milking equipment

[treeclimber233]

I have 3 does that are due to kid soon.One is a LaMancha that I milked last year by hand. This year I will have her to milk and her daughter (mini LaMancha) and a nigi/pygmy cross. The LaMancha does nipples are large enough to milk easily but the other two have very small nipples. I think a milker would be very helpful. Even with washing her udder and being very careful last year I still ended up with hair and "stuff" from her kicking in the milk. I am thinking with a milker I will not have that problem. I don't have much money so an electric milker is out of the question. A friend of mine bought a hand milker for $40 that worked for a few weeks and then broke (Might just be the O-ring?). What type of milker do you use and how much did it cost?

 

[aggieterpkatie]

I use my hands and they're free.

 

[freemotion]

I milk a kicky milker with one hand and hold a canning jar up with the other, switching off when my hand gets tired. It keeps the milk safe and clean.

I am also milking a first freshener now for the first time and it is excruciating! I am using the method of leaving her kid with her all day and separating them at night, then milking in the morning. That allows me to NOT have to milk her out for now. I only hope that her teats get more managable by the time her kid is weaned....

I doubt you will find a reliable milker for a reasonable price. You can also use the once-a-day method detailed on www.fiascofarm.com

 

[Roll farms]

I discovered this by accident this year...

Levi, a very sweet boer doe, has the tiniest udder in the world...along w/ small teats. We bottle raise all our kids, so when she freshened, I spent a disgusting amount of time 2-fingering her colostrum out...I typically milk 4-5 does out in 15 minutes...I spent that on her alone.

Once she was done making colostrum, I was done bothering with her
(I didn't think she'd be a mastitis risk, since she wasn't making much anyway....does like that I usually just dry off and don't milk.)

3 days after I stopped milking her, she got into the milking area and hopped on the stanchion, like "I know this is where the groceries are, do what you will to me but I want in on the fun."

I was done milking the 'regulars' and had just had quads and needed all I could get so I thought 'what the heck' and milked her. It's still not like milking one of the regular does, but by golly there was enough there to grab a hold of at least.

Now I'm milking her every 2nd day....she gives 1.5 pints, but it's better than nothing....next year she may do better.

My point is, you might try milking her out a few times to get her producing, and then stop for a day or two and let her get really "FULL".
That stretched Levi's udder and teats out enough so that I could work with them.

As for a cheap milker....good luck finding one of those, and if you do... it probably won't last.

Have you tried shaving their udders / bellies? Less stuff gets in the milk if there's no hair around to hold it. I also bought a strainer to fit over my milk bucket to keep 'ick' from getting in to begin with but I have to admit I haven't bothered using it.

 

[dkluzier]

My DH and I team up on the goats. He's left handed and I am right so it works out pretty good with each of us sitting in our "assigned" seat on either side of the doe and going to work.

Guess that's my idea of a cheap milking machine - my hubby! Hey - you take what you can get sometimes....

 

[freemotion]

Another thought on stuff getting into the milk....(I just came in from milking....) I use the cloth that I wash teats and udders with and wipe the goat's belly, brushing all the hair forward as I do so. This removes most loose stuff and loose hair, and brushes the hair out of the way.

I like to leave the hair because my goats browse, and the hair will protect the udder somewhat. The goat will feel a stick or branch brushing the hair first, and will have more time to take evasive action before that sharp stick contacts the udder.

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

what Free said.

you can also brush her on her belly first

i use my hands for 3 goats with no problems. i saw somewhere that you could put a cheese cloth OVER the bucket and milk thru it. you might try that??

 

[noobiechickenlady]

I hand milk too, but my girl is very well endowed
I did see a easy to build & cheap spray bottle milker online. I'll try to find the link. They used a larger plastic syringe, a short length of tubing & a new spray bottle top with a stream setting. From what I remember, you pull out the plunger, put the tubing on the syringe tip, then connect the tubing to the bottom of the spray bottle top. When you squeeze the trigger on the spray top, the milk sprays out, just like when you spray a cleaner solution. You do have to wet the teats & the syringe to get a good seal.

I'm going to start brushing Dixie before I milk her, that's a great idea. As well as I wash, some belly hair usually falls in when she twitches her coat.

 

[Iceblink]

I hand milk my girls, it's free, and I like having the contact with them. One of my girls is a 'thumb and forefinger' milker, but her teats and skin are very soft and dairy, so she's actually easier than the one with larger teats.

I have read that the syringe barrel milkers don't work very well, plus they function on suction alone, no pulsating pressure, which is bad for the long term health of the teats and udder.

I do strain my milk as soon as I am done, and I shave my girls' udders, as well as wiping them down before milking, it works pretty well.

 

[mamaluv321]

I read on here somewhere about a guy that uses a manual breast pump, for people, and has for a few years. Makes sense I guess. I'm planning on getting nigerians and have been told they're not terribly hard to milk...I guess well see! Good luck and keep us posted!