Curious about milking

[PotterWatch]

Just curious of those people who have a dairy cow (or more than one!), do you milk by hand or use a milking machine? I milk a cow who is a kicker and though we got hobbles that certainly help, I tend to think longingly of a milking machine. If you do have a machine, did you get a new or rebuilt one? Do you think it is worth the cost?

 

[herfrds]

I mainly milked by hand, but I do have a machine. DH's uncle found it for me. It is used but it does work and it needs some new rubber.

Have you tried a Stop Kik Stik? My first cow was also a kicker and that Stik worked wonders.
One end gets hooked into the flank on the side you are milking and the other end hooks over their back bone. They go to kick and it pinches them and they do not kick.
She did pop it off once and it got me in the head, but I just made it a bit smaller and it worked.

 

[PotterWatch]

Ok, I found that on Jeffers website but looking at the picture, I totally don't get how it works. How does it stop kicking with both feet if it only goes on one side?

 

[Hound]

I have a Surge milker. I got it for my goats, but fingers crossed will be getting a cow soon. It can either do two goats at a time (as they have two teats) or one cow. Problem is, I only have one milk stand. My DH has said he'll build me another, but not sure when! How useful they are depends on how many animals you are milking. It isn't worth the trouble for one goat at a time, as it takes far longer than milking by hand and involves a lot of cleanup afterwards. It can also be somewhat temperamental, sometimes the cups just fall off or it takes forever for the milk to start flowing. If it was more reliable it might be useful if I needed someone else to milk for me. I'd imagine with a cow it is handier as it can do four teats at a time to my two, and cows are more prone to kicking, pooping and knocking buckets over. I do like that it cannot be knocked over, and it keeps milk cleaner. You can even get an in-line filter for some so the milk is strained as it flows into the can. I got mine used but with new inflations and hoses, from a seller on Ebay. The more expensive part was the vacuum pump, I bought a refurbished one with a warranty on Ebay also. All told it cost around $550.

 

[herfrds]

Like I said put it on the side you are milking from. It pinches a nerve when they go to kick.
If your cow is kicking you with both hind feet I would get 2 of them and put one one each side.

We tried the hobbles, the rope and every single trick we ever heard about with my first milk cow.
Only the stik worked.
It is adjustable so it will fit any cow fairly well.

 

[mississippifarmboy]

Our milking machine is 12 years old. I mean HE'S 12 years old. And he gets about 20 miles per biscuit. Sometimes it's hard to get him started on cold mornings though, So I have to milk myself those mornings.

tried to find a picture of him milking but I can't locate one.

We do all our milking by hand, never even seen a machine.

 

[FarmerJamie]

Quote:
As a youngster, I had helped my grandparents milk by hand. I was sooooo happy when they got the new surge machine. Grandpappy just used a big ol' piece of baler twine to hitch up the two "kickers" he had. That is until he had two replacements and we had a great big supply of trail bologna!