milker

[Paul Spear]

 

 

I need more info on the Henery Miller milker, please

[Jess]

I love my Henry milker. I have only been using it for about a month but find it very easy to operate and clean. Also since I still have babies on my doe during the day I let them up on the stand to nurse her dry instead of finishing by hand. it works out well for me and my extremely temperamental doe.

[Julia @Woody Glen Farm]

I made some modifications to my Henry Milker because the darn gaskets are such a pain and like Helen said, they don't seat right sometimes and lose suction. I had found a video where a guy builds his own milker that is similar. I keep using the Henry Milker but I modified it like so:

If anyone is interested, I can post the link to the video. He also sells the parts which were surprisingly hard to find. 

[Helen Setterfield]

I'm glad the milker is working out for you.  When I emailed Mr. Henry about the problems (gasket, insert slipping, and, finally, broken plastic), I never received an email back or acknowledgement of any sort.  

Still, it's a good milker and I wish it had lasted.  Hand milking is working fine for me.  Only three does and we all get along...smile.

[Rachel Whetzel at MigMog Acres]

I have worked closely with the owner of the Henry Milker, and I cannot imagine that he would not have been happy to replace faulty parts. I have had my milker for three years now, and it's still going strong. All of the parts would be very easy to replace should they need to be. My milker was a version that used the metal lids from canning, so I can't speak for the new plastic lids, but I can speak for the milker itself, and the company. 

I liked the ease of use for the milker, and that it allowed me to milk out a doe that was having difficulty standing. It's simple, and very inexpensive. Even *if* you had to replace it every six months, it would be cheaper than a commercial milker. As I said, I've had mine for over three years. 

I milk by hand now, because I like it, but having the milker means that I can access does easily if needed, and I can also have inexperienced milkers come watch my farm if I need to leave, and am milking goats. As Deb and Julia already mentioned, you have to strip out your goats at the end of milking with ANY machine, so that isn't really a drawback from any particular machine as much as it is just a drawback from using a machine period. 

[Deborah Niemann-Boehle]

I just wanted to reiterate what Julia said -- you have to strip a goat at the end of the milking when you use any type of milker, whether it is a cheap manual one or an electric one that costs >$1,000. I always say that buying a milking machine is not a substitute for learning to hand milk. Some does let down better than others for machines.

[Helen Setterfield]

What broke on mine was the little plastic piece that the tubing connected to.  That would have meant I had to replace the entire main section, which is only available from Henry Milker.  The gaskets which were in our tops were a tiny bit too big for the lids, actually, and we had to fool around with them constantly to get them back in place so the jar would be securely shut and not lose suction.

I'm glad yours is working well for you, though.

[Julia @Woody Glen Farm]

I used my Henry Milker for my does entire last lactation and will use it again. I did break one of the fittings (a valve) but it was easily replaced at Home Depot. Gaskets do come out but they go back in easy enough and they are replaceable too. All the parts are easy to replace (tubing, valves, hand pump) with the exception of the plastic tops which go on the wide mouth jars. I wonder if the manufacturer would replace those if they break? I would check on that if I had that issue.

With ANY milker you have to milk the doe the rest of the way out so that is not really a negative (IMO). 

[Helen Setterfield]

We used the Henry Milker for a number of months.

Positive:  easy on the goats, easy to use

Negative:  you need to finish milking by hand or risk mastitis (the milker does not finish the job); the gasket in the lid kept slipping out and was a pain to fit back in; the insert for the smaller nipples slips down into the tube (I ended up using some dabs from a glue gun to form a ridge it could not go past); and, finally, one of the plastic parts broke off when I was cleaning it, which broke it entirely. 

While it was operational, I loved it.  However it is too expensive to replace every six-12 months!  In addition, I do like milking by hand so I can feel the udders and nipples and know if there is a problem that needs help.

[Rachel Whetzel at MigMog Acres]

I have one! What do you need to know? 

[Deborah Niemann-Boehle]

Could you give us a little more info about your situation? Are you considering a purchase, or have you already bought it and have questions about how to use it? If so, what exactly do you need to know?