[flatmountain]

I do not have a big enough barn to milk in and am trying plan out what I am going to do better different this year, so it goes better. Starting with babies not in the middle of Winter with no warm place to milk. Could some of you post pictures or describe you milking area set up and how you train you does before birthing?

 

[janeen128]

I can post a picture in a few hours, but my barn has a feed side on the right, and a place for the animals on the left. I milk on the feed side. I'm already training my new does on the milk stand, however I do leash training first then the milk stand, once they are familiar with that then I start touching/playing with the udder. This will take a few days to get used to, but I'm hoping it will pay off during actual milking..

 

[TDG-Farms]

Without a good investment in materials, I cant really suggest a way that would work for you. So ill just post a pic of how we do it.

This is our milking parlor. The animals enter from the left through a lift up sliding door. 4 come in, get clasped to their area and eat grain outta their lip pan. My other half either sits on the run ledge or a stool with wheels to milk them. When done, they leave out the lift up sliding door to the right which exits into a fully covered lean too on the side of the barn with a bucket of loose minerals waiting. This way they pass by the minerals every day.

 

[sandraH]

Nice looking parlor

 

[Hollowdweller]

Nice Dave! What sort of paint did you use on that?

 

[RhinoWhite]

Without a good investment in materials, I cant really suggest a way that would work for you. So ill just post a pic of how we do it.

This is our milking parlor. The animals enter from the left through a lift up sliding door. 4 come in, get clasped to their area and eat grain outta their lip pan. My other half either sits on the run ledge or a stool with wheels to milk them. When done, they leave out the lift up sliding door to the right which exits into a fully covered lean too on the side of the barn with a bucket of loose minerals waiting. This way they pass by the minerals every day.

Do you milk them per hand or are you using milking equipment?

 

[TDG-Farms]

Have been milking by hand for nearly 20 years Been really thinking about getting a machine but my other half who does the milking enjoys doing it by hand. Sure she cant leave or go camping for anything longer then a few hours in order to milk twice a day. I cant milk. Its a bad day for everyone when I try. The goats, the run and myself end up pretty much covered in it

Paint is just a high end brand interior latex paint. The run its self has 4 coats with sand sprinkled it after each coat but the last. The sand works as a non slip surface. If and when we go grade A, ill have to cover that painted OSB with either dry wall or that thin plastic/fiberglass stuff you see in restaurants in order to comply with code.

 

[nchen7]

wow! impressive that your wife does all the milking by hand, b/c you have a LOT of goats!

 

[TDG-Farms]

She used to milk around 45 twice a day at the farm we worked on. Now, its rare that she is milking at many as 20 at a time. She is actually faster then a machine if you add cleaning all the parts that need to be done each milking. Not to mention a machine doesnt totally milk out a doe. The only we would get one is to be able to milk 4 at a time and so if she wanted to, she could leave on vaca. and I or someone else could milk for her. Though, she doesnt trust anyone to do it right I understand how she feels. I dont trust anyone to feed right either.

 

[nchen7]

good point. I was thinking about that the other day, the annoyance of having to clean off milking machines. hands are so much easier to clean!

 

[J.O.Y. Farm]

She used to milk around 45 twice a day at the farm we worked on. Now, its rare that she is milking at many as 20 at a time. She is actually faster then a machine if you add cleaning all the parts that need to be done each milking. Not to mention a machine doesnt totally milk out a doe. The only we would get one is to be able to milk 4 at a time and so if she wanted to, she could leave on vaca. and I or someone else could milk for her. Though, she doesnt trust anyone to do it right I understand how she feels. I dont trust anyone to feed right either.

Oh I totally know that feeling! I am the same way! If my family goes away I'm like "I'll stay here!" Lol! I just am a little over protective of my goaties