[nchen7]

it takes a while to get the hang of it. I don't have a milk stand, but I had to work with my doe to stand still for me. now she eats off the ground while I milk her, untied and no fidgeting.

time, patience and practice. once you get the hang of actually squeezing milk out of the teats, getting a good feel for the motions, then you'll start to speed up.

 

[knightrider]

so , I've finally got a set up that works to keep the doeling in at night separated from momma.... and this morning I still didn't have hardly anything that I could get out of her.

Can I actually just not milk her and then dry her up at weaning time? Will that effect future milking ability? She's beig really good now standing and actually wants to jump up on the grooming stand i'm using for her...but I'm thinking the whole milking idea may not be for me... however, I like the breeding part and having the kids if I can sell them... just not sure i can keep their value up tomake it worth it unless i milk???

 

[enchantedgoats]

separate them durimg the day, milk at night and let the kid sleep with his mom.

 

[Di]

I agree with enchantedgoats, the morning timeline just doesn't work for you. You must be calm with plenty of time in the beginning. So, the breeder milked THIS goat and got more? Then bring her back and have her critique your methods. You will get the hang of it.

 

[WarPony]

so , I've finally got a set up that works to keep the doeling in at night separated from momma.... and this morning I still didn't have hardly anything that I could get out of her.

Can I actually just not milk her and then dry her up at weaning time? Will that effect future milking ability? She's beig really good now standing and actually wants to jump up on the grooming stand i'm using for her...but I'm thinking the whole milking idea may not be for me... however, I like the breeding part and having the kids if I can sell them... just not sure i can keep their value up tomake it worth it unless i milk???

You don't have to milk her if you don't want to, milking isn't for everyone and is a huge commitment to make. If the market for them is high enough in your area it might be worthwhile to keep them just for selling kids. Here it isn't. I breed to keep them in milk, and the kids mostly are a byproduct (or for keeping as replacements in my herd). Without the milk I would not be able to justify keeping more than one or two does for producing meat wethers.