# Possible milking problems



## Perfect7 (Apr 19, 2010)

I am VERY new to goats...it's been about two weeks now. While we primarily are staring with boers, we do have a nubian that is due to kid anyday now. We planned to start milking her a few weeks after she kids, but that may be a problem. She has milking perfect teets and a nice udder.....but she wont let me touch her teets! If I go anywhere near her backside she backs away, moves in a full circle (no kicking, thank goodness). What can I do now to help prepare her for milking in the future? Or will she be so relieved to be milked with a full udder that her woes will disappear? (wishful thinking). This is going to be fun for sure, considering I've never milked anything before (with exception of nursing and pumping for my own children). :GAAH:


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## jay13 (Apr 12, 2009)

As I understand it, it is very normal for a doe not to want anyone to mess with her udder just before she kids. My doe was the same way up until the day she kidded. After wards.... well I won't say she is perfect, but I made one of those goat hobble things and it works a dream! Oh, and having a good milking stanchion is awesome. You can get her used to getting treats up there now before its time to milk so that she associates it with good stuff.


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## K-Ro (Oct 14, 2007)

my girls wont let me mess with their udders until after they kid. after she kids she should be ok. might take you a few times milking her for both of you to adjust toeach other, but you should be fine. so just leave her be until she kids.


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

leave her alone till she kids and once seh does you will want to have a milking stand -- makes yours and her life much easier come milking time. 

If you can get one before she kids then you can put her up on it and feed here there so that she gets use to the milking stand and associates it with food


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## Perfect7 (Apr 19, 2010)

That is such a relief to me! I was just kind of doing a test run to see how she would be, but glad that is normal. I was imagining a rodeo with a bucket going on each morning. I will leave her alone until after she has the kids and get a milking station ready to go. You guys are great. I was starting to get a bit depressed that my milking days were done before they had even begun.


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

it may still be a bit of a rodeo the first couple times. But you will have to work slowly with her and be patient. Sometimes having a second person there to hold legs is helpful till the doe realizes struggling wont make you stop milking. 

I have milked goats and milk was flying everywhere. They learn that it doesnt matter if they struggle you will still milk them (and then clean up the mess later  )


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## jay13 (Apr 12, 2009)

Oh, and I learned with my Doe who is quite the dancer without the hobble, no matter how much she dances or how many times the foot goes in the bucket, I ALWAYS finish milking her. At first I just gave up but it got worse because she realized if she acted up enough then I would stop harassing her. Now she knows she should just eat her grain and let me get on with it because the more behaved she is, the quicker its over and she can get back to her kid.


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## NubianLady (May 6, 2010)

One of my girls is fabulous on the stand, she will even let my six year olds try to milk her, but still won't let me touch her until she is on the stand. The other will dance and fight me until I "hang" one back leg, then she pretty much quits fighting. She doesn't let me touch her udder when she is out in the yard, either. I have noticed also that if they run out of feed while they are on the stand, they will get twitchy on me, LOL. I haven't been milking very long, this has just been my experience so far.


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