Post by mrssmitho on Jan 17, 2012 16:38:44 GMT -5
help. I am literally dying here. Onon:Ta calved last Monday. I have spent no less than 2 hrs out there 2x per day (the first couple days 3 or 4) trying to master this milking thing. My technique seems to work, I get milk...about 1/2 gallon at a time. This morning I got 1 whole gallon...BUT, I was out there for 3.5 hrs!! Not even close to milking her out.
Am I crazy? Is she actually holding up after so long? Should I do only a limited amount of time, more often? My arthritic hip and knee are killing me...not to mention my butt! AND she is hating me right now.
She is 1/2 Jersey & 1/2 Holstein, her bag is huge. This is her first calf. We have the beginnings of mastitis in a back quarter that has to be stripped. The calf is 1/2 mini Hereford and only sucks from the front teats, doesn't hardly touch what is in there. Most of the time Ayashe' eats while I am on one side or the other, usually around the time I get out there to milk, so I am thinking her milk is down for the kid.
DH is making me a bomb-proof sanction this weekend. I use 2 chains bolted to the barn at her feed bin now. When she is done eating I clip the chains way up so she can't go back and forth. I may try to make some sort of leg brace to go in between her back legs today, don't know.
I know she is sore...getting a good stream going is all of the battle, once that happens she is ok about the kicking thing. She isn't even kicking at me, just her bag. and that tail!!! I am actually life-schooled now in holding the tip of her tail between 2 fingers and still holding my jar (she moves way to much to try a bucket).
How does one tell if a bag is milked out? I am going to assume it is like figuring it is loaded, just looks like it?
I read over and over how it takes some of y'all 20 minutes to milk out your cow...my new fantasy! Seriously, I have had dreams of a short, complete milking. I get that the more worked, the bigger the stream. I was just thinking it would have gotten a bit bigger by now...1 small squirt at a time takes forever to fill a pint jar to dump. Like I said, 3.5 hrs for 1 gallon, and we weren't messing around, that was 99% milking time.
arggg...ideas? suggestions?? someone wanna come over here and show me how it is done? PLEASE tell me over and over this is just the first calf and it will not only get easier, very soon, or that I am nuts for trying to do this.
ahhh, thanks for letting me vent, DH has got to be getting sick of it. ;D
Am I crazy? Is she actually holding up after so long? Should I do only a limited amount of time, more often? My arthritic hip and knee are killing me...not to mention my butt! AND she is hating me right now.
She is 1/2 Jersey & 1/2 Holstein, her bag is huge. This is her first calf. We have the beginnings of mastitis in a back quarter that has to be stripped. The calf is 1/2 mini Hereford and only sucks from the front teats, doesn't hardly touch what is in there. Most of the time Ayashe' eats while I am on one side or the other, usually around the time I get out there to milk, so I am thinking her milk is down for the kid.
DH is making me a bomb-proof sanction this weekend. I use 2 chains bolted to the barn at her feed bin now. When she is done eating I clip the chains way up so she can't go back and forth. I may try to make some sort of leg brace to go in between her back legs today, don't know.
I know she is sore...getting a good stream going is all of the battle, once that happens she is ok about the kicking thing. She isn't even kicking at me, just her bag. and that tail!!! I am actually life-schooled now in holding the tip of her tail between 2 fingers and still holding my jar (she moves way to much to try a bucket).
How does one tell if a bag is milked out? I am going to assume it is like figuring it is loaded, just looks like it?
I read over and over how it takes some of y'all 20 minutes to milk out your cow...my new fantasy! Seriously, I have had dreams of a short, complete milking. I get that the more worked, the bigger the stream. I was just thinking it would have gotten a bit bigger by now...1 small squirt at a time takes forever to fill a pint jar to dump. Like I said, 3.5 hrs for 1 gallon, and we weren't messing around, that was 99% milking time.
arggg...ideas? suggestions?? someone wanna come over here and show me how it is done? PLEASE tell me over and over this is just the first calf and it will not only get easier, very soon, or that I am nuts for trying to do this.
ahhh, thanks for letting me vent, DH has got to be getting sick of it. ;D