what is the procedure to get a cow to let herself

[bookwormom]

there have to be some time tested methods to teach a cow to stand still and be milked. My cows act wild eyed and wild when their calf is out of vision. But one of the reasons we got them in the first place is so we will have fresh milk and I can make butter.

[Deberosa]

I keep practicing with Daisy to get her used to me touching her and being around her. I am beginning to think Dexter's are a bit more flighty but a few months ago I was able to at least get a wad of matted hair off of her udder and sqeeze out some milk while she was still nursing T-Bone so that's progress. Beyond that I am at a loss except if she has grain in front of her it almost doesn't matter what happens. I am not sure what it will be like with a calf around though...

[walls0stone]

first calf heffer? got a stall I hope?

[bookwormom]

nope, we have an open shed for the cows. I have a stall in the goat shed, she would fit there since she is little. would have to put the calf into one of the boxes for little goats to get Brownie to go in there. right now the Great Pyr pups are living in the goat shed, the gots are living in the cow shed and the cows are living in the great outdoors. My husband hs really worked with them all winter and Brownie is the most gentle. she lets me touch her udder, but she swished me across the face with her tail when I tried to get some milk our of her, then she lifted her leg....she needs to be milked and she was holding it back.

[walls0stone]

well, one of the first things I learned milking...(kids here start at age 12)...you make some contact with her body with your shoulder...just let her know she's their. The tail...get used to it.
Somtimes wet, sometims dry..tail and S***, right in 'yer eye..

first calf animals will kick you, and push you..just gota milk her over and over. Give her a spot in the barn to let her know that when she's in that place...this will happen.

could you try a collection milker with a vacume line?

[Drawbar]

I find First Calf Heifers tend to be so docile they could care less what is happening to them,or they kick and fight and fidget. There seems to be no in-between. These kickers are shipped quite fast on our farm.

If selling her is out, then try to crowd her into a corner of the shed. Typically one person cranks her tail around which drives her forward, while the other puts their shoulder on her rib cage and pushes while the milker is added. Every time she swipes her leg at the milker, crank on her tail some more.

If that doesn't work, put a bridle on her and string her nose up, tight and short. Again cranking on the tail helps too.

I don't do this any more, but thumping on them never seemed to work very well so no matter how mad you are, don't resort to that. It just never helps.

[AlchemyAcres]

A milk stall..stanchion ..would help a lot....it's easy to build a wooden one....
Least stress...you want her to associate milking with something good...put the calf in front of her at first...grain is ok...but only paciffies for a short time...a salt block or molasses lick (non-urea) would be better....
I wouldn't add any of the negatives....something in the nose...tail up...halter, etc...unless she's an excessive kicker...Least stress...that's the KEY!!!!


~Martin :)

[Deberosa]

A milk stall..stanchion ..would help a lot....it's easy to build a wooden one....
Least stress...you want her to associate milking with something good...put the calf in front of her at first...grain is ok...but only paciffies for a short time...a salt block or molasses lick (non-urea) would be better....
I wouldn't *add any of the negatives....something in the nose...tail up...halter, etc...unless she's an excessive kicker...Least stress...that's the KEY!!!!


~Martin :)


You're back Martin! Hope everything is OK. Now need to find out what happened to DM...

[bookwormom]

thanks all,

good to see you are back Martin.

Brownie is a Dexter, no way will I put my shoulder against her ribcage. she comes to my waist. I'd have to get o my knees.

collection milker with a vacuum line??? whatever it is, I have to milk by hand. I guess a milkstand for her would just be a larger version of the goat's?

Okay, get used to the tail across the face.
one moe thing. the calf seems to nurse on the two front nipples and the back ones are hard as rock and also shorter. If Imilk the front ones, will the calf have enough sense to go to the back ones? Blackie has some very funny looking udder, sort of like some water balloon hanging down. Her calf is doing great with it, I could never milk her. I don't want Brownie t turn out like that.

[walls0stone]

yes, you will need to get down low to milk her. You need to get down on one knee to put a milker on or milk by hand. just have contact with her middle.

a vacume line is a pipe, with a vacume created by a milker pump, and then the milk is drawn out of the cow by a milker, but rather than going into the main line, it goes into a large bucket and poured by hand into the container.

your cow may be a 2 titt'r means she's only got 2 working. post a pic.

[sioux-pepper]

Growing up, I raised a lot of leppie calves on my nurse cows and had to milk a lot.
I had a milk cow that would swish me with her tail, so I tied it to her leg during milking. Not only is it no fun getting s*** on your face it is no fun getting it out of the milk pail.
Also, once you get her to at least stand for milking and she wants to kick forward, push your head into her stifle region, it is a little uncomfortable at first, but she can't kick as far forward. The stifle is right above the flank.
The way we broke cows to milk might be a little too "western" (rough) to explain here.
Misty

[wy0mn]

We used to share the udder with the calf the first few times we milked a new cow. Of course the milk wasn't good for anything & the calf got it back in a bottle or it went to the pigs.
We also used some anti-kicker chains. I know I'm not describing it well, but surely someone/somewhere still makes them. Everything else I could add would be simply repeating Martin :) .

[lsg]

bookwormom, like wyomn says, you can let the calf nurse the back quarts while you milk the front ones. *It gets kind of messy with calf slobbers; but after a while your cow will probably be willing to let you milk her without the calf. *You can tie the near hind leg back if her head is in a stanchion. *Just make a loop in the end of a soft rope and put it on the near hind leg about 6 inches up from the hoof. *Tie the leg back just far enough so she can't bring the leg forward to kick; but can still keep balanced on that foot. *If she moves around, be prepared to get back out of the way until she settles down.

[bookwormom]

I hope this discussion will come in handy for someone some day who is in my predicament.
the calf is not coming close when I try to milk. Brownie lets me massage her udder, I have milked a little but she just is not contained enough. Looks like the calf has made it to three spickets. I try to work on the fourth one, but she does not let the milk down. We need a different set up. Husband has tied her to a fencepost and hand feeds her sweet feed. that won't do in the long run. But I do remember an old woman in Easternn Ky ( back in 1966)milking her cow beside the pasture with nothing to hold the cow. Wouldn't that be wonderful.
thanks all.

[lsg]

In order for the suggestion to work, you have to separate the cow and calf. *Then the calf will finally get hungry enough to nurse while you milk. *It might take a couple of missed feedings. That is probably your problem right there. The cow will not let down as long as she has her calf running with her. We usually end up separating the cow and calf and letting the cow in to be milked and for the calf to nurse twice a day. So far my little Dexter is letting down what milk she has left; but I am not getting much as the calf gets older. The time is comming shortly when they will have to be separated. Prepare for some extended and pitiful bawling by both calf and cow when they are first separated. This usually goes on for a day or two. But it is amazing how well that cow will let down after a milking or two.
I remember my Mom milking the cows without a restraint. *Dad wouldn't keep a cow that wouldn't stand without restraint to be milked. As I remember most family cows were just trained that way.

[bookwormom]

thanks for the warning. I guess it means to be tough. after all, no one is going to hurt the little one.
we discussed today making a pen for the calfs out of cattle panels. Blackie's calf is very curious about the new herd member. Also, the small paddock we made for Brownie out of cattle panels is getting eaten down and she needs to get out of there. Maybe we could put the calfs in that paddock and let the mommas in for feeding. sounds like hubby has his work cut out for a while.