What is the milker that you start with for?

The milker that the game starts you off with is for your cow.

A lot of people prefer to milk the cow by hand, since it's swifter to do.

I decided to find out which one if more efficient.

Well, when you use the milker, you get 4 canisters of milk, instead of 2. I suggest you use the milker instead of doing it by hand.

How you use the milker, is you go through your menu after pressing "X", scroll left or right until you find it, press "A" to equip it. Walk up to the side of your cow and select "A" again to use it.
( Just in case you are new to the game and not familiar with those things. )

Urm... It's for MILKING THE COW

Um.. That's wrong I get 4 milks either way!!!!!!!
The only thing it does is make the quality better, so it gives you more money

I know this question is very old but since the remake was announced and people may be looking up some questions about the game in the future, the actual answer is this:

Using the Milker on a cow has small differences:
1) It takes longer than milking by hand
2) less affection will be gained by the cow compared to milking by hand
3) Uses less stamina compared to milking by hand (you wont get tired as fast)
4) Using a milker increases your child's interest in becoming a scientist or archaeologist

Milking by hand will increase the affection gained by the cow more than using a milker, the affection of the cow determines the quality of the milk. The higher the affection the better the quality of the milk. (Brushing the cow, cleaning the dirt off the cow, and talking to the cow will also increase the affection as well). The Milker does not affect the amount of milk you get compared to milking by hand. Milking a cow by hand when it is not ready to be milked will slightly lower the affection of the cow.