# Milking Supplies



## SkyesRanch (Nov 11, 2010)

Okay I think this would be a benificial thread for me and alot of other people. Tell us what you keep on hand for milking. What supplies do you use to have the cleanest milking operation, operation meaning one goat or up to 200 goats, doesn't really matter, that you can run? I'm curious what are some good supplies to have on hand. Try to look at previous posts and if they already listed an item, try not to list it twice. Thanks!


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## SkyesRanch (Nov 11, 2010)

Oh and if you make cheese and soaps, you can make a post for the supplies needed for that too!


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## Coyote Night Acres (Dec 27, 2010)

Stainless Steel Milk pail
Plastic Ice cubes (milk over top of them in milk pail to instantly speed up the chilling process)
Unscented baby wipes (clean the udder before milking)
Udder cream (love the stuff from duravet) use every day after milking on every doe
2 gallon plastic bucket for the ice bath
Sterile Jars
Stainless Steel coffe strainer (Strain Twice)
Glass measure cup to strain milk into then pour into jars
Clorox Bleach to sanitize equipment
Vinegar to use if milk stone builds up on equipment
Good dish detergant for washing equipment before sanitizing
Milking stand Or two
Feed tubs that fit your stands
Dairy feed and alfalfa pellets


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## Sans Gene Goats (Jul 2, 2010)

Last year:

*Milking stand* - started with with putting doe (Nigerian) on a wooden trunk and tethering her. Milking stand made life soooo much easier for both of us!
*tiny (1qt) stainless steel pail*
*lid from a plastic tub to cover pail*
*plastic tub *to put Fiasco Farm's udder wash solution in
*washcloths* for washing udders
*unscented sanitizing wipes* for cleaning my hands if needed while out in the barn
*paper towels* for drying udders, hands, etc
*little paper cups* to fill with the udder wash solution to dip teats in
*sterilized pint and/or quart canning jars* w/reusable plastic lids
*dry erase marker* to write milking date on jar lids
*2 plastic canning funnels with milk filter squished between*

That worked ok for the one doe I was milking in colder weather - no need to chill milk in the barn. This year I will have at least 2-3 does in milk and know that number will keep growing for a while, so I saved up to add a few fancier things:

*2 two-quart stainless steel pails*
*reusable plastic covers *(still can't get lids for those small pails, darn it! :roll
*2 four-quart milk cans* 
*ice chest with ice water *to set milk can in
*stainless steel milk strainer w/filters* that fits on milk cans so I can filter directly into them
*Same udder wash, towels, teat dip, etc. as above*
*Sterilized jars* for milk, cream, or half and half.

Since I go to work fairly early and am NOT a morning person, I try to set things up for minimum clean-up in the AM and do most of the scrubbing and sanitizing in the PM.

We go through a lot of half and half and butter, so I invested in a cream separator (I got really lucky and found an old electric cream separator in nice usable condition), which isn't really a "milking supply item" but will now be part of my processing routine. The filtered milk can just go directly from the can into the separator, jars, and/or cheese-making pot. The smaller cans chill fast and fit easily into the refrigerator. But the real reason I got them is they are very easy for a short person to lift up to counter-height to pour - :wink:


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