# Hand milking starter kit



## Goatrude (Sep 21, 2017)

I would like opinions on the best quality, cost effective hand milking starter kit. This spring I will have (hopefully) 3 does freshening. The ones I've seen look good but I'm unsure of the sizes needed in buckets or cans and would like some experienced input here. Thank you


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

I guess you will need to post the links. I bought all my equipment separately.


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## Goatrude (Sep 21, 2017)

Caprinesupply was one. Hamby was another. I guess I thought some folks could give me ideas on what they've done or bought. Sizes and such


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## Davon (Sep 22, 2017)

I bought a kit for 1-2 goats from Caprine supply and it has served me quite well. The six quart milk pail that came with it works well for 2 goats for me. At their peak it doesn't quite fit both of them, but that doesn't last too long. 

The rolled edge is a bit of a disadvantage for pouring and cleaning. It leaves a seam underneath the rim that is hard to clean and the milk runs down the side of it when I start pouring if its really full. Buckets with an open rim cost more because they are made from a thicker gauge of metal. 

I wish my bucket was available for sale already and I could tell you to buy it!


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## mariarose (Oct 23, 2014)

I bought a gorgeous open rimmed (like Davon mentioned) milk bucket on Ebay. You might check there I've also used a cheapish stock pot with a lid before. For me the most important thing is that it be stamped, not seamed. My husband's favorite is a 2 handled Revereware saucepan that we found at Good Will. So this part does not have to be expensive. Stainless Steel, heavy duty, stamped not seamed.

I try to avoid keeping milk in the bucket. As soon as I finish one goat, as she is finishing her ration, I immediately filter the milk into a sterilized glass gallon jar. That way whatever dirt or hair that may have gotten into the milk is quickly removed. This is very easy, because I bring everything with me to milk, it is all right there.

I have a very nice filter with an insert that holds a filter disc, which gets thrown away. It was expensive, but I do like it.

My very good friends who value cleanliness do a great job with one of those coffee maker extremely fine mesh basket filters. It's that reuseable one that people can buy to replace those paper filters. I'll post a link to show you what I mean when I find one.

https://smile.amazon.com/Nicelucky-...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=ERGTRP4FQE14J41PBSED

That gets popped into a funnel which gets put into the container they are filling. Pretty cheap and really effective. I can attest that it works well.

Is this the kind of information you wanted?


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## mariarose (Oct 23, 2014)

Those same friends have a milking station that is quite far from the house. This is what they take with them to carry the milk back to the house in. They milk into a pan, and each goat's milk is then poured into this, and the lid goes back on.

https://smile.amazon.com/Stainless-...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=YGCN0YJP74DGVP68E8BR


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## sassykat6181 (Nov 28, 2012)

Depending on how many goats and quantity of milk...
I like the Henry Milker 2


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## Suzanne_Tyler (Jul 19, 2014)

I hand milk.

This is the pail I have:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002U4QS6Y/ref=twister_B0033PR79Q?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

I got a teat dip cup from Amazon also but it looks like they no longer carry the one I have.

The milk filters I use:
https://www.jefferspet.com/products/milk-filters-6-1-2-disks-d110-100-filters


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## mariarose (Oct 23, 2014)

I hand milk sometimes and use my milker sometimes. Depending on if they are all at peak production, or how my arthritis is!

My milk bucket looks a LOT like this one, but is much heavier, thicker.

https://www.amazon.com/Stainless-Me...F8&qid=1507465727&sr=1-4&keywords=milk+bucket

I like how tall it is, keeps the milk cleaner for me.

Of course, when I'm milking one of the pygmies or NDs, I use something else!

I hope we are helping.


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## Goatrude (Sep 21, 2017)

mariarose said:


> I bought a gorgeous open rimmed (like Davon mentioned) milk bucket on Ebay. You might check there I've also used a cheapish stock pot with a lid before. For me the most important thing is that it be stamped, not seamed. My husband's favorite is a 2 handled Revereware saucepan that we found at Good Will. So this part does not have to be expensive. Stainless Steel, heavy duty, stamped not seamed.
> 
> I try to avoid keeping milk in the bucket. As soon as I finish one goat, as she is finishing her ration, I immediately filter the milk into a sterilized glass gallon jar. That way whatever dirt or hair that may have gotten into the milk is quickly removed. This is very easy, because I bring everything with me to milk, it is all right there.
> 
> ...


Yes, this is exactly the info I need! With the coffee filter do you know if they use another filter within that metal mesh? Thank you so much


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## mariarose (Oct 23, 2014)

I do know, because I am their milker when they go out of town. No, they use only that fine mesh strainer, in a funnel, into the glass jar. Everything is sterilized and very clean, including the goats! This family is VERY clean. I don't know how they stand to visit me!

