[peggy]

Wasn't sure where to post this so admin can move it if needed. Thanks.

I want to buy a Henry Milker. I love milking by hand but my husband has trouble so thought this would help. I would be willing to trade some artwork for one if interested.

 

[peggy]

Has anyone tried the original Henry Milker?? What do you think of it.

 

[J.O.Y. Farm]

I have been also looking for some info on it.. We got one last year but have yet use it... I would really like thoughts on it as well..

 

[geonjenn]

I posted this sort of review on another thread recently. Pasting it here.


I have a Henry Milker and I don't love it but I don't hate it either. I used it last year because I have carpal tunnel and just could not milk all by hand. But each of my girls have peculiarities with their udders (I think they were all someone else's culls for these reasons) and I have to start and finish the milking by hand and one of them is much faster by hand. With the Milker, there's just a very fine stream of milk so she takes FOREVER but by hand it seams normal and much faster. One has very saggy and bulbous teats and will not tolerate the machine at all but is perfectly fine with hand milking. I wonder if her teats are like that because of a continuous pressure Milker before I bought her.

So I just started milking for this year and used the Milker partially today. I will be looking for a surge Milker very soon. I guess here is my "review" of the Henry Milker:

I paid extra for the double Milker that came with two jars, two lids and the attachment to put them together so you can milk both teats at once, but I did not pay the extra to get a warranty. The very first time I put it on the very first goat, she gave it one small kick and turned my double Milker into a single. One of the lids broke with no way to repair it. I have not bothered to purchase another one. The gaskets that seal the lid to the jar allowing the suction won't stay in the lid reliably and if you have to change jars during milking you have to really watch that the gasket doesn't become misaligned or fall into the milk, making it hard to find. But I now have an extra gasket since the second lid is broken. The pump is not very heavy duty so you have to be careful with it. The crystal on the front of the gauge of mine keeps falling off, but it still works. The tubes are a PITA to remove from the other pieces, which is probably a good thing because you need a tight fit. But I actually can't get them apart anymore so I wash then all together. Probably not the most sanitary way to go but for now I'm only milking for soap or baby goats or calves so we are ok. The pump gauge goes way past 10 but the instructions very clearly said not to go higher than 10. You really need to watch the pressure. I did not know that the constant pressure was bad for the goats until after I started using it. I probably would not have bought it if I had known. All in all, I don't think it is a bad thing if it is temporary, but it is kind of cheaply made but a little pricey for the lack of sturdiness. You could probably build your own much cheaper and since it is not healthy for long term use, why spend a bunch? It did help my hands a little.

 

[AmyBoogie]

I have a friend that's going to let me borrow her Henry Milker for my tiny teat Togg/alpine to see if this will be easier for us. If it doesn't the 7 year old with the small hands needs to learn to milk

But just for grins I decided to search out what they cost and came across these folks on Ebay selling milkers for under $100
http://stores.ebay.com/dbeffa7?_trksid=p2047675.l2563
They look similar to the Henry and I'm willing to bet that all the problems that are described in geonjenn's post would apply to this one as well.

 

[michaelhannaster]

I am by no means a man made out of money but if you can save up for a pulsating milker everyone including the goats will be very happy. I built my own set up and as it is by no means under 100 dollars you can get a system that's built to last for about 400 dollars. If you are interested let me know and I would be more then happy to share how I set mine up.

 

[geonjenn]

I am by no means a man made out of money but if you can save up for a pulsating milker everyone including the goats will be very happy. I built my own set up and as it is by no means under 100 dollars you can get a system that's built to last for about 400 dollars. If you are interested let me know and I would be more then happy to share how I set mine up.

I would be interested to know how you set yours up. I have been looking for parts but am a little confused about what I need to get and don't want to spend $1500 + for a ready made system.

Thanks!

 

[enchantedgoats]

try ebay. we got our pusating milker on line for $100, then also bought a 3/4 hp pump and works great what a relief!! you will have better luck using any milker if you clip their udders very close.. i do not reccomend a surge as you have to have a bigger pump.

 

[couto_123]

I have a Henry Milker and it is ... ok.. works well enough but have terrible time getting the lids to seal. A friend made her own. I actually think it is a little sturder than mine. she used a hand pump for brake lines, and made the lids herself. My Henry is nice. Not four all time use. I am planning on getting a milker in the spring.

 

[michaelhannaster]

I would be interested to know how you set yours up. I have been looking for parts but am a little confused about what I need to get and don't want to spend $1500 + for a ready made system.

Thanks!

No need to spend that much money... I bought the pulsator and bucket combo from hambry.com this will cover everything you need except for the pump. If you are just milking a few goats a day then you don't need to buy their pump. Jump on amazon and get a 6cfm vacuum pump, they are about $120. Once you get your pump and bucket/pulsator then all you need to do next is go to Home Depot buy a 1/4 inch hose to hook up to your bucket and pump and start milking. I have been using my set up for about 6 months everyday and only maintenance is to watch the oil level in the pump every so often and if it gets low I fill it up.

After all is done you spend about $550 for a very high quality set up. I really like the bucket and pulsator combo from Hambry because its a one piece bucket and not two halves welded together

 

[Gunsmith48]

We use the Henry Milker. I can hand milk but with my hands are so big that next to impossible for milk my ND. I can milk her in a third of the time as hand milking. On any small breed goat it is the best thing since sliced bread! Someone stated that they have problem with seals on the lid. I put the two wide mouth quart mason jars in the freezer which helps cooling the milk & helps with sealing the lids to the jars. My wife milks both teats at the same time. I milk one at a time as I'm too slow; before I get second teat up running the first side is already done, I'm just sort of a one teat guy. Cleaning is easy. Be careful, You can easily break the nipples off trying to unscrew the lid. I purchased it directly off his website & Henry will personally answer any questions that you may have. This is the only mechanical milker that I have ever owned. One thing other thing that is a plus, you don't has to strain the milk!

 

[WarPony]

I bought mine about 2 years ago, before they came up with the new lids. It has been a lifesaver, though it is nothing compared to "real" milker (which i dream of having, lol... someday...)

At first i had thought it was a waste of money. My does just wouldn't let their milk down for it. We were all FFs, lol, so it was a learning curve for all of us. I figured out that if I cleaned their udders and gave them a bit of massage first, then milked out the first squirt or two to clear out and open up the orifices well and then put on the machine they milked out wonderfully. i still have to hand milk out about a cup from each side at the end, but it cuts down on the hand milking a LOT and when you have tons of hand issues that is a real life saver. Early on it takes longer than hand milking, for me, but as they get used to it the speed increases. At least it has for my does.

I just inherited a double milker with the new plastic lids. I re-engineered the thing using the parts from my old one to make two double milkers of a very different design (one half gallon jar and the tube for the milk is single but splits half way up with one teat cup having a shut off and the other not). Now I just need this doe to freshen so i can test it.

It really is important to watch the pressure very very carefully. you can damage a does teats/udder very very easily even using the machine as intended because it isn't pulsating suction. But it can be a very affordable and useful machine.

 

[peggy]

Thanks everyone for the comments. It sounds like the general consensus on it is the it is okay, but not great. I love milking by hand but I wanted to get one for the hubby, he has a hard time when I have to go away for a day or two. So it would only be used once in a while not all the time.