# What would you do in this situation?



## Clayton's Caprines (Aug 18, 2011)

I have 2 does that are lactating. One is a La Mancha the other is a 2nd gen. Mini-Alpine. I love the La Mancha (she is my hopeful for ADGA Nationals in a few years)... But my Mini-Alpine.... Oh the dreaded Mini-Alpine... lol (sorry if I offended any other Mini-Alpine-ers) She is very sweet and loveble... off of the milk stand... I know she is a good producer for her size... But i just cant milk her... I have tried hobbling her to the stand, putting the kids in front of her while I am milking, singing, talking, giving her extra grain and pretty much all of the above to make her calm down while she is on the stand... The other day I even tried switching the order i milked in... Quorvette milked out about 3 quarts that day... then Havarti (Alpine) stuck her foot in the bucket full of creamy deliciousness that we like to call mancha milk... I was SO MAD!!!! Should i sell her and get a different doe to replace her? Or should i just keep her, continue the milking rodeo and hope she doesnt do that next freshening? PLEASE HELP!!!!


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## milkmaid (Sep 15, 2010)

If she were mine and I had every other reason to keep her, I would keep trying. Above all, don't take your hands off her udder when she kicks. Keep milking if at all possible, and she should eventually figure out that throwing a tantrum gets her nowhere. Also, don't milk her into the same bucket as your other doe- the more milk in the bucket, the more that gets wasted when she steps in it!


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## nubians2 (Feb 20, 2011)

when I am training a doe on the stand I milk into a SS cup then pour into your bucket til I feel confident that I am not going to lose it all. I just purchased a 2 gallon SS milk tote. I am soo excited about this purchase. I milk into my bucket, then pour into my tote which is in a bucket of ice water chilling the milk, then milk the next doe, and so on. I love not worrying about losing it all and I got an extra plastic bucket so all I have to do is carry the ice to the milk parlor and not a pan of water with the ice in it. Another plus is that I make alot less noise in the morning and since I milk at 4:30 a.m. that is good. I put my ice in a bag the night before so the ice maker doesn't even have to go off. 

My first doe was difficult too. She had never been milked, I just bought her and I had never milked. It took two of us for a couple of weeks to work with her. I lost my temper more times than I can count. Good luck!


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## Engebretsen (May 16, 2012)

Give her time, and as has already been stated, milk into different pails or process the other doe's milk first.


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## freedomstarfarm (Mar 25, 2011)

How long have you been trying? Some does take a lot of patience at first. Do use a different bucket so you dont loose the milk. One trick I found works with some does.. 
dependant on her size. Stand over her with her eating from a feed bowl; you face her tail. Lean over and milk from above and behind. Not all like this but I found some that are more stressed the first few times relax after a second. Oh and some dont like commotion and other animals around. Hope she improves; the ones that I cant get to settle on the stand after a good long set of trys leave here as pets. Oh and some goats will let certain people milk them and not others dependant on the relationship.


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

If I liked her I would keep her, but I am also hard headed. Is there a way you can tie her feet up while milking.....like If you got a hay string and tied it off to something so she could not kick. I dont like hobbles, but I might be hobble stupid. I find the hay string helps so much, I had some single kids and with the bad luck of 4 bottle babys I want all the col. I can get my hands on if this goes on next year, so I am doing this with boer goats that have never even had their bags touched before and works great.


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## sblueram6 (Nov 19, 2009)

spair the rod spoil the goat little switch works wonders .


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## milkmaid (Sep 15, 2010)

I assume you've ruled out other possible causes of kicking? You probably know this, but for my peace of mind, I have to say it - no pulling on the teats!
No mastitis?
If you know that she's just being a brat, then as Sblueram mentioned, a slap and a "No!" everytime she kicks would help.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

I agree with everyone.... :thumb: 

How old is she?

Keep trying and a open hand smack up under the belly ...before the udder...with a firm "no" or "quite" may help her to stop.... 

Make sure... as mentioned... to check for anything that may be hurting her or mastitis...


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## Clayton's Caprines (Aug 18, 2011)

This morning went better!!! I just milked into a quart size mason jar and dumped it into the bucket as it filled... She still kicked but i was perserverant and just kept milking (with a few smacks on the rump and a loud no!) lol

Freedomstar- I tried that when she first freshened (about 2 months ago) since she wouldn't let me milk her i just let the kid nurse off of her...

Milkmaid- Yes i have ruled out any cause besides her being a brat for her kicking. The lady i bought her from said that she had been milked before... She didn't say whether it was by hand or machine...

Toth- She is a 2nd freshening 3 year old...


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## Rev144 (Jan 22, 2011)

Last year I had a bucker while milking. I had to tie a rope around one leg, go under the milk stand and then up to the other leg, making sure she was spread wide.. She could not buck and she could not bring her legs together to spill or step in the milk. During the last full moon one of my goats was freaking out at everything, I ended up having to put a rope around her leg and tied it to my coat hook on the wall. She was on 3 legs and it prevented her from thrashing her leg at the milk pail.. 

Get creative with your rope!!! Example: If you got a kicker, tie one end of the rope to the kicking leg and the other end to the goats nose / ear / other leg. Every time she kicks it will pull what the other end is tied to!


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## mabeane (Nov 6, 2010)

I have string,rope in a loop on each side. If I have a kicker I attach velcro through the loop and onto the leg. Easy on, easy off. She is barely kicking now and waits as I attack the velcro.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

:thumbup: glad it went better.... :greengrin:


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## jaycee (Aug 3, 2011)

I agree with what everyone said about persistence and keeping your hands on her udder even when she goes through her fits. I had a very hard headed nubian first freshener this year who was always a bit flightier than the others. When I started milking her she'd jump straight up in the air wildly with both hind legs and kick like you were tickling her and she couldn't control herself. I started with the hobble and just kept working with her and now Laverne is my best milker. She waits for me right by the gate in the morning and always has to be first on the stand. She never kicks and she's no longer flighty off the stand either. I think the key is to be more stubborn and hard headed than they are  

BTW Nubians2 where did you get your 2 gallon milk tote and how much?


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