking stand or anytime I'm with her?

 

[savingdogs]

My doe (a FF) was much better about letting me milk her when I stopped giving her grain at any other time.

 

[SDGsoap&dairy]

I just bought a doe in milk (nigerian dwarf mix) and I too milked her at the previous owners. Great manners and everything.

Well when I got home it was a different story. I found making it very peaceful (not being agitated by the other goats), milking from the same side she was being milked from before, and more milking experience has made the difference and she is now the super milker she was when I first milked her. Everything just had to fall in line. Give her some time and be prepared to make small adjustments so that she is more comfortable.

ETA: It is especially important to milk at the same time everyday and offer grain on the milk stand and have a locking head stall. Lots of udder massages and a few animal crackers in between milking. Bribery

My husband has been BANNED from doing other chores while I'm milking. Our feed is stored in the same area as the milk stand and if I have a doe on the stand and he comes in, starts banging around, is going in and out the door with food for the LGD, food for the bucks, etc. etc. whoever is on the stand at the time gets distracted and fidgety. So we go from quiet, peaceful milking/munching to stressful, distracted, fidgety milking and I go from relaxed to big-time-T-O'ed in about 90 seconds. So he is banned until all milking is DONE.

My guess is that the upset in routine has made your girl less amenable and that once you set your own routine with her things will go back to normal.

 

[wannacow]

The doeling cries while I'm milking so it's not very relaxing. I don't know why because we are 10 feet away and she can see us the entire time. I could let her roam while I'm milking, but I don't really want to establish that habit. They are currently housed in the barn that has my canning kitchen, so I don't really want goat "goodies" everywhere. When we get their stalls done in THEIR barn, things will be better to seperate from the doeling. Right now, not so much. Ground is still frozen and snowy. I try to talk soothingly to both and I haven't been frustrated. I know she's adjusting. I just want to make sure I'm not allowing her to get into some bad habits, especially since I wouldn't know that they were bad until it's too late. I took them both for a walk today. Their first since they've been here. Apple did pretty well, but she let me know when it was time to go back. Frosty stayed with whoever was leading.

 

[Ariel301]

She's upset over the move, all the changes, and a new routine, with new hands milking her. She ought to settle down with a little time. I had the same issue when I got my first does. They had only been machine milked before, at a large commercial dairy, and never learned very good milking manners, they would kick me, kick the bucket, swing back and forth and fidget. It took me two weeks before they would behave and my hands were used to the milking so I could do it fast and get enough out. It took me four days before I could even get them fully milked out! They did drop their production quite a bit that year, unfortunately--or maybe fortunately, so a new owner wasn't overwhelmed with milking. Feed her grain and/or hay while she is being milked, and just be patient with her. As for the screaming kid, if you want to stop that habit, I'd just ignore it, so she doesn't learn that screaming gets her anything special. She will stop eventually.

 

[wannacow]

Thanks. I have been ignoring the crying. I think Apple ignores it too. Apple gets grain on the milk stand along with minerals. I'll just continue to be patient.