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txbikergirl
3197 Posts
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 Posted - Oct 27 2015 : 1:54:21 PM
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Thought I would start a post dedicated to Buck's Udderly EZ "Ultimate EZ Milker" as I know several of us are using it and are dedicated fans. I am going to post my thoughts as a newbie in a bit, now that I have more experience under my belt. But if we all have any questions, concerns or comments we could focus them here.
http://www.udderlyez.com/ultimate_ez_milker.php
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_(199x300)_(66x100).jpg?v 93697001) Firefly Hollow Farm , our little farmstead. Farmgirl living in the green piney woods of East Texas on 23 acres with a few jerseys, too many chickens, a pair of pugs and my Texan hubby (aka "lover boy") |
Edited by - txbikergirl on Oct 27 2015 1:59:19 PM |
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txbikergirl
3197 Posts
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Posted - Oct 27 2015 : 1:58:01 PM
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this is where my initial thoughts are posted for the Udderlyz EZ Milker after being trained to milk cows and use this system. loved it from the start.
https://heritagejersey.org/chatroom/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=849&whichpage=2
if you go to the first pages of the same post Mary Jane has detailed reviews on several milkers so you can see what she believes are the pros and cons of each. |
Firefly Hollow Farm , our little farmstead. Farmgirl living in the green piney woods of East Texas on 23 acres with a few jerseys, too many chickens, a pair of pugs and my Texan hubby (aka "lover boy") |
Edited by - txbikergirl on Oct 27 2015 2:52:26 PM |
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txbikergirl
3197 Posts
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Posted - Oct 27 2015 : 2:22:17 PM
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My thoughts after using the Udderly EZ Milker for a month. Simply stated, I love this thing.
I rejoice in (no particular order):
- the size
- the price
- the visual process
- ease of cleaning
- ease of use
- personal customer service Buck provides
- ease of replacement parts
- ease of troubleshooting
the size of it makes it easily manageble in a milking parlor. i put mine on a little rolling dolly when in use so i can push/pull it around before/after the cow gets into the barn. when done milking i disconnect the hoses to the bottles, and then a quick wipe down and the unit goes into a little cabinet to keep clean and safe.
the price point is great for a home milking parlor. it's sub $600 and that gets you everything you need. yes, i purchased spare parts and additional bottles which brought the price up - but you don't have to do that right away. to me $600 is a lot of money, but this brought immense efficiency and sanitation to a process that could be otherwise so for a newbie .. that gives me lots of peace of mind. it also lets me enjoy the milking process more while the machine does the busy work, i get to focus on the cow and the health and the sanitation.
my thoughts on visually seeing the milking, and being able to easily troubleshoot remain the same as my earlier post. its fantastic. i have had two times where i didn't attach a hose 100% and didn't get suction, and it was just a matter of starting at point A and walking through the few attachments to find out what I did wrong. corrected easy peasy.
you can't go wrong with the customer service. buck is available via phone and email, and is very open with the product and suggestions. and he's a nice guy and fun to talk to. its wonderful to see that in this day and age.
one thing i love more after a month, are the bottles. i mentioned before how the size and weight is nice for small hands. i still feel the same, and am in fact now keeping the milk in the bottles as i am done milking. i was trained to dump them into a milking can as i went, and then you have one container with the 2-3 gallons of milk. i am milking about 1-1.5 gallons of milk per day and have found that i prefer to just have extra bottles and cap them off as i go, so in the end i have 4-8 quart size bottles all capped off and sanitary. i just unscrew the teat attachments and then screw on a cap, then put the teat attachments on an empty bottle and am back to milking. when done milking i take the bottles into the kitchen and strain the milk and pour into glass milk bottles.
i have considered trying out a few of their glass bottles. i have a few teats that milk better if there is a bit of weight on the bottle, so i either use a pinky to press down on the bottle i am milking into or i use a bottle that has been partially milked into and put that on the teat... i am thinking that the weight of the glass bottle might solve this nicely. but for now my system is working so i'll save that for a later date.
the clean up with this system if fantastic. a few minutes to clean bottles and caps, a few minutes for the teat things and lines, and you are done. love my technical lingo?
i am not a long-term experienced milker so can't speak to other machines. but for a newbie that requires a simple system that won't take hours to clean or learn i don't think you can go wrong with this system. |
Firefly Hollow Farm , our little farmstead. Farmgirl living in the green piney woods of East Texas on 23 acres with a few jerseys, too many chickens, a pair of pugs and my Texan hubby (aka "lover boy") |
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NellieBelle
11217 Posts
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Posted - Oct 27 2015 : 2:28:04 PM
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| I think many of us concur with you Cindy. It's a great milking machine for sure. You sized it all up wonderfully and I like your technical lingo. :) Thank you! |
To laugh is human but to moo is bovine. Author Unknown |
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txbikergirl
3197 Posts
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Posted - Oct 27 2015 : 2:28:19 PM
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this is my little udderly ez milker on the rolling dolly. the stainless bowl to the right holds all my milk bottles and attachment lines, i keep it covered with a flour cloth towel until i have brought in my cow and cleaned her up so you can't really see it in this photo.
