# Doe who 'sits' on the stand?



## BrokenArrowRanch (Jun 6, 2013)

I have a FF due in a month. I have put her on the stand EVERY day since she was bred. She hates being handled. I halter broke her so she leads better. But she hates being touched. Whenever I touch near her rear end she sits like a dog. And forget touching her udder. 

Any tips to break this habit? I would *like* to milk her, but no idea how this will work.


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## Goatzrule (Feb 7, 2013)

if my doe does that I make her stay there with out food until she stands up again and then i give her the food make sure to leave on a good note.


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## BrokenArrowRanch (Jun 6, 2013)

I've tried food. No matter what butt goes to the stand if I try to touch her. She doesn't care if she has food or not...


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## sassykat6181 (Nov 28, 2012)

Depending on the size of your doe, you could put a milk crate or bucket under her belly

My ND was a terrible sitter last year when I started milking her. I found that if I poked her with my thumb, straight up into her belly and told her to stand, she eventually got better. No fitting a bucket under that girl. Lol


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## Stacykins (Mar 27, 2012)

Sassykat, I managed to fit a short cinder block underneath my ND doe when she wanted to sit on the stand. It definitely helped.

I had to put a bucket under my Angora doe's belly yesterday for hoof trimming. But she is tall enough for the bucket!


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## BrokenArrowRanch (Jun 6, 2013)

I tried the bucket, it worked until she freaked out and kicked it off the stand. Will ziptie it dow tommorrow and see what happens...


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## Abra (Aug 11, 2012)

It will be OK. 
I have handled my doelings since birth. Touched their non-existing udders since birth. They always enjoyed being handled, and never had an issue with me touching their rear ends or udder areas.
They are all due in just a bit over a month, are all starting to grow these teeny tiny little udders, and there is no way they are letting me touch their udders now! They jump, hop, skip, dance, and even kick out sometimes. It's normal I think.
Even my main milker didn't want her udder touched for a few weeks before kidding. And she has been milked for years!  Immediately after she kidded though, there was absolutely no issues. She's perfect on the stand, and more than eager to get on it! 
I think they settle down after kidding, and usually have no problems being milked.

That said, I had a friend who ended up putting a 'loop' in the wall (a couple inches above the does back) and threading some thick rope thru it, then running the rope behind and under the doe, then between the hind legs, the rope wasn't tight, but it didn't allow her to 'sit', and kept her stationary. Her doe settled down after a few days.


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## TDG-Farms (Jul 12, 2013)

Wow you guys are much more tolerant then we would be. A doe does something like that and not broke of it by the time she kids, she would be sold. Chores are long and hard enough at they are.


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## Abra (Aug 11, 2012)

TDG-Farms said:


> Wow you guys are much more tolerant then we would be. A doe does something like that and not broke of it by the time she kids, she would be sold. Chores are long and hard enough at they are.


I can understand selling a doe when you have tried for a while to milk (at least a few weeks?), and she makes it impossible.
I don't have all that much patience myself, but I do try to put myself in their hooves, so I could understand why they react the way they do... They're just animals. If they are not used to people handling their udder, I would never expect them to stand on the milk-stand like a statue.
I am still new to the goat-world myself, but from my own experience, I noticed that my does get defensive and protective of their udders before kidding. And after the kids arrive, thy settle down and there is usually no problems when milking...


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## NyGoatMom (Jan 26, 2013)

TDG-Farms said:


> Wow you guys are much more tolerant then we would be. A doe does something like that and not broke of it by the time she kids, she would be sold. Chores are long and hard enough at they are.


If I had as many as you, I would do the same. But with just a couple backyard milkers I would try harder for longer


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## TDG-Farms (Jul 12, 2013)

I hear ya NGM  I can also say that with some harshness cause we have never had a goat do that. One or two every year may need a bit more training and need to have a back foot tied down. But the whole sitting thing, never.


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## NyGoatMom (Jan 26, 2013)

I had one that would _lay down_ when I tried to do anything with her on the stand...very annoying  But, I also ended up having her processed because she was a bully, tiny teats and double orifices on each teat...so she had to go!
I have my spotted Nubian this year as a FF, so we'll see what she does...she's a drama queen!


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## BrokenArrowRanch (Jun 6, 2013)

I've heard they can be tender when developing an udder. Maybe after she kids we will see how she does. She was completely wild when I got her. 


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## SapphireMoonFarm (May 5, 2013)

Boy if you ever do figure out a way to solve this problem let me know! I have one that does the same thing. I got her as a yearling & she was completely wild. She has made lots of progress & will now walk up to me most of the time to be petted, but if i touch her back legs rump udder or flank area she sits down like a dog . Its pretty frustrating. I have had her for almost a year now. She is due to kid any day now & is going to be a blast to milk stand train!


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## Tapsmom (Sep 20, 2011)

I had 2 like that last year. I used the little 1 gallon bucket on one for a short time and then the thumb trick suggested above. It did not take very long at all to correct. I would say less than a week. However, I wouldn't worry until after the babies arrive and she has had a full udder. That will probably change her tune. None of ours were keen on having their udders touched before they freshened. One would go ballistic. Once we started milking her regularly (and by that I mean once a day) she settled down fairly quickly. 
Mine are also NDs


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## CanucksStar-17 (May 3, 2013)

The one goat that I milk used to sit (I don't have a milking stand just milk them on the ground) anyway when she sat down I put my knee under her butt just behind her udder and held her up with my knee (it is really hard to do this because it is a lot of weight on your leg) after about 3 milking's she figured out it wasn't working and stopped. She now stands very well. I'm not sure how many people can do this because I know some people have bad knees, so not sure if this will work for you or not.


