Post by Deleted on Mar 11, 2008 8:50:43 GMT -5
Well, the first milking went pretty well. Bear in mind that the *sum total* of times I have even ever *touched* a cow before yesterday I could count on one hand. Seriously.
Up at 5am, quick shower, then outside to try my hand at milking. Catch the pun? Mrs. Jack T. was kind enough to go help. I have a wonderful helpmate for a wife!
Got all the *stuff* gathered up. . .rope, stool, warm washcloth to clean her udder, bucket, feed. Mrs. Jack T. fed her while I started milking. . .then held her head while I continued milking.
It isn’t too bad. . .at least with this cow. She (her name is AllStar. . .the outfit I bought her from said they name all their cows) knocked the bucket over a couple times, but after that I learned to get the bucket out of the way when she started to move her leg!
Her teats aren’t long enough to get my whole hand around, so I have to milk with just a couple fingers and a thumb. I started out doing the “roll your fingers” thing: squeeze with the thumb and pointer finger, then squeeze with the middle finger, then the ring. . .and so on. After awhile I started doing the squeeze *and* pull thing, which worked better.
I had *no* idea what to expect. It was cold outside, but my hands never got cold. . .she’s pretty warm under there. Her udder is soft and smooth. . .dunno how else to explain it.
Took about 30 minutes of actual milking to get a bit over two (2) cups *in* the bucket. . .and at least that much on the ground. She is only giving about a gallon a day. . .and, from what I read, it messes them up for a little bit when you change things around. . .like moving them to a new place and changing from mechanical milking to being milked by some guy who has *no* idea what he’s doing. I expect to get quite a bit more when we milk her tonight. She didn’t eat much and hadn’t drank much this morning. . .and they say they have to drink quite a bit of water to produce milk.
So. . .we’ll see how it goes this evening. Mrs. Jack T. is turning her out into the pasture before she (Mrs. Jack T.) leaves for work. . .so she should get some good grass and plenty of water.
It’s really cool, though. Sorta like getting honey from bees, eggs from chickens, goodies from the garden. Feed the cow and she gives you milk, which you can make into all sorts of yummy stuff. I don’t even drink milk. . .haven’t ever. But I sure like butter, cheese, and ice cream.
Speaking of milk. . .this milk looks different than the milk we got from that Holstein dairy awhile back. This is a bit thicker, which is exactly what we’re wanting. See how it looks tonight when I get home. We put the jar into an ice water bath to cool it off quicker. See how the cream looks tonight.
Up at 5am, quick shower, then outside to try my hand at milking. Catch the pun? Mrs. Jack T. was kind enough to go help. I have a wonderful helpmate for a wife!
Got all the *stuff* gathered up. . .rope, stool, warm washcloth to clean her udder, bucket, feed. Mrs. Jack T. fed her while I started milking. . .then held her head while I continued milking.
It isn’t too bad. . .at least with this cow. She (her name is AllStar. . .the outfit I bought her from said they name all their cows) knocked the bucket over a couple times, but after that I learned to get the bucket out of the way when she started to move her leg!
Her teats aren’t long enough to get my whole hand around, so I have to milk with just a couple fingers and a thumb. I started out doing the “roll your fingers” thing: squeeze with the thumb and pointer finger, then squeeze with the middle finger, then the ring. . .and so on. After awhile I started doing the squeeze *and* pull thing, which worked better.
I had *no* idea what to expect. It was cold outside, but my hands never got cold. . .she’s pretty warm under there. Her udder is soft and smooth. . .dunno how else to explain it.
Took about 30 minutes of actual milking to get a bit over two (2) cups *in* the bucket. . .and at least that much on the ground. She is only giving about a gallon a day. . .and, from what I read, it messes them up for a little bit when you change things around. . .like moving them to a new place and changing from mechanical milking to being milked by some guy who has *no* idea what he’s doing. I expect to get quite a bit more when we milk her tonight. She didn’t eat much and hadn’t drank much this morning. . .and they say they have to drink quite a bit of water to produce milk.
So. . .we’ll see how it goes this evening. Mrs. Jack T. is turning her out into the pasture before she (Mrs. Jack T.) leaves for work. . .so she should get some good grass and plenty of water.
It’s really cool, though. Sorta like getting honey from bees, eggs from chickens, goodies from the garden. Feed the cow and she gives you milk, which you can make into all sorts of yummy stuff. I don’t even drink milk. . .haven’t ever. But I sure like butter, cheese, and ice cream.
Speaking of milk. . .this milk looks different than the milk we got from that Holstein dairy awhile back. This is a bit thicker, which is exactly what we’re wanting. See how it looks tonight when I get home. We put the jar into an ice water bath to cool it off quicker. See how the cream looks tonight.