# how to build a milking stand?



## Hannah (Oct 17, 2010)

Does anybody have a plan to build a milking stand, and do we need to pasteurize the milk?


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## milkmaid (Sep 15, 2010)

:wave: Another milker!  
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=17372&p=209816&hilit=milk*+stand#p209816
Our milking stand plans are in this thread.
We pasteurize because there have been incidents of people getting diseases from raw milk. I think it's pretty rare though. We know several families that have drunk raw milk for years and never (as far as I know) had a problem. That doesn't mean it's always safe. One thing I highly recommend, if you decide to go raw, is get your animals tested for milk-borne diseases, especially TB and Brucellosis.


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## KW Farms (Jun 21, 2008)

http://fiascofarm.com/goats/milkstand.html

Here's an instructional building of one...with photos.


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## comingsummers (May 6, 2010)

Both of those are good links for plans to build a milk stand. There are also a lot of good pictures for inspiration in the Barnyard Bonanza section of this site. 
As far as the raw milk debate goes; that is a really personal decision and one that we can't make for you. I personally don't pasturize, but that was the decision I made for my family after countless hours of research. I think researching the options and the reasons for both is the first step there. Good luck either way and welcome to the wonderful world of dairy goats. They're the best!


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## Hannah (Oct 17, 2010)

how do you test for milk bone disease and the other stuff. I have never milked a goat in my live and I have a doe that hates being touched how would I go about milking her. how long can a doe milk (how many years till they can't make milk any more)


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## quakingcanopy (Feb 22, 2011)

Hannah--

You test for Brucellosis via blood on each individual doe. Lots of users here have a favorite lab you can send your samples too, but basically all the major Vet colleges have labs that accept samples. I am in Central CA so I drive my samples to the UC Davis Vet lab. If you can draw your own samples you can save lots of money! TB needs to be done by a vet, it is a skin test. 

If you can't draw your own samples, ask your vet about doing these tests. If you can get some Red Tube Top blood vials (I buy them from my Vet at 7 cents a piece). The significance of the red tube top is the preservative and the clotting agent. Each different color top of vial effects the blood in a different way or is intended for a different kind of test! This may be totally useless, but I remember wondering what the heck the difference was when I first started!

You only need one sample (one vial of blood) per doe if you can get a few CCs. I have done as many as 6 different tests on does getting only about 4 CCs. But ask you lab how much they need from you for the tests! 

Also, test for Johnne's. Some people with Chrone's disease and other issues can suffer from side effects of milk from does with Johnne's. Can never be too safe. CAE and CL are also important as they can be transferred from goat to goat via blood, breeding, milk, etc. 

As for your doe...there's a few ways you can do it but once you start don't get discouraged and give up! Stick with it. 

1. Hobble her. Get her on the milk stand and tie her back feet to the back legs of the stand. Milk. Repeat until she stops trying to kick and or sit down. I have never done this, but have seen it be very effective on big farms who don't have time to fuss with picky milkers. 

2. Be persistent, but gentle. My husband uses the quote "Talk quiet, carry a big stick" which I think is perfect! Get her on the stand, touch her udder - just open and close your hand over and over sort of massaging it (don't be ROUGH. Don't pinch, grab, pull or in anyway hurt her). She probably won't enjoy it. In fact she will likely object quite dramatically. Just KEEP DOING IT. Touch touch touch and let her fuss. She may kick, sit down, try to buck, and make a ton of noise. Stay out of the way, but keep your hand on her udder. The whole time talk softly. Sing or hum, if you like (don't SCREAM or YELL, even if you are frustrated). Be reassuring. Good girl, it's okay, I know, I'd do the same thing if someone touched my udder. Easy girl. Relax. Ect ect. Eventually she will calm down. The idea here is...who is more stubborn? Let's face it, goats are stubborn! If you can show them you are more stubborn by keeping at that you're doing (touching her udder) until she stops what she is doing (throwing a fit) then she will eventually stop throwing a fit. Could work in 1 day, could take a week, depends on the goat. This is how I have always trained my girls. I've trained about 30 this way (and counting...) After she calms down with you gently gripping at her udder, begin to milk. She may throw a fit all over again. Go back to massaging until she calms down, then milk, etc. Oh and...think quick if you have a pail of milk under her because if she decides to throw a fit...she will knock it over if you don't grab it fast enough! 

For how long -- typically breeders and dairy men/woman will milk from when the does kid until they 3 months after get bred next year, about 10 months. So, doe kids in Feb and milks all the way until December. But get's bred in October so that she kids again the fallowing Feb. If you feed her very well this is a sustainable cycle. If you cheap out on a good diet then this will likely deplete her of nutrients and she will die of some sufficiency after some time. She needs vitamins, minerals (iodine, Bs, calcium, copper and selenium are the big ones with diary goats) and plenty of protein. On a solid diet being bred and milked every year does can be bred into their teens and therefore milked into their teens. It isn't recommended though as it is hard on their bodies. I wouldn't recommend breeding and milking past 8-10. 

Some does can be kept in milk longer then 10 months meaning they do not have to be bred every year. Some very dairy lines boast does who will stay in milk as long as 2 years without having to be re-bred! 

Hope some of this info is useful!


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## Hannah (Oct 17, 2010)

thanks so much that helps a lot.


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