# So, what is the most goats that you have milked by hand



## Qvrfullmidwife (Oct 25, 2007)

We havent bothered to get the milking machine hooked up yet (cant really, we dont have a place to) so we are milking 14 by hand. I was just wondering how many goats y'all have milked by hand?


----------



## Cotton Eyed Does (Oct 26, 2007)

11 and my hands were killing me. My milking machine wouldn't work one COLD morning. Oil was thick or something and it tripped the breaker when it wouldn't turn over. Anything over 3 is too much for me to hand milk. My hands start cramping up after that.


----------



## Sondra (Oct 25, 2007)

16 and my hands just couldn't take it. And I didn't have a bunch of little hands to help either :rofl


----------



## LynninTX (Oct 25, 2007)

10 right now... 12 I think last yr... could hit 18 briefly this yr...


----------



## Faithful Crown Nubians (Dec 5, 2007)

hehe only 1. I was hoping for 3 this year but oh well.


----------



## trnubian (Mar 12, 2008)

14 and my hands were killing me....


----------



## Tricia (Oct 26, 2007)

7 has been easy for me. More than that would take too much time.

I have friends that milk 24 -- 12 each -- and have done so for an age.


----------



## DostThouHaveMilk (Oct 25, 2007)

I milked five today, but once and most of them were cleaned out by their kids...lol

I could milk 20 like Elegance with ease I think. I just love her teats and udder!. I milked her yearling daughter out of our Senior herdsire for the first time today and she has wonderful hand milking teats, too.
The four year old Saanen on the other hand....her teats are still tiny and she has soo much milk and my hands hurt with her big time. I don't get close to the 6 pounds I was getting from Elegance and it took probably 1/6 the time to milk Ele than it does Beautiful.


----------



## Ravens Haven (Oct 26, 2007)

23 and that was 20 too many. I am milking 7 right now by hand and I have two milk machines, go figure...


----------



## Kalne (Oct 25, 2007)

14 though we may top that this year. We have 2 dc that do the milking in the a.m. and another 2 do the evening.


----------



## Narrow Chance (Oct 29, 2007)

I milked 19 by hand... after a few of those 'jersey cows' you get to thinking milking machine. I got one.. but still milk a few by hand.
Haven't hooked up the machine yet this year.. but it's on my to do list. Milking 9 by hand now.


----------



## Truly (Oct 26, 2007)

I did seven last year. There will be 8 this year unless one sells b4 the last has kidded.


----------



## Guest (Mar 13, 2008)

I did nine, twice a day by myself last year. My hands got pretty sick of it by the 8th or 9th month of it. This year I'm only milking six (getting ready to add two more next week) that's about my max. (got a new milking machine.. trying NOT to use it, until I get the new milking parlor built)
susie


----------



## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

36, but had evening and weekend help, and we had a milking machine off and on when a local dairy didn't use theirs. And I was 15 years younger  and much less lazy and more motivated. Now I swear I am going to die just having to hand milk a couple. My milking machine is humming with the first doe kidding! Other than an end of the world type scenerio, I wouldn't have goats if I had to hand milk. Vicki


----------



## Kaye White (Oct 25, 2007)

:yeahthat

At one time, I think top count was 32, I *STUPIDLY* offered to take care of a friend's does while he did taxes-CPA and tax season ended April 15th...ugh!! NEVER since or again!

Right now, 1 and I keep telling myself...one is not worth hooking and cleaning the machine...over and over!!! But, you can bet...the next one kids, I'm HOOKING IT UP! 2nd freshener with little bitty teats!! 
Kaye


----------



## Melissa (Oct 27, 2007)

well, it's a case of "you never miss what you never had" with me and a milk machine. most I've milked is 3 but I didn't have too many problems.
I guess I've never reached my "peek". I'll let you know in a few years. lol.

