UdderlyEZ hand milker, anyone using one?

[manygoatsnmore]

Did you see the article in the last issue of Dairy Goat Journal about the UdderlyEZ mare milker, which an 87yo lady was using to milk her goats? It sounds like a terrific tool, no way for the milk bucket to be kicked over, clean milk, and making it easy for someone with arthritis or carpal tunnel to milk. I went to the web site, www.udderlyez.com, looked it over, and decided it was worth a try. 159.95 plus shipping. The shipping is reasonable, less than $12 to my home. I ordered it and am anxiously awaiting its arrival. My one concern is with the size of the milk collection bottle that comes with it (quart size for the sheep/goat model). I'd like to use a larger container - a 1/2 gallon, at least. Is anyone around here using one of these, and can you tell me if they have a standard sized screw top like you woud find on a juice bottle, for example? I'm looking for the diameter of the top of the bottle so I can see if I have a larger bottle that might fit it. Also, how do you like it? Did you find it to be as easy to use and gentle on the goat as it was advertized to be? Any difficulties in learning to use it? TIA for any info.

[doodles]

It looks like a woman's breast pump. They are $20.

[coso]

I read that article. They only thing that worried me about it was keeping the orifice open for so long and if you would have trouble with mastitis. Because you would squeeze then it would produce suction, until there was not enough suction to keep the orifice open. This basically works like a milking machine except the milking machine pulsates(on-off-on-off) and the milking machine vaccum pressure is regulated. I know in dairies if you milk with too little or too much vaccumm it can cause mastitis problems in a herd. To me you are only going to do one side at a time and your still going to have to squeeze so what is the point? Just going to take you twice as long to milk.

[ChickenMom]

I saw the article. Did you get the milker and how does it work?

[the mama]

I really want one of these. My arthritis is too bad to milk by hand. Anyone who uses one, please give us some input.. Thanks

[jeff caldwell]

i have email the company and called the 2 numbers to order one and hadn't had any luck getting a hold of anybody. how did you get in touch with them to order one? please let us know how it works when you get it.
jeff

[Milk n' Honey]

I had a problem with getting our Boer triplets to get ahold of a teat to eat. We were worried about hyperglycemia and I couldn't milk the doe b/c of her short little teats soooo, I went in the house and got my battery operated, breast pump and used that!! It worked like a charm!! It took several minutes to milk out 4 oz of colostrum because it was so thick but it sure did the trick!! Now, it would take a special shaped pump for a dairy goat because of their large teats so I figure that is where this item would come in handy. However, if it still requires squeezing, I don't see where it would help people with arthritis very much and it might even take longer. I also always thought that it was important for the process to mimick the baby's sucking for the milk supply to reach its fullest potential. I don't know if that is true or not though. It might be nice to keep the milk cleaner though. I am anxious to hear how it works out for you. Please post as soon as you've had a chance to try it out!!

[cowgirlracer]

I looked at it, but thought the "bottle" sure wouldn't hold very much. I figured that I would spend so much time emptying it that I would give up out of frustration. We are looking for a milking machine, so if somebody is using this please post how you like it. I would love to hear.

Anne

[ChickenMom]

I got mine today and will try it out in the morning. I only milk in the morning because our little buckling is still on the Mom during the day. I will let you know how it does. I only get a quart at a time and it came with a quart bottle so I shouldn't have any problems.

[manygoatsnmore]

Cool, ChickenMom, I got mine today, too! I'll be trying it out with tonight's milking. I'll post when I get done and let everyone know if I like it.

[manygoatsnmore]

Jeff, I went to the website and ordered it on line. I placed the order the night of the 17th and got it by UPS this afternoon - one week. Not bad service. Now to see if it works, lol!

[Carrie C]

I would love to know if the little milker works. I have rotten allergies (including to goats!) and when the allergies get to bad, I have to have others milk my goats. I would love to have a milking machiene but they are way to expensive for me. A little milker would be a great help.
Keep me posted!
~Carrie C.

[jeff caldwell]

how did the milker work?
jeff

[jeff caldwell]

does the milker work good?

