How to train your ewe to the milking stand
You got the sheep, now what? If they aren’t already, you’ll need to train your sheep to your milking stand. In this post I’ll walk you through the steps necessary to do that.
I saw a video awhile back of a couple who had dairy sheep. They lifted almost all of their ewes up on to the stand to milk them. Now, no judgement, we all have to do what we need too…However training your ewes to your stand is really not that difficult and will make your life so much easier!
How to train your ewe to the milking stand
You can train your ewe in 3 simple steps:
Introduce your ewes to whatever feed it is you will feed them on the stand (grain, alfalfa pellets, etc)
Introduce them to the stand
Get them on the stand
If you’d prefer to watch a video on this process, check out How I train my ewes to the milking stand
Step 1: Introduce feed
Grain or treats are not necessary for training, but they will sure make your life a lot easier during the process. What you offer them is totally up to you, I usually do whatever I have on hand! I’ve used COB, straight corn, straight barley, wheat, oats, alfalfa, even potatoes!
The first thing I like to do is get them used to taking grain. Some ewes that have been raised on pasture and have never had “treats” before may take awhile to learn to take feed in a pan. If they are really stubborn about, you may have to try different kinds of feed until you find something they like… they can be surprisingly picky!
If your ewes are already used to getting grain or are already piggies, then you can skip this step and move on to step #2. Depending on your ewe, you can skip this step altogether or it may take several days.
Step 2: Introduce them to the stand
Again, this step will vary depending on how wild or standoffish your ewes are.
I have my stanchion in a cattle maternity pen, which is basically an 8’x8’ stall if you aren’t familiar. I will sit on the stand and put the grain in a tub in my lap and let the ewes come up and eat the grain. I will usually do this with a group of ewes instead of just one, they are more brave as a group.
I have a gate that I can close over to my stanchion to keep ewes back behind it. After the ewes will come up and eat grain out of a tub on the stanchion, I will stick them behind the stanchion and set the grain on the stand so they start to learn to come up on the stanchion, then I move on to the next step.
Step 3: Get them up on the stand
Everyone’s setup is so different, I can only advise you on my particular setup. Here is the thing friends, there is no secret, you just have to put in the work. Most likely you will have to help your ewe up on the stand the first time or two until she figures it out. Putting in the work and being consistent is the best method I know how. That, and only giving the sheep the option to make the RIGHT decision. Let me explain what I mean.
Sheep are BIG on routines. When trying to introduce them to something new, it is important to have things setup so they can make the right decision.
For example: If you are trying to get them on the stand, having them in a small enclosed area where there is only one way out (via the stanchion) is going to help them make the right decision (go up on the stanchion. Don’t have your stand out in the middle of a pasture or a big open barn where they can run around or make the wrong decision. Get what I’m saying?
I believe sheep are smart. But sometimes in a new situation, you have to make it easy for them to do the right thing.
So what do I do?
I have a pen setup behind my stand. I put my ewe(s) in that pen. Then, I tie a gate over to the back of my stand so that they cannot go past the stand. I open the gate to the pen they are in and let them in to a very small area (only big enough to turn around in) behind the stand.
What I do next depends on the particular ewe. If she is food motivated, I might shake the grain tub or even give her a little bite to encourage to come up for more.
If she is not food motivated, I might put a halter on her and help her up onto the stand. I help her by putting her feet up onto the ramp, continually moving them up until she is either up on the stand or has figured it out for herself. In my experience it usually only takes a couple times of assisting for them to figure it out on their own.
Also, a ramp is not necessary. My husband made my stand with one. I use it in training just so I don’t have to completely lift a ewe up there while they are learning, but I have found after they figure it out they rarely use the ramp, and instead choose just to jump up on their own.
Another note about using a halter: My stand is open on the side, it has no rails or anything blocking it on the one side so once a ewe jumps up there, she can jump right back off.
If I have someone helping me the first couple days I will have one person assisting the ewe and another person blocking this hole.
If I am by myself I use a halter so I can control the ewes head while I am behind her. I run the halter rope through the head catch and back to where I am.
What if she is stubborn and refuses to get on the stand?
I have a couple tricks I use for ewes that are being stubborn.
This tip only works if you have an already trained ewe. If you do, put the one you are trying to train in with the ewe that is already trained. Let the trainee see the experienced ewe jump up on the stand, get a treat, and then get released. It won’t take long for her to figure out that that is her way out and she will follow suit.
Another trick that I try if I am struggling is I work with a couple ewes at a time, or throw in a “wilder” ewe. I find that “wild” ewes generally are pretty easy to train because they want to get away from you, so they have to problem jumping up on a stand if that is the exit. The thing here is to make sure you catch them before they get off!
Another method to try is working with 2-3 ewes at a time. I lambed out 3 Katahdin ewes for a friend of mine. These ewes were pasture raised, had never been touched before.
My friend had started working with them to eat grain – so they were eating grain out of a tub, but still had no experience getting up on a stand when they came to my farm.
The first time I tried putting them up on the stand individually, they all laid down on me and refused to move.
The next time, I put all three in the small space behind the stand and they jumped up much easier. Keep in mind you might get all three trying to get on the stand at the same time!
The third attempt they all jumped up on the stand, no laying down. Success!
Well friends, that is it. There really isn’t much too it other than perseverance and consistency. I like to continue working on the stand one time each day until they figure it out.
In my experience once they learn, I can stop and they will pick it right back up. If they have a really long break they might need a refresher, but most of my mature ewes jump up on the stand no problem, even without grain. They really are smart critters.
I hope this was helpful! Have you trained your ewes to the stand? What tips or tricks do you use?
Happy milking friends!
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