Post by lew92 on Sept 9, 2019 10:47:54 GMT -5
Well, the honeymoon can't last forever, right?
Anne has been a pill to get in the barn unless Rosebud is tied up in there, but now Rosebud has learned the Chase Me! game. Not fun, grrr! Even with the calf tied in there on Thursday, I couldn't get her in for love or money. I've been dealing with severe depression this summer (2 year anniversaries of Mom's final illness & death, Son's 2nd post-death birthday, plus hubby's heart attack in the spring) and lack of sleep due to new meds the doctor put me on.
Anyway, I broke down and went and sat and cried for a bit, and during that time she went in to eat her grain. So I was able to get her in the stanchion and get her mostly milked out. Her front teats are very skinny and when the milk is gone, the inflations fall off if I'm not paying strict attention. I was able to save the milk, but if I'd put the claw back on her, it would have been full of manure from the claw (no washing facilities at the barn) so I let the last of it go.
On Friday night it wasn't as much of a rodeo to get her in the barn and she even went in without Rosebud being in there. Which I think was the source of her snit fit. She swiped the claw off when she was mostly milked out but I had a pretty good hold on it, so it didn't get dirty. I put it back on and she exploded. Kicked the claw off so violently that the air hose and milk hose both became detached, then she kicked me. Hit my thigh on the outswing and my calf on the way back. I got turned away so she couldn't kick me again and did a quick inventory and sent a Thank You to heaven that she didn't get either one of my knees.
Then she got "what for". I whacked her on her thigh, poked her in the ribs and neck and yelled in her face. For a brief amount of time, I was the Avenging Angel, almost the Angel of Death. I held the end of my cane and used the handle (soft padding, thought it might feel like a hand touching her) to rub her udder and she exploded with kicking again. I gave her a very loud "NO!" and went back to the rubbing. Rinse and repeat until she stood still.
Because the claw was covered in poop, I didn't want to put it back on her, so I sat down and milked out a bit by hand onto the ground. She wasn't happy, but every time she acted like she was going to lift a foot, I growled a No at her (not loud, just a deep voice) and she stood. So we ended on a good? note.
On Saturday, I put a rope around the center of her hobbles and tied it to the back upright on the stanchion, so that she was very limited in her kicking abilities. I was still pretty leary of sitting next to her, even though I was channeling Ellen Ripley when she was defending Newt - which worked quite well for me because she had been a lot more meek about going in the barn. The claw fell off again, when she was getting close to being done, so I have to find some silicone liners. Only tried to scrape off the claw once, quickly quit when I growled at her.
Last night, I decided to plug the inflations for the front teats and sit next to her again while the milker was running. Once the back quarters were milked out, I used one teat cup to milk the front quarters while supporting the claw. I maybe got a cup of milk from each one before the cup started falling off.
No swiping at the claw, no trying to kick me. She did poop in the stanchion, but that's pretty standard for this early in her lactation, so I didn't stress about it or scold her for it. That's something to work on later if it continues after she knows what her job is.
So, I hope that my saga is of help to someone and maybe even a beacon of light. I don't automatically scold or get physical with a cow, but I had tried a gentler approach with her earlier on and she blew me off, so I had to escalate it. I guess she got her milking attitude from grandma Buttercup We'll get this worked out, though, and I know she'll be a good cow for me once she gets that attitude adjusted properly. She's a good momma and THAT is what I want out of her most.
BTW, I've had adjustments to my meds and am sleeping better. Things in general will get better - I just need to hold on, which I will do, never fear.
Anne has been a pill to get in the barn unless Rosebud is tied up in there, but now Rosebud has learned the Chase Me! game. Not fun, grrr! Even with the calf tied in there on Thursday, I couldn't get her in for love or money. I've been dealing with severe depression this summer (2 year anniversaries of Mom's final illness & death, Son's 2nd post-death birthday, plus hubby's heart attack in the spring) and lack of sleep due to new meds the doctor put me on.
Anyway, I broke down and went and sat and cried for a bit, and during that time she went in to eat her grain. So I was able to get her in the stanchion and get her mostly milked out. Her front teats are very skinny and when the milk is gone, the inflations fall off if I'm not paying strict attention. I was able to save the milk, but if I'd put the claw back on her, it would have been full of manure from the claw (no washing facilities at the barn) so I let the last of it go.
On Friday night it wasn't as much of a rodeo to get her in the barn and she even went in without Rosebud being in there. Which I think was the source of her snit fit. She swiped the claw off when she was mostly milked out but I had a pretty good hold on it, so it didn't get dirty. I put it back on and she exploded. Kicked the claw off so violently that the air hose and milk hose both became detached, then she kicked me. Hit my thigh on the outswing and my calf on the way back. I got turned away so she couldn't kick me again and did a quick inventory and sent a Thank You to heaven that she didn't get either one of my knees.
Then she got "what for". I whacked her on her thigh, poked her in the ribs and neck and yelled in her face. For a brief amount of time, I was the Avenging Angel, almost the Angel of Death. I held the end of my cane and used the handle (soft padding, thought it might feel like a hand touching her) to rub her udder and she exploded with kicking again. I gave her a very loud "NO!" and went back to the rubbing. Rinse and repeat until she stood still.
Because the claw was covered in poop, I didn't want to put it back on her, so I sat down and milked out a bit by hand onto the ground. She wasn't happy, but every time she acted like she was going to lift a foot, I growled a No at her (not loud, just a deep voice) and she stood. So we ended on a good? note.
On Saturday, I put a rope around the center of her hobbles and tied it to the back upright on the stanchion, so that she was very limited in her kicking abilities. I was still pretty leary of sitting next to her, even though I was channeling Ellen Ripley when she was defending Newt - which worked quite well for me because she had been a lot more meek about going in the barn. The claw fell off again, when she was getting close to being done, so I have to find some silicone liners. Only tried to scrape off the claw once, quickly quit when I growled at her.
Last night, I decided to plug the inflations for the front teats and sit next to her again while the milker was running. Once the back quarters were milked out, I used one teat cup to milk the front quarters while supporting the claw. I maybe got a cup of milk from each one before the cup started falling off.
No swiping at the claw, no trying to kick me. She did poop in the stanchion, but that's pretty standard for this early in her lactation, so I didn't stress about it or scold her for it. That's something to work on later if it continues after she knows what her job is.
So, I hope that my saga is of help to someone and maybe even a beacon of light. I don't automatically scold or get physical with a cow, but I had tried a gentler approach with her earlier on and she blew me off, so I had to escalate it. I guess she got her milking attitude from grandma Buttercup We'll get this worked out, though, and I know she'll be a good cow for me once she gets that attitude adjusted properly. She's a good momma and THAT is what I want out of her most.
BTW, I've had adjustments to my meds and am sleeping better. Things in general will get better - I just need to hold on, which I will do, never fear.