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## HarleyBear (Aug 31, 2012)

Abra, your post gave me hope. My pregnant doe won't let me touch her down there at all. She used to, but since she became pregnant she will stomp, kick, and jump away. I was planning on doing a sanitary clip before kidding, but that has gone out the window. So hopefully it will get better after she kids.


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## Barnes19 (Sep 8, 2013)

Hm ... I have a young girl who just 'sags' until she gets to the ground.

Objects under belly don't help this one, I've tried knees buckets you name it.

She's not being milked this year after all due to an injury, for her health sake I've left her to the kid, but she was a pain the couple times I milked her before that.

Apart from extensive training before she kids, next year I'm thinking if all else fails and she still does it, I'll rig some sort of harness/sling.

Like the sling they use for helping 'down' animals stand, except only the back portion not the whole under belly sling.

From experience with aforesaid 'down' animals, the sling has to go out behind the back legs, either side of the udder or they will slump out the back.

I'm thinking I won;t need it as I'll have her trained by then anyway, shes not even being bred back this year due to the injury, but thats the vague idea I had to solve the problem if I needed.

Needless to say it has to be comfortable, and only take up weight if she does try and sit ...


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## IvyMayPygmyGoats (Jan 24, 2014)

i'd just like to say that MINE DOES THE COMPLETE OPPOSITE. and it's really annoying


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## lottsagoats (Dec 10, 2012)

Some does hate being touched before they kid but are fine afterwards. Most of mine will act out if I touch their udders or bellies if they are dry, but milking them is a breeze and they stand perfectly still for me.


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## BrokenArrowRanch (Jun 6, 2013)

Come to think of it, my other milker is the same way. 


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## kc8lsk (Jan 10, 2014)

Well if you can get a helper try having them stand and hold the goats tail up while she's being milked that's what I had to do with a second year that lost her baby this year she now stands without the help they really don't like having their tail held up while their trying to sit down this one only took a few minutes of having her tail held until she figured it out. I had another one that took almost 6 days of it and then when she had her kid the next year we had to have a refresher on what happens when you sit on the stand but that was it she learned.


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## canyontrailgoats (Jan 4, 2014)

Haha, my classmate said she puts an ice pack or a bowl of ice/snow under the doe , said they learned fast . Talk about shocking for the goat !


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## BrokenArrowRanch (Jun 6, 2013)

Ha that's funny! I have lots of ice packs...


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## sassykat6181 (Nov 28, 2012)

And we have plenty of snow


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## NickandDonna (Jan 13, 2014)

We had the exact same problem and we ended up using a stool that my husband made for us to sit on when milking. It's made of a couple of 2x6 boards and shaped like a "T". We placed it under her belly to hold her up. We used it for about a month and then were able to stop using it. She tries to "sit down" when we first start milking but we just stand her back up and she is fine.


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## giddysmom (Mar 12, 2014)

In my experience they learn in a few milkings that a pressure release from a full udder feels good. I have used the bucket under them method too but only had to do that for first few days. Hang in there!


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

Each of my does... from First fresheners to seasoned pro's all will dance and sidestep on the stand when pregnant, they simply do not like having their udder area touched especially in the last month of pregnancy. I don't handle udders during that time simply because it stresses them out so I don't force the issue.... and I can't imagine it being a good feeling to be break dancing with a belly full of babies so I just feed them on the stand provided they can still safely jump up as well as brush and rub bellys to feel for kid movement. Once they deliver, they don't mind having their udders handled, FF do need to be reinforced to stand nicely and though I do have ND, they are tall enough that a 2 gallon bucket fits under their ribs to help with when I do have one that wants to go down


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## Abra (Aug 11, 2012)

BrokenArrow, I am glad my post put you at ease, and I am sure did everyone elses. 
There is some AMAZING people on this forum. 
I'm not sure if this will help, but here is a drawing of what my friend did with her goat.

I would suggest not touching her udder at all until after she kids. Simply get her comfortable with the stand. You don't want her to associate the stand with a negative experience. Been there, done that, and my goat eventually stopped hopping up on the stand altogether. All I was trying to do is get her used to being handled on the stand, and she didn't like that (this was before kidding). Still, it took me another couple of weeks to convince her to get back on. (and that included a TON of treats, petting, scratching, cooing, baby-talking, and goat wrestling!)
I think once they kid, a little 'switch' goes off in their tiny brains, and they instinctively KNOW that something is supposed to be at the teat... (generally)
If she still gives you trouble after kidding, see if you can put a kid by her side while you are milking. Most of the time that works, and she believes that it's the kid nursing, and not you milking. Eventually, she should get used to the feeling of having you around, and having her udder handled. Then she SHOULD settle down for you.


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## sharbear (Mar 6, 2014)

When we bought our does last summer we had that problem with both of them. They were stressed I think from new people and surroundings. The one calmed down after a couple of weeks, the other one we had to suspend her back end for about a month. I think they were trying to establish who was boss..


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