This is the mastitis test they use. They test each goat's milk separately every week.

https://smile.amazon.com/039018-Cal...8295&sr=8-4&keywords=california+mastitis+test

I use to use a strip cup. But found it pretty worthless. I still have it. You can have it for the postage.


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## mariarose (Oct 23, 2014)

Suzanne_Tyler said:


> The milk filters I use:
> https://www.jefferspet.com/products/milk-filters-6-1-2-disks-d110-100-filters


Those sound amazing. had to laugh at the one star review saying how well they last.... I mean I do get her point, but it was still funny.


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## Goatrude (Sep 21, 2017)

mariarose said:


> Those same friends have a milking station that is quite far from the house. This is what they take with them to carry the milk back to the house in. They milk into a pan, and each goat's milk is then poured into this, and the lid goes back on.
> 
> https://smile.amazon.com/Stainless-...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=YGCN0YJP74DGVP68E8BR





mariarose said:


> I do know, because I am their milker when they go out of town. No, they use only that fine mesh strainer, in a funnel, into the glass jar. Everything is sterilized and very clean, including the goats! This family is VERY clean. I don't know how they stand to visit me!
> 
> This is the mastitis test they use. They test each goat's milk separately every week.
> 
> ...


May I ask what you now use for a strip cup? Why do you find it worthless? I may take you up on it! Thanks


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## Suzanne_Tyler (Jul 19, 2014)

I don't use a strip cup either. They're used to check the milk for clumps, stringiness, etc, before milking. You're going to see that anyways because you should milk the goat out no matter what is in the udder. I just do the first 1-2 squirts out of the bucket in case any dirt, bacteria, whatever, has collected on the orfice.


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## mariarose (Oct 23, 2014)

As Suzanne said, I just don't use it. I have several goats, and it just seemed a wasted of time because after a while, I would not know who's milk was whose on that screen.

Anyway, I'm cleaning the house out, I don't use it, and I'll send it to you for the cost of postage.


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## sassykat6181 (Nov 28, 2012)

I love these filters. I forget where I bought them originally, but I got them at Amazon last

Tuffy Milk Filter Disk 4 9/16 (Four and nine sixteenth Disk) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MC3WAXS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_AKP3zbAGAS3EE


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## cbrossard (Oct 4, 2014)

I bought a few packs of white men's handkerchiefs and I use those to filter my milk into a jar after hand milking and then wash and reuse! I also use them to wash the udder and for cheese making instead of cheese cloth! Multi-purpose


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## singinggoatgirl (Apr 13, 2016)

I hand milk, and I refused to buy any equipment other than disposable coffe filters. I didn't use a strip cup, and would just squirt the first 2 onto the sand. I could see if it was wrong before it absorbed into the dirt. I just used a stainless steel mixing bowl I already had, which I would pour through a filter into a quart sized canning jar I already had. I pasteurize my milk, so I would put the canning jar of filtered milk into a cooking pot with water up to the shoulder of the jar, put a thermometer in the milk, and heat the makeshift double boiler until the milk was the right temperature, then place the jar in a cooler full of ice water to chill quickly. 

I knew a Navajo woman who just milked enough out to make her blue corn pancakes. She just took a ceramic cereal bowl, and held it under the udder while milking her half-wild goat one-handed.

All that to say, you can look around your house first and see if you have anything already, disguised as something else.


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## mariarose (Oct 23, 2014)

Whenever I tried using the disposable coffee filters, they caused me no end of distraction and frustration by clogging up. The milk just sat there, mocking me. I'm impressed you can work with them.

Now I use cloth, as above, or milk filters, as above. Given completely up on disposable coffee filters.


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## singinggoatgirl (Apr 13, 2016)

I never had a huge volume to work with, which helps. They would slow down and start clogging toward the end.


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## bamaherd (Jun 14, 2017)

mariarose said:


> I hand milk sometimes and use my milker sometimes. Depending on if they are all at peak production, or how my arthritis is!
> 
> My milk bucket looks a LOT like this one, but is much heavier, thicker.
> 
> ...


What kind of milker do you use?


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## mariarose (Oct 23, 2014)

bamaherd said:


> What kind of milker do you use?


There is not a name for it. It is made by this man.

https://nashville.craigslist.org/grd/d/goat-milking-machine/6408607115.html

I got the one which runs off of a car or deep cycle battery, because my electricity is iffy. My collection bucket is 2 gallons

I elongated one of the hoses, added stops to the hoses that go to the teats (he now has stops there, but did not when he built mine) and bought silicone inflation liners for the teat cups because in my opinion they were too large.

It is constant suction, not a pulse machine. You adjust it for each goat so that the suction is as low as it can be to get a good flow. It is quiet, all my goats did learn to relax and let it milk them. Some immediately, some it did take a while. I think it is very high quality for the $300 I paid for it.

I don't use it all the time, only when ALL the milkers are being milked or my hands are crippled up, or I have a substitute coming in who does not know how to milk.

