# goat laying down on milk stand while milking



## kerryandjennie (May 27, 2011)

Hi! I just got my 1st doe in milk and she is a ff (as of about 2 weeks ago) and I'm a "fm" (first milker)! LOL The doe has a very good temperment OFF of the milkstand but as soon as she hops up there nibbles a couple of bites of food, she's done. Tuesday afternoon was the first time I'd ever milked an animal and the 1st time this girl had been milked. I didn't have a proper milk stand (do now!) and it was painful (however hilarious) to do. 2nd time I didn't have a milk stand, but I used hobbles (home-made) and at least was able to get her milked out. (Not able to keep the milk though.... she thought it was nice to stand in the bucket. LOL). Last night my DH made me a fabulous milk stand and things went so well I was able to get 2 pints from her! Overnight, though, she must've talked things over with her sister because she had a new trick.... LAYING DOWN ON THE MILK STAND. She acted as if her legs were jelly and refused to stand up no matter what. I am trying to make the milk stand as positive an experience as possible, but I don't know how to kindly get her up. I asked nicely, but she didn't respond. HELP, PLEASE!!!!! TIA!!!!


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## swgoats (May 21, 2010)

I've heard to stick a bucket under the belly. Never tried it though.


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## Judys (Feb 19, 2009)

That's what i have heard as well. Never had one do it to me, yet.


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## hsmomof4 (Oct 31, 2008)

I've done the bucket thing, using a very heavy duty plastic bucket. Worked well. She is just going to be willful (think toddler) until she realizes that she can't win, so don't let her win, or you're just moving backwards. Goats can be stubborn; you just have to be more stubborn.  If you milk her, no matter what, she will eventually figure out that it is easier to just stand there, but it might take a few weeks of twice daily pain and suffering for that to happen. Just count the milk as lost (do you have chickens you can feed it to??). My most difficult to train to stand still to be milked goat is now my most patient milker. We had 2 weeks of wrestling (and yes, lying down on the stand) and now she will let anyone milk her, whether she has food to eat or not, and she just stands there. You can do it!


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## Cotton Eyed Does (Oct 26, 2007)

Make sure she is not getting any grain anywhere else except on her milk stand. She has associated it with an unpleasant experience. Maybe now that she has a more steady routine she will calm down in a few days for you. They love their same routines. If you change anything it really can disrupt things, especially Nubians. Even something moved out of place in the dairy barn will booger them.


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## PrairieTrail45 (Nov 28, 2011)

I had a doe that did that. I ended up taking a sling and put around her belly to hold her up when she went down. Worked pretty well. I think the bucket will work better though, she won't be able to feel it at all until she lays down, much like in a cattle chute how they have the bar in the center that runs half way down the length of the chute to keep the cow from going down in the front.

I agree though, make sure she is getting a pleasant experience on the stand and that is the only place she gets grain. I would try to avoid the hobbles, goats seem to kick more if you try to restrain their legs. (at least all of mine do!) We had a cow that kicked and we put those cow hobbles on her, the ones that hook over the hocks, held her still pretty good but she ended up being better without them. 

Good luck!


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## SALTCREEK_Nubians_Linda (Nov 13, 2007)

It is sort of instinctual, but also learned if a doe has ever nursed kids. When they lie down kids can't nurse. 

Put a bucket under her belly so she can't lie down. A 5 gallon bucket for my big Nubians. I used a metal one, so she could lie on the bucket, but she couldn't get that rear end down so I kept on milking her.


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## kerryandjennie (May 27, 2011)

THE SLING WORKED!!!!! Thank you for the suggestion! I had already tried using the bucket, but she would manage to kick it out from under her w/ her back feet and lay down before I could put aside the milk pail and hold the bucket in place! LOL I made a sling from an old twin sheet and put it around her. She tried a few times to lay down, but the sheet kept her up. I could still milk even when she was being obstinate! On the flip side, I think I saw why she has had a problem... she has some healing sores on her teats where maybe her kid got too rough or something. They don't look infected, they just look like they're on the up side of healing. (I'm nursing a baby and I very recently had sores on myself that looked like those!) Should I do anything to the ouchies besides the fight-bac?


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## Cotton Eyed Does (Oct 26, 2007)

Oh, so she was dam raising her kids and now you are milking her. It'll just take a little time and she should get over it. I had a FF last year (Claire) that dam raised 2 boer alpine kids. I weaned the kids and then started milking her and she did the jump, jump side ways, jump the other way, squat, do whatever it takes for you not to touch my udder thing for about a week and then that was it. She settled down and was a really good milker. This year I took her kids at birth and she milks like a dream.


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## Hollybrook (Jul 17, 2009)

yep bucket, milk crate whatevers handy and dont give up, we had a doe ff yesterday, she was de-wormed and full of colostterum but i milked her today anyway, sometimes when thier new they will try all kinds of tricks, milk gets spilt everywhere but i keep at it, she will learn to behave unless u stop then she wins.


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## kerryandjennie (May 27, 2011)

Wow!!!!! Yesterday and today went so much better!!!! My final solution to the problem that worked for me was to have her on the milk-stand with her head securely (comfortably) anchored and her right hind leg pulled up as high as it will comfortably go. The idea behind the the leg being suspended as opposed to the bucket is that she would manage to knock the milk pail over and kick the bucket out from under her and lay down before I could do anything! LOL The sling worked temporarily but she managed to defeat the sling by just going completely limp (actually bending herself in 1/2 suspended in the air) and making it to where her teats were touching her chest. She would refuse to straighten up her legs and put them on the milkstand. Anyway, for 3 times now, I've been able to milk her out and use the milk for the house. I plan on "testing the water" tomorrow to see if i can do without the leg restraint. I'm only going to do it until she learns that she HAS to stand there! I've googled the daylights out of this situation and I haven't found anything yet that even comes close to this gal, so I'm praying that something I've learned will help someone else! ) 

ETA: I changed "making it to where her udders were touching her chest" to say "her teats".... LOL... I'm learning!


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## goatkid (Oct 26, 2007)

Sometimes you just have to be persistant. I'm not sure how long it took Wisteria to stand nicely while I milked her. First of all, she ignored her kids, so I pulled them. Then, she would kick and fidget every milking, She, too had sore teats as it was cold when she kidded and they got chapped. She now behaves nicely on the milkstand. I've had other does who loved their babies and when it was time for me to milk them, they thought I was another does kid trying to steal their milk. This is one reason my DH hates to milk FF's until I have them well trained.
I think most of us have had FF's like yours. I sometimes milk mine a few squits at a time into a small bucket, dumping it into the large one so I can use the milk. I'm very sure your girl will come around with time.


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