[shereen]

I’ve been using the hand milker for about a month now on three of my girls and I must say that it's hit or miss.
The girl I bought the milker for is an unbred yearling that decided she wanted to be in milk. She has a small udder and even smaller teats that are almost impossible to hand milk. The milker does not work on her at all. I get suction but almost no milk, so I still have to hand milk her.
I have three other girls that have large teats that the milker does not work on either. The teats get sucked in too far and they produce far too much milk to be using it. So, I hand milk them too.
My two first fresheners milk out with the milker just fine and pretty fast, but they have small teats.
Also, I think it may be too hard on their teats. After you take the milker off their teats are purple. The directions said to only pump it a few times, but I have to pump it many times to get any milk.
I finally broke down and bought a machine.
maybe it doesn't work 100% of the time for just my goats.
When I use it on my ff it works great, but I wouldn’t recommend it for a doe with large teats.
When I’m ready to sell it I’ll let you know.

I am curious to hear if it works better for other people.
I hope it does.
shereen

[ChickenMom]

OK, I used it this morning. My doe is a second freshener, she has Alpine in her and who knows what else. LOL She has a good udder and teats that are about 1 1/2 - 2 inches. At first she gave me a dirty look because it was something new, then she gave me another dirty look when I started pumping, I think because it makes a bit of a sound when you pump. I started the milk flow before I put the pump on then I had to pump about 5 times to start it. I also had to pump about 2 or 3 more times during milking as the flow slowed. I got the same amount of milk with less work on my hands and the milk was clean when I strained it (no nasties at all). Her teats looked the same as they always do when I finished. You do have to make sure the pump is pushed up against the udder good at all times. My hands, wrist, elbow, and shoulder do not hurt after milking today so that is a good thing. I also don't think the suction is anything compared to the little buckling that butts her from a foot away to get milk, it's much gentler than that.
All in all I would say I am pleased with it and I'm glad I bought it. I don't know if it would be useful in a large operation or with a great dairy goat that gives loads of milk but for my little backyard mutt production it works fine.
OK manygoatsnmore, it's your turn, what did you think?

[manygoatsnmore]

Well, my dd did the actual milking, but I did watch, and I asked her opinion. We are milking 2 goats at the moment. One is an Alpine first freshener with a nice udder and fairly good sized teats and the other is a LaMancha 2nd freshener who has a great udder and small teats. Cleaning and doing a few squirts in the strip cup before putting the milker on, dd had milk flowing with about 6-10 pumps, pumping several more times whenever the milk flow slowed or stopped. The does seem comfortable, the milk is easier to get out with a lot less effort, and it's clean! The bottle holds a quart, which is enough for now, but I have found that the screw on flanges also fit a standard bleach bottle. Now, I save the bleach bottles after the bleach is gone, clean them well and use them for water storage, so I have plenty of them. Ideally, I'd like to have clear bottles to milk into, but it's nice to know there is a large (up to 1 1/2 gal) size bottle to fit the milker when the does are at peak production. DD also says she feels she is emptying the udders more completely. She does still do a bit of manual stripping at the end, of course (holding the teat so that the milk goes into the flange). We are using the smaller of the 2 flanges - tried the larger one and it didn't work as well. I'll try it when our large-teated does come fresh.

So, my opinion? I like it. It is much less work than total hand milking, much less expensive than an automatic milking system, and easy to clean. I should b able to use it twice a day without having my carpal tunnel flare. I can also see it being easy to take with us to the fairs, rather than needing milking buckets, etc.

[prairiecomforts]

I too read the article and wondered how well this really worked. I think after reading some of the posts, that I will go a head and try it. I broke my wrist last fall and had to have surgery on it and every once in a while I have a lot of pain in it. Especially in the cold weather! I think this would be an inexpensive way to help during those timesCan't wait to get it!

[the mama]

Please post updates. How is it working over time?

[shereen]

i'm sorry to say...
I feel the same way about it.

now, i use it on only one girl.
it works great on her (and one other girl, that i hand milk) but no one else.
i find myself spending a lot of time messing with it, so it's actually faster for me to hand milk.
i do know how to use it, and i get suction, it just doesn't pull the milk out.
i know it's not defective because it does work on two girls.


also this AM i noticed a mildew smell in the actual device. i clean and bleach all parts, but the pump can't be submerged in water and of course some water has found it's way into the device so.....

it seems to work for most everyone else, and again, it does work very well on two does. good enough that i use it everyday. my hands appreciate the break (even of it's a short one).

i wouldn't buy it if you have high producers w/large teats or for does who have full, tight udders at milking.
if you do buy it, i hope it works for you.
good luck
shereen