# Sore hands and a cranky goat! What am I doing wrong??



## cdanna (Dec 17, 2012)

I just recently got my first 2 milk goats. Both are FF, one is a ND/Kinder rescue from auction (I didn't rescue her, she spent 8 months learning to be a good girl) the other is a Oberhasli/Alpine. The little one started out very wild but has calmed down significantly and is becoming quite a pleasure to milk (except her teats are so short it is very hard not to squirt my own hand with milk, lol). The Ob/Alp though is becoming increasingly agitated with me and constantly kicks, leans, kneels, chews on my shirt, etc. 

She has really small orifices and I think she is just impatient with me for taking too long, or maybe I am squeezing too hard?? 

I have tried feeding her first, feeding her after milking, giving her little bits of food throughout milking, feeding her only during the 2nd udder... nothing seems to work. Am I just switch my strategy too often?

Also, my hands hurt SO bad- when I wake up in the morning my joints are so swollen I can barely make a fist, I have to ice them and take ibuprofen. What the heck am I doing wrong??

Off to milk now....


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

If the one goat has small orifices, there isn't much you can do. You may want to look into milking machines for her.


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## enchantedgoats (Jun 2, 2013)

sounds like you need to see a rhuematologist, and get a milking machine they have small ones on ebay that use a food saver pump.


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## cdanna (Dec 17, 2012)

A rhuematologist, yikes, really? I have only been milking for a week D: 

I have been considering buying/building a hand pumped milk machine anyway, so that it will be easy for my housemate to take over milking for a few days if I go out of town. I'll definitely do that now if there is nothing that can be done for her small orifices, I don't want to go on like this haha

Thank you both!


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## nchen7 (Feb 25, 2013)

maybe you are switching methods too often. stick with the one that works for you and she'll just have to learn to be good.


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## lottsagoats (Dec 10, 2012)

You have to build up the muscles in your hands and forearms, that comes with time. I have Rheumatoid arthritis and hand milking actually keeps my hands from being stiff and painful.

My milkers only get fed grain on the milkstand while being milked. If they act up, I take the feed away from them until they can act like good little girls.


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## cdanna (Dec 17, 2012)

I expected some muscle soreness and do feel a bit in my forearm, but in my hands it is definitely all joint pain. My right hand is noticeably swollen. I'll just have to keep trying though, I have been watching videos of other people milking to see if I am doing anything wrong that is putting unnecessary stress on my hands. All I can think of is that I am squeezing too long and too hard on the one with small orifices. I don't know how else to get the milk out though. I'm definitely building a milking machine asap.

It also doesn't help that my kitten needed a bath yesterday and she scratched my hands up...plus I accidentally touched a stinging plant and still have tiny needle fragments in my palms! My hands are *really* not happy with me today.

I can tell my frustration is affecting the goats, too. Even the ones I am not milking seem agitated. I guess I just need to relax and go with it. I never thought this would be so hard!


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## LamanchaAcres (Jan 11, 2013)

Try looking into getting the Magidan milker. We just ordered one with a large teat cup for our girls. We have heard good reviews and we see people use them at shows all the time


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## Goats Rock (Jun 20, 2011)

It is amazing how different milking is to hands! In the winter when all my girls are dry- my hands are so stiff and sore. When they all start kidding and I have to start
milking- I suffer through about 1 week of swollen, sore hands, too. Last winter I changed strategy- I used one of those squeezy balls they use for physical therapy- 
everytime I had a second, I was squeezing it. It worked well! No sore hands at milking! (and my arthritis is somewhat better!). 

As far as the milking small teats, a hand milker may be your best bet. Some teats are just really hard to milk! Good luck!


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## Sweetpea8 (Jun 6, 2013)

Some recommendations I have heard about for pain while adjusting to milking are: rubbing vit E oil on hands once or twice a day, and taking a cup out with you and drinking a cup of the goat's milk while it is still warm from the goat is supposed to help, but I haven't actually tried either one, I just adjust how I milk


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

Goats Rock said:


> It is amazing how different milking is to hands! In the winter when all my girls are dry- my hands are so stiff and sore. When they all start kidding and I have to start
> milking- I suffer through about 1 week of swollen, sore hands, too. Last winter I changed strategy- I used one of those squeezy balls they use for physical therapy-
> everytime I had a second, I was squeezing it. It worked well! No sore hands at milking! (and my arthritis is somewhat better!).
> 
> As far as the milking small teats, a hand milker may be your best bet. Some teats are just really hard to milk! Good luck!


I do the same! When my girls are dry my hands hurt with the non use! I use a tennis ball though... I have fore arms like Popeye too


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