He does ship. And now he offers some personalizations that weren't available to me when I bought mine, 4 years ago now? There are some quirks to it, but I've learned what my machine requires and I'm not unhappy overall. The one thing I'm not really OK with follows.

It does not have a moisture trap on the line that leads to the pump. I'm not happy about that, because in the picture on the Ebay auction from which I bought it, there was one. I don't like the moisture going into the pump.

No, I do not think that my part time and careful use of this machine is ruining udders. But I do see how that could happen for someone not so careful.

That is a completely honest and not-for-pay assessment of my unnamed milker. And its builder


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## mariarose (Oct 23, 2014)

@bamaherd I forgot to say that I do not try to make it go start to finish. I have to get the milk started by hand milking, and I have to finish by hand milking. One of my goats is so easy and open to milk that the machine ALMOST finishes her One of my goats is so ready to hold onto her milk that I still milk out about 2 cups at the end from her. But that still save 8 cups that I don't have to milk from her and she is NOT an easy milker. A blessing when my hands are crippled.


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## bamaherd (Jun 14, 2017)

Thank you so much Mariarose! I'm 25 years old and am new to milking so I'm still working on my milking finesse. I really appreciate your milker information. I'll check out his listing. I only have 1 goat in milk. We are a small homestead. We are getting a quart a day from her. Perhaps, I'll primarily hand milk once I get it down. My husband and I are certainly very careful when breaking the suction. I like staying on the side of caution though.


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## cbrossard (Oct 4, 2014)

There are lots of diy options for making your own milking machine. Check out YouTube if you are interested. It is fun to handmilk and definitely a skill you want to have down if your machine breaks down or something. But my milking machine has been a lifesaver! (I made mine using a mason jar, tubes, a syringe, and a little food dehydrator vacuum thing)


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## bamaherd (Jun 14, 2017)

cbrossard said:


> There are lots of diy options for making your own milking machine. Check out YouTube if you are interested. It is fun to handmilk and definitely a skill you want to have down if your machine breaks down or something. But my milking machine has been a lifesaver! (I made mine using a mason jar, tubes, a syringe, and a little food dehydrator vacuum thing)


That's exactly what we are using now. It works but we are looking for something a little more permanent. We are leaning towards the Simple Pulse system. It's pricey but we love the pulsating feature.


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## mariarose (Oct 23, 2014)

Have you looked at the Viot milker?

Just to stir stuff up now that you've come to a decision...


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## bamaherd (Jun 14, 2017)

mariarose said:


> Have you looked at the Viot milker?
> 
> Just to stir stuff up now that you've come to a decision...


Lol! That's funny because usually after making a decision we find new ideas. Ha!

We did look at those. The smallest bucket they had was a 5 Liter which was too big for us. We called to find out if they offered a smaller size and the man on the phone was unappealing in terms of customer service.

We will only be milking (at the most) 2 does a day and that's just too big.


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## TexasGoatMan (Jul 4, 2015)

Oh my goodness, I enjoy life and get a charge out of reading these posts. So many different ways and ideas. The good thing is they all work and if it is working the way you want, that is all that counts. You can pay a lot of money for kits or individual parts and milking machines and such or you can buy simple and cheap and still have great milk. That's your choice. I have milked a cow for my family as a kid growing up. Started milking at the age of 9. Cows can give a lot of milk so I had to learn how to squeeze a tit pretty hard at an early age.  Now in my late 60's it is much harder for my hands to squeeze anything very hard.. I am glad goats milk easy. I started milking into a metal bucket as a youngster, now days I just take a half gallon plastic pitchers out to the milk stand for each goat. One pitcher with lid per goat. No seams to hide milk in. The spout is already there for pouring and I use the coffee filter mentioned in other posts to strain the milk through and into sterilized glass jugs. It doesn't take me but about 2 minuter to milk a goat by hand and be done. I don't own a milking machine and don't want one to have to try and keep sterile. Now if I was milking several head of goats then I would take measures to cool the milk as quickly as possible and not let it sit while I am milking others but Most time I only milk two goats so I get done pretty quick and just turn the goats back into the pen and then take the milk into the house and strain and store in the refrigerator. Milk is hot when you milk it and it takes it some time to cool down however a few more minutes doesn't hurt the taste of it any at all. Just don't let it sit out for too long before straining and cooling. I would say no longer than 10-12 minutes. Our kids are grown so it is just me and the better half here and the refrigerator is not opened very often at all and we have actually had milk to slightly freeze sitting in the back of the refrigerator. So each to their own in the way they hand their milk. My way is simple, easy and I have never had any issues, no not one with bad tasting milk or spoiled milk. So 59 years of milking with that kind of results should speak for itself. Hope this will make some of you relax and enjoy the milking and not worry about getting the milk cold instantly. Others I hope you get a chuckle out of reading this post. God bless and Enjoy !


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