Milking cows

Is having a milking cow a pleasure or a pain? Sometimes it seems like a painful chore, and it can be very annoying when the cow or the calf does not do what I want it to do, when I want it to do it! However, most of the time I find having a milking cow a really nice and even relaxing chore. When I sit down to milk an easy to milk cow or I use a machine on the not so easy cows, I use this time as a meditative time.

For example , I have Ruth who is very quiet and I can even milk her with just a feed bucket in front and not in a milking bale. She has four lovely shaped teats so physically milking is easy and I can just rest my head against her flank and wander off in my mind! And then I have Blanquita. She is my highest producing cow, but not easy to milk - small and tight teats. I like to milk her with the machine and then it becomes a pleasure rather than a pain.

This is me milking Ruth when she first calved.

At the moment, I’m using a machine as I have Blanquita and Collette who are both hard to milk and even though Ruth is easy, she’s getting milked by machine too. The machine can be relaxing. I just pop the suction cups on and sit and contemplate. The machine makes a rhythmic noise and I can just zone out to it. I’m actually writing this as I milk, because I often think of things I want to write about while milking so I thought I might as well give it a go and will put it on the computer later.

Milking by machine is quicker to milk each cow, although I would argue that point if all my cows were like Ruth. Although, it is so much easier on my back, which is one of the original reasons I got a machine. What takes more time though, is the clean up process. Washing it afterwards is a little bit more work than just standing up and carry the bucket to the kitchen!

If all my cows were like Ruth and I only milked one each day, I wouldn’t bother with the machine. But, I like to make cheese and butter, so sometimes one cow is not enough. Sometimes one cow can be more than enough, but I just happened to have three calve all at once, so three it is!

Another really nice thing I enjoy about my cows is watching them! Our house is on a hill and most of the milking cow paddocks are below the house. I walk out to the garden or when I’m walking down to lock the calves up, it’s just such a nice view and to see them in that view makes my heart happy!

I only milk when I need or want to milk so the calves stay on the cow all the time, except for the nights before I milk. In the afternoon I separate the calves from the cows and then after milking I put them back together.

My life will be complete when I have about four cows like Ruth. All jerseys, 2 to milk at a time and easy to milk and manage. Yep I don’t wish for much in life!