Uninvited Guest and Milkers

August 2, 2009 by Debbie.

I seldom scream. It always seemed like a waste of time to me as it never changed anything anyway. BUT this past week I screamed as I reached down to pick up a flake of hay and a young skunk scurried out of its sleeping hole in the hay, to scurry down the feed alley of the barn. Drat! I had to hurry that day to make my semi-annual diabetic checkup (which I passed with flying colors, thanks to God.)

I worked gingerly around the unwelcome and uninvited barn guest while I finished feeding and milked Betsy. I suppose I shouldn’t say he was uninvited as I had set corn out for a loose chicken and that’s all the invitation a skunk needs. I mean, he was formally dressed in black and white, why not come to dinner? The skunk acted very normally so I wasn’t concerned about rabies but I was concerned if I’d get dunned for missing a doctor’s appointment on short notice cause I  had gotten sprayed. I’d probably just go in anyway. It would be worth the stink I’d make.

It was a young skunk so he didn’t feel overly threatened by my presence, only slightly raising his tail once or twice til he settle in waiting for me to get done with my chores. The sun was full up so the nocturnal tiny animal slide behind a couple of cement blocks, hiding his head and going soundly to sleep, not caring that I went about my business. He stayed there til late that night when his stomach cried out for his next meal. He did leave a slight musky smell that reminded me of our uninvited guest for a few days and prompted me to be extra careful in the barn.

I love training baby goats to become excellent quality milk goats. I’ve seen the milking traits passed down from momma to daughter for several generations and it does make a difference in the milking experience. It’s true any doe can be milked but for quality and quantity of milk and milking ease it’s wonderful to milk a doe who came from milking lines.

Tilly, who will be a 3rd generation milker, is showing all the qualities of a fantastic milker. She takes to the milking stand as second nature. While up there eating with her momma she watches me milk Betsy and accepts THIS is what she was made for! While she’s eating I handle her, teaching her that it’s a pleasant experience and not something to just be endured til she’s off the stand. After she’d done eating and I’m still milking Betsy, Tilly will nibble on my ear, kiss my nose and try to climb on my shoulders. She take quick bites of my shirt and decide it might be OK with ketchup but plain it’s really boring tasting. And after milking comes the raisins. I always give the does a treat after milking but I have never had a baby doe ask for raisins treats - it’s usually an adult taste for the goats - until Tilly. She’s been known to dig in the supply bucket and nibble on the raisin bag, impatient for me to share them with her. So of course, after Betsy gets hers (milkers always get theirs first), Tilly gets a small handful of raisins.

I don’t breed any doe til they will kid after 2 years old. It will be hard to wait these next 18 months to breed Tilly and see how she takes to the real experience but I see all the signs of another great milker.

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