Okay so you've decided you wanted to milk sheep but first you are going to need a few things. If you've already milked goats, you probably have everything you need but for those who are just starting out here is an essential list of supplies.

Sheep Stanchion or Stand: This is probably the most important item you will need if you want to get into milking sheep or goats. Even if you do not milk, these can still come in very handy. A Sheep Stanchion is a sort of stand with built-in head lock. The bottom portion raises the animal off the ground and the front portion locks their head in place so they are unable to move and when you are training a sheep to milk, they will try to move! The front portion usually has an area for a feed bucket to rest. Fill it with food to feed their sheep their morning ration and also distract them from any work you may doing on them. The stanchion, or stand, can also come in handy when trimming hooves, grooming or vaccinating. It’s really great for anything where you don’t want to be chasing an animal around although you may have to chase them around initially, once they are trained to the stand they will probably be jumping up there at times when you don’t even when them on there.

Milking Bucket: You’ll definitely want something to collect the milk in as you milk. There are milking buckets for sale such as these but buckets come in all shapes and sizes. Depending on if you want to filter as you milk or after, you may want a bucket which fits one of these milk funnel/filters. You can really use any kind of container to milk into but glass or stainless steel are recommended because they are the easiest to clean and sterilize after each milking.

Trimmers: These are great for trimming any wool or hair from the udder. This keeps the udder cleaner, easier to wash and keeps dirt from falling in your milk as you are milking. I find a small beard trimmer works well as long as you are careful not to nip them with it.

Wipes/Strip Cups/Teat Dips: These three items are used to clean the udder, check for irregularities in the milk and disinfect the teats after milking. All three items are good for either preventing or checking to see if your sheep has mastitis.