Handling The New Milker

You got her on the milk stand, HURRAY! She's eating her grain, great! You reach for her teats to milk and she squats down. Her udder tucked inside the milk bucket. Surely she can't hold this position for long? She can't so she uses the bucket as a prop and there she remains eating her grain. You stare, wondering how in the world you are going to fit your hands inside and milk her. Actually you won't but then you might have figured that out by now. Been there? Me too, more times than I can count. In my experience of 32 years of milking goats, a few horses, pigs, sheep, and yes - cows, I've learned a few lessons and have some tricks up my sleeve. 

I'll share some of those with you in regards to milking goats. The other species have tricks unique to them but that won't be discussed today. The first tip is to breed your doeling at around 60 or 70 pounds. You want them to kid when after they turn 1. You might think dairy goat yearlings milking for the first time is way too young. Actually for you and for them it is better. It will require a good feed program yes. But having kids at one does not stunt their growth when fed properly. Speak to any National Dairy Show herd owner and they all breed to kid after they turn one - not two. A linear appraisal judge, I believe it was Whiteside (He was awesome and very matter of fact.) ended a debate I had with a couple friends of mine on the subject. The increase in hormones helps physically and mammary wise in their development. The guy should know, he was raised on a goat dairy and has had goats for probably his whole life. Keep in mind I am speaking of dairy goats. I can not speak for the smaller breeds or meat breeds. 

I prefer the smaller size as they are easier to handle. If need be, you can physically lift them on the milking stand. Don't think because they have been on the stand since they were a month old that they will automatically jump up. Their udder fills and all of a sudden it is, 'Oh my, can I really jump up on that stand. It looks so high?' You think I'm being dramatic - oh just wait, you haven't seen drama until you've met a yearling Nubian who's milking for the first time. Be sympathetic, they are like a hormonal teenager, their body has changed and that makes everything so much more emotional and difficult. You WILL have to be patient and yes, you may have to at least lift that now so..... heavy back end up for them. Usually you can get them to put their front feet up and then of course they will want to work there front legs over to where they can eat the grain but not resort to putting the back end up too. Simply stand where they can't reach the grain unless they jump up. It usually works best if you position yourself so they have to mount from the back end of the milking stand. Don't pressure any more than absolutely necessary. It just impedes progress.


You've physically lifted them on the stand, yes!! They are eating their favorite grain, good. Now how do you get around the newby squat. Simple - you don't use a bucket. Instead get a baby bottle or anything similar that you can grip nicely. You grab hold of the baby bottle in one hand and the teat in the other. Then squirt the milk into the bottle. Yes, that means a larger mouth on the bottle is needed. It takes longer but then you can milk almost the whole herd before you get that first time milker done so plan on it. Think ahead of something the girl can eat that isn't all grain like pelleted hay. It could take a while and you don't want to cause tummy scours from an over load of COB. Word of caution milk makes the bottle slippery and you will get some milk on the outside so frequently empty the milk into your milk bucket which is preferably not on the milk stand that she is tap dancing on. With the baby bottle you can still milk to a degree while the tap dance is going on, very important because you have to teach her that the show must go on. Now if it a high stepping  Riverdance leap kind of stepping then a bit of preparatory work is in order first.

Put the milking supplies to the side and simply put your hand on her udder -- firmly. No tickling! Sometimes I run my hand down the hip because they are use to that and then stop on the udder. When she begins to become more comfortable with that, then move your hand a short distance (remember firmly) and then stop with your hand still on her udder. Do NOT take your hand off. If she holds relatively still for a  millisecond then remove your hand. Begin again and when that area is good, move your hand further and further until you are feeling the whole udder. If she can remove your hand by kicking and thrashing then she will do it because it works. Teach her that what works is to hold relatively still and your hand will leave. Slowly keep your hand on her udder longer and longer as she tolerates the touch better. 

Pudge is hardly a Newby but she liked my to lean into her slightly. One could hardly help but not to she was always so pudgy. 

 
Some newbies like you to lean gently into them as it gives them reassurance. 

