If you have one goat, manual milking is sufficient. But with the increase in the number of goat herds, the question arises as an effective acceleration of daily milk production. In our article, we propose to assemble an effective do-it-yourself milking machine for goats.
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Milking machine
The content of the article:
Plan
When creating a home milking machine, it is necessary to purchase ready-made technical units, as well as read the instructions for using each of the units and the diagram of the entire structure, and then proceed with the assembly. We offer to make a mini milking machine with your own hands from the most popular components on the market:
- Power plant (electric, mechanical or manual);
- Milking components (except for hoses for milk and vacuum, you need a collector with a pulsator, a suspension unit, a container for collecting milk);
- Vacuum pump.
Устройство
What is a home milking machine made of:
- Pulsator;
- 4 chambers sheathed on the outside with hard material, and on the inside with rubber;
- Collector;
- Container for milk;
- vacuum hose;
- Milk pipeline.
To start milking, two chambers are put on the goat’s teats, the other two remain under the teats. The collector and pulsator are needed to consistently create the effect of pressure and rarefaction. The design of a conventional two-stroke apparatus operates in this way:
- The rarefaction effect. It is created by combining chambers and vacuum wires, resulting in the sucking of milk from the goat’s udder;
- compression effect. Appears when the chamber near the nipple is connected to the atmosphere, and the second one must remain complete with a vacuum drive. At this point, the absorption of milk stops.
On the video, you can see in detail the design of the goat milking machine, and the livestock breeders’ forum will provide you with quick help, where experienced farmers are always happy to share information about the most effective designs for quick and comfortable milking of goats.
Motor and Pump Selection Recommendations
What you need to know when buying a motor with a pump? If the engine has high energy consumption and power indexes, it is ideal for a farm with 4-6 goats. If you have only one or two goats, a motor with a power of up to 0,5 watts will be optimal.
How to choose a pump? On the market, most pumps are oil-washed, which is absolutely not suitable for building a milking machine. There are several reasons for this:
- High noise level;
- The need for regular oil level checks;
- Constant violation of the sterility of the system due to the leakage of technical oil.
Now look at the vacuum pump:
- Environmental friendliness;
- Noiselessness;
- Easy to operate and maintain;
- There is no need for additional costs.
If your farm has a lot of goats, the engine power must be at least 4 kW, otherwise energy costs will be irrational.
How to choose a container for milking
What material should the milking bucket be made of? Ideally, it is durable stainless steel. Of course, you can choose aluminum, it is lighter than stainless steel, but not resistant to corrosion. In extreme cases, it is acceptable to use containers made of high-quality food-grade plastic, but they are not suitable for permanent use.
If you know livestock breeders, pay attention to their homemade or stationary milking machines. Here you can visually see what is more rational and profitable to create and comfortably use the milking structure for a long period of time.
How to choose the right hanger
The success of milking depends on the suspension unit. Here it is forbidden to save on the components of the device, because some of its elements are in direct contact with the goat:
- To track the milking process, buy transparent glasses;
- The inside of cups and milk pipes should be lined with high quality neutral and non-toxic rubber;
- Use silicone suction pads to keep the suspension assembly securely on the udder during a pressure drop of 30 kPa.
What you need to know when choosing a collector and a pulsator
It does not matter what you decide to buy – a pump with a domestic or foreign engine. The main thing is that spare parts for possible repairs can be quickly obtained on the market. The most affordable, of course, are the Soviet models, since their maintenance does not require noticeable efforts.
At the same time, imported pulsators are more expensive, but the high price is justified by significant efficiency and economy, if you do not take into account the same expensive repair kits. Each manufacturer adds their own modification of the main design, so for beginners, the choice can be quite difficult. Here it is important to focus on the quality of materials and motor power, as well as how many animals can be milked in one cycle.
The simplest milking machine for goats
There is an excellent solution – to purchase a two-in-one device, that is, a pulse collector. It is the best option both in terms of performance and price. This device copies natural feeding as much as possible, therefore, with a pulse collector, additional manual milking is not required, even if you have hard-boiled goats.
Thanks to the pulse collector, the incidence of mastitis in animals decreases and at the same time the percentage of milk fat increases. The only disadvantage of the device is the lengthy disassembly and assembly, which requires attention and experience with tools.
Finished industrial goat milking machines
The most popular are:
- HADES. For small farms with the number of cows and goats from 1 to 10 heads, the AID-1 modification is suitable, for large farms AID-2-01 “Victoria” (paired milking). An excellent option for restless and shy animals. These devices were invented by Soviet scientists 40 years ago, so their quality and design practicality have been tested by time. They are silent, cheap, reliably protected from motor overheating and short circuits, as well as from various mechanical influences. They have excellent service life.
- Burenka (tandem for goats). Despite the name and small size, this lightweight device will be a great helper not only when milking cows, but also goats up to 3 heads. The simplest milking design. Pay attention to high-quality silicone rubber and food grade stainless steel containers. This design is inexpensive, so it is available to everyone.
Reviews of each design for milking and how much they cost can be viewed on the livestock breeders forum, and you can also purchase your favorite model of a used goat milking machine, since there are many sell-buy ads there. Any AID model is more expensive than Burenka, but its functionality is much greater. At the same time, Burenka is great for beginner farmers with a small goat herd.
We hope our article has helped you figure out what kind of milking machine you need – do-it-yourself or industry standard.
