Post by ellie on Jun 22, 2012 7:08:38 GMT -5
Sorry it took me so long to get back to this thread. And sorry I misunderstood the original post. When you said you have "always" had a problem hand milking her, I thought you might be referring to past problems as well. One week fresh is quite new.
For a first week first freshener, I would advise a bucket load of patience and compassion. Your cow is clueless, hormonal, and possibly a bit frightened--as well as testing her boundaries. Everything you do now will help shape the kind of milker she becomes and rest of your relationship with her. Which is not to say you've been doing it wrong or gotten bad advice so far--to the contrary. But remember that she's scared. And so are you, I'm sure. It is scary to sit under a kicking cow!!
Try not to escalate anything. Start with loving her. Move through the most gentle possible corrections before you get to things like hobbles and belly ropes. You can redirect the tone without that stuff and it might be worth trying. If only because you may need those tools later. But its difficult to go backwards. You want to use all your tools--not the big guns first, if you see what I mean?
So I think tying the calf between her head and yours would be my first choice after getting the cow properly restrained in a head gate or stanchion. She'll be much less likely to kick if she can't see where her calf ends and you begin. Think of these milking sessions for the next few days as pure training, rather than an attempt to actually get some clean milk. So forget worry about the bucket, aim, or clean technique. Your goal should be completely focused on conditioning/training. Your demeanor will matter very much. You need to be calm and assertive and in control, and transmit that to your cow. You must be dominant--lovingly so. You can't lose your cool or show fear. (Which is hard when you are scared and being kicked!) Which is when walking away comes in handy.
The moment you have success, reward her. The moment she misbehaves, reprimand. And if she pitches a kicking fit, walk away leaving here there to calm down. Try your best to end on a successful note. Don't turn her loose until you "win". Even if winning is just a few squirts with no kicking. You want to train her, at this point, more than getting a full bucket.
Is the calf nursing? Are you an experienced hand milker? Those two answers would have a big impact on how you should proceed. When learning to hand milk, I was advised to go out 4 times a day, milk as fast as you can, then stop and rest until the next session. Pretty good advice for training the cow as well. Go for frequent brief successes rather than having to achieve two full milkings a day with no incident. Or, to quote a horse trainer: "The slow way is the fast way."
After the glove trick, you can stand with your tail pointed the same direction as hers, well away from her front feet, haunch to haunch, leaning in to milk, and she can't really kick you very well. She can try to swipe at your hands or to bump you--and you can be ready to not be moved. Then just sort of hang on to her teats as if you are milking (even if you are just hanging on) until she quits. Then proceed with milking, ending on a good note. Its a situation where you may actually be safer in closer.
Her hormones will settle down which could fix the problem, or go a long way to help. Most of all remember to be kind to both of you. What you are both doing is a challenge to learn--but completely worthwhile. Nearly everyone I know cries at first. Be patient. Hang in there. Its going to get better. Sing, if you need to. You can distract a misbehaving cow with a good confident upbeat song.
My favorite cow confidence building/hand milking song. Easy to sing loud, striking the right tone, remembering to love through fear:
For a first week first freshener, I would advise a bucket load of patience and compassion. Your cow is clueless, hormonal, and possibly a bit frightened--as well as testing her boundaries. Everything you do now will help shape the kind of milker she becomes and rest of your relationship with her. Which is not to say you've been doing it wrong or gotten bad advice so far--to the contrary. But remember that she's scared. And so are you, I'm sure. It is scary to sit under a kicking cow!!
Try not to escalate anything. Start with loving her. Move through the most gentle possible corrections before you get to things like hobbles and belly ropes. You can redirect the tone without that stuff and it might be worth trying. If only because you may need those tools later. But its difficult to go backwards. You want to use all your tools--not the big guns first, if you see what I mean?
So I think tying the calf between her head and yours would be my first choice after getting the cow properly restrained in a head gate or stanchion. She'll be much less likely to kick if she can't see where her calf ends and you begin. Think of these milking sessions for the next few days as pure training, rather than an attempt to actually get some clean milk. So forget worry about the bucket, aim, or clean technique. Your goal should be completely focused on conditioning/training. Your demeanor will matter very much. You need to be calm and assertive and in control, and transmit that to your cow. You must be dominant--lovingly so. You can't lose your cool or show fear. (Which is hard when you are scared and being kicked!) Which is when walking away comes in handy.
The moment you have success, reward her. The moment she misbehaves, reprimand. And if she pitches a kicking fit, walk away leaving here there to calm down. Try your best to end on a successful note. Don't turn her loose until you "win". Even if winning is just a few squirts with no kicking. You want to train her, at this point, more than getting a full bucket.
Is the calf nursing? Are you an experienced hand milker? Those two answers would have a big impact on how you should proceed. When learning to hand milk, I was advised to go out 4 times a day, milk as fast as you can, then stop and rest until the next session. Pretty good advice for training the cow as well. Go for frequent brief successes rather than having to achieve two full milkings a day with no incident. Or, to quote a horse trainer: "The slow way is the fast way."
After the glove trick, you can stand with your tail pointed the same direction as hers, well away from her front feet, haunch to haunch, leaning in to milk, and she can't really kick you very well. She can try to swipe at your hands or to bump you--and you can be ready to not be moved. Then just sort of hang on to her teats as if you are milking (even if you are just hanging on) until she quits. Then proceed with milking, ending on a good note. Its a situation where you may actually be safer in closer.
Her hormones will settle down which could fix the problem, or go a long way to help. Most of all remember to be kind to both of you. What you are both doing is a challenge to learn--but completely worthwhile. Nearly everyone I know cries at first. Be patient. Hang in there. Its going to get better. Sing, if you need to. You can distract a misbehaving cow with a good confident upbeat song.
My favorite cow confidence building/hand milking song. Easy to sing loud, striking the right tone, remembering to love through fear: