Guest guest Posted March 21, 2011 Report Share Posted March 21, 2011 partsdept online have the best prices for milking related equipment. Real prices, not the hobby farm screwing you get from these other small farm supply stores. albert Re: milking choices Hi All thanks for the replies. So far i am not having any luck at the farm stores getting milking supplies at one store an employee told me that i would most liekly have to buy online as the stores in the area have pretty much quit selling milking stuff. ~ who is not looking forward to forking over almost $100. for that beginner kit. > > regarding the Hoeggers beginning milking setup - I think the total price is a bit steep. I get can get stainless steel buckets (without the half moon lid) for about $13 at my farm supply/pet store. The strainer should not be much more (if that) than $20, and the filters are about $4 for a box of 100. > > When I milk, I brush the udder off with my clean hands - wiping the Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 21, 2011 Report Share Posted March 21, 2011 Milking just a couple of goats all you really need is a small SS pail, small milk strainer and real milk filters and a quart or half gallon glass jar to store it in. Milking machines don't make sense unless you are milking more then 8 animals. That is unless you have physical problems and cannot milk by hand. it is not difficult and your muscles get used to it pretty quick. Jeffers has a small pail and hoeggers has the best deal on milk strainers. Most any place has filters. Walmart has glass jars. That is all you really need. A warm wash cloth, but most times goats are really clean animals and do not get nasty like some cows do. What you really need to plan on is how you will cool the milk. For small quantities just immerse in salted and iced water (like making ice cream. It will get really cold really fast . Then just put in the fridge and enjoy. Rhonda - millking goats for 15 years mostly by hand Re: milking choicesHi All thanks for the replies. So far i am not having any luck at the farm stores getting milking supplies at one store an employee told me that i would most liekly have to buy online as the stores in the area have pretty much quit selling milking stuff. ~ who is not looking forward to forking over almost $100. for that beginner kit. > > regarding the Hoeggers beginning milking setup - I think the total price is a bit steep. I get can get stainless steel buckets (without the half moon lid) for about $13 at my farm supply/pet store. The strainer should not be much more (if that) than $20, and the filters are about $4 for a box of 100. > > When I milk, I brush the udder off with my clean hands - wiping the Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 21, 2011 Report Share Posted March 21, 2011 Hi All thanks for the replies. So far i am not having any luck at the farm stores getting milking supplies at one store an employee told me that i would most liekly have to buy online as the stores in the area have pretty much quit selling milking stuff.> regarding the Hoeggers beginning milking setup - I think the total price is a bit steep. I get can get stainless steel buckets (without the half moon lid) for about $13 at my farm supply/pet store. The strainer should not be much more (if that) than $20, and the filters are about $4 for a box of 100.> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 21, 2011 Report Share Posted March 21, 2011 I agree with the fact that with a small number of goats you can simply milk by hand. The use of the strainer with filters is the perfect end to the milking regime via the Hoegger Supply equipment. Yes, filter directly into the top of glass WIDE mouth canning jars and cool them as quickly as possible. We don't use the salt but throw in some ice cubes into the sink of cold water we use to chill the milk quickly. We prefer to use an udder wash and also a teat dip but those are all personal options. I have included two links for you to use which I hope will go thro the site so you can use them. They both have a wonderful stainless steel compost bucket and lid that we love and we use all the time. I love the fact these have a lid to keep out foreign matter when we swap the goats and tote the milk to the house. They are around $20 with one being priced a bit higher than the other but seem to me to be the same bucket. Hope this helps! Fitts www.southerntouchfarm.com Mississippi Home of Bayberry the 2010 ADGA Reserve National Champion Oberhasli Doe http://www.leevalley.com/us/garden/page.aspx?c= & p=10025 & cat=2,33140 http://www.gardeners.com/Pail-Biobags-Set/38-375,default,pd.html?SC=XNET8035 & utm_campaign=cse & mr:referralID=18b8b6a4-c1c4-11df-bda0-001b2166becc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 21, 2011 Report Share Posted March 21, 2011 Sorry for the blank reply brain fart. I have to agree that Hoeggers is on the expensive side. If you have a local dairy vet in your area try that. Mine carries a lot of day to day stuff. I buy roll filter material that is used for tray filters. I cut my own 3" filters for about 3 cents each. A box will last me two years. EBay has ss buckets and you might also try a restaurant supply outlet like cash and carry. I buy a lot of stuff from them. Good luck and happy hunting. Chris Hi All thanks for the replies. So far i am not having any luck at the farm stores getting milking supplies at one store an employee told me that i would most liekly have to buy online as the stores in the area have pretty much quit selling milking stuff.> regarding the Hoeggers beginning milking setup - I think the total price is a bit steep. I get can get stainless steel buckets (without the half moon lid) for about $13 at my farm supply/pet store. The strainer should not be much more (if that) than $20, and the filters are about $4 for a box of 100. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 21, 2011 Report Share Posted March 21, 2011 We got our bucket milkers, and compressor from a guy up in dorf, between Sanborn and the MN border. An older fella, keeps talking about retireing. He repairs stuff like the old milkers and compressors. He may have some extras on hand. Another idea for locating milkers for cows is an old farmer. We got one of our buckets with the top part too, from Randy’s uncle who found it up in the hay loft of the barn and kept it. It was Randy’s grandpas from when he milked years ago. That would be your best and cheapest source. You can usually pick the buckets up for not very much money. You may have to stick some $$ into them to get them greased and working. We still use the two buckets in the pit to milk out just freshened cows and those who have mastitis or are otherwise not feeling good.ro From: RawDairy [mailto:RawDairy ] On Behalf Of BradleySent: Monday, March 21, 2011 10:38 AMTo: RawDairy Subject: Re: milking choices Albert, I went on partsdept.com and can tell you that portablemilkers.com still has better prices. I can buy a complete one cow or goat system with belt, milker, pump, cleaning brushes, & everything for $700-$775 + shipping(which to Iowa is $73), or I can get a two bucket system complete with a big pump for around $ 1500-$1600 + shipping. The two bucket deal isn't listed on the site but you can call them about it, and they will do trade-ins as you grow. At partsdept.com just the pump alone is $695 then you have to add the milker for $425 and you still have to buy all the other parts plus shipping.Brad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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