# Milking without a milk stand



## BlueMoonSpot

My doe has a lot of milk right now and since she seems to be weaning her 3 month old doeling, I figure now is a good time to step in and claim some of that wonderful milk.

The trouble is that I don't have a milk stand. Yet. My dad says he'll think about building one if/after I milk her a few more times and prove that I'll keep milking her once I get a stand. I milked her for the first time (I'd tried before but it was half hearted and I never got more than two squirts) tonight with my dad holding the doe and we got 2 tablespoons!  (Hey, don't laugh, this was my first time.) We gave up when Luna plowed her way out from my dad's grip and ran away with an annoyed expression on her face. (We caught her so I could dip her teats, though.)

So. Do any of y'all have ideas on how to restrain her without use of a milk stand? I should mention now that I have a sheep harness but it's way too big and Luna HATES it, so that wouldn't work. I have a body harness, though.

Any ideas on hobbles, or an efficient way to hold her? She's a Nigerian Dwarf.

Thanks muchly!


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## LuvmyGoaties

Ok, I am by no means an expert - as a matter of fact I just learned how to milk tonight LOL. But from my VERY limited experience I can not imagine milking without a milk stand, especially a goat as small a ND. The thing about a milk stand is they are great for trimming feet, doctoring, brushing etc. I had my husband build me a milk stand as soon as I got my first 2 goats - LONG before I ever dreamed about breeding or milking them.


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## milk and honey

You can hook her colar to a fence and sorta trap her against it... I have used restraints for my doe's legs, but I found that holding one leg up, and milking with one hand worked best for me, to get them used to the whole milking thing. If dad is willing to help again, have him put her between his legs at her neck. That should control the front end... You could always stand over the back end and milk bending over the behind like I've seen paintings of from the alps.... ha ha. but seriously, try up against a fence or wall, and do have some help until you get a stand... Good Luck!!! 
BTW.. the milk is worth it! (I have Nigies too)


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## NubianLover

I agree... try tying her up to the fence and hold one leg up. You're lucky she is a Nigerian Dwarf.... should make things easier.

I took my 2 nubian milkers to the show over the weekend. I didn't take a milk stand. My one doe did wonderfully standing in the isle while she was milked.... didn't even try to kick..... My other doe.... She thrashed and kicked. Tipped all the milk over. I even had someone hold her while being tied to the fence and holding up her leg. Finally went over to a friend and borrowed her milk stand.... which she stood perfectly on.

So, your doe may get used to milking without a stand after awhile or you may have to buy/make one. I saw one at this last show made out of a plank of wood and PVC pipe. It was really cool. 

Good luck!


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## xxLavenderxDreamsxx

I've been milking Nubians for a few years now and still have never had a proper stand. I milk my goats in the corner of a horse stall I converted into a milk room. They hop up onto a wooden garden bench and eat out of a little bowl hooked over the stall door. If I need to I clip their collars into a small metal ring on the wall. (the kind horse owners use to hang buckets from) but all of my girls have learned to stand free and be good so long as they keep getting food. 

Be creative :idea: you can make a milk stand out of alot of different things: small pinnic table against a fence, stacked up haybales, etc. 

Although if you have to milk on the ground - it's a great idea to drag a slab of plywood or tarp over the ground where you're going to. Not only does it make things a little cleaner (espically if the goat will be trying to get free and kicking up dirt) but it also stands as a marker to teach her that something different is going on and that you need her to stand on this quietly. 

Hope this helps! Good luck! :thumbup:


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## jaycee

It mostly depends on your goat. I had a first freshener this year who had never been milked before and her bag was very full and hard ... she stood still in the middle of the stall and let me milk her out with no restraint whatsoever. Others like to kick until they get the routine down. I'd try to tie her close to a gate and feed her then just keep messing with her back there until she gives up and stops kicking. Might take a few times before that happens and you can get your bucket in there without a foot in it. But persistence seems to pay with goats. No matter how adverse they are to something, seems like establishing it as a routine will calm them down to it and lead to acceptance...


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## DavyHollow

when I first started milking, we didn't have a table so I milked on the ground. We could NOT get the goats to stand still for any length of time, and only got some of the milk out. The new mothers were constantly looking for their babies. So after they finished their grain, we put their baby in their face. It worked, surprisingly. Its like they tricked themselves into thinking that the baby was nursing and we werent stealing milk.

We used this method even when my dad FINALLY made me a "stand" (I don't really like the looks of it, but it gets the job done.) By the time we had been milking for a month, the girls hopped right up on the milking table and chowed down. And when they finished? They huffed and puffed in my ear, sometimes even pulled my hair, as if saying "hurry up already!" but they stood perfectly still til we released them.

I've seen people who's does line up at the milking door in the order that they have always been milked. Its incredible! Once you get into a routine, goats will do just about anything you want haha


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## BlueMoonSpot

Haha, that's funny, about tricking the mama goat. =D We did that a few times, sort of...if one kid was nursing off one teat my sister would get a few squirts out of the other.

