Milking a cow who kicks?
 

I've just acquired a 5-year old Dexter cow. She was separated from her calf a few days ago (calf was 3 1/2 months old). So, of course we want / need to milk her. She's never been hand milked. She's only a little bit friendly with us - she'll eat out of our hand, lets us pat her a bit.

On our first milking attempt she bent the bar on the stanchion that holds her head in. She kicked but we were able to mostly milk her out (albeit onto the ground) and mostly avoided her kicks. And, we learned a few things about our stanchion design.

We beefed up the stanchion. Yesterday when we tried to milk her we had more trouble getting her into the stanchion and her kicks became much more ferocious and wide-reaching. I took a nasty kick just beside my knee (yes, very lucky). She wouldn't let us get close to her udder. We left her in the stanchion for a while but that didn't seem to help.

My husband has already given up on her and wants to sell her. Is there any chance that we can bring her around? Does anyone have any tips for how to make this work? It's our first cow and I know we have a lot to learn. We have experience with other animals (sheep, goats, pigs, poultry, etc.) but this is the biggest.

Help!! Thanks.
Elizabeth

Most cows can be gentled to hand milking. It's not a hundred percent, because I remember one Jersey that we had when I was a child that we never did get gentled and finally sold her for beef.

It sometimes takes quite a bit of patience, and you may not see any improvement for several days or even a couple of weeks. Eventually, with time and patience, she'll start to come around. Even if it takes a couple of weeks, and she makes a good milk cow, you'll have a nice cow for several years. It's definitely worth the effort to try.

You can use a soft rope to make a makeshift hobble on her back legs so that she can't kick as easily. Make sure to put it below the hock, and give her enough slack to stand comfortably, but not lift her leg high enough to kick.

Thanks - it gives me a bit of hope. I'm so not looking forward to today's attempt.

How does one put on a hobble without getting kicked in the face? And, how to take it off? After yesterday's experience we're a bit gunshy....not to mention black and blue.

For the most part, she seems to be a gentle cow; she just doesn't like us to get near her udder. (Not that I blame her one bit)

Thanks again.
Elizabeth

You can tie the near hind leg back with just enough tension on the rope to keep her from kicking forward. You can also put a rope around her middle just in front of the udder and tighten it enough so she can't kick. Use a soft rope for either method. Just be aware that she may have a fit the first time you use either method, so stand back if she starts and let her have her fit so she won't topple over on you. She will have to get use to any method of restraint. Put some good sweet feed in front of her to keep her mind off you and on her belly.

You can milk her. It is just a matter of getting setup properly. Only last week I moved an Angus beef cow from the herd and milked her for several days. This is an animal that would not let you touch her or to get within three feet. In addition to the stanchion you need two panels (plywood or gates), one on each side of her, mounted about 16 to 18 inches from the floor/ground. This will control her from moving sideways. A couple of feet behind the cow you need a post in the ground to tie one foot to. Put the cow in the stanchion and give her a little sweet feed and leave her alone for an hour. Then go give her a little more sweet feed and at that time tie one foot to the post. Let her fight the rope for a few minutes until she calms down and then just rub her udder and teat area. If she is does not start to settle down put a tarp around her neck and spread the tarp to each side to where she cannot see what is going on behind her. Other than the milking being different she will not know that it is you taking the milk and not the calf. When she calms from this, milk her some wasting the milk. When finished milking get her another cup of sweet feed and leave her in the stanchion for another hour or so before releasing her. In less than one 50 lb sack of molasses sweetened horse feed she will be milkable.

Thanks for the stanchion design improvements. We can make the changes before today's attempt. But how does one "tie one foot to the post" without getting a kick in the face? I guess we'll just have to see how the new stanchion panels work before we attempt to tie the foot. Is there a special knot I should use? Should I just loop the rope around around her foot a couple times and NOT use a knot? My concern is un-tying the knot after it's been tightened by her thrashing.

Thanks.
Elizabeth

As you are learning, it can be dangerous!!! Now, having said that, I bought one last winter that was broke to milk and I still have the "dent" in my leg where she kicked me ! :bash: They make a contraption that you put over her back and tighten down in her flank that makes it impossible for her to kick, just have to check at some farm stores. You can lay a loop down before she steps into the stanchion and when she steps into it, you can pull it up where the loop is around her leg. tie it off and she can't kick. Be sure to tie the leg on the side you milk on :stars: If you use a stiff rope, like a larait rope it won't tighten down to where you can't get it loose pretty easily. It get so frustrating at first, and you won't get any milk from her for awhile,, just milk it on the ground, but she will get used to you being her calf. Lots of sweet feed and patience. While she's in the stanchion, do lots of petting, on her hip, down into her flank, getting her used to being handled. They also make a set of hobbles that fit over her hocks, but if she's kicky, they would be kinda hard to get on her, anyway, good luck, and let us know how it's going.
P.J..

If we have a heifer that doesn't want to stand to be milked we just get some twine string and go aroud the middle in front of the udder and tighten up real tight . If the rope is tight when she kicks the hip bone can't get full moition and she has a tough time to kick sideways . Don't tie the leg to a post if she falls she can break a leg. You can tie the two legs together so when she kick it move the other leg and she will lose her balance .The other thing that will change her attude and give her something to think about is a nose lead and pull that tight with her head side ways.

