Are These Milking Does?

I’ve been milking my four girls faithfully; although, Helen has become a morning brat.  I can only catch her to milk in the evenings.  Going back to work just messes her up.  I milk about six am, but they don’t get milked until they come back from pasture at about eight in the evening.  That means she’s not feeling the need to get milked out quite so early.

Helen

The other three just want to eat all the time.  In fact, Sallie wants to come in every time I open the gate to switch who I’m milking.  It’s rather a nuisance.

Sallie with maa, Annie

Then there’s a couple of other girls that seem to think they should get milked, or maybe they just think it’s fun to stand in the stanchion.

Pam

Pam was one that I used to milk, but she’s just so neurotic that I’m letting her keep feeding Maisie until she’s ready to quit.  Believe it or not, Maisie does still get to nurse a little bit.

All of a sudden, Harley has decided it’s fun to be in the stanchion too.  I don’t know why.

Harley

She’s pretty sweet, and I could probably train her to milk without too much troubles.  She has a fair amount of Boer in her though, so I’m not sure I’d get much milk from her.  I might try it when I wean her kid just to give her an idea of what it’s like in case I have to find new milking does next year.

Then there’s Vixen.  This is the one I would love to get my hands on to milk.

Vixen with Buck and Doe

Her kids are almost three months old.  When she lets them nurse, they are still nursing for thirty seconds or so.  Usually, by this age, they’re lucky to get two good sucks before their maa is just walking away.

She’s almost all dairy, and she has to have a ton of milk.  The only problem is that she’s so wild. On the other hand, she does like food a lot.  I might have to try this out.

Linking to Friday Photo, Farmgirl Friday, and Camera Critters.

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