Where can I buy 30cc teat cups from for the milking machine I am putting together? Our local Farmers Co-op has syringes but the end is short and small and won't work with the tubing. So I guess I need a syringe with a long tapered end to connect to my hose. I can't seem to find one on line. Any suggestions?
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I originally had a Henry Milker and that's why I have the valves because they came on it. No worries though, you can order the valves online and some stores may carry them. The tubing is 1/4" ID so you can just google it and find some I'm sure. Wait, I just looked at the Henry Milker site and they sell the valves there. They also sell the pump separately. I ordered a pump online and it was junk so I have kept using my HM pump although the gauge is broken. (I'm so used to it I can tell how much pressure I have by the feel). Here's a link to their site:
http://www.henrymilker.com/categories/Replacement-Parts/
As far as fitting on the tiny teats, the holes in these inflations are smaller than the ones on the syringes so it works on small teats. Another thing you can do is get smaller syringes for your tiny teated girls and switch to those when you're milking the little girls. Only drawback to them is they have less capacity and tend to fill up with milk if she's flowing fast. I've definitely used them for my girls with little teats and they work.
Judy H said:
I think those are exactly what I got. However you can't use them as they are because the body of the inflation collapses with the pressure. I had to cut them up and fit the top of them to the syringe. Also there was no way to attach it to the line. I hope this makes sense.
Judy H said:
I have the ND inflations from Hoegger, and I've never had a problem with them working. I'd imagine they're similar to the ones Caprine sells.
I found these inflations on the Caprine Supply website. Any opinions on weather this would work for my first fresheners with teeny tiny pencil teats?
http://www.caprinesupply.com/small-inflations-for-nigerian-dwarf-go...
Julia, thanks for the excellent suggestion. So I immersed my system in a bucket of water. I was really impressed how it kept a totally tight vacuum! I am also using canning jars, not even a tiny leak. I had suspected my Mityvac pump, but now I think the pump is OK if I can just get the initial vacuum. That means that the problem must be with the teat cups against the udder. Right now I am using a syringe with an insert. It worked OK for my girls with nice large teats, but it did not at all work for my two first fresheners with teeny tiny pencil teats. So, my question is, will the silicone teat cups like the ones you show in the photos above work better for the teeny tiny pencil teats?
Another question: I like the idea of having a valve inline so that I can pull the vacuum before I set the teat cup on the teat. Where did you buy the valve fitting?
Judy, almost always the leaks I've had have been where the jars attach to the lids. I use canning lids with fittings screwed into them because they seal much better than the Henry Milker lids. I had to order the fittings online because they are hard to find. Also I have valves on each line so I can pump it up first, then place the teat cups on the teats and turn the valves to on. If you have a well sealed system, you shouldn't have to pump but once in a while. If the milk is gushing out sometimes you have to pump once every 10 seconds. It should hold. You might try using a bucket and dunking everything except the pump and pump it up to see if you can tell where your leak is. I messed with the darn thing for months before I got it just the way I like it ;)
I like those modified teat cups, thanks for the tip. I pieced together my system. It works OK, but I have to crank the hand pump almost continually. I suspect that I have a leak in my system. My pump is a mityvac: http://mityvac.com/ In the UTube videos I have seen of people using Henry milkers and home made versions they are able to get flow but only cranking once in a while after the initial flow is established. It seems like I should not have to be continually pumping the whole time. So that makes me think I have a leak sine the pressure rises as soon as I stop pimping. A leak could only be where the teat cup hugs the teat, or where the tube meets the lid on the mason jar (I do have a gasket there).
I have a modified Henry Milker and I made teat cups for it. The only thing left of my Henry Milker is the pump. I couldn't find one as good as the one they sell. I made my teat cups by ordering syringes online but they don't have a wide enough top to fit comfortably on the doe's udder. So I ordered silicone teat cups from one of the suppliers that sell milking machines and I modified it to work with the syringes. Here are some images of it:
I actually trimmed it down and cut off the tubing-- hard to explain -- but then I siliconed it to the syringe. Now it's very comfortable on the doe's udder.
I tried one of those hand milkers - made my hands more sore than they were as I have arthritis. I have mentioned several times on different discussions that we converted a Babson surge milker and I love it. Never had a problem - no mastitis and even my first fresheners don't mind it. Total cost was about $700. The pump being the expensive part. I listed the parts we needed and prices on my webpage. Windingrvrfarm.com I think my machine is great and as good as any 1500. one. My hubby made a conversion for it and I milk into a half gallon jar. Can use a quart also.
I totally understand your situation. I gave myself carpal tunnel when we built our house ten years ago. It was so bad that I couldn't milk or even trim hooves because I couldn't squeeze with my right hand. After about six months, it was fine ... until I started writing my second book. I had to move my mouse to the left side of my keyboard. It took me a couple of weeks to learn to use it, but it's been smooth sailing ever since. I've tried putting the mouse back on the right side, and within a few hours, my wrist starts to hurt again. The thing about those hand milkers is that you have to squeeze your hand to make them work, so if it's severe carpal tunnel, those little milkers won't work for you. If it's mild carpal tunnel so that you can still squeeze your hand but can't do it for very long, it might work well enough to take some of the stress off of you, if you only have to get them started by hand and then strip them out by hand at the end. I don't have personal experience with shoulders -- thank heavens at least some parts of me are still functioning! -- but my husband got tennis elbow from milking.
The Henry milker doesn't use teat cups. They just use syringes, which are available all over the web and at your local farm supply store. Those types of pumps will work okay in a couple of specific situation -- (1) if you are dam raising and can let the kids nurse every day, so you're just milking in the morning, and the kids are keeping up the production (2) short term for a few days while someone is out of town or something like that.
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