# Anyone ever tried the Udderly EZ Milker for goats



## landis1659 (Jan 17, 2010)

I'm  new to this whole goat thing and while I'm hoping my doe has babies soon, still not sure if she got pregnant or not. Don't really know what to look for??  Our Buck got into her pen the end of Aug.  We separated them again but I don't know if he got her or not. We were hoping to wait a couple more months until she was closer to a year.  Anyway have any of you ever tried the Udderly EZ Milker.  It sells for about 180.00 and sounds easy enough.  I have never milked a goat before and neither has my husband.  He thinks the whole idea is gross.  I don't have a problem with it but there will be times when I'm at work that he is gonna have to take over, so I was thinking this might be a good thing to get for him.  Any help here would be great.
Pepper


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## ksalvagno (Jan 17, 2010)

I haven't tried it myself but know someone who has. They like it. I think especially if you need to make it easy for your husband, this is a good way to go. I know some others here are against it but sometimes you do what you have to do.


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## Roll farms (Jan 17, 2010)

Mine broke on the 5th use....great in theory...but cheaply made.  
There are little thin plastic brackets that hold the bottle to the milker apparatus...when they break, you have no seal.
With no seal, it won't draw the milk out.
I've read there's another kind of hand milker that is better made...but can't recall the name.

My husband wanted no part of milking either...now he tries to beat me to it most days and can wax philosophical about udders for hours.


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## landis1659 (Jan 18, 2010)

Thanks that's good to know
Pepper


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## Mini-M Ranch (Jan 18, 2010)

FWIW, I don't think the Udderly EZ was originally meant to use all the time.  I think it really is only for extraction of collestrum.  I am not an experienced milker either, but I have read other people say that it can damage the udder if it is used for long periods of time.  They have recently changed their advertising to say it is an everyday milker, but I don't know that they actually changed the product.


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## Roll farms (Jan 19, 2010)

I only used mine on first fresheners w/ tiny teats, for colostrum....it still broke on the 5th use.
Doesn't matter if the product is meant for everyday or once a week...it should do what it's supposed to and be built strong enough to do so.

I forgot to mention that...as an everyday milker it'd be a pain, it's wayyy slower than doing it by hand but...if you can't get your hand on the teat it is better than trying to 2-finger milk.


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## freemotion (Jan 19, 2010)

Look what I found!  http://www.maggidans.com/milker.htm

And there are instructions in a magazine somewhere with instructions to make one using a spray bottle and the barrel from a large dose syringe and some surgical tubing.  Couldn't find it quickly, but it's out there.

I keep saying I will make one just in case someone has to milk for me in an emergency and there is no time to teach them.


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## Mini-M Ranch (Jan 19, 2010)

Roll farms said:
			
		

> I only used mine on first fresheners w/ tiny teats, for colostrum....it still broke on the 5th use.
> Doesn't matter if the product is meant for everyday or once a week...it should do what it's supposed to and be built strong enough to do so.
> 
> I forgot to mention that...as an everyday milker it'd be a pain, it's wayyy slower than doing it by hand but...if you can't get your hand on the teat it is better than trying to 2-finger milk.


Well, I in no way meant to imply that it was your fault that the thing broke.  Certainly it should have worked for years, especially at that price point.  BTW - Did they replace it for you? Because they should have.

I had looked at these before when we were first getting in to goats, and decided not to get one because I read some people saying they had had udder damage from it because the suction is too hard for every day use.  I dunno.  I was just throwing in my .02


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## Roll farms (Jan 19, 2010)

I wasn't taking any offense, just clarifying that I only used mine a few times, "occasionally"...so that even if not used every day, it didn't hold up.

I didn't contact them for a return / replacement because I lost several family members around the time it broke, I just shoved it back in the cabinet and there it still sits...broken.


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## username taken (Jan 19, 2010)

Okay, we need to clarify here. 

