The Udderly EZ Milker for Goats Now available with improvements just for dairy goat breeders BY HEATHER SMITH THOMAS The Udderly EZ Milker, originally developed for milking mares yet accepted with open arms by the goat milking community, made a splashy debut in the July/August 2006 issue of Dairy Goat Journal. Buck Wheeler, inventor of the handy device, said the response was phenomenal. It became apparent to him, however, that there were some features of the hand-held milker that could be improved, making it even better for goat and sheep milking. He has modified the Udderly EZ Milker to include a larger, stronger collection bottle since these animals give more milk than a mare. The bigger bottle holds more and doesn t have to be It s clean, it s easy, it s quiet, and it s a great hand saver. Bonnie McQuatters has arthritis in her hands, but the Udderly EZ Milker makes it possible for her to continue milking her does at Hobby Farms near Otis, Colorado. removed and dumped so many times during a milking. It also has thicker sides so the vacuum pressure won t collapse it. Another improvement Wheeler made was to create some smaller flanges and inserts for sheep and goats with very small teats so the teat won t be pulled down too far into the flange, sucking some of the udder down into it. The size options make it easier to fit on any animal. Bonnie McQuatters, Otis, Colorado, said the improved milking device is fantastic. We ve raised goats since 1993, she said. We started in southern Colorado, just outside of Colorado Springs, then moved here to Otis, Colorado and bought 80 acres, and
moved all 160 of our goats. We started this as a hobby but now we have Boer goats, percentage Boer goats crossed with dairy goats, and some full blood dairy goats. We milk the dairy goats and I make my own goat milk soap; my family really likes the soap made from goat milk. But I have severe arthritis. This year I wasn t sure if I d be able to milk. She and her husband call their little place Hobby Farms. But it has evolved to much more than just a hobby. Last year I cut back and only tried to milk a couple of does, because it was so hard for me. This year I am up to more than 30 dairy goats, and the rest of my goats are Boer and Boer crosses. The milk from the crosses is spectacular; it s so creamy and tastes good. Early this year, McQuatters said her hands were so painful she wasn t sure she could keep milking. I tried milking Beatrice, one of my Nubians, she said. She s four years old and has a large, cone shaped udder. Her teats are very hard to get hold of with your hands and try to milk. If teats are too big, or too small, it s hard to milk them. I tried milking her for a couple of days and had a very hard time because I have a lot of disability in my hands and arms, with arthritis and carpal tunnel, she said. When I saw the article in Dairy Goat Journal about this new EZ Milker, and read about Dorothy still milking goats at her age (87), I read the whole article twice! I didn t waste any time; I ordered one, Bonnie said. I used this milker on Beatrice, with her large teats and large udder. The first time I used it, the teat sucked down into the milker and it stopped working. But I found that if I put the teat in only about an inch or so, and then push upward on the pump, it works great; you push the unit more up into the udder, to keep the teat from sliding down in so far. Some dairy goats have really long teats, but if you can keep the teat from sliding down in, it works marvelously; the milk just pours down into the collection bottle. If you use the smaller size flange (there are two sizes), and insert the teat just enough to catch the suction, and push the milker up against the udder more, it keeps the suction going and works very well. Within seconds, the bottle is full, she said. Otherwise, the teat may suck all the way down into the tube, and it won t work very well. McQuatters said the EZ Milker was also helpful in dealing with some teat problems in her Boer doe herd. Some of the Boer goats have small teats. Some have double teats on each side, she said. This is a common trait in a meat goat because sometimes they have triplets or quads. Two of the quads might be larger and two might be small. The small ones can t get up to the udder to fight for a place and get onto a teat. Luckily the mothers will sometimes have three or four teats to sustain triplets or quads, but you can t milk them very well; the teats are Another Problem Solved Caseous lymphadenitis is a chronic, recurring goat disease. A slowly enlarging, localized, and non-painful abscess may develop either at the point of entry into the skin or in the regional lymph node (superficial or external form), from which it may spread via the blood or lymphatic system and cause abscessation of internal lymph nodes or organs (visceral or internal form). Treat the Problem with PHLʼs Autogenous CL Autogenous CL works by boosting immunity to the specific organism you have on your ranch. Over the counter products use common isolates in a hit and miss approach while PHL will give you