# New goat doesn't want to be milked



## hbzuk (Oct 14, 2016)

Hi everyone! So I brought my two new nigerian dwarf goats home on Saturday and they seem to be pretty happy campers so far. Sunday morning I tried milking my girl Tabitha and got not even 1/4 cup out of her before she started to get very antsy and eventually plain old fed up. I tried again Sunday night to at least show her that i'm sticking to a routine and I got maybe another 1/4 cup before she got antsy again.. but she DEFINITELY has more in her, her udders seemed very very full. She last kidded in May and the previous owner said she recently started to milk her only once a day, but I figured I can try twice to maybe get some more milk?

I gave her a break this morning because I truly think she's a bit overwhelmed but this afternoon I went back at it. This time I used hobbles on her back legs and she hated every minute of me putting them on her, then we set her up on the milking stand and gave her some snacks. She really fought us for probably 10 mins and then eventually gave up and we were able to milk maybe 1/2 a cup out of her and then she yet again got antsy and threw an absolute fit so I just let her go (although i think she had at least another 1/2 cup in her). My question to you guys is, how in the world do I make this process easier? I want to be able to go out there and do it on my own but right now it's a 2 person job with how she's acting. Do you guys recommend certain treats? Literally any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you!!


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## goatblessings (Jan 6, 2015)

Did you have an opportunity to watch her being milked and what her routine was at her previous home? Some get very much into the thought that everything must be the same! 
I would just keep at it. You probably won't get much more milk going to 2x a day with the stress of moving, etc. I would just do once a day, and let her pitch a fit, lose a lot of milk for a little while, but don't hobble. Keep things as stress free as possible.
Just keep milking, keep feed in the pan, and she should settle down. Things are new to her - she is just stressed and confused.

Good luck with her!


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## Suzanne_Tyler (Jul 19, 2014)

Put clean rocks in her feed so it takes her longer to eat it. 

Add hay or alfalfa pellets to the grain. 

Definitely don't let her go for struggling. That just makes her more certain that if she struggles, you're going to let her off. 

You can milk without hobbles, hold and small jar in one hand, milk one teat at a time and let her go crazy. She'll figure out soon enough that kicking gets her nowhere and then she'll quit. 

Bond with her at other times than milking. You don't want her to only associate you with bad things. 

I have two does that have never quit kicking, no matter what I've done. They kick like crazy the whole milking session if they don't have hobbles on. With the hobbles on they're perfectly content to just kick once or twice and then eat contentedly. Go figure  

My girls are calmer if I sing to them. Lavender EO is also calming. 

Good luck!


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## lovinglife (Jun 6, 2013)

Try to make milking calm and relaxing for her, don't need her getting all worked up, so do you think she is scared or mad? There is a difference and don't do anything to give her a reason to be scared. If she is just annoyed try to ignore it for awhile just keep milking, if you think she isn't scared and you are not hurting her, no flys landing etc, and she continues to kick, sometimes (not my proudest moments!) I have been known to grab the leg that is kicking and lift it up pretty high and hold it there. Then when she stops fighting I put it back down and don't let go until she is leaving it there, if she starts kicking again up it goes, I don't hurt her or yell, maybe a little noise I make like ank I make when I'm not happy, they learn that and use it as a warning. Had one girl that wasn't scared, just didn't want me milking I did that and now sometimes she almost wants to push me away but her leg stops after it has moved like an inch and she puts it back down, like oops, almost forgot there. Goats can be stubborn and they will hold a grudge, so don't make things worse by making the milk stand a bad experience. All that to say though, you need to get her milked out. You may need to have someone experienced milk if you are just starting.


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