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Firefly Hollow Farm , our little farmstead. Farmgirl living in the green piney woods of East Texas on 23 acres with a few jerseys, too many chickens, a pair of pugs and my Texan hubby (aka "lover boy") |
Edited by - txbikergirl on Oct 27 2015 2:28:43 PM |
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txbikergirl
3197 Posts
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Posted - Oct 27 2015 : 2:37:07 PM
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| thanks janet. i was talking to buck and told him i would post on my newbie thoughts as i just love his product. i hear he is going to have a full page ad in MJF magazine so thought more reviews by the lay person could only help any new people considering it. everyone's thoughts, pros and cons, can only help anyone thinking about purchasing this or another similar product. |
Firefly Hollow Farm , our little farmstead. Farmgirl living in the green piney woods of East Texas on 23 acres with a few jerseys, too many chickens, a pair of pugs and my Texan hubby (aka "lover boy") |
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txbikergirl
3197 Posts
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Posted - Oct 27 2015 : 2:50:25 PM
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lastly, this is me getting setup to milk. i am getting the vacumn lines attached to the milk bottles. as stated before, i have these large stainless bowls that i put everything in. they are used only for milking, and i have a few that i cycle through all week and wash daily. while milking i put the flour sack towel back on top of everything just in case flies or manure moved around.
sorry to HJO regulars for the previously used photo. and thanks to wonderful mary jane for generously sharing her milking and cow knowledge to get me started.
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Firefly Hollow Farm , our little farmstead. Farmgirl living in the green piney woods of East Texas on 23 acres with a few jerseys, too many chickens, a pair of pugs and my Texan hubby (aka "lover boy") |
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txbikergirl
3197 Posts
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Posted - Oct 27 2015 : 3:07:48 PM
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wanted to recommend to anyone that gets the Udderly EZ Milker to also get the hand milker apparatus.
http://www.udderlyez.com/cow_milkers.php
it uses the same bottles and teat attachments, so you just need the plastic hand pump part and can order that separately; you don't have to order another whole kit. call them and they will gladly walk you through it. if you didn't purchase the udderly ez solar unit, you can easily use your existing bottles in an emergency and take the hand milker with you to the barn or on the road.
when bringing our first cows home, i milked with the hand milker from day one successfully. up to that point the ONLY milking experience i had my whole life was three days of training about cows and milking. however, on the road with the hand milker i was able to milk 4-5 quarts daily in the less than perfect environment of a trailer. i felt very successful and appreciated this piece of gear in my udderly ez kit.
we had taken the full electrical milker with us on the road in case it was needed, but felt that the hand milker was so convenient there wasn't a need to break out the milking machine in the filthy trailer environment.
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Firefly Hollow Farm , our little farmstead. Farmgirl living in the green piney woods of East Texas on 23 acres with a few jerseys, too many chickens, a pair of pugs and my Texan hubby (aka "lover boy") |
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chives
313 Posts
Victoria
Shelton
WA
usa
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Posted - Oct 27 2015 : 4:56:27 PM
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| Cindy, what great info. Especially for us newbies. Your cow room looks real nice |
A cow is the heart of a farm |
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txbikergirl
3197 Posts
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Posted - Oct 27 2015 : 5:19:45 PM
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| from one newbie to the next victoria, thank you! but actual kudos go to HJO members as 99% of my knowledge comes from their generous sharing and examples these last two years. |
Firefly Hollow Farm , our little farmstead. Farmgirl living in the green piney woods of East Texas on 23 acres with a few jerseys, too many chickens, a pair of pugs and my Texan hubby (aka "lover boy") |
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maryjane
7074 Posts
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Posted - Oct 27 2015 : 7:49:08 PM
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| Making the world a better place, one milk cow, one tip, one solution at a time. |
MaryJane Butters, author of Milk Cow Kitchen ~ striving for the stoicism of a cow standing in the rain ~ |
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Andrea0509
155 Posts
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Posted - Oct 28 2015 : 11:42:14 AM
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Hi Cindy,
Thank you so much for the in-depth review on this. We're at the point of getting our cow bred (just AI'd for the first time last night!), but I'm starting to read and research to make my decision on hand milking vs. using a machine. It's all pretty overwhelming but posts like this make me excited to start reading up on all of the options. You milking set up is just perfect, and I can tell you put a great deal of time and effort into making it that way. I'm guessing I'll have many questions regarding parlor setup as I get closer to that time next year! Thanks again for the tips :) |
