Building An Adjustable Goat Stanchion (by: Jim)

We looked at several goat milking stands and we talked with several goat owners about how they came about choosing their stand(s). The information was very useful, but we had a special problem. We are raising two different sizes of goats. Our stanchion  needed to have an adjustable head lock, and the front needed to have an adjustable feeder. None of the commercial stanchions  provided these qualities, and all of the commercial stanchions were ridiculous in cost.

With the help of local breeders, I came up with the approximate size. I made our stand a little taller then most, so Jean would not have to bend down when milking, or trimming the goats hooves. The pictures below show how the feeder is adjustable by pulling the Oak pins on each side and moving the feeder to a higher, or lower slot. I chose Oak for the pins, because the Pine pins kept flying apart on the lathe when I was turning them.

ADJUSTABLE HEAD LOCK: I made a metal locking device and attached it to the handle of the headboard. I then cut slots in the cross-member for the lock to fit in. I cut a slot every inch to accommodate all sizes of goats. Once again, the Pine was a failure. The cross-member broke out between the slots every time I put pressure on the headlock board. I replaced the cross-member with a Hard-rock Maple board and the slots were as solid as steal.

This project was sanded with fine 320 sandpaper, and all edges were rounded off for safety of the animal and the owner. Hopefully, these pictures will give other owners new ideas of how to build a completely adjustable Goat Stanchion. This is just one way to do it. With the help of other Goat Breeders, I am sure this stand can be improved on. The important issue is that we all provide input to help one another.