[bee_pipes]

Would appreciate experienced opinions and advice about startup equipment for milking

Milking Pail - 4-quart seamless stainless steel half moon hooded
This sounds pretty paractical and reasonable

Strainer
Store bought or home made? Milk filter pads - do you use them?

Udder washing supplies
what do you use? dunking container? spray? paper towels?

Strip Cup squirt first stream of milk from each teat to detect abnormalities (flakes, lumps)
Do you use one? Store bought or home made?

Milking Stand - this looks practical and simple enough to build myself.

What do you use for containers to hold the milk? How do you use it? Mostly as beverage? Other Dairy products? Barter?

Any other basic gear for a small hand operated situation? Anything you discovered later that was most useful?

How about suppliers? I'm in middle Tennessee, and would like to browse sites, compare prices, read literature, compare to local coop offerings, etc.

Thanx!

Regards,
Pat

 

[Sara]

I built my own milk stand. It works great and there are plenty of plans online. =)

As for a milk pail, just buy a cooking pot and cut a half moon shape in the lid. VIOLA milking pail.

 

[bee_pipes]

Kewl - lots of used stainless steel pots out there. That's the kind of simple stuff I hoped to find here. Thanx Sara!

 

[Sara]

Nooooo problem, that's what I plan on doing. =)

 

[fritzie]

i have a factory made milk stand(i needed one that i could take to shows) i use a SS milk pail. i also by cheap baby whipes & put a little bleach in with them for cleaning off the udder before i milk. i use fight bac after i milk them. some use a udder teat dip wich is also good but i find the fight bac easier to take with me. i have a 2 gal SS tote that i put the milk in & bring in the house,SS strainer & filters i strain the milk & if not feeding it to the babies i cool it down fast & put it in glass jars in the fridge. TN is not a big dairy goat place. i have not been able to find any dairy supplies down here so i have to order them all from jeffers.

 

[StaceyRosado]

when I milked I just used a stainless steal 2 quart sauce pot.

you can use babywipes to clean off the udder and teats.

I never used teat dip

 

[FarmGirl18]

I store my milk in glass mason jars. Strainer is pretty important for me, I use one that you can get from either Caprine Supply or Hoeggers Goat Supply. It's a mini one, and has worked well for me. Udder wash, I've done different things, spray, and paper towels, but this next year I think I'm just going to do some kind of wipes, baby wipes or something specifically made for udders. Not sure yet.

 

[goathappy]

The pail: I don't recommend the pails with the half moon lid, they are short, and the lid is hard to milk into, I prefer tall buckets, short buckets are easier for the goats to step into.

Strainer: Stainless stell one, we have a big one, its a one time cost and the SS is easy to keep clean. We use the straining pads, coffee filters will either, a) dissintegrate or b) be to thick to strain

Udder health: We wash with warm water and a drop of dish detergent, then after milking we spray Fight Bac on the teats. This prevents bacteria from getting in the udder post milking.

Strip cup: Just a glass jar works good enough

Milking stand: A must, we have homebuilt ones

What do you use for containers to hold the milk? 1/2 gallon glass jars, these keep the milk the longest and best tasting.

How do you use it? Mostly as beverage? for everything, drinking mostly.

Other Dairy products? Cheese, kefir and yogurt.

Barter? We sell raw milk to city people for $8 a gallon.

How about suppliers? Hoeggers, http://www.thegoatstore.com

I have to go now, but later I will post how we process our milk to make it taste the best.

 

[sparks879]

I have this milk pail (top one)
http://hoeggergoatsupply.com/xcart/home.php?cat=80
I really like it because it came with two different lids. Its nice to have a lid when your walking from the barn to the house in the rain/snow. I never use the half lid though. I like the straight sides rather then the tapered sides, its harder for the goat to push the milk pail over if she kicks. However if she gets her foot on the edge of it she can knock it over pretty easily.
This is the strainer i have:
http://hoeggergoatsupply.com/xcart/prod ... =17&page=1
It works well, fits into most jars to strain milk, it sits easily over the top of my pasturizer as well so i can poor milk into the pasturizer. they have filters listed on the site too.
This is the strip cup i use
http://hoeggergoatsupply.com/xcart/prod ... =17&page=1
works nice and is easy to use.

As for washing the udder, i use baby wipes on each doe before i milk her, washing the teats from the bottem to the top (if you wash from top to bottem you're just pulling the bacteria towards the orfice.

While fight back does keep the bacteria out it also causes what bacteria is already in the udder to become trapped inside the udder. My only case of mastits was when i was using fight back. I prefere to dip the teats in iodine, let them air dry a few minutes and put the doe back in her pen.
This is one reason i don't give hay free choice, most does who contract mastits get it shortly after milking, they lay down too soon and bacteria gets in their orfice before the orfice naturally builds the little crusty layer to keep bacteria from getting in. I gave hay after i milk the first doe, that way they have something to munch on and they stand up for a half hour to an hour after they are milked. Letting their body do what comes naturally to them.

While a wood milkstand is cheaper and all, i prefere metal ones. I like being able to move mine by myself sinse im the only one in the barn at most times, they stay cleaner, you can disinfect them and you can fold them up and put them away. and take them to shows, or wherever else you need to go.

hope this helps
beth

 

[bee_pipes]

Kewl! Georgia - freight can't get much better than that!

Regards,
Pat

 

[fritzie]

i have been using fight bac for 5 years & have never had a case of mastitis. maybe i am just lucky. my girls all go eat hay or go out to grazz after they are milked so they don't lay down for a good 2 hours.

 

[sparks879]

i think that really makes a differen e fritzie, this way the goats body is doing what come naturally to her.
Laying down in the dirt and whatnot can be full of bacteria and everything.
beth

 

[jBlaze]

The important thing for me is a good pail. easy to get real clean and heavy enough to not be readily kicked over, tall enough that their feet are not as likely to make it in the bucket, but short enough to fit under a standard yearling milker. This is the best one I know of and worth the cost. Other pails may say stainless steel, but are thin and frustrating. This nice one also comes in a smaller, 5 quart size, that I have not seen, we really like the big one. I will try posting the link, if it does not work, I found it at Caprine Supply, it is an 8 qt SS pail, for $38. Good luck.

I would highly recommend this pail to anyone with animals. It is the only worth milking into, and is also the one that most vets use for everything.

link(?):
http://www.caprinesupply.com/shop/?page ... b033bf94c5