# Kicking doe when trying to milk her



## Jason_L (Jan 11, 2013)

I'm new to milking. This is my first year milking my 3 African Pygmy does. So I have a few questions.

Really only 2 questions.

One of my does had triplets. She is a strong milker. Keeping in mind - I'm talking about African Pygmy Goats - small goats. I get a quart every morning from her. My other 2 does may give me a pint or a half pint. Is the reason my triplets doe gives me a quart because she had triplets (and the other two had single kids) so she is just producing more because of the triplets or would she possibly have a milker breed gene in her contributing to her better milking?

My other question is one of my "other does" hates, hates, hates being milked. Today I got kicked in neck and chest trying to milk her. I use a Maggidans milker so I'm not too close to her - she reached out there to kick and consistently kicks off the teet cup. Is there a way to restrain her back legs?

I use a home-built milking stand for all my does. I built it from the picture of the wood stand in Hoeggers Supply catalog. Stand works great for other does - but Isabella - eesh.

Thanks,


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## AmyBoogie (May 20, 2013)

You can hobble her and/or using the hobble straps, tie her back legs down. 

Use soft humane but strong straps and if you have a home made stand, tie down on the stand legs or you can add in eye bolts if needed.


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## Oberhaz (Aug 8, 2013)

Good suggestion Amy. I was wondering if you try and milk her by hand into a strip cup, or a big coffee mug one teat at a time. In time she may get used to the whole process and settle down. Probably a stupid question, but does she have plenty of feed while on the stand?


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Could be better genes could be the triplets or a combination of both as far as quantity of milk.

Your kicker may not like the milker. Have you milked her by hand?

I end up milking each teat separately and use a pint Mason jar to milk into.


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## sassykat6181 (Nov 28, 2012)

My FF was a kicker at first also. I tried a hobble, but she still bounced around. I ended up tying each foot separately to the legs of the milk stand. After about a month of me milking her, we were hobble and tie free. She's great now.


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## ciwheeles (Apr 5, 2013)

My FF used to be big into kicking. If we even touched her udder she would start throwing a tantrum even with a bowl full of food! Finally we just added some eye hooks to the side of our milk stand and cut up a pair of pantyhose for the straps. Once she figured out she couldn't kick she got over herself and learned to just stay calm and eat.


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## Jason_L (Jan 11, 2013)

My kicker does not like to be touched at all. Reaching for a teat yields a hoof against your hand - let alone actually grab onto a teat and milk her. 

She has an aggressive attitude towards all the kids, has a deformed udder - only one side milks - other never "formed" so she is lopsided. 

I think I'm just going to make her a meat goat once her kid weens.


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## sassykat6181 (Nov 28, 2012)

Jason_L said:


> My kicker does not like to be touched at all. Reaching for a teat yields a hoof against your hand - let alone actually grab onto a teat and milk her.
> 
> She has an aggressive attitude towards all the kids, has a deformed udder - only one side milks - other never "formed" so she is lopsided.
> 
> I think I'm just going to make her a meat goat once her kid weens.


If she's nursing only one kid, she will be lopsided


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## GoatieGranny (Jul 26, 2013)

With one of our does, who was very shy when we got her, I had to stand against her with my shoulder against her hips to press her into the wall. Then I'd reach down to her teats from above her to milk. I just took a little bit each day as she tolerated it, and didn't worry about the milk. I had a bowl under her that always got tipped over or kicked, but my point was to train her at that time. The cats got the milk. I was eventually able to sit and milk her out. It took a few weeks but I get 1/2 gallon a day from her now, milking her x1 per day. She has two kids on her, too.


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## Jason_L (Jan 11, 2013)

Yeah, I have to press her against a wall with one sholder and milk her with the other or have one of my sons help hold her rear end down and milk her that way. She is super irritated when I try to milk her - then again - she is super irritated most any time unless I have a few treats from the kitchen in my hand. But even the sweet grains in the morning is not enough to calm her to let me milk her without incident. She is also aggressive to her own kid along with the other kids in the pasture. She chases them around horns down. She has never been mean to me, but she is not nice to the goat kids!

One side of her udder is misformed - one teat is considerably smaller then the other and sticks out at an odd angle. Definitely something not quite right in her development there.


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## NyGoatMom (Jan 26, 2013)

^^sounds like dinner to me


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