Goat will not let me milk her...

[Bedste]

We were gifted a difficult doe last year. We somehow pressed in and she would finally let me milk her. She has huge triangle teats and she hates to be milked but she gives more than a gallon daily. I want to help her chill out and learn to be a nice goat. She is three years old.

she just kidded two weeks ago and she is worse than ever. She actually lays down on the milking stand. I borrowed a pump from the lady who she came from and that has really helped but she kicks and lays down and refuses to let me milk her. One side is so big that she NEEDS to be milked. Poor girl.

I do not want to ruin this goat. She is trying to kick me..... she is a lamancha and turns her butt towards me and kicks. Such a challenge.

So now I put her head in tight and then I have to put her front feet in a tote so that the edge of it keeps her belly from laying down... and then I use the pump... she is still able to kick the pump out of my hand and knock things over.

If I can not make this a more peaceful experience I will have to sell her or something. But I would like to try keeping her. Should I run a strap under her gerth and lift her up a tad so she will stop kicking.... WHAT SHOULD I DO.? All suggestions welcome HELP please...

 

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

I had one that kept kicking at me and I could tell it wasn't from fear or other. I started swatting her on her hind leg as soon as she did it, and giving her a firm loud "no." Took a good week to put 2 and 2 together, but she did finally learn not to kick me while milking! She doesn't sound as bad as your girl though. Have you tried hobbles? That might help you a lot...

 

[michickenwrangler]

Have you ruled out mastitis? Especially since you mentioned the one side was so big.

My Alpine is a kicky milker (and ran half wild before I got her) but I got her to the point where we can do the milking without her sticking her foot in the bucket and me swearing at her. She was also quite the houdini and no matter what combination of hobbles and straps I put on her, she seemed to find a way out of them.

I went in with the attitude of training, not "I need milk". Don't worry about the milk, don't cry or swear over spilled milk. When she started kicking, I put my shoulder into her and pinned her against the wall. And milked. Maybe only about 50% actually went into the bucket, the rest got all over me, her, the floor ... But no matter how she kicked and squirmed, I kept on working her teats. When she finally settled down, I would stop and pet her, took her off the stand.

Repeat the next day. And the day after, and the day after that, and another day if needed. Or two.

Finally got her to the point I could milk her for a few minutes without throwing a fit. When she began to fidget, I would whisk the bucket away and milk into a mason jar (much more maneuverable)--one hand on the jar, other hand milking. At least this way I got some usable milk. Now I can milk her without any fuss so long as I am quick.

This method took a few weeks, it was not a quick fix, but neither one of us dread milking any more.

WMR made another good suggestion too. TRAIN the goat, the goat needs to learn that this is an unwanted behavior.

 

[Bedste]

omg thank you everyone I feel so much more hopeful..... train her and forget about all the milk for now.... wisdom

 

[Mamaboid]

The most frustrating thing about goats is that you cannot let them know you are frustrated. They feed on it. Dealing with them is like 'welcome to the redundancy department of redundancy'. If it is something they like or want to do, they will learn it in 2 tries. If it is something they don't want to do, like be milked, they can be very 'stupid'. Dumb like a fox is more like it. Michickenwrangler has the right approach. Do it, repeat it and repeat it again. Don't worry about the amount of milk for a while, just make her stand. If she squats, pull her up at the belly, if she kicks or bites, snap or open hand the offending part and keep milking. Try to get her interested in something else like feed or hay, try the old 'carrot in front of the horse trick'. Put a treat just so she can barely reach it and has to keep reaching forward for it. They cannot kick if they are off balance, and she isn't gonna lay down if it takes her farther away from the treat. Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[ragdollcatlady]

I was just thinking last night that I should put up a pic of my rotten Jane when we milk....She is nice for the first side. I hold up her leg, off the ground, like a dog lifting his leg to pee, in order to milk the other side. It is fairly comical, but it works and is really pretty stress free now that we both understand this is just how we are going to do things. I am going to milk her and she will be a butt if I let her. So I don't. I am getting a full quart from her these days (ND), so I figure we are good. She wasn't even a pet before we got her, so she has come a long way.

 

[kstaven]

omg thank you everyone I feel so much more hopeful..... train her and forget about all the milk for now.... wisdom

It is good advice. Just keep milking and they soon learn that their tactics are not going to get the desired result.

 

[Bedste]

we got a cinch strap and put it under her belly to keep her up and we pet her and talked sweetly and she allowed me to put the pump on her and milk her . she does not want to be hand milked. there is HOPE great hope....

I also raised the milking station so I do not have to break my back, and I pushed it up against a wall so that one side is blocked. I did not realize I was doing so many things wrong. I think with a little persistence and TLC that we are going to be ok

 

[kstaven]

We deal with both cows and goats in a dairy situation and the only tried and true method comes back to. "This is your milking area. This is how it is going to be done. I am far more stubborn than you are."

 

[Canadiannee]

lol kstaven... I love your approach!

I was a horsewoman long before I brought goats into our life, and I approach my goats with the same solid and trusty methods in which we train horses... "Make the wrong choice difficult, make the right choice easy" and kstaven said it perfectly with "This is how it is going to be done. I am far more stubborn than you are." LOVE IT!!