We had a make shift milking stand for our goat until my hubby decided that was enough. It took 3 of us to milk her, one to hold her head, one to hold her grain, and one to actually do the milking.
And for a little Nigerian Dwarf goat, that’s a lot of manpower. Our goat also needed to learn to trust us, and with 3 people in there surrounding her, that wasn’t going to happen.
After hours of online researching and looking, we found what we felt were the perfect for us plans here at Fias Co. Farms. After a quick trip to Menards and saying “Hi!” to all the employees there (they know us by name and all!), hubby got to work.
Step 1. First, we had to cut all the 2×4’s into the right size:
Step 2. Next, we built the bottom frame for the goat to stand on. There isn’t a “seat” attached to this stand like there are to many other designs. We simply sat on some concrete blocks while milking.
That wasn’t as difficult as it sounded as we got better, since milking went really fast after we got used to it. There was an old pillow we would take out with us to help make that more comfortable at first.
And, of course, like any master craftsman, we had to test it out: (I am so glad my hubby is so laid back and fun loving!) And, it held him in place, so I knew our Sephira would be safe in there while we were milking her.
And, milking just became much easier! Sephira took about a week to learn that this stand was for HER and that she would get a “treat” for going in to the stand and allowing us to milk her:
A friend of mine helped me learn how to train her by only giving her 1/2 cup of all stock grain when she was on the milking stand. It worked like a charm since she loved that grain and only got it when we milked her.
Heather’s homesteading journey started in 2006, with baby steps: first, she got a few raised beds, some chickens, and rabbits. Over the years, she amassed a wealth of homesteading knowledge, knowledge that you can find in the articles of this blog.
This came at just the right time! We are thinking of getting a milk goat, but we need to build a stand ASAP if we do. Thanks for the link to the plans.
Great job on the milking stand, love how your husband was so willing to help you test it out and let you take pictures as proof. And from the sounds of things, life just got easier when milking. Congratulations.
Great stand! Did you have to adjust measurements to fit Nigerians?? Thanks!
no, this was the right size for our Nigerians.