For safety sake, so the newby does not fall off the other side while their neck is locked into the stanchion, we have a side on our stand. I lean on the doe gently and she leans into the side. This often calms them down. Goats cluster in the corner pressed up against each other and the wall or fence when frightened. I just take a page out of their own play book and use it. When they are relatively calm with this, then move to the next step.

Don't milk, just hold your hand (just one) in the position of milking with your fingers around one teat. Less stimulus for the newby. Then I release my hand when the behavior is positive or in other words they hold still even a short, short time. See a pattern? When the goat begins to tap dance less and hold still more, then I hold my hand a little longer and a little longer as the behavior grows more positive. Speak sweetly to her. Not, "You little piece of ......!" Unless you can say it in the kindest of ways. This is all suppose to be positive. 

You want the milk stand to represent good things like grain, a more comfortable udder, and gentle hands. This reward system does take skill to develop but it works incredibly well. When one hand is excepted reasonably well then move on to using two hands. Be aware that it might be a one hand at a time milking method for a few weeks. My well prepared yearlings are almost all milked one hand at a time for the first week and sometimes two.

Now let's say you can milk her but she still has the occasional kick. Most newbies do for a while. Just put the bucket in back of her legs and squirt to the south end because 99 percent of goats will kick forward with the leg or legs. Occasionally I've had one try and kick with both legs. Yeah, it ends up with an upset heap on the milking stand. Normally they don't do that twice. The whole getting comfortable having you handle intimate parts of their anatomy takes time, weeks of time if preparatory work was not done. If the newby was worked with far in advance of kidding then all this newby behavior is usually over in a week or a little longer with intermittent forgetfulness.

I start training my doelings at this age. Handle the doeling everywhere. Pick up her feet and especially rub in the area of her udder. You aren't milking at this stage just preparing to so don't tug on the teats. 

I sold a yearling this spring with her two male offspring and the buyer is thrilled. He says his grandson is milking her while she stands un-tethered in the middle of the pen. He just thinks she is the most laid back goat he has ever seen. My husband failed to tell him that I trained her to do that. I train ALL my yearlings to do so. If the preparatory work is done, it is quite simple to do. I get the newly kidded doeling up against the fence and press against her. Keep her from moving forward by putting a knee in her way if need be, then shift backwards a bit toward the udder. On rare does I have to tie them to the fence to stop the forward motion. Then I press and milk one baby bottle at a time, milking one side and then the other going back and forth to encourage the let down.  A nice udder massage works wonders to help her let down. I use it on the milk stand also when needed for the young and older does. 

 I searched and searched for pictures of newbies being milked and realized I didn't have any pictures 
and now even this last little doe who kidded this year is gone. I have only a buck and one doe left, both Saanens and the beginning of a new herd.
 
I fill bottles with colostrum and make sure the newborn kids get plenty within the first hour of birth. I don't worry about their nursing until they get on their feet strong. Just takes a few hours. Then either work I teach the kids to suckle or simply leave the kids with the mother and milk her in this un-tethered position multiple times a day. For me it is much easier than keeping milk in the refrigerator and heating it up four times a day.  When newborn I also milk and feed in the middle of the night for 2 to 3 nights initially. Frequent demand stimulates the mother's milk production increasing her supply.

From the time the kids are small, I have them getting on the milking stand with a reward of a small treat. It does not have to be every day but at least a couple times a week. The last few weeks of a yearling does pregnancy, I do not ask her to get on the milking stand. It is hard with the weight of twins or triplets. Yes, most of mine have twins and even the occasional set of triplets.  I do not ask the doe to get on the milking stand for the first three or four days after kidding. They are sore. I milk squatting or kneeling on the ground.  Even though they have been on the stand for a year and their udder handled frequently in the pen and on the stand, they will do some dancing. It is uncomfortable. You nursing and past nursing moms know what I'm talking about. 

Even with all this preparing of the doeling, they will might do the newby squat and dance. This will last for a short while and in comparison very mild to what you would have dealt with had you not prepared her.The last yearling I worked with this year held one leg up the whole time when milked. At least she couldn't dance in that position. It worked for her. It worked for me.By next year I'm sure both feet will be on the ground. I think anyway since I sold her.