a vaccine that is tailor made to combat the specific strain(s) which have infected your animals. Autogenous CL is a killed bacterin toxoid. It is administered in 2 doses, with the size of the dose dependant on the size of the animal. Most adults require a 2 cc dose, so 1 bottle contains about 125 doses. An easy to use kit is sent to you and after a specimen is taken, simply drop it in the pre-addressed mailer and we take care of the rest. Call or email for more information! Our experienced knowledgable staff is ready to help! PHL Associates, Inc. Makers of Quality Vaccines and Biologicals for Animals Since 1960 877.566.7722 info@phlassociates.com www.phlassociates.com Please visit us online before calling. Customer Service: 2523 J Street Suite 203 Sacramento, CA 95816-4848 Laboratory: 24711 Country Road 100A Davis, CA 95616-9410 All major credit cards accepted 10 bottle minumum order
you can dump the frozen cubes out of the trays and pop them into a Ziploc bag, she said. Then when you need some colostrum, you can take out just the amount you want. This works well, especially if you have some tiny babies that don t need as much colostrum as a larger baby. You don t need to thaw the whole bottle or bag of colostrum, just the amount you need for each baby goat. Bonnie McQuatters, Colorado, raises both Boer and dairy goats. The Boer breed is known for double teats and fishtail teats which can be impossible to milk by hand, but McQuatters has found the answer in the Udderly EZ Milker as it makes those difficult milking situations much easier to deal with. too small because they are double on each side, McQuatters said. With this EZ Milker I can get the colostrum and give it to the smaller kids that can t get to the udder. Mr. Wheeler sent me an insert (that goes into the milker, to fit on very small teats). I am right now weaning some of my kids, and I experimented with this milker to see how well this works on the small teats, she said. It worked great! I milked one of the goats that has a fishtail on one side (two orifices in one teat) and two separate teats on the other side. For raising meat goats this type of teat usually isn t a problem, but if you ever have to milk them, it s nearly impossible, she said. People who raise meat goats encounter this once in awhile and if you need to milk out some colsotrum for the babies, this milker really helps, McQuatters said. Even if the teats are completely double (which is common in Boer goats), they are hard to milk by hand because they re almost impossible to milk separately. The usual thing is to hold them both in your hand. However, when you squeeze them, one will squirt into the container and the other will squirt all over you, she said. The EZ Milker is a good way to get the milk out of the extra teat if you have a hard time milking it by hand. These small teats can be very difficult because you may only be able to use two fingers to try to pinch and squeeze. The Udderly EZ Milker makes this task quicker, easier and cleaner, since no dirt or debris gets into the bottle. McQuatters said that, for her, a big convenience of using the Udderly EZ Milker was that she could milk out in the pen where the goat has given birth, without having to drag her to a milk stand somewhere. It is a lot less stress on the animals to be able to milk where they are, rather than moving them, and it is now possible for me to get colostrum for the new babies immediately. No matter the size of teats on the goat she may be dealing with, McQuatters said the improvements Wheeler made to the EZ Milker made sense and worked great for her. He provided me with a silicone insert which goes in the pump, to accommodate the smaller teats of these goats. I really like it, even for goats with large teats, McQuatters said. For anyone who has arthritis, carpal tunnel or any other problems with their hands, or with squeezing or trying to milk, this milker is a godsend. McQuatters offered a handy tip for other goat breeders who need to milk and/or save goat colostrum. She said the best way to keep it for future use was to pour it into ice cube trays and then freeze it. When the colostrum is frozen, Another perspective... Margaret Arnold raises and shows dairy goats in Kentucky, and takes the Udderly EZ Milker with her to shows because it s the handiest way to milk in situations that are out of the normal routine. You can milk a doe anywhere with this out in the field or in a stall at a show because you don t need a milking stand, Arnold said. Arnold feeds and milks the goats out every night at a show, and said the Udderly EZ Milker had made her life so much easier. It is hard for me to load and unload a big milking machine and all the stuff that goes with it. she said. Then, if a goat is a little nervous, I have to drag them back and forth to a milk stand. With the hand held milker, I can just tie my doe in the stall to milk her, and since this pump does the job so quickly, the goat doesn t have to be tied very long and is much more tolerant about being milked. Arnold liked the fact that the EZ Milker is so easy to wash, compared to a big milking machine unit. The big milker is so heavy and time consuming to wash. This is a lot handier; you just rinse the bottles with warm water and the rest stays pretty clean, she said. When I m milking, I don t let the milk come up to the top of the bottle, so it won t get into the pump. You don t want to tip the bottle too much as you are milking or the milk will tend to reach the top of the bottle and get into the pump. If you let it get in there, then you have to take it apart and rinse it out fairly
