# Milking secrets in Minis? Milked Blanca tonight



## kelebek (Oct 5, 2007)

I milked Blanca tonight (kidded Wednesday night) for the first time. I want to start milking her once a day at night to keep both sides goin gon her udder so I can milk twice a day when the buckling is weened.

She milked out almost 2 cups (spilled an additional cup - two cups) And still had milk in there for the baby!!! And she is a Nigerian!

What are the secrets to milking a mini? Her teats are so tiny and she likes to cow kick until she figures out it is ok??


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

Allison, it's not easy to describe in words so bear with me....Binky wasn't milked after she freshened her first time and so with the second her teats are small compared to the ones my experienced girls have...the concept is the same though thumb and fore finger at the top nearest her udder..bump, squeeze to fill the teat and squeeze it against your palm with your middle and ring fingers...it takes practice and my hubby still can't manage to milk a goat but my 7 year old niece can :greengrin: The kicking will go away once she realizes you are giving her food and relief


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## kelebek (Oct 5, 2007)

i am just so used to the bigger teats that I had milk spraying everywhere :ROFL: :shocked:


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## Sweet Gum Minis (Oct 6, 2007)

Imagine my fun learning to milk for the first time on Nigerians! And not knowing anything about teat size, orifices etc. Well I learned a lot just by getting in there and doing it. What works for one person milking doesn't work for the next. So sometimes its trial and error until you figure out what works.

For me, small teated does are a waste of my time. Hate to put it so frank but my hands just can't grip small teats and the pay off is not big enough to do it. Small teats most times have small orifices and you could be milking all day for a cup or two. So for small teated does I use my maggidan milker. Suction that pulls the milk for you. Squeezing the handle is so much easier on my hand than working with small teats. So I sold all my small teated does. 

Some does are really testy with people learning on them. So that could be part of her behavior. Some are NOT milkers. Been there and done that too with a really bad tempered doe who wanted absolutely nothing to do with you touching her udder! I knew this about her personality before I got her. So my attempts at milking her were just to dry her off. Some are just not sure about the new feelings and what you expect of them. So being persistant but patient and consistant. Doing the same thing over and over so that they see what it is you plan to do and that it won't hurt. 

Good luck with her!


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## smwon (Aug 3, 2008)

I had a Pygmy I milked for a while. Even though she was old and had lots and lots of kids, she had never been milked and her teats were very tiny. I could milk with my thumb and barely two fingers. The milk was awesome though. I'm afraid I never got real good at it, but I did improve with time. I am not real crazy about milking the small teats in my ND so I am seriously thinking of using a home made milker, or an Udderly EZ milker, although that really would cost to much and I think the handmade milker would be better cause I wouldn't have to hold a milk jug up to the udder.

Here is a link to the Udderly EZ milker
http://1222430.estore.networksolutionsdesign.com/Detail.bok?no=26

And the home made one
http://www.dunnmilkingfarm.com/milker_under__10.htm

Or I may just buy the Maggidans Milker 
http://www.maggidans.com/milker.htm


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## smwon (Aug 3, 2008)

I was going over some of the old posts and came across this one...

When I first started milking my ND she had pretty tiny teats as a first freshener, but now after milking her for 7 months, they are a nice size and she is very easy to milk. At first I used a homemade milker and it served me well until I started milking by hand as her teats grew... http://lindercroft-smwon.blogspot.com/s ... e%20milker


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## SDK (Jun 26, 2008)

my nigie milking secret??? i breed for larger orifices  lol that's always the thing that has the biggest influence on the ease of milking..


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## capriola-nd (Jul 6, 2008)

While I love milking does with larger teats, bigger orifices are of more importance to me (like Sarah mentioned).

I can't really think of any secrets to milking minatures. It's been about the same as milking standard goats for me. I have to admit though that if we have a naughty milker, I am more than likely just not going to milk her. It's a shame that I give up so easily but I just hate fighting bratty does, unless someone else is there to help.


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## kelebek (Oct 5, 2007)

WOW - this thread is OLD!!!!!! I sold Blance almost a year ago - hehehe


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## crocee (Jul 25, 2008)

It may be old but its still got some really good information and techniques.


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## smwon (Aug 3, 2008)

Sweet Gum Minis said:


> . Small teats most times have small orifices and you could be milking all day for a cup or two. So for small teated does I use my maggidan milker. Suction that pulls the milk for you. Squeezing the handle is so much easier on my hand than working with small teats.


Was the drench gun hard to squeeze when in use? I asked this in another thread, but thought I would repeat myself here... thanks


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## elchivito (Apr 18, 2010)

Practice on the cat. :greengrin:


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## zoomom (Feb 27, 2010)

That Madigan's milker looks really nice. Is there a downside to using something like that? The reason i ask is that i wonder if i'd be able to milk my ND's - i have had carpal tunnel surgery in the past, and it helped, but since i didn't stop my activities that caused it in the first place, it has started to come back when i overdo it sometimes. I don't know if milking will make it worse or not. 

The cost doesn't look that bad (considering i have already spent ALOT and don't have anything yet to show for it) :laugh:


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## redneck_acres (Oct 18, 2007)

I put my hands up higher on the udder-kind of hard to explain, but it worked better.


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## kelebek (Oct 5, 2007)

Wow this is an old thread - I sold this goat like 14 months ago!!! Lol!


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## smwon (Aug 3, 2008)

Ya well, yesterday I found I replied to a really old thread in a yahoo group also and that she two had sold her goats! lol


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