I asked this but never got an answer, so I thought I'd post here. Never know, someone may have the answer.

What should the pulsator be set at? How "fast"? The pusator is set faster for goats than cattle usually, but I can't find the book that had the info in it. And my dairy guy friend must be out of town or something.

TIA

-- Patty (SycamoreHollow1@aol.com), May 30, 2002

Answers

Patty, I would help if I could, but I HAND milk. I'm just too impatient to deal with machines. By the time I would have everything set up to go, I can be done.

Speaking of hand milking. . . I assume you are milking goats- I am milking cows, will add a goat when my Baby Lady freshens in a month or so. . . . so, I bought an old time "keep the cow from kicking" gizmo at a yard sale this weekend that fits over a cows hips with wooden pads on each end that go somewhere. I haven't tried it yet, so I'm not sure where everything fits. LOL! I'm soooo compulsive.

-- Granny Hen (cluckin along@cs.com), May 30, 2002.

Well we were up to quite a few milkers, 20+, AND the cow...sooooo. Read wimp. lol

The milker hooks up quickly it's the cleanup that is frankly a bit more involved. For relief milking especially,(those less experianced can milk with ease)it's nice to have!

Hmmmm, don't think I've seen that type of "kicker". I've seen the hock ones and the flank squeeze ones. Usually someone was around who could hold her tail if she was being a poop. :)

-- Patty (SycamoreHollow1@aol.com), May 30, 2002.

Patty;I have the pulsators for the cows set at 50 cycles per minute.I would think that for a goat it wouldn,t be much different. Grannyhen-My experiance with useing kickers on a cow just made matters worse!Wish you the best thoo! Highland

-- Highland (whighlan@msn.com), May 30, 2002.

Hi Highlander, thanks for the reply!

That slow, huh? I think I timed it at around 83, and it sounds slow to me from past experiance, (you get the approximate pulsation rate sorta stuck in your head after awhile,...tic-a tic-a tic-a tic-a... lol.) My friend has a goat dairy and that is when I first noticed it was faster than cattle, that was before we got a milker. I actually wondered about it, and it made more sense to me after I thought about watching baby goats nurse as opposed to calves. :)

But that does make me feel better until I find out exactly, I thought it might be further off. Just curious, what pressure do you use?

So, what kind of cattle do y'all milk and how many?

-- Patty (SycamoreHollow1@aol.com), May 30, 2002.

Patty, what kind of milker did you go with? Was wondering too, how long does it take to clean it. I'm hand milk 11 right now. Got a second milking stand built a couple of weeks ago, and that sure helps with that 'milking all day' feeling, since there is usually two of us out there. Been thinking I will want to get some sort of milk machine next year.

-- Lacey (cddllt@webtv.net), May 31, 2002.

Well, I probably can't be of much help Lacey. (But, I feel your pain, lol!) I've heard those small portable ones are pretty handy for what they are. I know a lot of folks have those because they show.

Mine was originally in an old barn. I traded milk for it. It is Surge, but has been frankenstiened now.The only real part of the old milker is the engine. Paul Hamby, who I already knew(good guy) redid it for me. I think it ended up being a few hundred dollars. But, it is able to milk quite a few at once due to a much larger stainless steel pressure tank and I got "all new parts". You may want to call him, sometimes he builds a few. Compare the prices in say Hoegger, or Wiggins(?Not sure if the have milkers), Caprine Supply, etc.

Really, I think a milker wouldn't be that hard to build from scratch. It's the pulsator, inflations, bucket, claw,etc. that are truely the only "specific" items. Basically, it's engine and pressure tank (or pipe).

I saw some easy designs for building one somewhere, I'll try to remember where.

-- Patty (SycamoreHollow@aol.com), May 31, 2002.

Oh, sorry, forgot to answer question of cleaning!

Not long, and the same for 2 as ten, same equipment. A stainless steel bucket with seal and lid, a length of tubing a couple feet, and the claw. Maybe 5 minutes? :)

I have a couple of different buckets, one smaller one larger. LOVE the smaller one, hard to come by now. But I'm guessing (????) they hold maybe 3 and 6 gal. respectively. So you may need to pour into a different container for multiple milkings.

-- Patty (SycamoreHollow@aol.com), May 31, 2002.

Patty;To answer your question I milk with 13pounds of vacume.and i milk 30 cows mostly Arysrire.I have an old surge vacume pump that i would give to somebody,it works fine just to small for me.Theres lots of pail milker units around here as everyone has either quit milking or has gone big time! Highland

-- Highland (whighlan@msn.com), May 31, 2002.

Oh! Well there you go Lacey, I'd jump on that!!! I wish I had heard those words myself awhile back! Yes, the family milker is a rare thing these days. :(

Ayrshires, that's neat! Do you have a dairy? 30 is sort of a "smallish" amount for that...? Most say you have to milk 100 to make it. And of course, Holstiens. I always thought a smaller enterprize would be fun, but from all I ever heard it would be a battle to keep afloat.

We had Jerseys, I love them.

-- Patty (SycamoreHollow@aol.com), May 31, 2002.

Yes my dairy is small by todays standards!I just have to watch what i spend but the cows pay the bills and feed me!If i had a family to feed it would not be possible.As i have a morgage payment to make.you can go to Country side pics and see the farm if you like. Lacey if i can be of any help let me know.Highland

-- highland (whighlan@msn.com), May 31, 2002.

OK, I'm jumping....but it will have to be a fairly small jump:).....just know you are going to be in Wisconsin or NJ:).

-- Lacey (cddllt@webtv.net), June 01, 2002.

Lacey -You where close!LOL I am in NE PA.Too far?Highland

-- highland (whighlan@msn.com), June 01, 2002.

Where is Countryside pics? I love pics, I wish people would post more of them!

Lacey, hope it works out! You are in Mo, right? Again, I recommend Paul Hamby for buckets and "accessories". Hambys Dairy Supply.

-- Patty (SycamoreHollow@aol.com), June 01, 2002.

Just know how my luck runs:). I'm south central MO, don't think I could make it back in time for the evenings milking....RATS!

-- Lacey (cddllt@webtv.net), June 01, 2002.

I just noticed I called you, "Highlander" and it's Highland, my most sincere apologies..sorry 'bout that. :)

Now, I wonder how much the pump would be to ship, probably alot....how much do you think it weighs? Pondering that...

Do you ever see any "used" stainless steel milk strainers, the small ones?

So now, where are the pictures?! Anyone else have home page pictures? I guess I should start a new thread!

-- Patty (SycamoreHollow@aol.com), June 01, 2002.

Patty, have you ever checked Jeffers for buckets and supplys? Sometimes you can get really good prices on equipment with them.

Back in the "old" days when I first started purchasing from them, the prices were knock-down,drag-out,dirt cheap compared to all other places and to local farm stores. Suddenly, it seems they went up considerably, but still you can find lots of things cheaper than elsewhere.

-- Granny Hen (cluckin along@cs.com), June 02, 2002.

I love Jeffers! But still, the stainless steel goes high!

-- Patty (SycamoreHollow@aol.com), June 02, 2002.