Update and More Tips From Dorothy Margaret Arnold, Tennessee enjoys the ease and reduced stress of milking her dairy goats with the Udderly EZ Milker, whether she is at home her milk room, on the road in a show barn, or out in the field. quickly, to get the milk out of the pump. It won t ruin the pump if you just flush it out quickly with warm water, she said. Arnold said the quart bottle size will usually take care of one side of an average goat s udder. If you have two bottles and don t want to have to pour it out in the middle of milking, those two bottles will pretty well handle one doe. If the bottle does get full, you can pour it into something else, or into a nipple bottle if you are feeding kids. One advantage to milking with this pump over milking by hand is that the milk doesn t foam up as much, Arnold said. Foam gets in the way if you are trying to fill another bottle to feed kids; I like the fact that this doesn t make foam, she said. For people with dairy goats who don t have a lot of experience hand milking, Arnold said she feels this EZ Milker is ideal. Trying to milk by hand, if they don t know how, the beginner could unintentionally give their goat mastitis, she said. If you don t know how to milk, this pump is perfect. It s easier on the goat and keeps everything clean. Longtime Toggenburg goat breeder Dorothy Shaw, featured in the July/Aug 06 issue of Dairy Goat Journal, had a few more tips to pass along to fellow dairy goat enthusiasts, as told to writer Heather Smith Thomas. She said she likes to squirt a couple squirts from each teat by hand before putting on the EZ Milker, just to clear the teat and make sure no debris or bacteria get into the milk. She squirts this first milk into a couple of tuna tins for her dogs, as their treat. Then I use the EZ Milker, she said. I also do the last stripping by hand, sometimes as many as 20 strokes. Shaw said she doesn t think it s good for the teat to have a lot of suction on it at the very end, when the milk is all gone, and therefore prefers to strip out by hand. But in the middle, I use the EZ Milker. Sometimes, if my hands are feeling really pain free, I will milk with one hand and pump with the other, which makes the milking go really fast, Shaw said. I keep hand milking a little, just to keep up the ability to use my hands, she said. Shaw also said the angle at which the EZ Milker is held is important. You don t want to lose suction by having it very far off vertical, she said. If you get air in there, it won t work properly. Another thing Shaw does is to alternate teats during each milking session. I let it milk a little on one teat, until that teat becomes engorged with blood from the suction pressure of the vacuum. Then I change teats. I don t think you have to do this, but I like to do it just to be really easy on the teats and give each one a break, she said. If the doe isn t letting her milk down very well, Shaw gives the udder a nudge with the milker, much in the same way a baby goat does with its head, to encourage milk let-down. Another thing I do to stimulate milk flow, is to hold the milker with one hand and massage above it with my other hand. I don t even have to look at the bottle to know if the milk is flowing; I can feel slight vibrations in my trigger finger, from the milk pulsing down through the pump, she said. It s a very fine vibration, but I know what s happening without looking, she said. To wash the milker, Shaw rinses it in cold water, then uses hot, soapy water (dish detergent), then rinses again very well. I don t want to put boiling water in it (which would ruin it). I boil some water and let it cool down a bit. That way I know the water is sterile, and I rinse it with that. I don t do this every time a rinse with hot tap water is adequate most of the time but every now and then just to make sure it s really cleaned up. Any time I boil a teakettle I like to leave some extra in it. Then it s handy whenever you need sterile water, she said. I use a bottle brush on the bottles and the milking tube once in awhile. I do very little with the actual pumping mechanism because it doesn t get dirty. You want to make sure there isn t any milk on it; milk or water in it can ruin the pump, she said. I really love this milker. The big milking machines for goats are too expensive if you only have a few goats, and very time consuming to wash. A smart wife tells her husband, Wash your own. I think the man who invented this Udderly EZ Milker is a genius; it s such a handy, easy-to-use, easy-to-clean piece of equipment!
