Milk stand training and starting to grain...

[Shayanna]

Padme is due end of january, and Ruby is due early march. Both being first fresheners, I decided milk stand training was imminent. So last night I brought them up on the stand for 101. Proud to say, I think I have two great future milkers on my hands. A cup of oats each, and I pretended to milk them. Padme squatted over the bucket and loved every second, and Ruby fidgeted just a little but caught on quickly.

So, my question is... when do you start training and graining in pregnancy? What do you use for grain at this time and when?

[Alice In TX/MO]

I start it when the are still sucking kids. They come into the milk stand with their moms and explore. They get snacks. Eventually, they hop on the milk stand on their own and discover yummy things to eat in the feed pan on the other side of the head gate.

Yes, use grain.

[Shayanna]

Adding pics just for fun. Padme is still a bit small to be bred so soon, but we have a vet on speed dial.

[Shayanna]

And this is Ruby, our Alpine Nubian mix doe, next to our buck Taj. And Rocky, our oversized "goat".

[Shayanna]

Darn. I can only post one at a time. Anyway, here is Rocky:

[Clovers_Clan]

Sounds like they are doing great. When a doe is really looking pregnant I reach around her (over her back) to give belly scratches. She's big, itchy and can't reach, so she usually LOVES it. When you touch a goat around the navel she is ticklish and will "suck" her belly up, locking her hips into the stance they take when nursing or being milked. So from scratches I extend back to rub the udder. With hips already locked she usually stands still. I do this once a day the last month of pregnancy. I just milked 6 oz. colostrum from one side of a doe that delivered yesterday. The baby was only nursing one side and she was engorged. Even with the tenderness, she stood quietly without grain or restraint. In general, spending lots of time with your doe, like you are doing, she should have no problem adjusting. Being present for the birth helps a lot too. If she's "cleaning" you before her babies are born there's a good chance she's not going to mind you milking!

[Clovers_Clan]

I take it Rocky thinks he's a goat too?

[Shayanna]

Yes, but no milk stand training for him! Lol. He adores Padme, and plays like a goat.

[mygoat]

I start anywhere from 1 month to 2 weeks pre-kidding, exactly like you did. I've never had a rodeo for first kidding. I pull kids at birth, that may help with the does that don't want to 'share' milk with you.