The MADDIGAN'S MILKER - ie, the kind that you can build from a syringe (without the middle bit) and a squirt bottle top, or drench gun, is the one that will damage your doe's udder. Its because it doesnt PULSE. The plastic syringe is inflexible, so it just sucks all the milk out. 

The UDDERLY EZ MILKER is kinder on the udder, just like a machine milker. If you put your finger in either this, or the machine milker, it pulses. That is, you will feel it tighten, release, tighten, release. Which is the same as a kid sucking, or a hand milking the teat. 

I would NEVER use the maddigans milker - and I would only use the udderly ez for occasional use. I actually know people that have tried the ez and it has hurt their does when used regularly.


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## freemotion (Jan 19, 2010)

Really?  Crap!  And I bought the stuff to make one, too.  Scrap those plans!

How does it damage the udder?  I understand what you wrote, but what does it do that damages it?  How?


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## username taken (Jan 19, 2010)

Ok - you know how when you milk, you close the top of the teat off, and push the milk out with the rest of the fingers? Well, a machine milker and the ez milker will do something similar to that, along with the suction. 

The maddigans milker only uses suction - its really hard on the teats. The orifices are kept open all the time which isnt ideal for mastitis, and the suction is relentless during milking - the poor teat never gets a break. 

Most people I know who have used them, have said that the teats get purple, swollen and sore. Its just too much suction, and too rough on them. 

My two cents - hand milk them, machine milk them or let the kids suck.


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## landis1659 (Jan 20, 2010)

Thanks guys, I guess the EZ milker might be ok for occasional milking, for when I'm gone and my husband has to take over.  Do the regular milking machines cause problems on the does with regular use also then too??  What usually causes Mastitis?  I know about using the teat dip.

Pepper


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## freemotion (Jan 20, 2010)

Thanks, UT, no homemade milker will be built here.  I respect my animals too much.  I'll have to always be sure to have someone trained to milk properly.....so far, so good.


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## Wild Wind Farm (Jan 20, 2010)

I have used the EZ milker for one milking season, I have had no problems with the milker or teat damage.  You control the amount of suction by how many times you pump the milker, you need to be mindful of that when you milk and not pump to many times.  I found it to be very quick and easy.


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## username taken (Jan 20, 2010)

freemotion ... if its a matter of making it easier for someone to milk while you are away, I would try the udderly ez milker. For most people it seems to go ok, and as I said I would have no problems using it occasionally. 

landis, machine milkers dont usually damage teats. you have to remember that there is thousands of dollars worth of research, and year of experience, gone into making machine milkers. not so much with the homemade, home designed, hand milkers like the ez and the maddigans (particularly the maddigans). so the machine milker has been made precisely with udder health in mind. 

that being said, if you dont have your machine milker adjusted right, it too can cause damage. 

mastitis is an infection in the teat/udder, and injuries/damage to the teat or udder predisposes the teat/udder to the infection


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## freemotion (Jan 20, 2010)

Got it.  I think I will put one together for emergencies only.  I planned on using a pump from a spray bottle, not one of those pressurized pump things....one squeeze on the trigger equals one squirt in the jar.  Not a handsaver, but something familiar that a non-milker could use in a pinch and at least relieve udder pressure somewhat.


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## kstaven (Jan 21, 2010)

username taken said:
			
		

> freemotion ... if its a matter of making it easier for someone to milk while you are away, I would try the udderly ez milker. For most people it seems to go ok, and as I said I would have no problems using it occasionally.
> 
> landis, machine milkers dont usually damage teats. you have to remember that there is thousands of dollars worth of research, and year of experience, gone into making machine milkers. not so much with the homemade, home designed, hand milkers like the ez and the maddigans (particularly the maddigans). so the machine milker has been made precisely with udder health in mind.
> 
> ...


You are absolutely correct in saying they don't usually hurt animals. The biggest issues I have seen are people getting the vacuum way to high and the pulse rate far to fast.

Not getting the teat clean enough before using a milker will abrade the skin. Letting the skin on the teats get dried out is also another quick way of setting up infections.


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