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Andrea0509
155 Posts
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Posted - Oct 28 2015 : 12:19:21 PM
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| Ok I just spent a half hour on the EZ website and I'm really liking the sound of this milker :) Love that it's made in the USA, cleaning seems to be fairly quick, and there's not much that could go wrong with it mechanically. With a miniature Jersey I'm thinking it'd probably work well for her using the small inserts. Much research and reading to be done but this gets me excited to start looking! |
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maryjane
7074 Posts
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Posted - Oct 28 2015 : 1:49:19 PM
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| Hi Andrea, I have the EZ solar contraption. It's awesome. I've even used it to plug in a trouble light in an out-of-the-way place where I don't have electricity. Buck Wheeler has thought of everything. Plus he's there for you if you have any questions or problems. |
MaryJane Butters, author of Milk Cow Kitchen ~ striving for the stoicism of a cow standing in the rain ~ |
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maryjane
7074 Posts
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Posted - Oct 28 2015 : 1:51:04 PM
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| And also, you and Buck may be sharing the same sire. His little milk cow, Patty Cake, got pregnant first AI try recently using Samson's semen. |
MaryJane Butters, author of Milk Cow Kitchen ~ striving for the stoicism of a cow standing in the rain ~ |
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txbikergirl
3197 Posts
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Posted - Oct 28 2015 : 5:16:41 PM
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| Andrea, i sure am a newbie but have appreciated the generosity of advice i was given so am just trying to share a bit. i feel compelled to share now AS a newbie - most everything is written by experienced people, and while that is wonderful too i so often found that they knew so much already that many take for granted we all know that too... but us newbies not so much. so we need our basic questions and concerns addressed, much like in the MCK book. |
Firefly Hollow Farm , our little farmstead. Farmgirl living in the green piney woods of East Texas on 23 acres with a few jerseys, too many chickens, a pair of pugs and my Texan hubby (aka "lover boy") |
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txbikergirl
3197 Posts
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Posted - Oct 28 2015 : 5:17:59 PM
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| making the world a better place, one teat at a time! |
Firefly Hollow Farm , our little farmstead. Farmgirl living in the green piney woods of East Texas on 23 acres with a few jerseys, too many chickens, a pair of pugs and my Texan hubby (aka "lover boy") |
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CloversMum
3486 Posts
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Posted - Oct 28 2015 : 8:07:15 PM
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| Cindy did a fantastic job of describing the EZ milker and I agree with all that she said. I, too, am a newbie and absolutely love this milker! And Buck Wheeler is truly a great resource as well ... feels like you are talking to an old friend when you call. He then called me again just to make sure I was happy with my product. Eventually, I hope to get the solar add-on; however, I do have the hand operated single pump in case of power outages. I use the EZ milker on our Jersey as well as my goat herd. |
Loving life and family on our Idaho farm, Meadowlark Heritage Farm; A few Jersey cows; a few alpacas; a few more goats, and even more ducks and chickens |
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Andrea0509
155 Posts
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Posted - Oct 29 2015 : 11:12:13 AM
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Cindy - So thankful for your sharing...from one newbie to another! :)
Mary Jane - That's interesting that Buck Wheeler is using Samson as well!
Great to know that the product has such wonderful customer service. That's worth a great deal!
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txbikergirl
3197 Posts
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Posted - Feb 05 2016 : 6:13:15 PM
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in over four months of using the ultimate EZ milker i have only had one thing break, and it was just this week. the "Y" connector between the blue airline hose and the two clear bottle air hoses. it was obvious to lover boy and i that this would break at some point, as at the "Y" split the plastic started becoming that whitish plastic strained color within two weeks of me using the milker.
i am not going to blame this on poor engineering as lover boy also thinks i am hard on this thing pulling it apart. i have small hands so tend to rough house it a bit trying to grab it. and it just broke this week, so not bad at all in my opinion.
on the EZ site you can't order just the Y connectors, but we had a spare set of hoses which come with it. lover boy also thinks we could find a similar thing on the net, but i also bet Buck would sell me a few by themselves if i asked.
i LOVE this machine as much as i did the first week. its a joy each day.
