After seeing Bob milk Flora we were convinced it would be a piece of cake. WRONG! I took the strength of 4 people to hold her down and milk her. She was the easiest too because she was small and has alread
y been milked by people before. Little Bit put up a huge fight. She was being weaned so she didn't want use to milk her because the milk was for her baby and she had also never been milked by hand before. The only way we were able to milk them was by Orlando holding them by the horns, me hugging them in place, and their legs wrangled and tied close together as my grandma bent over and milked them one by one
. These goats are suppose to be milked twice a day in dominant order. With being only two goats we didn't know which one would take reign because the oldest one was the smallest. The youngest and biggest, Little Bit, ended up winning their butting fights and becoming the leader of the pack. We know knew that we would have to always milk Little Bit before Flora. Also, you will never le
arn everything you need to learn in life from a book. Sure you can read how to milk a goat, but until you've really physically done it you do not know how. That was my lesson of the day. My grandma started milking Flora like it was no big deal and I had read on milking goats so how hard could it be? Very. I could not get milk out of their teats. No matter how I pulled, squeezed, tugged, pressed, etc. I could not get milk out. I tried a thousand times on each goat and no luck. This was my new challenge. The gaots are also still very scared and frantic since they were brought to my tent. They were both born and raised at the farm I got them
from and the long car ride and new environment and people has got them freaked. Both of them are really panicked and scared. Little Bit cries all the time for her baby. She also butts her head into the pen door to try and get out and screams really loud all night and day. It's honestly the sadest sound to bare. I almost wish I could quit this entire thing and give the goats back. But I know that they will eventually adapt and learn to love this place (cross my fingers). For now I just have to make them feel at home and figure out how to milk them. I tied a longer leash on them so they can graze in further placest without me being afraid they will run off. I spent the entire day just petting and caring for the goats. I really want both of them to feel safe and not afraid anymore. I dug up a couple carrots for the garden for them to eat as treats and recognize me as their owner. I am the only one who feeds them and gives them water. This is also what I did with the chickens and now they fall me everywhere and don't fly away from me. I am hoping this will work with the goats too and have them tru
st me. A couple times today they willingly walked over to me and let me pet them. But they will still not let anyone near their udders without force. Milking them seems like such an uncomfortable experience but if we don't milk them they will get sick. I spent the majority of the day with the goats and when I petted them up at night again they seemed to want to come with me so I think they might trust me. I keep wondering how I should approach them. Should I just treat them as animals and I am their keeper? But I can't help ignore their emotions, feelings, and reactions. My grandma says the best thing to do is desensitize myself from them and see them as a livestock which produces milk I need. But to me they are more like pets who have feelings too. This dilemma will solve itself as I figure out what type of relationship I actually create with the goats. The first thing I need to do is figure out how to get milk out of their udders. Seriously, it's not as easy as books say it is. This is was its all about though. Hands on learning is the only way to go when you're trying to survive.
After seeing Bob milk Flora we were convinced it would be a piece of cake. WRONG! I took the strength of 4 people to hold her down and milk her. She was the easiest too because she was small and has alread
y been milked by people before. Little Bit put up a huge fight. She was being weaned so she didn't want use to milk her because the milk was for her baby and she had also never been milked by hand before. The only way we were able to milk them was by Orlando holding them by the horns, me hugging them in place, and their legs wrangled and tied close together as my grandma bent over and milked them one by one
. These goats are suppose to be milked twice a day in dominant order. With being only two goats we didn't know which one would take reign because the oldest one was the smallest. The youngest and biggest, Little Bit, ended up winning their butting fights and becoming the leader of the pack. We know knew that we would have to always milk Little Bit before Flora. Also, you will never le
arn everything you need to learn in life from a book. Sure you can read how to milk a goat, but until you've really physically done it you do not know how. That was my lesson of the day. My grandma started milking Flora like it was no big deal and I had read on milking goats so how hard could it be? Very. I could not get milk out of their teats. No matter how I pulled, squeezed, tugged, pressed, etc. I could not get milk out. I tried a thousand times on each goat and no luck. This was my new challenge. The gaots are also still very scared and frantic since they were brought to my tent. They were both born and raised at the farm I got them
from and the long car ride and new environment and people has got them freaked. Both of them are really panicked and scared. Little Bit cries all the time for her baby. She also butts her head into the pen door to try and get out and screams really loud all night and day. It's honestly the sadest sound to bare. I almost wish I could quit this entire thing and give the goats back. But I know that they will eventually adapt and learn to love this place (cross my fingers). For now I just have to make them feel at home and figure out how to milk them. I tied a longer leash on them so they can graze in further placest without me being afraid they will run off. I spent the entire day just petting and caring for the goats. I really want both of them to feel safe and not afraid anymore. I dug up a couple carrots for the garden for them to eat as treats and recognize me as their owner. I am the only one who feeds them and gives them water. This is also what I did with the chickens and now they fall me everywhere and don't fly away from me. I am hoping this will work with the goats too and have them tru
st me. A couple times today they willingly walked over to me and let me pet them. But they will still not let anyone near their udders without force. Milking them seems like such an uncomfortable experience but if we don't milk them they will get sick. I spent the majority of the day with the goats and when I petted them up at night again they seemed to want to come with me so I think they might trust me. I keep wondering how I should approach them. Should I just treat them as animals and I am their keeper? But I can't help ignore their emotions, feelings, and reactions. My grandma says the best thing to do is desensitize myself from them and see them as a livestock which produces milk I need. But to me they are more like pets who have feelings too. This dilemma will solve itself as I figure out what type of relationship I actually create with the goats. The first thing I need to do is figure out how to get milk out of their udders. Seriously, it's not as easy as books say it is. This is was its all about though. Hands on learning is the only way to go when you're trying to survive.
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