-Melissa


----------



## KUrby (Oct 27, 2007)

I got you all beat! a big fat 0 :biggrin :biggrin :biggrin :biggrin
Sorry I had to go there.
K


----------



## Sheryl (Oct 27, 2007)

I'm doing 9 and it's killing me. I have an old Mic Lawyer milking machine that has been through several owners. It worked one season for me, then quit. I paid about 7 or 8 hundred for it. Then I paid another $400. for it to be worked on. It worked for a month and now it doesn't work. The motor runs, but there is no vaccum. It has a couple of filter things that screw in to the end of the motor and those are gone. It has a big ole heavy tank. I don't even know if the gage still works. It runs, but it don't have any suction 

So I keep milking 9 by hand. Most of them are okay, except this one sannen who has tire titties and they are little. you squeeze and squeeze and nothing comes out. arrggghhh.

Sheryl


----------



## goatkid (Oct 26, 2007)

I think I was milking 13 at one point last year after we weaned all the kids. The 14th doe got to keep her kid on her till she dried up. If everyone freshens this year, we will have 20 does in milk. Some of them will have to raise their babies if I am to get to work on time in the morning. I am getting arthritis in my hands and some days they are sore even when I'm only milking one. As for how many I've milked at one time, probably around 25. This is when I've brought some of my does to my friend's house the day before we leave for a show. I'll sometimes do both mine and hers. She has a fancy commercial dairy setup, so we can bring 10 in at a time, but the machine isn't set up, so we milk by hand. Kathie


----------



## Guest (Mar 13, 2008)

I got up to 8 and bought a couple milking machines :lol 
I am milking 5 by hand now, for me machine milking is only worth it for 6 or more.

Christy


----------



## SherrieC (Oct 26, 2007)

you see sheryl you need to milk a fairly easy milker first to limber up your hands, and then tackle the hardest beast in your barn to milk, then the nextest, and finish up with the easiest to milk in the barn. If they're all hard to milk, sell the herd and start over : )


----------



## Janelle (Feb 26, 2008)

5


----------



## Karen Bailey (Oct 26, 2007)

I hand milked 7 through the winter and am now up to 12 as does have freshened for this year. Milking time is taking longer and longer, but I'm not quite ready to plug in the machine yet. I think it's more the total amount of milk (each squeeze only gets so much!) that determines when I want to switch to the machine, rather than the number of does. As milk production goes up the number of does I want to hand milk goes down. When all the does are in full milk, I don't think I'd want to hand milk more than 3 or 4.


----------



## eliya (Mar 11, 2008)

I think we had 15 last year. But we took turns so only had to do it once a day. I love milking though! I just have trouble keeping it up all the time.


----------



## Leo (Mar 10, 2008)

3 :biggrin.


----------



## Patty13637 (Oct 26, 2007)

Some of you guys are nuts :rofl I think it was about 6 and 1 cow. I must say my arms were kick butt in shape. Hubby keeps saying he gonna break the machine.


Patty


----------



## BlueHeronFarm (Oct 26, 2007)

You peoples is crazy!

LeeAnne! Get the machine out! build a plywood box around it if you have to.

We started the machine milking yesterday - with just 5. FABULOUS! I can do other things while they are being milked. Whod've thunk it?


----------



## Qvrfullmidwife (Oct 25, 2007)

Well, we could just bring the does into the livingroom where the machine has taken up a corner for teh past 5 months or so :lol


----------



## Guest (Mar 13, 2008)

Only 2 and that was almost 20 years ago. Getting back into goats now. I have a FF due soon. So will be milking 1 this year. I think I can handle that. :biggrin 

-Kim


----------



## Guest (Mar 13, 2008)

We milked 13 by hand for about four months one time. I don't usually use a milking machine unless there is six or more(unless we have ff with little teats).


----------



## lyceum (Oct 29, 2007)

We are currently hand milking about 20 (were up to 25 or so). We have started leaving kids on does now that it is not freezing cold at night. Have milked about 30 in the past and have not had a problem. 

Carisa


----------



## Bethany (Jan 9, 2008)

The most we've ever milked is 7, BUT I have two helpers and we divide them up so I only had to milk 3. :biggrin That's the good thing about a big family!


