# Hand Milkers



## bpfgal (Apr 4, 2013)

So, i have been researching the different hand milkers available (Henry, EZ , Magdaline) and it appears they all pretty much operate on the same basic principle. I have Nigerian Dwarfs and their udders are as varied as their colors!! Has anybody actually tried the different ones?


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## maple hill farm tina (Mar 14, 2010)

I tried the EZ and ended up sending it back. I hated it. It didn't give me as much milk as milking by hand, and my does didn't like it. That's the only one I have personal experience with...


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## rosawoodsii (Feb 20, 2013)

I've tried the Maggidan's, which was useless, and the Henry's, which is quite a bit better, but slower than hand milking, and damaged my Saanen's udder. I'm going to a pulsing milking machine, hopefully before my 4th doe freshens.


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## HonestOmnivore (Feb 26, 2013)

We use the Henry Milker, and have used it for about a year. I bought the full Monty, two jars and the carry case thing. I switch to pint (wide mouth jars) when production drops. 

I like it because it works on a wide cross section of teats- one goat's teats are the same size as or dog's! For a tiny udder you'll lose the vacuum as the udder shrinks. I keep my hand lightly under her udder so I can lift the cups up onto her udder when they start to come loose. 

I like that the Henry Milker has tubing that keeps the collection jar away from the under side of the goat. I set my carrier on a box up against the milking stand, and it's safely our of the way if one of the girls decides to dance!


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## lanafana (Apr 22, 2013)

I have a Henry milker and I do like it. Here are some of the pros and cons in my opinion:

Pros: 
1. Clean and more sanitary. Nothing drops into the jars as they are closed and there is less handling of the milk overall
2. Easy in the hand. Although you still have to pump occasionally to keep the pressure, it's a lot easier then milking by hand. 
3. Tubing is long enough to keep equipment away from udder, no reaching beneath or awkward positions trying to milk. You can just attach and sit back afterwards. 
4. The HM2 can do both sides at once which is nice. 

Cons:
1. It is slower for me ( I have nigis and they aren't producing that much now). For me milking by hand takes less time overall. 
2. More stuff to clean. Although the brushes that come with it are easy to use and really if you just flush it using the pump with soapy water and rinse the same way it's even faster...but I still have less to wash when milking by hand. Just my hands and one bowl versus tubing, one or two jars, etc. I think if I had several does to milk and they had small difficult tests I would switch back to the HM, but I only have two so it's not that bad milking by hand
3. You still have to milk them out by hand. This I didn't like because although I did kinda suspect that I would have to do that I feel like I am doing more work than I need to be. It's usually not that much left over, but....still wish I could get it all out in one go. 
4. Oh my God, those tubes are hard to get off!! I don't know who else thinks so. But man, I really have to pry those guys off the plastic equipment. If you stretch them too much they won't get good suction, but as they are it takes a little elbow grease (and sometimes my teeth) to get them off!

Overall I think it's a good piece of equipment. I haven't used it long enough to know about damage to udders. But for me it's a good back up when I need it. I don't see using it every day or too often, but if and when I need it I like to know I have something like that available.


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## lanafana (Apr 22, 2013)

Here are some pics of it attached to one of my does. 

The suction only breaks when your not keeping an eye on the pressure. As long as you keep it steady (meaning as the udder shrinks and releases pressure you pump it up again) it seems to stay attached to the udder. I have one girl with tiny teats and not so great placement and another whose teats are pretty descent sized and it worked fine with both. It has a little insert for really tiny teats if you need it.

I used a little shower caddy to carry the equipment in and it fit perfectly. It was just laying around the house, but works awesome. A jar on each side and lids etc in the middle. Without this the equipment for the HM 2 is just toooo cumbersome.


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## lanafana (Apr 22, 2013)

I chill my milk right away on ice, so you can add the fact that I need to carry an extra mason jar to dump those two attached jars of milk into it and reattach each doe as another con. Just another step I don't like having to take. I could wait until I am done to chill, but I have gotten used to chilling as I milk so it's kinda hard to let that habit go.


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## HonestOmnivore (Feb 26, 2013)

*Use the fleixble blue ice packs to chill your milk*

I use a rubber band to keep a blue jell filled reusable ice pack against my collection jar. The last thing I do when I go inside is remove the ice packs from the jar - at this point the milk is usually below 60F often in the lower 50s.

Also - to get the tubing off, pinch it just off the receiver, and twist the pinched part. This breaks the suction around the connector and it will pop off. My husband uses pliers with a paper towel pad to do this, I can do it with my fingers. There's no damage to the tubing and it's fast.

I pop the tubing off and run each piece under water to flush it out, then drop it into an empty side of the sink. I run hot water and add the sanitizing 'no rinse' white powder we use for making wine, enough for half a sink. Then I use the brush to fish out each item and scrub it. Once a week I put the larger pieces into the dish washer, and I'll wash everything else in hot soapy water.


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## mdlopez (Feb 4, 2013)

I only milk one or two ND does, so I bought the MaggiDan's. It works fine for me, although it is hard for some people to squeeze by hand. I know it's not as good as the others mentioned, but it does the job for $40. I used it last year only on the does that were hard to milk by hand or preferred the milker to my hand. One of my does has nice long teats and stands still so I prefer to milk her by hand. I had to soak it when I got it out of the drawer again this year. One of the valves had gotten stuck, but worked again as soon as it soaked in warm water.


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## lanafana (Apr 22, 2013)

HonestOmnivore said:


> I use a rubber band to keep a blue jell filled reusable ice pack against my collection jar. The last thing I do when I go inside is remove the ice packs from the jar - at this point the milk is usually below 60F often in the lower 50s.
> 
> Also - to get the tubing off, pinch it just off the receiver, and twist the pinched part. This breaks the suction around the connector and it will pop off. My husband uses pliers with a paper towel pad to do this, I can do it with my fingers. There's no damage to the tubing and it's fast.
> 
> I pop the tubing off and run each piece under water to flush it out, then drop it into an empty side of the sink. I run hot water and add the sanitizing 'no rinse' white powder we use for making wine, enough for half a sink. Then I use the brush to fish out each item and scrub it. Once a week I put the larger pieces into the dish washer, and I'll wash everything else in hot soapy water.


Cool, I have to try and get mine off that way. And that's a nice idea with the ice packs, sound easy and less waste.


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## Amyhis (May 4, 2013)

I bought one from Dansha, and it's a hand pressure/ jar type milker and it does a good job. It does both sides at the same time, and I have the milk jar in a Pack it Cooler, the type with integrated ice packs that you freeze. I also keep the jars in the freezer for added cooling power. The pressure recommendation is 10-12, however, I found that is a bit too much, and I keep the pressure between 5 & 8. I always finish up by hand for a few minutes more, bumping the udder occasionally to get every last bit out.


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