# Surge Milker Making teets bleed!



## Ikkaya (Mar 23, 2014)

We just started using a surge milker and it's causing one of the goats to bleed. Tonight her teets were scanned over! We are back to hand milking. Anyone experience this? Thoughts? I'm wondering if the vacuum is too high? It pulsates between 14-18 when milking.


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## BoulderOaks (Sep 24, 2014)

Our vacuum pump generally hovers around 14-15. When we first add new ewes to the milking parlor, it's not unusual for a few to end up with bruised tests the first day or two, but they adapt quickly. The problem could be that the pulse rate is too fast. For the sheep, we use 120 pulses/minute. I hook the goats up without adjusting the pulse rate and it works for them too, but I don't know what the standard pulse rate usually is for goats. But if the pulsator is too much faster than that, it will badly bruise the ewes and cause small sores.


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## milk and honey (Oct 31, 2010)

I haven't used mine in a while but I believe it runs at about 10psi


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## milk and honey (Oct 31, 2010)

Then I set the "speed" at about what I milk at


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## Ikkaya (Mar 23, 2014)

Thanks - I'll see if we can get it turned down more. I haven't pulsing probably a little quicker than I milk. I can't hand milk at this point, so my husband plans to do it for the weekend to give her time to heal. I covered the tests in bag balm.


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## milk and honey (Oct 31, 2010)

Ya, I probably set it a bit quicker ... Otherwise I'd milk her! Ha ha. 


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## Goats Rock (Jun 20, 2011)

About 60 squeezes a minute is as fast as my pulsator goes, and the pressure is at 12.
(My old Surge machine).


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