# milking woes !?!?! Does anyone own a Henry Milker?



## use2bwilson (Aug 4, 2011)

It's been 6 weeks of milking my doe ... and she just doesn't seem to be settling in. some days are better than others but I'm almost at my wit's end after my last couple days of milking.
I thought milking time was supposed to be a pleasant experience ...  

i am wondering if it just take some goats this long to settle down and enjoy milking ... or at this point is my gal just a "bad milker" ?!?!!

She seems to have really good capacity and great tasting milk. So I hate to give up on her ...plus, I'm just not the type to give up easily on something I really want to do.

I've tried a couple big rocks in her grain bowl. I also sprinkle in some peanuts or raisins for treats throughout her grain. I try to pet her and talk to her and play music ... but still she kicks and spills the milk.

I am new to milking however do not think I am milking incorrectly because she is quiet and relaxed at times. 

I am thinking perhaps I will just buy a milking device and see if that helps ... I've read up on the Henry Milker and it sounds like a great option. It's about $180. The pressure is able to be controlled and has a pressure gauge ...

Any thoughts or suggestions or specific feedback on the Henry Milker ...


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## Skyz84 (Jul 25, 2011)

Hum.. I know my girls will kick if a fly or mosquito land on them. We have so many flies and mosquito this year so the girls are all twitchy. I try to milk really early morning or late evenings before the flies come out. I just lost a bowl of milk to my best milker because I was late milking and flies were buzzing around her feet. 

Or is she really trying to kick you? When my one doe didn't want to be milked I took a dog leash, looped it around her rear foot and tied it to the leg of the milking stand. Just tight enough she couldn't kick it. She tried to kick a few times and finally gave up. Now we milk without having to tie her foot down.


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## use2bwilson (Aug 4, 2011)

I tried the "dog leash" tether too on one (and both) of her hind legs. It has helped a bit in the past but today she still managed to kick her leg with any amount of slack in the line. At some point it seems like the leash was just pulling her leg way back behind her. I thought that would become uncomfortable for her and didn't want the milking experience to totally become a negative experience ...

So it is safe to say that flies are not the issue with my goat ... she's definitely a bit of a punk on the milking stand.

I have been rationing her grain to her slowly throughout the milking process and also use a rock as well to slow her down ... perhaps I should give her more grain all at once because she starts to fuss each time she gets low on grain in her bowl ... but I'm not sure that will work since she still eats very quickly!!

I am willing to spend a reasonable amount of money on a milking machine since it will allow other people to milk my goats and also because it helps to keep the process a bit cleaner ... I love our goats and don't want to give up on having our own fresh goats milk and all the great things they have to offer ... but seriously some days I wonder why i just don't go to the grocery story and buy my milk like everyone else !?!?!?


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## milk and honey (Oct 31, 2010)

I made a milker based on pics of the Henry milker .. And it wasn't too hard..and cheaper. This year I found a surge milker with a pulsator. This should be better for the goats. I posted pics of the homemade milker under"homemade milker"... But it was almost a year ago. Some of my girls just do better with a machine..


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

She's testing you.... keeping the milking routine as a positive experience is good BUT sometimes a good whack on the rump is needed to enforce polite stand manners.

Also... use a small bowl or pitcher to milk into and dump it into a separate pail as it gets so full, this way if she decides to get dancy you won't be losing a whole lot of milk...and what I've done with a dancer is to milk one handed while I grab the foot that keeps lifting, I stamp that foot onto the stand repeatedly and tell her "leave it" in a firm voice and hold that foot on the stand to continue milking.... don't stop when she gets antsy as thats what she wants you to do.


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## lissablack (Nov 30, 2009)

Don't give up! Some of the best goats start out like this.


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## use2bwilson (Aug 4, 2011)

thanks for the input.

I was lucky enough to get some first hand help from a local goat owner yesterday the generously offered to come by and help. I feel so much better now having a little knowledge of how to handle her bad behavior on the stand. Like liz said in her response ... "she's testing me." And apparently she was winning. Even though I was trying to not let her protests deter me, I now know to really be persistent and not let her bad behavior let her get her way.

Amazingly enough, she was as good as gold today on the stand. She stamped her feet 2 times and then stood like a statue. Seriously!! 

I think some of her bad behavior comes from when her udders are very full and sensitive. Unfortunely today the babies somehow got into the pen right before I milked her. I have been separating them for 4-6 hours in the morning and milking around noon. So today mama had a pound less milk than yesterday. I really thought we have all their escape routes closed up ... it's a learning curve on so many levels. 

