# morning routine Q's



## flatmountain (Aug 14, 2010)

Can those of you who have small herds and keep your goats with kids during the day, describe your morning routine? Especially getting each goat to the milking stand or do they all have their own? do you take turns? Do you have any goats who are in the herd but not being milked and how do you get them out of the way when you carry in food. Just looking for ideas and thoughts as my situation is kinda crazy each time I try to get one on the stand. every body else would eat out of the same bowl from the front of the stand, milkee goat gets mad and struggles... etc...and I have to move everybody else out of the pen. It's a poorly managed event and I thought I'd toss it out and see who does things more smoothly and how?

On the plus, the milking is going better this year, the babies are doing well, and my FF is actually being pretty calm about milking. But not producing much extra for me yet.


----------



## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Is your milkstand inside your goat pen? Take it out. I have a separate area where my milkstand is. The goats learn the order I put them in. I separate the milking goats from non milking to feed the non milking while I milk the girls.


----------



## TDG-Farms (Jul 12, 2013)

A couple of weeks before they start to kid, you need to bring them into your milking area and put them on the stand. Give them some grain and start to handle/touch their udder. You want them to know where to go, whats waiting for them and how its going to feel like to have their udders messed with BEFORE you need to start milking. This will make your milking experience much better.

A loafing area (staging area) between you and the other goats is a good thing. This way you can let just a few into the loafing area and not have to fight with the entire herd. AND if more then what you want do happened to bust past you, you dont have a big frustrating fight on or around your milking stand and supply area. Here, our milk line holds 4 at a time. We allow 8 girls into the loafing area. If more happen to make into the loafing area, they get put back out. If they are jerks about it, they get punished (sprayed, or smacked).

In your milking area, if you have just the one milking stand, you want the grain waiting in the lip pan before you let the animal in. If not, they will often jump up on the stand, check for grain, see non and jump off and look for it else where. But you want every thing ready to go once you let the animal in. It jumps up, you lock it in, grab your bucket and start to milk. If you can finish milking the doe before she is done with her grain, so much the better. Some does get happy feed when not distracted by grain. Once she is done with her grain, send her out the exit. You never want to try and force a doe that is done out the entrance gate with all the other waiting does. That is a fight you dont need to undertake. Ill see if I cant get a quick video of our set up to show you exactly what I mean


----------



## janeen128 (Dec 31, 2012)

I have my milk stand on the feed side of my barn. Since I have 4 to milk, they all go in order automatically. I have 2 first time fresheners, and they are still learning but getting better as time goes on. My Nubian miss drama queen will look to how to get the grain without hopping up on the milk stand... She is the only one I don't have grain ready for, so she will see me put it up there and then she figures out she has to hop up... Other then that minor problem..., she's a dream to milk...


----------



## TDG-Farms (Jul 12, 2013)

Here is a quick video of our setup. Dont mind the mess


----------



## lottsagoats (Dec 10, 2012)

I have 6 does milking right now, 5 have their kids with them, one does not (premie in the house)

In the morning I:

*fill feeder with hay
*bottle feed the 3 bottle kids
*fill water buckets
*pre-measure out the grain into large coffee cans
*bring does out of the stall one by one and hook them to a picketline until all the milkers or milkers to be are out.
*grain the 2 soon to be FF int he stall and fill the kids creep feeder
*milk doe #1 on the milk stand, then put her in the stall and go on to #2.

I milk in reverse order of "senority" so to speak. The bottom of the pecking order goes first so she can eat the hay while the higher ups are still tied or being milked. That way the lower goats can get their fill.

While the does are being milked/grained, I also do other chores in between. Right now they are still eating when I am done milking, so I fill up the wheelbarrow with hay for the next feeding (before I go to work), fill water buckets, measure the next feeding of grain or dog/horse feed, clean stalls, whatever.

My barn is small. The south wall of the buck pen is the north wall of the doe pen. The picket line for the does runs along side the north wall of the buck pen, its maybe 10 feet long? The milk stand sets against the north wall of the barn, sideways. I have a shelf above it that holds the measured cans of feed and any supplements I may need. The milk stand is about 4-5 feet away from the buck pen, maybe 8 feet from the does pen door.


----------



## janeen128 (Dec 31, 2012)

TDG-Farms said:


> Here is a quick video of our setup. Dont mind the mess


Nice set up Dave... You don't have stanchions I noticed....wow.. Cool


----------



## TDG-Farms (Jul 12, 2013)

nope, they just get clasped to the wall by their collars.


----------



## janeen128 (Dec 31, 2012)

Cool!!!


----------



## NyGoatMom (Jan 26, 2013)

Nice Dave 


I have only four does to contend with and only two who are milking right now. But....I take herd queen out first, my milk stand is in my garage, so no other goaties around unless someone is in a stall...but they can't interfere. I feed and milk her, take her back, get my second in command and so forth. After a while they learn the order and they calm down.

Oh and my kids are separated at night in a pen,where they have grain,hay and water access. They get put out after mom is milked.

ETA: It does get noisy when the kids see mom on the stand though :lol:


----------



## janeen128 (Dec 31, 2012)

NyGoatMom said:


> Nice Dave
> 
> I have only four does to contend with and only two who are milking right now. But....I take herd queen out first, my milk stand is in my garage, so no other goaties around unless someone is in a stall...but they can't interfere. I feed and milk her, take her back, get my second in command and so forth. After a while they learn the order and they calm down.
> 
> ...


I second the gets noisy part, mine all have to go past the kid pen, one cries, and there they all go....... It's kind of annoying but I know when they all go to their new homes I'm going to miss them..


----------



## flatmountain (Aug 14, 2010)

Thanks. They are all happy to get on the stand - just all at once and yes my nubian too will cheat and get the grain from the front as will her daughter try to eat the grain while she is on the stand and I have to drag her out. I have one that refused her kids so she is milked 2 or 3 times a day and getting her out of the pen (by herself!) in the day with all the mama and baby goats clamoring around is tough.

I have the kids all together at night, but two are bottle babies and very underfoot. But I :lovey: them!


----------