----------



## SherrieC (Oct 26, 2007)

You bunch o wieners!! :biggrin I milk 8 by hand 5:30 am and get em done before I eat breakfast at 6 am to start the school bus. and on my way out to milk all 8 of them again now. :biggrin


----------



## Tim Pruitt (Oct 26, 2007)

I am milking 6 by hand but it is time to break out the milking machine! To me, it is not worth the hassle for a few does as I love the quiet time hand milking affords. But the time it hits 5 or 6 - it is time to drag out the machine. Our doe, Huckberry Frost is milking 7 pounds per milking. Does anybody need some good Nubian goat milk?


----------



## buckrun (Mar 7, 2008)

We maxed out on 16 with aching hands that were asleep in the morning.
That machine was the best purchase ever! We were either going to have to quit making pots or quit milking goats and since one makes money and the other costs.....not a hard choice but I am amazed at how many some of you are doing by hand - WHEW- tough!
or maybe young is the key here!

Lee


----------



## Feral Nature (Oct 26, 2007)

Five last year. 

But I could have milk far more if they had bigger teats. Only one had the nice big teats that are easy...and I sold her...she was 1/4 Boer so did not fit my grading up program (my black and white Holstein-looking doe, Gennie)

This year I will be hand milking:

Spice 3f
Glennis 2f
Agnes 1f
Franny 2f
Speckles 1f MM
Chelsey 1f MM
Rain 1f
Star 1f
Breeze 1f

Nine!


----------



## pettigrewfarms (Nov 14, 2007)

I'm milking 7 don't have a machine yet


----------



## Narrow Chance (Oct 29, 2007)

Oh Tim.. send me some!!! I am at the point where I may have to start cutting with milk replacer.
I'd get a couple of milkers if I didn't care how many I was milking.. but man alive.. I do believe every morning there's more and more goats to milk and more and more babies to feed. 

I'm milking 9 now.. all but 3 are first fresheners. (can you also believe the noise at my barn??? Nubian first fresheners!!! :crazy) 

I have 3 in the kidding pen as we speak.. and two more to kid next month. 
So far.. of the 8 that have kidded.. (one is still milking from last June) I have had 2 single kids, 1 set of twins, and get this.. FIVE sets of triplets. Of those.. two have been triplet does.


----------



## ozark_jewels (Oct 27, 2007)

The most we've ever milked by hand was 40 head for three months before my milking barn/machine was set-up. I milked 20 head and my twin sisters split the other 20 head. It was......lets just say, "NOT FUN". :rofl
I am milking 6 by hand since the move. I have no place to milk more than one at a time. I don't mind milking up to 10 by hand. But one of these is a yearling FF with a *lot* of milk and tiny teats..... :sigh The two finger type.


----------



## Good Goats (Oct 26, 2007)

Last summer I was milking I think 12, twice a day, by myself . At times one of my brothers would help with a few. Right now I'm milking 7.


----------



## Harmony Goats (Jan 6, 2008)

Last year we( my mom who milked in the morning and me who milked in the evening) were suppose to milk 13 but we only had 10 kid and then went to 5 by summer. It was 5 FF, 4 2nd F, and one 3rd F. This year we are going to be milking 12, 8 have kidded so far and the other 4 due in a week or two. We are or will be milking
a 7 almost 8 yr old 9th freshener
a 6 yr 3rd freshener
a 5 yr 4th freshener
2 almost 4 yr 3rd fresheners
a 3 yr 2nd freshener
a 2 yr 2nd freshener
3 2 yr 1st fresheners
2 1 yr 1st fresheners


----------



## Bella Star (Oct 27, 2007)

3 too many ! and I got a machine as it's worth milking 1 by machine than hand cause I just cant hand milk anymore with carpal tunnel and a broke crooked finger.


----------



## Melissa (Oct 27, 2007)

Emily, try a one finger plus the thumb doe. I don't think this does teats have grown since she was a doeling! now daisy (the one in my pic) has WONDERFUL "handles". she is the doe that I was wondering if she was even bred, yea, she gave birth yesterday without even developing an udder until she started pushing, but that's another story...

-Melissa


----------