Yep, that's what I'm learning. Routines, routines. If I'm not out to feed the goats by exactly 8:30am my little doeling screams like she's dying. :roll:


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## J.O.Y. Farm

I have milked without a stand before, the girls were in the house... really bad storm... I tided them to a table leg gave them their grain and they were pretty good.... you could tie her to something and give her grain and keep her body up against a wall or something....


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## GingersMaMa

I hooked a pygmy doe to a fence using another break away collar on hers and milked sitting on the ground ( wasn't fun in the snow lol ) but it worked for me !


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## luvmyherd

I can't add much as I have never been able to milk successfully without a stand with a stantion than holds their head. 
I have tied them to the fence, had my husband hold them, but ultimately; I always end up telling the hubby, BUILD ME A STAND!!!!!


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## primal woman

Goats don't care if you have a fancy stand or not. Like others have said, tie her up and hold her still. She'll get used to it and accept it IF you don't allow her to get away with stuff. (like kicking or running off) 

I milk Nigerians either from the ground while I squat or on a simple bench. They mostly are tied onto a fence or something. They get no food while being milked. And by the way, squatting is good for us if we can manage to do it as adults!


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## liz

before my hubby built me my milk stand, I milked my 2 Pygerian does as they ate, one allowed me to milk without securing her by the collar and the other, well lets just say that she wasn't too co-operative! I had to straddle her facing her butt, hold the bowl with one hand while I milked with the other while I had my knees in her hips holding her up off the ground! She ended up being my best milker too. Now I have a stand and my 2 ND does know when it's milking time as they are waiting at the gate to hit the stand as soon as I can open the gate. In the morning, Penny goes first then Binkey, afternoon it;s Bink first because she's the fullest as Penny's doeling is with her thru the day.

Without a stand however, I would recommend tying her to a fence post and pushing her against the fence, give her a pan of feed and proceed to milk her, even if she fights, keep going she'll get the point that you aren't giving in and will learn to settle and allow you to milk./


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## potentialfarm

You must be feeding her grain (since she is in milk), and grain is only for milking time...that's what she will realize & come to appreciate. A collar/leash, etc., tied just tight enough so she can get her head in the grain bucket comfortably & her body between you and the fence or a wall can give you the same effect as a milk stand to train her. If she isn't used to you touching her udder, she won't like it. You should keep the kid out of the way...I think it makes mom feel like you are stealing from her kid. 
If you have a good idea how to milk (so it's comfortable for her), then it's usually a matter of patience on your part. Plan on having some milk spilled & some milk getting a hoof in it, so you can't use it. If you have dogs, they will love that milk!  
If you prove to your dad that you are determined, then I bet he will be happy to build you that milk stand! Better yet, prove your determination by not only helping to provide milk for the household, but look up some plans/designs for the milkstand & build it with him. Dad's usually love that!
Just my opinion based upon my experiences. First time I tried to milk a goat, I had her tied to the back of the tractor! :roll: I don't recommend that.


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## BlueMoonSpot

Tying her to the fence does no good. She charges forward (even into her hay bucket!)...I can't hold her still. We didn't get to it today but dad's going to try holding her again. I think if we lock up the horse and the doeling and throw some sweet feed into the mix it might go more smoothly...that and not giving the doe dried mango before milking time. Luna + mangoes = hyper goat

Yeah, right now she gets grain in the morning, so I guess I need to save her ration for milking time. Thanks for that suggestion! I'd love to get to the point where I open the gate and my doe goes trotting out of the pasture straight into the tack room and up on the milk stand...

In other news, my daddy is going to see about building a stand tomorrow! :leap: (Thanks, milkmaid, for posting those awesome photos of your stand!) I guess the next thing to do is figure out how to make a hobble.


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## primal woman

Sounds like you are getting it worked out. Keep in mind you do not have to feed grain to get milk. Many a wild deer, horse, rabbit, elk etc make milk without grain. And they don't have the health issues related to feeding grains. 

Good luck. keep at it.


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## Engebretsen

If I need to check something out on my goats and I'm not near my stanchion, I use my man-chion. My fiance can stand with the goat's neck between his legs and feed them from a bucket or his hands while I do whatever I need to do...and they stand ALMOST as well as if we actually had them on the stanchion. Good luck!


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## BlueMoonSpot

None of my animals get much grain. =)

Haha! I like that... "man-chion". =D That's how my dad has been holding my doe for milking. For other things like hoof trimming we just put her on her side and hold her back leg up. It works pretty well, but I don't think it would work for milking. =P


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## Jessica84

tie her head to the fence, move her back so its snug, what ever side you are going to milk, tie that leg up (I use a hay string) to the fence, no slack, that way if she pushes forward her leg will left and not get you. After a while she will get the hang of it. It was a long process for my doe at first, we did it that way for a bit, then it went to where I just put the string on her leg and stepped on it, and now I walk out to where she is, no grain and milk her. I dont have a milk stand either, since I am meat goat ranch hahahaha.....


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