First Freshening Goats

Ahh, milking. That peaceful time of the day when you can unwind as you listen to the rhythmic swish-swish-swish made by white streams of milk greeting the white froth already in the bucket.

Unless.

It is a skittish first time freshener who wants NOTHING to do with you, your bucket, or peaceful moments! She won’t let you touch her udder without levitating 3 feet into the air, kicking violently, and dumping whatever milk you did manage to get in the bucket. This is a good time to remember that milk is good for the skin! Should she not have dumped the milk, but rather stomped a back foot solidly in the pail…while it may tempt you…you can’t keep the milk, no matter how much work you put into getting it in the bucket. There is no 5 second rule for a goat hoof in the bucket…the milk should be dumped, or given to the dog or chickens, sorry.

So… if this happens to you, its time to take a deep breath, and regroup. First of all, it is best, on so many levels, not to hit the goat, or yell. This animal needs to trust you, and yelling or hitting is very counter productive. Remember…you taking her milk is not normal for her, and her udder may be uncomfortable from being engorged with milk. You also need to make sure there is nothing wrong with her udder…mastitis, stings, cuts, etc.

Make sure your hands are not cold, you are not pulling hairs on the udder, and that you are milking correctly…milking requires technique, not brute force.

It is best to get a goat used to the milk stand BEFORE she ever freshens. Make sure she gets lots of tasty grain on the stand while allowing you to pat her…and touch her udder, feet, etc.

We always milk a first freshener into a canning jar until she calms down. This definitely takes longer as we hold the jar with one hand while milking with the other hand, but the chances are much better of not losing the milk to a goat hissy fit. When the jar gets full, transfer it to a bucket nearby.

On rare occasions, there are goats that just will not cooperate. You have tried every patient thing you can think of, and they are still just as aggressively fighting you as the first time you tried to milk, and now they are aiming kicks at you. You still shouldn’t hit them! But…they can be restrained, gently but firmly, with either a hobble or tying their back legs to the milk stand. This is a last resort, and hopefully a temporary one.

Every doe I have known learned pretty quickly and easily to just accept milking as a part of their routine. A peaceful one, with the rhythmic sound of swish-swish-swish…