Post by fiddlegirl on Mar 20, 2008 20:55:45 GMT -5
I'm Kayla, and I am new...but I guess you can see that! Right now I am in Georgia but our family will be moving our family farm to our 60 acres in KY soon. A bit more rural than where we are now!
Brief intro on me and what I do:
I am milkmaid to Minnie, a Jersey, and Mom to her and her calf, Sabine...also full Jersey. We have only had her since last May, and she and I both were new to the milking thing! She was bred when we got her, and the guy we got her from didn't know what she was bred to. It would either be a Jersey or an Angus. So we thought for sure if we had a boy (to raise up for meat) it would be pure Jersey, and if we had a girl (to be another milker) it would be half Angus. Long story short....we lucked out and Sabine is a beautiful all-Jersey little girl!!! But of course, I guess I am a little biased....ok, a lot!
Back to the first-time milker thing...she was/is perfect (even though we were told she was a heifer) and I'm getting better as we go. If I have to go out of town, she doesn't like to eat. A month or so ago, I went out of town for a week and my Dad and brother had to double-team her...she would kick and give them a very hard time. The day after I got back home, I went out to milk and she never even moved a muscle!!! I had read in KFC that they would get attached to certain people, but I had never actually seen it, and was, I admit, a little sceptical. Not now!! Monday morning I sprained my right thumb, and after milking with one hand for a couple of days (during which Minnie got a little impatient with me!) my Dad and brother are at it again. I do believe that she has gotten over the missing me thing and she is now doing better with substitute milkers!
Besides my beautiful cows , we also raise our own chickens,
(both for meat and eggs,) beef cows, and pigs. Right now we are down to a few chickens, just for eggs, to try to make our move a little easier. Our freezers are very full of beef and pork (600 pounds of pork last Summer.) We also have a miniture dachsund, Fiona, and two stray cats, one of which showed up a dozen years ago!! We have had goats in the past (my mom doesn't like big animals ) and have milked them a little...although that was before I milked, so Minnie was my first time milking.
I have learned a lot just from browsing these discussions, and I am looking forward to learning so much more!
Please check out our family website:
www.custerfamilyfarm.com
Brief intro on me and what I do:
I am milkmaid to Minnie, a Jersey, and Mom to her and her calf, Sabine...also full Jersey. We have only had her since last May, and she and I both were new to the milking thing! She was bred when we got her, and the guy we got her from didn't know what she was bred to. It would either be a Jersey or an Angus. So we thought for sure if we had a boy (to raise up for meat) it would be pure Jersey, and if we had a girl (to be another milker) it would be half Angus. Long story short....we lucked out and Sabine is a beautiful all-Jersey little girl!!! But of course, I guess I am a little biased....ok, a lot!
Back to the first-time milker thing...she was/is perfect (even though we were told she was a heifer) and I'm getting better as we go. If I have to go out of town, she doesn't like to eat. A month or so ago, I went out of town for a week and my Dad and brother had to double-team her...she would kick and give them a very hard time. The day after I got back home, I went out to milk and she never even moved a muscle!!! I had read in KFC that they would get attached to certain people, but I had never actually seen it, and was, I admit, a little sceptical. Not now!! Monday morning I sprained my right thumb, and after milking with one hand for a couple of days (during which Minnie got a little impatient with me!) my Dad and brother are at it again. I do believe that she has gotten over the missing me thing and she is now doing better with substitute milkers!
Besides my beautiful cows , we also raise our own chickens,
(both for meat and eggs,) beef cows, and pigs. Right now we are down to a few chickens, just for eggs, to try to make our move a little easier. Our freezers are very full of beef and pork (600 pounds of pork last Summer.) We also have a miniture dachsund, Fiona, and two stray cats, one of which showed up a dozen years ago!! We have had goats in the past (my mom doesn't like big animals ) and have milked them a little...although that was before I milked, so Minnie was my first time milking.
I have learned a lot just from browsing these discussions, and I am looking forward to learning so much more!
Please check out our family website:
www.custerfamilyfarm.com