“Storey’s Guide to Raising Dairy Goats” by Jerry Belanger and Sara Thomson Bredesen walks readers through the trials and challenges of raising dairy goats. Photo courtesy of Storey Publishing

Storey’s Guide to Raising Dairy Goats (Storey, 2018) by Jerry Belanger and Sara Thomson Bredesen educates beginner homesteaders on making smart decisions when it comes to raising dairy goats. From learning basic goat terms to keeping a happy and healthy herd, this guide will teach you everything you need to successfully raise your dairy goats at home. The following excerpt is their building plan to build your own folding goat-milking stand.

Materials

For platform

For stanchion

Hardware

• Two 1 × 8 × 42 inch floorboards• Two 1 × 4 × 15 inch cleats• One 1 × 8 × 32 inch seat• One 1 × 4 × 15 inch leg for platform• One 1 × 4 × 14 inch leg for seat• Two 1 × 6 × 46 inch board (stanchion)• Two 1 × 4 × 14 inch top cleats• Two 1 × 4 × 14 inch bottom cleats• One 3/4 × 14 × 14 inch plywood for feed-pan holder• Screws (or nails) (1-1/4 inch and 2-1/4 inch)• Two 4-inch T hinges for legs• Two 4-inch strap hinges for stanchion• Two 3-inch strap hinges for feed-pan holder• Two 5-inch heavy strap hinges for platform• 1 eye hook with 2 screw eyes for stanchion and stand• 1 eye hook for feed-pan holder

We’ve been using a folding, wall-mounted milking stand like this one for more than 40 years and highly recommend it. It’s more comfortable to use than the common bench style (without the seat), and the folding feature makes it a real space saver. It can be built in a couple of hours for less than 60 dollars.

If, like most homesteaders, you have a “treasure pile” of recycled lumber on hand, the only expense would be the hardware. Unlike most milking stands, this one consists of two parts: a platform for the goat with a seat for the milker and a stanchion to restrain the goat’s head and to hold a feed pan.

Important Note: The nominal size of the stand is 42 inches (1 meter) long by 15 inches (0.3 meters) wide, but the size can be adjusted to fit your goats or the materials you might have on hand. Also, recall that modern lumber dimensions don’t match the names. For example, a 1 × 6 board is actually 3/4 inch × 5-1/2 inch. Such details aren’t critical for this project.

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Constructing the Platform

1. Lay the two 1 × 8 × 42 inch floorboards side by side (rough side down, if you’re using rough lumber that has one side better than the other).

2. Place a 1 × 4 × 15 inch cleat 1-inch from each end of the floorboards, as shown.