I am starting to read the guides I got from the library, on raising dairy goats. My husband feels there is a better design to build a milk stand than the one in Storey's guide. Can any of you give me advice on this? We have scrap wood in the barn and would like to be fully prepared before we do get the goats. Thanks.
sherry
bend in the high desert
oregon
USA
3775 Posts
Posted - Jan 17 2011 : 06:13:56 AM
how fun and exciting to get to even have one. mine is metal. we live in the high dessert. things fall apart here quick. so we chose metal. your design will depend some on whether it is portable or permanent.when papa built ours we failed to do a good job on the feeder bin. they are hard on it. we have found in the milking stanchion there has to be a smooth surface for their sandpaper tongue. it is removable in the cow one so i can wash it. the goat one is all metal so i hose it down. i like an adjustable head catch for sure. we used the frame metal that holds a bed box spring for our frame and wire mesh for the flooring. this way if they pee it goes through the floor. not where i am milking. we used rebar where normally it would be 2x4s. sprayed the whole thing with spray paint to match gates etc. i am sure there are some other good ideas going to come on. i look forward to hearing what some of the other girls have. i do like portable best of all. i have hauled it to other farms and done feet etc. on goats too. how many goats are you going to get? i just love the joyful happy spirit of goats. happy building sherrye
the learn as we go silk purse farm farm girl #1014
I have a couple stanchions,one is a wood home-made one that is built into one of my sheds and the other is an all metal one I purchased from a farm action,I have to say that the metal one is nicer as it locks the goat's head in securely whereas my wood one just has a slat that closes against the neck and a really determined goat that doesn't want to be milked can brace against it and eventually pop thier head out. One option I have seen is to build the platform out of wood and then mount on a purchased metal head lock,you can buy the components seperately at most goat supply outfits. The advantage to the metal is that pee and poo will fall through the grate and they are easier to sanitize,you can even further sanitize and clean them with a propane low torch assuming that this would not damage any protective coating. The milking platform in the Storey's guide really isn't the best plan I have seen,there are much better plans available,usually for free on the internet and magazines such as Countryside and Dairy Goat Journal.
http://fiascofarm.com/goats/milkstand.html Here is the plan I used to build mine & I love it! It is a good heavy duty. I have been milking on it now for 2 years & have no problems. I did attch it to the wall just for my sake-I didn't want to worry about any movement.
Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
I have a homemade handed down from an amish friend. Mine is to tall, so I have to lean over to milk. WHta a pain in my back. I am hoping for a new on this year. I also used a metal one at fair last year, this was nice. I would love on of those! Good luck!
That's kind of what mine looks like except the 4 boards at the head are all as tall as the two with another board going over the top that locks their head in. So one of the middle pieces moves. We used all recycled wood. I have 3 and they were all hand made. I just use a 5 gallon bucket to sit on. It's the perfect height for me.
That's kind of what mine looks like except the 4 boards at the head are all as tall as the two with another board going over the top that locks their head in. So one of the middle pieces moves. We used all recycled wood. I have 3 and they were all hand made. I just use a 5 gallon bucket to sit on. It's the perfect height for me.
Kristina, I could send pictures to you from my cell phone if you have a cell phone too. If you do just email me your # and I'll go out and take some shots of the stands for you. I still cannot get pics up on this site. I thought I had some in Photobucket but don't. So just email me and I'll send you some pics.
goat milking stand
Posted - Jan 17 2011 : 04:09:07 AM
