Calling all hand milkers!

[farmerjan]

Agree that you should get the heifer used to being touched, handled. Most cows find a soft brush is comfortable too, and relaxing, so that is an option to getting her used to being touched. Just figured that you would be doing that if she is to be your "pet" family milk cow.
Doesn't matter how low the pail is to the dirt unless you have bacteria that can jump into the milk from the dirt floor ?!?. Seriously, it will only get contaminated from the top. Either from stuff falling in it off her teats, udder, or swishing a tail, etc. The 16 qt canning kettle I used to use for my old jersey only had about 8 inch sides and the only time we had a problem was when she would decide to put her foot in it. I guess that you could try to put a filter over your bucket, but honestly, I would still re-filter it as you pour it into clean jars in the house. Don't know if they would fit across a milking bucket. Not that I want to drink "dirty" milk, but a few cow hairs or specks of straw won't hurt it in the 15 min or so til you get it into the house to strain. A trick I have long since used, especially for an animal that gets restless before you are done milking, is to have 2 pails, and when you get 1/2 to 2/3 done, switch to an empty pail so that you don't get almost to the end and she suddenly moves or kicks and it all gets dumped out, or just getting restless and it gets contaminated. Always happens when I needed that full bucket for something.
I spread clean shavings under her before I milk to keep the floor dirt from getting kicked up, and it helps to absorb the plops of manure that they will inevitably do when you least want them to. (Like really cow, you have been standing outside for how long and could've done that before you came in here!!!!)
Our Tractor supply usually has the 1/2 gallon Ball canning jars but Walmart's were a little cheaper. Sometimes TS puts them on sale at the "end of the canning season" . 1/2 gallons will cool quicker than gallon jars and the canning ones are pretty square and will take up less room than the round jars. I keep a couple of qts in the fridge for easy pouring into a glass, cereal, etc.

 

[WindyIndy]

Good point @Mini Horses, I almost forgot about that!
Every single heifer we have/have had gets used to being touched EVERYWHERE from a very early age. We tie them up for a short time each day, touch their udder, belly, head, ears, etc. It makes any future vet visits much easier, as well as milking when calving comes around.

That's what I do with my horse, though I don't need to tied him up anymore I will definitely be doing this with her as soon as she gets here. I also want to halter train her.

Agree that you should get the heifer used to being touched, handled. Most cows find a soft brush is comfortable too, and relaxing, so that is an option to getting her used to being touched. Just figured that you would be doing that if she is to be your "pet" family milk cow.
Doesn't matter how low the pail is to the dirt unless you have bacteria that can jump into the milk from the dirt floor ?!?. Seriously, it will only get contaminated from the top. Either from stuff falling in it off her teats, udder, or swishing a tail, etc. The 16 qt canning kettle I used to use for my old jersey only had about 8 inch sides and the only time we had a problem was when she would decide to put her foot in it. I guess that you could try to put a filter over your bucket, but honestly, I would still re-filter it as you pour it into clean jars in the house. Don't know if they would fit across a milking bucket. Not that I want to drink "dirty" milk, but a few cow hairs or specks of straw won't hurt it in the 15 min or so til you get it into the house to strain. A trick I have long since used, especially for an animal that gets restless before you are done milking, is to have 2 pails, and when you get 1/2 to 2/3 done, switch to an empty pail so that you don't get almost to the end and she suddenly moves or kicks and it all gets dumped out, or just getting restless and it gets contaminated. Always happens when I needed that full bucket for something.
I spread clean shavings under her before I milk to keep the floor dirt from getting kicked up, and it helps to absorb the plops of manure that they will inevitably do when you least want them to. (Like really cow, you have been standing outside for how long and could've done that before you came in here!!!!)
Our Tractor supply usually has the 1/2 gallon Ball canning jars but Walmart's were a little cheaper. Sometimes TS puts them on sale at the "end of the canning season" . 1/2 gallons will cool quicker than gallon jars and the canning ones are pretty square and will take up less room than the round jars. I keep a couple of qts in the fridge for easy pouring into a glass, cereal, etc.

Oh yes, she'll be my baby! Lots of brushing for her.

That's great to know, thanks! What kinds of natural cleaning solutions could I use to clean her udders with? I want something gentle but effective.
Lol! I know right?! My pony will actually come into their run in shelter while I clean it and poop/pee, I'm like REALLY?! You had to do that?!

Perfect! I'll check there.

 

[farmerjan]

She only has one "udder" and four teats...

