Post by Deleted on Dec 4, 2007 21:22:45 GMT -5
Just wanted to post a note about our change to machine milking from hand milking. After a year of milking our first cow, Pearl, by hand, we added another cow. The plan was to hand milk them both until Pearl dried off in a month or so, then milk the new gal, Shelly by hand, and then maybe get a machine set up for when they were both in milk.
Well, Shelly is from a commerical Jersey herd and has little bitty teats (after I told myself that I'd never buy a short teated milk cow). Thumbs and forefingers only on the rear, two or three fingers on the front, very slow by hand. We'd get maybe 2 gallons after an hour of milking, knowing that a lot of milk was left behind. So the machine set up quickly became a priority.
We were just about to buy a new pump and bucket set up when we came up some used pieces. We were able to pick up an old Surge SP1 pump from a friend of a friend of a friend. He also had an old Delaval bucket and Surge fresh cow lid. The pump's tank was rusted out on the bottom, but we were able to patch that.
Got a pulsator, claw, vacuum line and guage at our local dairy supply, and then pipe and various plumbing fittings at the local Lowes. We found an old vacuum relief valve in an old belly milker bucket that someone gave us. The dairy supply stor was very helpful and patient with my questions about setup and operation.
By 8pm last night I finally had it set up and plumbed in with the help of my two sons, and we brought Shelly in for the first machine milking. Talk about awesome! She was milked out less than 10 minutes later with about 4 gallons in the bucket. My youngest son (17) who is my backup milker (not his favorite chore), said, "That experience (milking with a machine instead of by hand) stacks right up there with the first time we plucked chickens in our homemade chicken picker!" (Which was a miracle to us after having picked chickens by hand.)
Anyway, I can say that although I don't regret my year's apprenticeship as a hand milker, I'll gladly clean that claw after every milking from now on, Lord willing.
Houston
Well, Shelly is from a commerical Jersey herd and has little bitty teats (after I told myself that I'd never buy a short teated milk cow). Thumbs and forefingers only on the rear, two or three fingers on the front, very slow by hand. We'd get maybe 2 gallons after an hour of milking, knowing that a lot of milk was left behind. So the machine set up quickly became a priority.
We were just about to buy a new pump and bucket set up when we came up some used pieces. We were able to pick up an old Surge SP1 pump from a friend of a friend of a friend. He also had an old Delaval bucket and Surge fresh cow lid. The pump's tank was rusted out on the bottom, but we were able to patch that.
Got a pulsator, claw, vacuum line and guage at our local dairy supply, and then pipe and various plumbing fittings at the local Lowes. We found an old vacuum relief valve in an old belly milker bucket that someone gave us. The dairy supply stor was very helpful and patient with my questions about setup and operation.
By 8pm last night I finally had it set up and plumbed in with the help of my two sons, and we brought Shelly in for the first machine milking. Talk about awesome! She was milked out less than 10 minutes later with about 4 gallons in the bucket. My youngest son (17) who is my backup milker (not his favorite chore), said, "That experience (milking with a machine instead of by hand) stacks right up there with the first time we plucked chickens in our homemade chicken picker!" (Which was a miracle to us after having picked chickens by hand.)
Anyway, I can say that although I don't regret my year's apprenticeship as a hand milker, I'll gladly clean that claw after every milking from now on, Lord willing.
Houston