But I love them and the milk they give us ... so I am not going to give up. I have a little more knowledge and confidence in how to handle her. I have lots of dog training experience ... so I think we are on the right path.

Thanks so much for the encouraging words!! We will see how tomorrow goes.

As far as the Henry Milker ... my husband already ordered me one and it's on its way. He was tired of watching me struggle ... so that was very sweet of him. It's also good timing since I leave on a short trip out of town in a few days. Now he will be able to milk her with less hassle.


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## Saanens N Alpines (Oct 20, 2010)

I forgot that I wasted my money on a Henry Milker one year. It didn't work worth beans. I sure hope you have a better experience! I ordered leg hobble from Hoegger's and that helped a lot with the kicking. They can still kick a little, but I can grab the bowl if I see they are starting to get antsy. I use the stainless bowl from my Kenmore mixer which has a long handle going down the side. It's really handy for milking and grabbing quickly if I need to. I have tightly woven wire strainer that fits perfectly in the top to catch any stray hairs. 

What advice did you get from the person who came to help? I have a goat who starts to misbehave when the grain is gone, too.


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## use2bwilson (Aug 4, 2011)

oh well the Henry Milker is on its way ... we'll see how it works ...

the biggest advice my neighbor gave was to make the goats good behaviors on the milking stand easy for her and the bad ones difficult (just like dog training or horse training). So I am trying to keep milking throughout her antics. I do not let her get her way because of her bad behavior. If this means I am wasting milk and just milking as she jumps and stomps ... that is what I will do.

Apparently my goat was taking advantage of a "newbie" ... surprise, surprise!! but now I have a little more knowledge and will keep trying. She's a second freshener ... but was not milked last year after her kids were weaned. So this is new to her.

on a good note, it sounds like she has very good capacity and nice udders ... which made me very happy.

Also, based on my neighbor's advice, I now only give her a very little bit of her grain when she first gets onto the stand. Then she has to stand quietly while I milk and she gets her grain at the end when she's quiet. I didn't have much hope that this would improve her behavior ... but was willing to try anything and surprisingly she seemed a bit better ... only protesting about me touching her udder ... but not also protesting when her grain was gone.

We are going to keep trying ...


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## Di (Jan 29, 2008)

We have all gone through this, in our newbie year. lol. I use a quart jar, I hold it in one hand and milk with the other. That way I could pull it out of the way quickly. Thankfully, mine are acting much better now. They RUN into the milk room and jump up to get their grain. I just put a full feeder in front of them and they eat while I milk. 

I got the EZ Milker. It works pretty well. You still have to get them going and finish, but, I use it because of the arthritis in my hands, so every little bit helps. I don't think it's faster...but...the girls don't seem to mind.


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## coltrule (Mar 24, 2011)

You can try hobbles, what I do for a doe kicking, put them in milk stand,and hold your bucket closer to the teat,so they can't knock it over, I know this is wierd,but I don't let my girls eat in the milk stand,they get there grain before,then I put them on and milk them, after a while they learn...


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## Dreamchaser (Oct 30, 2008)

I bought a henry milker, and it is great for some goats, but I have fount that it doesn't work on all goats. It is really a toss up. I had to modify my milker to fit the one goat that it does work on, which cost me more money. I like it when it works good, it is kindof like the frustration with computers. They are great when they work right, not so great when they don't. 
I have plans to make my own milking machine. It was in a Countryside magazine, and I photocopied the pages so I can build it. I'm hoping that will work better than the henry.


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## mabeane (Nov 6, 2010)

I have a sweet ND FF who started out kicking everytime. She has a dream udder to milk so I solved the problem with velcro! I tied a piece of shoelace to each side of my stand and then I put velcro around each leg and attach to the shoe lace. Easy on easy off and she is kicking much less and I milk with pleasure.


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## WarPony (Jan 31, 2010)

My Henry Milker works great, BUT there was a bit of a learning curve for both me and the goats to get there. I find if I pull gently on the teat cup while pressure is on the milk comes out a LOT better. It just took a little while for the girls to learn to let down for it. I finish them off by hand milking to make sure they empty (milk them into the teat cup). Just be careful with your pressure so you don't hurt their teats/udder.

I did add longer hoses to my milker than what came with it. I'm currently building my own version using what i learned from the Henry Milker.


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