Anyone still milking by hand?

[Beekissed]

Thank you! I had envisioned the older style single unit milkers I've seen in old mags...quite the new fangled item ya got there. I've heard they are all pretty heavy. Do your cows seem to mind the belly band and the bulk of the milker being so close to the udders?

 

[peteyfoozer]

Actually its pretty old. i even found one here on the ranch that they used in the 1920's. My cows don't mind it at all, but they have real nice high udders. If you have a bad udder that hangs really low, you might want to either adapt it with longer lines and cut off valves or a different style of milker. I'll take a picture of it in action tomorrow.

 

[Beekissed]

That would be great! Thank you!

 

[peteyfoozer]

As you can see, the bucket is only inches off of the ground and my girl has a pretty high udder. You CAN place the belt further forward to take up the slack I did that on her mother, but if you have a really LOW slung udder, it might be hard. You can always get the long hoses with cut off valves and keep the bucket in a wagon or something. I just haven't done it cuz this has been handy for me.

 

[Beekissed]

Oh, thank you so much.... I so wish I had had that when I had my Jersey cow! Do your cows ever kick at it?

 

[peteyfoozer]

No, they both like it. Both cows kick like crazy if you hand milk, even if i just try to strip them, but they like the machine.

 

[Beekissed]

I've read that the milkers are actually a lot easier and more gentle on them then milking by hand...could be why they prefer it. Sure would be nice to have something like that for women who breastfeed and have to milk themselves before going to work.

 

[peteyfoozer]

haha! Actually, our boss' wife had triplets and they did have some kind of milking machine she had to put on...she said it was pretty mortifying! LOL

 

[kelsey2017]

How many gallons does the Surge bucket hold? They look so small. I have seen them recently on CL for $75 but that is just for the bucket and claw. I don't know what all else you would need with it. I have been planning on hand milking my heifer when she calves, but I have been tempted to use a machine. If I can milk out in cow in under 10 mins I think I'll be good! I know that will take practice but would hope I can figure it out. I really wish I had someone to learn from or at least could try milking before my girl needs it twice a day. I think I need a head gate and maybe a anti kick thing. My neighbor has those he said I could have, but I will need to train her to stand in the head gate. She hasn't kicked at me yet but I did see that nasty swinging kick and I do not want to be sitting down and catch one of those in the chest!

 

[peteyfoozer]

It says the Surge bucket holds 5 gallons. Emma gives 3 1/2 each morning and its not completely full, but darn sure heavy. I can't imagine getting 5 gallons in mine at one time. There are quite a few parts...the bucket, claw, shells and inflations, vacuum tubes, hose, pulsator gauge and pump. It would be a lot easier to get it put together if you have never used one. There are several on ebay for under $200 that just need the vacuum hose, gauge and pump. If you shop around, you can find a deal on them, almost all are reconditioned as they pretty much last forever. The inflations should be replaced every year, I use the clear silicone ones as they are smaller and fit my Jersey cow well. Make sure if you buy one with shells, that the inflations you need will match the shells too.
One of the nice things for me using a milker, is being able to show someone what to do on the days that I have to go to town. It takes us 20 hours or so to grocery shop so SOMEBODY has to milk my cow.
They aren't the cheapest item you can buy, but for me, its a great investment. I will be setting mine up next year to use on both the goats AND the cow. They also resell well, as someone is always looking to buy one. I got parts for mine thru Hamby, but several places carry them, including Hoeggers, I think.