Training a goat to get on a milk stand

[missythemom3]

I have first time fresheners and they are due to kid in a week or two. The milking goat we were milking prior to these was an experienced doe and knew how to get on the stand easily. We introduced the stand to our girls today (it just got finished being made) and they of course were nervous with it.I expected that and tried to entice them onto it with some grain and a little corn.They weren't to interested in that and we decided to put the stand in their area and let them smell it and play with it and get used to it. I was thinking of having them eat their feed out of a feeder hooked to it but I don't know if they will get up on it that easily and eat it. How do you get a goat to go up on the stand without her being forced to? Any tricks of the trade would be appreciated.Thanks in advance.

[1jooj]

We lure ours up with grain. In particular, the girls have recently been really into oats. We have a hanging feeder on it and they eat while I milk them (theoretically for one, in practice for the other).

My first took a few days to warm up to it. My second is taking longer. I am noticing she's a lot easier to milk now in the AM (when she feels full and maybe is uncomfortable) than in the PM. She has twins, so we really right now are still training her more than actually trying to get much milk. Her kids are less than 2 weeks old and she is a very maternal lady.

I have it positioned against a wall, too, because I sort of have to pin my second, and we use the wall to lean on. I know dairy cows like the squeeze feeling, but I don't know whether goats get comfort from it on the milk stand.

The kids come to the stand at milking time, too. It seems to help.

[DirtRoadMama]

Yep, we used grain, too. We positioned the stand in such a way that they had to get on the stand, with their head through the posts (in milking position), in order to get the grain. We set it up, and left so they could figure it out on their own. The feed sat there the first day (we made sure they saw us put it there). We put fresh grain out the next morning, and it sat there for half a day before the bravest one worked up her nerve. After she went, the other three hopped right on up.