One maid a milking

 El is thinking of getting goats, and she wanted to know what my milking procedure is.  I milk a cow, but I think the basics are still the same.  How to get milk from the cow/goat to the house in useable form.  This is something I don’t really think about, and didn’t really think of posting about.  So here goes… .

To be successful at milking, you need to stick to your routine.  This will help immensely with the letdown reflex, which makes milking easy.  If the cow doesn’t let her milk down for you, it takes a longgggggggggggggg time to milk.  And it gets tiring, and your cow is most likely to end up with mastitis and you’re most likely to end up with hatethatcowitis.  Then you will do things like throw up your sore hands and arms and dry up the cow, giving up.  Only to be confronted again with the same problems at the next freshening.  If the cow survives, and doesn’t succumb to mastitis, milk fever, or several other problems that can arise.  Because really, if you don’t like the animal or the process, you may as well not milk a cow or goat, it is easy to find milk at the store.  Lactating animals need to be monitored all through the lactation and dry period.  Most of the aforementioned problems can be overcome with management, and correct feeding.  Animals vary as do feedstuffs, don’t believe someone who tells you that once a cow has these “dis-eases” they will always have them.  It is hard for humans to assess the grass, it looks green and palatable, but may not be, or the minerals may be out of balance.  It is hard to see, but sick animals will tell you.  Oops ranting again – sorry, I’ll try to stick to the getting the milk to the house.

This is definitely Home Girl dairy, just buckets, rags and hands.  No electricity required. 
My milking rules:
♣  I am the only one to touch my milk buckets.  They don’t get used for anything except their intended use.

♣  Same with milk jars – I’m a little more lenient with these, but people have to ask first.

♣  The scrubbies, and soap for my milk stuff is only for milk containers.  I keep them out of sight, so no one is tempted to wash dishes with them.  Come to think of it, no one is ever tempted to wash dishes at my house. 😉

 

♣  Don’t bother me while I’m milking.  Unless the house is on fire… .

Most of the time my cow is outside before milking, she has access to a loafing shed, but unless it is really raining she will be outside.  She stays much cleaner this way – very important for clean milk.  The exception is cold or snowy weather, then she gets to spend the night in her stall.  Keeping a cow clean in a stall is harder due to the nature of the moisture content of their manure.  A goat, not so hard, since their manure is pelleted and dry.  This is a good place to interject that a cow that feels good, and is healthy will keep herself clean.  A healthy animal has a clean coat, and is not depressed and as apt to lay in their own manure.  They do need a large enough stall to provide them with a clean place to lay.  Don’t cuss the cow for being dirty, look for ways to help her stay clean.  We deep bed our beef cows in the winter, but I do clean the milk cow’s stall daily. 

Before milking, I go out and get the cow’s feed ready in her area where I milk.  She is usually watching me and will go to the bathroom because she is anticipating eating.  I would rather she do this before I milk, so I take my time and keep the routine the same.  I also feed the cats and do anything else that needs doing before I milk, e.g., pick the stall and put down fresh straw in the milking area, so I have a clean place to put my milk bucket.

Then it is back to the house to wash my hands.  I fill my washing bucket with very warm water, and take it and my milk bucket to the barn.

Next I open the gate and let the cow go to her milking stall.  She goes without any help from me, I tie her up, or if you had a stanchion the cow would go there.  I put her kickers on, since once in awhile Della will kick.  I use the adjustable chain type that hooks on the cows tendons just above the hocks.  She will step into these practically, with just a touch from me on the leg that needs moving.  Your cow does need to be somewhat docile to put hobbles on, so if you have a violent kicker, I think this type of hobble would be a little hard to manage.  Since you have to be right there to put them on.  Once the kickers are on, you can adjust the tightness, which slows down the kicking.   And realistically the cow should have good ground manners before you start milking.  Grooming your cow at different times than milking is a good way to get them used to being handled.

Della stays pretty clean, but I wash her teats with the warm water.  I use salve or bag balm, so there is some residue from the last milking that needs to washed off.  If she has manure on her udder, I will wash her and the milk will go straight to the calf, or get dumped.  Life is too short to handle dirty milk.  That is why I don’t sell milk, besides it being illegal.  I have friends who sell raw milk legally, and friends who sell raw milk illegally – they have a certain amount of customers and they need every gallon they get.  Too nerve wracking for me.   

Clean enough for us.

 

Always check the teat orifice, I mean look at them.  Dirt can clog this opening and you don’t need that in your milk.  The first squirts go on the ground to clear any bacteria that may be in the teat canal. 

Ready to milk, I place the bucket between my knees and slant it towards the cow.  Not underneath where she can step into it.  Also if she kicks something can fly off of her hooves into the bucket.  With the kickers on she can only kick forward, not to the side, so if the bucket is to the side that lessens the chance of any debris getting in the milk. 

 

Della has a leaker, when she lets her milk down, it starts streaming out.  If I keep her routine the same, she lets down easily.  I make sure she has her hay and grain and roots in front of her.  And enough to eat for the entire time I’m going to be milking.  If she is busy eating, she doesn’t have her mind on me.  If you have an impatient cow, you can place large smooth stones in her grain bucket.  This will slow down the grain eating, and give her something to do, getting every last little nugget out of the manger.  I also don’t stop and start milking and go to the house, or get another bucket, nothing will drive a cow crazy faster than that – put yourself in her place, you will know what I mean.  If your cow gives more than your bucket will hold, plan for it and have your other bucket right there.

 

On Della, I milk her far side first, and if I place my left arm in the right place, I can keep her from kicking and direct her leaking teat into the bucket.  Stripping the last milk takes almost as long as the main milking.  Go to each quarter, again and again, just like a calf finishing nursing.  You want to get every last drop.  I’m spoiled, usually I leave this part for Della’s calf, and I go to the house, but she lost her calves this year so I’m it.  She doesn’t like me pulling, so I’m not really stripping her like some books recommend, I just squeezing like usual.  I’m also massaging each quarter a little to get the last little bit of milk.

 

After I’m satisfied with my milking job, I put salve on her teats, making sure to close off the teat orifice with salve to help prevent dirt or manure getting in the teat canal.  Especially her leaker, on my side – it’s a two way street, dirt can get in there as easily as that milk leaks out.

I like to have my jars clean and air dried before I milk, then I can strain the milk as soon as I get to the house.  I use a wet muslin cloth pulled taut over the bucket, this strains out any foreign objects, like hair or hay.  If I decided not to keep the milk, for cleanliness reasons, I would just pour it into jars for the bucket calf.  She is large enough, and has a strong immune system, so she could tolerate a little contamination.  I would make sure no one (human) gets that milk!

The muslin should be wetted with cool water, not hot, so you don’t cook any milk into your cloth.  The same for rinsing your buckets, rinse with warm water, then wash with very warm water and whatever soap you are using.  Let air dry, do not dry with a cloth which will just add bacteria.
I soak my cloth’s in warm water with a couple of teaspoons of baking soda dissolved, and then wash them.  In the summer I hang them to dry in the sun, in the winter, they go behind the woodstove.

 

 
Strained and ready for the refrigerator.

 

Chilled and ready for ?  It takes about 24 hours for the cream to completely rise.