Prevention is the most important facet of a Mastitis Management program. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. In addition to all the nutrition, environmental hygiene, milking machine maintenance, and other practices, effective udder prep is paramount for udder health. MILK CHECK TEAT WIPES To clean the pump in case milk or colostrum has been drawn into the inside of the pump: first remove the extractor and clip from the pump. Then place the pump in warm water and pump the handle to draw water into the pump and pump it several times. Then remove from water, and pump the handle several times again to expel all water from the pump, then shake it out and let it dry. This should only be done to get milk in the pump out, otherwise the pump should never be washed. Photos by Heather Smith Thomas Promotes Milk Letdown Fast and easy. Simply pull a pre-soaked towel out of the top of the bucket, wipe the entire teat area, and the cow, goat or sheep is prepped for milking. Contains skin conditioning agents. Teats are clean, soft, conditioned, and dry. Wipes contain.5% chlorhexidine gluconate and 9.0% isopropyl alcohol for premilking teat preparation. Wipes are thick, durable and gentle. bucket of 600 $26.95 + 7.50 s/h case of 2400 refills $96.95 + 7.50 s/h Order Now!! 1-800-306-8937 Order online! 24 hours a day at www.hambydairysupply.com or write to Hamby Dairy Supply 2402 SW WATER STREET MAYSVILLE MO 64469-9102 Udderly EZ Milker Questions and Answers BY HEATHER SMITH THOMAS WITH BUCK WHEELER The Udderly EZ Milker unit consists of a flanged tube that fits over the teat, a suction pump, and a collection bottle that snaps onto the unit. It is a relatively simple device, but there are a few common questions that bear answers and further explain how the whole system works. Q. Do you need to wash the udder? A. The udder and teats should be clean. A packet of special wipes comes with the pump. Make sure the teat is clean before you milk. Having it slightly moist will also ensure a secure seating of the flange against the teat; a dry teat may let air through and break the suction. Q. How does the pump work? A. Insert the teat into the flanged tube and make sure it s seated properly, then give a few pulls on the trigger to create suction, and milk will stream into the collection bottle below it. If the stream diminishes, give another pull on the trigger, as often as needed to fill the bottle. It only takes one hand to operate the pump. Hold it nearly vertical; if it s tipped too much, milk may get to the top of the collection bottle and back into the workings of the pump. Q. How do I wash it? A. The pump itself should not be washed (except for a quick rinse and then dried if you happen to get milk in it by accident). The flange and collection bottle are easy to wash; they snap off and can be rinsed in hot water (or soap and water if you rinse well afterward). Don t use boiling water, and never boil the containers, as the heat will damage the plastic. A bottlebrush can be used on them periodically if you wish, but the entire system should stay very clean if you rinse the parts between uses. For more information go to Buck Wheeler s web site (www.udderlyezllc. com). New information and testimonials continue to be added as they become available.