Best thing to use for "anti-germ" for the udder is a solution of hydrgen peroxide. Mix one part with 5 parts water. First use warm water, with or without any type of soap ( I don't use soap) and then quick dip with H2O2 to kill germs. Effective, not expensive and there are several dairies that I test that are using it to help to lower the SCC of their milk.

 

[WindyIndy]

LOL! oops!! I meant teats, NOT udders!

Perfect, I'll use that, thank you so much!! And after the washing, squirt the first few drops of milk out on the ground too to make sure the milk is "clean".

 

[Bossroo]

LOL! oops!! I meant teats, NOT udders!

Perfect, I'll use that, thank you so much!! And after the washing, squirt the first few drops of milk out on the ground too to make sure the milk is "clean".

Sterilize the " ground " area where the milk drops as well as it would be a great breeding ground for bacterial groth.

 

[farmerjan]

Actually you should use a strip cup to check the first few squirts from the teats. Stops the contamination of the ground, and it has a screen on the top so you can easily see if there are any chunks of mastitis or anything odd about the milk. They aren't expensive and are a good reminder to get into the habit of pre-stripping before you actually milk.Most commercial farms just strip on the concrete floor then wash it into the grates or drains, but I have 2 that use the cups and it just seems like a better idea.

 

[WindyIndy]

I will look for those, thanks!

 

[Goat Whisperer]

Something you really need to look at is having a backup milking system.

Will you be doing all the milking?
What will you do if/when you are very sick?
Something I always tell newbies that want to milk is that it's a big commitment, that they need to milk at least once a day-even if the had something like Ebola

Seriously though, if you fall and break you wrist it could turn into a very bad situation for the cow.

I love hand milking. I can milked 10 goats 2x a day this year. Unless you have someone reliable that has the stamina to milk you need to look at keeping a machine on hand for emergencies.

 

[babsbag]

For emergencies and those mornings that you wake up with the flu. My son got married this summer and my goats had to cross their legs for two days while I went to the wedding. A back up milker would have been nice.

I use water with a bit of Dawn dish soap and a few drops of bleach when washing udders on my goats. I use Fight Bac spray when I am done.

 

[farmerjan]

A thought about a backup milker...I think I also discussed this in another thread about hand milking but anyway....If you continue to allow the calf to suck the cow and only milk once a day, should you have to go away, get hurt or anything, the calf will be the "backup" milker. This is one of the reasons that I have used my cows as nurse cows and gotten them into a routine of coming in to a specific place for milking etc. and allowed them to keep the calf on them 12 hours and away 12 hours so that I can milk, then turn them back in with the calf/calves.
There have been times when my work schedule has been difficult and the calves will stay with the cow for 2 days, then I will separate them and milk that next morning when I am off and the calves raise a fit but the cow will get milked, go back with the calves and they will drive her nuts for a little bit because she doesn't have any milk, but they will all get over it and by that evening if I want to separate them again to milk the next morning, they have all "survived". Actually, I usually wait about an hour or two after milking before I turn her back with the calves so that she does have a little milk in the udder then they get a few mouthfuls and don't butt her too hard.
I don't know if you can do it that way with goats, although I don't see why not, but it isn't all that hard to do with cows. I don't have any first-hand knowledge about the production of dexters, but with my jerseys and guernseys and especially the ones that are holstein crosses I usually have one calf per teat so they have 3 or 4 calves on them after they first come fresh. The more demand you make on the udder right after first freshening, the more milk the mammary system will produce and that will establish the pattern for the entire lactation. Granted it also has to do with the genetics, but there have been several trial studies done on dairies, from the normal 2x day milking up to 6x day in early lactation and the ones that were challenged 6x day in the first 45 days, consistently produced more milk throughout the entire lactation. Something to also keep in mind when you get to where you want to milk.
I love hand milking but it is a big restrictive on your time. You will find that if you milk alot, or milk alot of goats like goat whisperer, you will develop strong muscles in your wrists and arms and what becomes routine for you to say milk a 2-3-4 gallon pail of milk will become torture for someone who doesn't do it regularly. For awhile I milked 2 cows 2xday. Then went to a sale and bought 2 registered guernseys from a commercial dairy dispersal sale. They were well along in lactation, but talk about wanting to die....my arms were killing me for the first 2 weeks because of going from 2 to 4 milking cows. I named the "4th" cow to be milked "Patience" because she was so patient with me struggling through getting her milked out with my tired out arms and hands....bless her heart.