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UPDATE !!
lover boy found us 1/4" nylon hose barb tee at the hardware store that is a great replacement, just a hair bigger than the existing Y. the local hardware store didn't have a Y so we got the T as it does the same job, and the hoses are long enough that it appears to work just fine. $1.29 each at a local hardware store - the kind that has anything and everything and you spend an extra hour looking in the nooks and crannies just to make sure you aren't missing something amazing that you didn't know you needed ; >
here is a side by side comparison.
i am also ordering brass "hose barb Ys" in both 3/16" and 1/4" to see how they work. will report back on those. not sure if the connection of brass to the hoses is as solid or not, but they would definitely stand up better to my man handling them so its worth a try ;>
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Firefly Hollow Farm , our little farmstead. Farmgirl living in the green piney woods of East Texas on 23 acres with a few jerseys, too many chickens, a pair of pugs and my Texan hubby (aka "lover boy") |
Edited by - txbikergirl on Feb 06 2016 3:23:16 PM |
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txbikergirl
3197 Posts
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Posted - Feb 05 2016 : 6:18:02 PM
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in case anyone didn't see the recent thread in the milking parlor section, this is my new milking cart and the ultimate ez milker fits perfectly on the top shelf.
here's that thread with the details (see page 5) https://heritagejersey.org/chatroom/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=978&whichpage=5
can't wait to see what everyone else that ordered one looks like...
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Firefly Hollow Farm , our little farmstead. Farmgirl living in the green piney woods of East Texas on 23 acres with a few jerseys, too many chickens, a pair of pugs and my Texan hubby (aka "lover boy") |
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Andrea0509
155 Posts
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Posted - Feb 05 2016 : 8:20:12 PM
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This wheely cart is going to be part of my milking set up for sure! And an excuse for a trip to Ikea is never a bad thing ;) Love that there's room enough for most everything and keeps it neat, tidy and off the ground. Plus it's just plain cute.
Thanks for the heads up on the broken part too! |
Hobby farming with my husband & two kids in beautiful Michigan ~ 1 Jersey; Miss Persimmon, 2 Olde English Southdown ewes; Lula & Clementine, and chickens to come Spring 2016. Loving the adventure! |
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CloversMum
3486 Posts
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Posted - Feb 06 2016 : 09:26:36 AM
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| And, that "plain cute" counts for a lot around here! :) Why not make our milking times that much more pleasurable on the eyes as well as everything else! I completely agree with you, Andrea. When our cow/goat barn is completed we will have one or two of these carts as well. |
Loving life and family on our Idaho farm, Meadowlark Heritage Farm; A few Jersey cows; a few alpacas; a few more goats, and even more ducks and chickens |
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txbikergirl
3197 Posts
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Posted - Feb 06 2016 : 3:25:18 PM
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| updated my Y connector post above we found a local stop gap replacement for now, and i will be trying out some brass replacements i have on order. |
Firefly Hollow Farm , our little farmstead. Farmgirl living in the green piney woods of East Texas on 23 acres with a few jerseys, too many chickens, a pair of pugs and my Texan hubby (aka "lover boy") |
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maryjane
7074 Posts
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Posted - Feb 07 2016 : 03:26:47 AM
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Thanks Cindy. I checked my Y connector and it's starting to show some wear so I checked my back-up supplies and found a back up that I'll take down to the milking parlor. I'll also see what I can find for a replacement at our local hardware store. If the brass one works for you, let us know.
Also, my two teal milking carts are here!!! They've been on our loading dock for a few days. I unpacked them and will put them together tomorrow. I'm excited. They'll make my milking parlor more functional for sure.
I was in town yesterday checking out the teal vinyl at JoAnns for a possible re-do of my rolling chair (that I love, love, love every time I sit down). I decided to sit and think about covering it for a while longer. Permanent reupholster? Cloth that I can launder or oil cloth cover that wipes clean? |
MaryJane Butters, author of Milk Cow Kitchen ~ striving for the stoicism of a cow standing in the rain ~ |
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txbikergirl
3197 Posts
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Posted - Feb 07 2016 : 11:52:18 AM
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you have been a busy girl on here mary jane, burning the midnight oil last night!
i find it funny that you have used yours so much longer than i have, and only just now have wear showing. as i suspected i am hard on these things. my brass connectors should be here this week so i will start using them right away to give a thumbs up or down on them.
mary jane i am soooo excited to see a photo of your teal carts in action !! i truly wanted the teal ones, but i already have some bright colors in my parlor and decided i didn't need too many conflicting colors going on. i went ahead and ordered two more - grey ones, and hope to get one together today to use as my grooming cart. i wanted different colors so everyone one would know the cream one is hands off as it is only for milking and to be kept as sanitary as possible. |
Firefly Hollow Farm , our little farmstead. Farmgirl living in the green piney woods of East Texas on 23 acres with a few jerseys, too many chickens, a pair of pugs and my Texan hubby (aka "lover boy") |
Edited by - txbikergirl on Feb 07 2016 11:55:14 AM |
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Udderly EZ "Ultimate EZ Milker"
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