# My hands are aching



## sassykat6181 (Nov 28, 2012)

I just picked up a doe in milk and this is my 4th day milking her. My hands are killing me.(I'm inly 32  ) I was looking at the Henry Milker 2. I can't spend a whole lot, and I will have two of my FF in milk in about a month. Suggestions without breaking the bank? They are Nigerian Dwarfs.


----------



## Texaslass (May 15, 2013)

Well, it takes time, but your hands do adjust eventually. I don't find that Nigerians are any harder to milk than big goats, but it depend on the one. You could watch some videos of people milking and maybe develop a technique that works for you?


----------



## AdamsAcres (Dec 3, 2012)

Your hands will adjust. You're using muscles you've never used before. I have several different types of milkers and I always go back to hand milking... It takes to long and you will still have to finish them by hand anyway.


----------



## Rev144 (Jan 22, 2011)

Soak your hands in Epson Salt or rub magnesium oil on them. It helps with the muscle cramps. 

Soon you will look like the rest of us, with your Popeye Forearms!


----------



## enchantedgoats (Jun 2, 2013)

Go on ebay and buy a dansha battery powered goat milker. If all you have is 2 goats this should be fine


----------



## sassykat6181 (Nov 28, 2012)

My hands ache when I work too, so I doubt they will get used to it. Is the dansha as nice as the Henry? I have a good method and she is an easy milker, it's just my hands


----------



## still (Mar 16, 2013)

I agree.....your hands/arms will adjust and you just have to relax. You don't have to milk really fast. You can take your time(if your doe cooperates of course) and try to not keep your whole upper body tense...........relax your hands/arms between squirts and it should get easier


----------



## lottsagoats (Dec 10, 2012)

I'm almost 60, have arthritis (both Rheumatoid and osteo) and hand molk my 10 does twice a day. Yes, my hands hurt but it will fade as you get used to it. I go thru it every spring after them being dry for 2 months.


----------



## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Take Vitamin B6. That will help


----------



## Rev144 (Jan 22, 2011)

Look at the Teat on that goat on the Ebay page. In one picture its just the goat and not the milker, mouse over the goats teat and it will enlarge the picture. It looks like that milker totally ruined that goats teat. I have read in the past that you dont want a milk machine that sucks like that thing does.


----------



## janeen128 (Dec 31, 2012)

I was going to get a Henry 2 milker, but got the Maggidan instead, a lot less expensive for sure. The trick is to go slow with the milkers, as I release suction quite often on my kinder doe that I milk now, so I don't damage their teats. I do still milk completely out by hand. I have one doe that hates the machine, and she is patient on the stand, so I usually "start" with the machine, since she is so hard to start milking, couple suctions on the machine and then I hand milk her the rest of the way. The doe that is in milk now she loves the machine and hates to be hand milked, although she still gets milked out by hand. Good luck. My hands just didn't have any strength, they are a bit stronger now, but it was worth it to get the machine though.


----------



## FarmerJen (Oct 18, 2012)

Agreed... your hands will adjust, but it takes time. When I got my two does last July, they were in milk. I went from never milking in my life, to milking twice/day overnight. There were days I didn't know if I could lift my coffee cup! LOL But after a few weeks, they got used to it. Fast forward to this past February when the milk dried up... fast forward again to a few weeks ago when I started milking again. Only doing it once/day currently (kids are still nursing) and my hands are taking awhile to adjust again. 

I find my smaller doe harder on my hands... although I'd almost consider her "easier" to milk. Dont need to squeeze as hard, but her teats are small. My larger doe, I have to squeeze harder to express the milk... but her teats are larger. So basically, I'm using different muscles even between goats! My hands still cramp up by the end... but it's starting to get better. Part of my problem now is that I'm only milking in the morning... when my hands are fairly useless to begin with (I'm only 36, but my hands have always had poor circulation).


----------



## mjs500doo (Nov 24, 2012)

I personally do not like milkers with constant suck. I always use pulsed milkers.

I don't use machine normally either. I'm milking 8 standard ladies. Alpine and Saanen.


----------



## sassykat6181 (Nov 28, 2012)

I bought the Henry Milker 2. So far so good. I still have to milk out the last little bit, but my hands are feeling a lot better. My doe is an easy milker. I pump the gauge up to 10 and open the valve.....don't need to re-pump as the pressure drops, she just keeps giving the milk


----------



## janeen128 (Dec 31, 2012)

sassykat6181 said:


> I bought the Henry Milker 2. So far so good. I still have to milk out the last little bit, but my hands are feeling a lot better. My doe is an easy milker. I pump the gauge up to 10 and open the valve.....don't need to re-pump as the pressure drops, she just keeps giving the milk


Hmmm, maybe I should try the Henry 2 milker.... I will have 3 to milk soon. Curious is this the one that you can do both sides at once? If you only bump once wow, that is nice I'll have to admit, and easy on the doe too I might be getting a 4th one in milk too... So I'll look into that... Thanks for the info


----------



## sassykat6181 (Nov 28, 2012)

Yes, it does both sides at once.


----------



## cdanna (Dec 17, 2012)

I just got 2 milk does a month ago, and I woke up every morning for 2 weeks with hands so swollen I could barely make a fist. I thought there was something seriously wrong because I am 25 and have never had problems with my hands before. I even posted about it here too, lol. I was icing like crazy and living on ibuprofen but it was still sooo miserable. 

I decided to build my own milk machine with a brake fluid pump, plastic syringes and tubing. I ordered the pump online and by the time it got here, my hands started to feel better!! They are still slightly sore (104 heat and no A/C= swollen hands!!) but not to the point of bugging me or making me dread milking. I'm still gonna build the milker, but more for the purpose of training my housemate to babysit if I need to go out of town


----------

