Non-Slip Milking Stand

[nehimama]

This works for me!

My milking stand/stanchion is an older, homemade one, made of wood. It was given to me by a kind neighbor who no longer had any use for it. The wooden floor is difficult to keep clean, and the way my milking area is set up, it gets wet if the rain is raining in just the right direction (I gotta work on that!) (My milking area is a work in progress.)

Anyway, I found that a rubber mudflap for a semi makes a great floor. It's non-slip, and easy to keep clean; just hose it off.

Hope this helps someone.

NeHi

[Liese]

This is a good idea but since we don't have access to someone with a semi I think I'll try a thin door mat on the stand we're building. Thanks for the idea!

[nehimama]

I'd also thought about cutting a rubber stall mat to size, but those things are pricey.

NeHi

[Charleen]

Try a bath tub mat, the kind with suction cups on the back side.

The platform of our first milk stand was made with slats of wood instead of a sheet of plywood, and I prefered it. The goats did seem to slip more on the plywood.

[HazyDay]

Thanks, Yes I did that when I mademy stand. They seem to like them better! and me to! cleaning wood, would mean it rotting, but now it's clean! and not rotting!

[nehimama]

I just had a thought; the floor of my milking "room" is dirt. It gets pretty dusty in the summertime. I wonder about putting in stall mats to make a rubber floor. Has anyone tried this? Pros? Cons? I'm thinking it could be hosed down to keep it cleaner than I'm able to do now. . . .

NeHi

[trnubian]

We are building our 3rd milkstand right now actually. We stained it and are going to put a coat of polyurathane on (we will put about 3 coats on the legs). We'll let that dry, Put another THICK coat on the stand part and sprinkle some fine grained sand. This makes it water proof and non slip. It sure it pretty! We can wash it off whenever we need to. We will probably put a coat of polyurathane on it every year anyway to keep it nice.

I know some people that put pallets down on their dirt floor and then cover tham with plywood or pressboard. It gets the stands up off the dirt and you can clean it pretty easily. Nothin' beats a concrete, whitewashed milk room though. (Only in my dreams. )

[nehimama]

I hear you, Laura! I'd LOVE a "real" milking room. In my dreams . . . .

Pallet floor sounds good, though. Hmmm.

Keep those ideas coming!

NeHi

[Starsmom]

When we built our stand a couple years ago, we put the polyurethane on it and the sand. It does really work great. NO SLIDING GOATS! If it is left in the sunlight, it will begin to crack. we recoat every year.

[Corky]

Hubby built my milk stand from plans we got off the internet. Someone had built their stand out of PVC pipe and built it big enough to sleep on at shows.
We covered the floor of it with vynal floor covering that matches our milk room floor. It is pretty but can be slippery so I happened to have an old truck bed liner mat and cut a strip from that. I can take it outside and hose it off and give it a good scrub when I need to. I wipe my stand down after every milking anyway but a good scrub with soapy bleach water sometimes makes me feel better.
I learned yesterday that wiping it between goats in the winter is not the smartest thing I ever did. I had to stand on the opposite side of the stand when Hubby let out a doe to come in and catch her as she slid across the stand to me.

[DocM]

My wooden stand has deck varnish with sand thrown in, and my metal grill stand has big door mat I bought at Home Depot. Easy to hose off, easy to replace when hosing off doesn't do it anymore. It's splashed with bleach water and set in the sun every few days.

[Gailann Schrader]

I use two pieces of shingle on mine. Tack down (or staple) and the does won't slip (and it's inexpensive). When all the 'grit' wears off, tear it off and replace with a few more of those shingles you have laying around!

[Jim S.]

Hmmm...I just wonder...would spraycan truck bed liner from Wally World (in the touchup paint section of auto) work?

[Gailann Schrader]

yeah, but old shingles are cheaper. AND protect the wood...

But that paint-on grit stuff would work (or you can take any outdoor paint, add sand, and paint with the same effect)...

[Jim S.]

Gailann, well, ya got me on cheaper, if you have the old shingles on hand. I don't even MILK...how's that for cheaper? LOL. :baby04: