Post by Deleted on Aug 2, 2010 10:14:29 GMT -5
I milked my cow, Lucy, for the first time this morning. She had her calf the day before yesterday and my uncle (a retired dairy farmer) told me not to milk Lucy for appx. 48 hours to prevent milk fever. After reading on here, I'm not sure that was the best advice, but what's done is done.
The calf was born out in the pasture and that's where they've been ever since, until today. I've been checking on them a few times a day but that's it. I spent half an hour traipsing around through knee-high wet grass this morning trying to find the silly calf...I only got 3 hours of sleep last night and was in no mood for a game of hide and seek!
Finally I got them both to the barn and sat down to milk. I was impressed with how calm Lucy was once we worked out who the boss was in this relationship. It seems the calf has only been sucking from the left front quarter...I milked all quarters until nothing else would come out. The left quarters looked all milked out--were nice and flabby. The quarters on the right side, however, still looked quite full of milk but nothing else would squeeze out so I called it quits and locked them both in a stall. I ended up with probably 2 gallons of colostrum that I fed to the dog/cats because the bucket got knocked over a few times and the milk was dirty.
Now I spent last summer milking 2 goats and I NEVER got as filthy as I did this morning. I had manure on me from head to toe! I seriously had to have a shower by the time I was done. I do not want to milk twice a day so I've been reading loads of info on here about sharemilking....seems like I probably should milk twice a day for at least a month? So that means I'll be showering and changing twice a day in order to keep from smelling like a cow?! How do you manage to stay clean while milking? Do I need to wash down her entire hindquarters before I milk? She didn't poo much while I was milking, it was mainly the poo that was already on her legs and tail, I guess.
My other question is about her right quarters...I'm assuming she wasn't letting down the milk for me on that side. Should I go out frequently today and make sure the calf nurses on that side? Will she let down more readily once we get into a routine? I never had a problem with my goat letting milk down...but then, she was completely separated from her kid (who was being bottle-fed).
Then my last question is about the calf...from what I've read on here it seems the dehorning paste is the way to go and I should do it this week, while the calf is very young. Does that sound right? And what about vaccinations? Should I just call the vet and have them give whatever vaccines are routine for a newborn calf? I have vaccinated horses, but that's the extent of my vaccinating career.
I am so glad this site exists...I was up for hours last night reading through the Tree of Knowledge threads. I feel very overwhelmed with all this information and after this morning's so-so milking experience I'm feeling like it would be easier to go back to goats! I bought a cow because we don't particularly like the taste of goat milk. I figured if I'm going to be milking something, it may as well be a cow...but I didn't count on getting covered in manure in the process!
The calf was born out in the pasture and that's where they've been ever since, until today. I've been checking on them a few times a day but that's it. I spent half an hour traipsing around through knee-high wet grass this morning trying to find the silly calf...I only got 3 hours of sleep last night and was in no mood for a game of hide and seek!
Finally I got them both to the barn and sat down to milk. I was impressed with how calm Lucy was once we worked out who the boss was in this relationship. It seems the calf has only been sucking from the left front quarter...I milked all quarters until nothing else would come out. The left quarters looked all milked out--were nice and flabby. The quarters on the right side, however, still looked quite full of milk but nothing else would squeeze out so I called it quits and locked them both in a stall. I ended up with probably 2 gallons of colostrum that I fed to the dog/cats because the bucket got knocked over a few times and the milk was dirty.
Now I spent last summer milking 2 goats and I NEVER got as filthy as I did this morning. I had manure on me from head to toe! I seriously had to have a shower by the time I was done. I do not want to milk twice a day so I've been reading loads of info on here about sharemilking....seems like I probably should milk twice a day for at least a month? So that means I'll be showering and changing twice a day in order to keep from smelling like a cow?! How do you manage to stay clean while milking? Do I need to wash down her entire hindquarters before I milk? She didn't poo much while I was milking, it was mainly the poo that was already on her legs and tail, I guess.
My other question is about her right quarters...I'm assuming she wasn't letting down the milk for me on that side. Should I go out frequently today and make sure the calf nurses on that side? Will she let down more readily once we get into a routine? I never had a problem with my goat letting milk down...but then, she was completely separated from her kid (who was being bottle-fed).
Then my last question is about the calf...from what I've read on here it seems the dehorning paste is the way to go and I should do it this week, while the calf is very young. Does that sound right? And what about vaccinations? Should I just call the vet and have them give whatever vaccines are routine for a newborn calf? I have vaccinated horses, but that's the extent of my vaccinating career.
I am so glad this site exists...I was up for hours last night reading through the Tree of Knowledge threads. I feel very overwhelmed with all this information and after this morning's so-so milking experience I'm feeling like it would be easier to go back to goats! I bought a cow because we don't particularly like the taste of goat milk. I figured if I'm going to be milking something, it may as well be a cow...but I didn't count on getting covered in manure in the process!