A lot of times just having someone there who will hold the tail up is enough to distract and slow down a goosy new cow.

Grab the tail just below the tailhead, close to where it is connected at the spine. Hold it firmly up. When she starts dancing pull it up a little harder. This method does require a bit of physical strength. You dont want to bend the tail to the side at all, just sort of jack it straight up. Doing this disrupts their balance and if they discover they cant lift a hoof w/o becoming unbalanced, the DO quit fighting it. Take care not to twist the tail, it is breakable.

I have used this method on lots of animals, though it is a 2 person job. Be sure the tail-holding person is in a safe position too.

Usually takes a week of practicing. :) You have my sympathy. Dont give up too soon!

She probably has a very sore udder,a warm rag held to the udder may provide some comfort for her. I have a set of kickers that i bought in 1945 . They are a couple of U shape metal that fits over and above the hock. these hook together with a chain. These haven't been used in 50 years kinda a collector item. Jay in N.C.

As Jay said, her udder might be full and sore. You might put the calf back on her and practice while she is not overfilled. And if it isn't working right away, the calf can keep her milked out so her production doesn't drop.

Also, you will get some milk out, but you won't get it all unless she releases it to you. She certainly won't do that if she's nervous and just weaned a calf. I take my cows first part of milk, then let calf suck a minute so she'll release the rest (oxytocin), then I pull the calf away and milk out the last part. My last calf helped me milk until he was 10 months old.

Just too much going on for her right now with a new place, weaning and learning about people grabbing her udder and squeezing. Alot of stress at once. Look at if from her perspective.

It's interesting seeing different cows response to milking. My current cow has never tried to kick. Her very gentle daughter, handled daily since birth, kicked like crazy. I tried many of the tricks mentioned here, but finally out of frustration returned a few kicks to the belly, and she never kicked again. But your cow is in a different situation - I wouldn't do that while she is under big stresses.

You can use a soft lead rope that has a loop built into one end. Stand just behind the rear leg and slip the loop end around the back of her leg, and then draw the other end of your rope through the loop. Let the rope slide down her leg until it is just a little above the hoof. Then pull the leg back and tie it with just enough tension so that she can't bring that leg forward to kick, but can still balance herself. Just for the record, we have used this method for years, and we have never had a cow fall over and break her leg. It is possible for that to happen, but it also possible for a cow to have a fit and fall over using any of the other restraint methods.
My advise is to look over all of the suggestions and choose the one that seems best to you. If one doesn't work, then you have several others to try. Let us know how you get along. Don't give up. Once she knows who is in control, she will probably settle down.

Tailing the cow is the best way to get any hobbling, tying, or any other roping done...It lets her learn VERY quickly that she ain't in control here. Frustrates heck out of real kickers. Two or 3 times, she will find out she does have to, and it won't kill her. Then you can hobble or whatever else you want to do. Won't take much upward pressure at all on the tail then. Agmantoo has excellent alternative method. Happy dairying!!

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions. Today we had two successes: noone got hurt and it only took us about a half hour to get her into her stanchion. We added a side panel to the stanchion on the side where we're hoping to milk. That absorbed a lot of her kicks. We tried to get a rope around her leg but no luck. So we weren't able to milk her. I do realize that she's probably sore, it's now been two days since she's been milked. On the other hand, we can't risk the injury that might come with a good kick.

Tomorrow we'll try Linn's suggestion to restrain her leg. Wish us luck.

BTW, my husband is now convinced we should sell her.....

Thanks again.
Elizabeth

Tell him we said to hang in there. Most of us have experienced kicking cows, and most of them have been tamed through patience and probably one of the methods above.

We've used the rope around her middle just in front of the udder and had good luck with it.
Cinch it up tight. You don't have to mess around with a flailing hoof to get it on either....

This works: http://www.enasco.com/product/C00104N

With a kicking cow in the past that I purchased as a "can't be milked cow" I put her in the stanchion and let her step into a widely stretched loop in the floor. I pulled the loop up onto her ankle and then tied it back around a barn pole. I then took an old worn out cotton mop head still on the mop handle and extended it to her udder and rubbed it back and forth. This way, when she felt the action in the udder area and began to kick I was well out of the way. As she kicked at the mop I cinched her leg up a little tighter with every kick until she was basically balancing on three legs.

This method took about a week of rodeo twice a day before she gave in. Remember, Rome wasn't built in a day. However, safety first!!!!!!!!!!!! I'd recommend to anyone to put on a pair of thick insulated coveralls even if it's hot outside when breaking a cow to milk. As corny as it may sound, a pair of safety glasses would be a great idia as well. The coveralls and glasses could pad a potentially bruising or severely injuring kick and it'll be worth the sweat.

We just got our heifer so I have no experience with cattle but don't you have to worry about mastitis or did you give back her calf for now while you are settling her? We have dairy goats but I would never go that long for my dairy girls without milking out their udders (by either me or the kids). Just curious for my own education about dairy cows (we have a Jersey). Although aren't Dexter's a dual purpose meat/milk so maybe they don't produce as much milk? Gosh though I remember being engorged with my own babies, I'd kick someone too.

Be careful if you try the rope ahead of the udder method. It does work, sometimes too well. I've had a couple of cows lose their balance and fall over sideways, almost catching me underneath. I bought an anti-kick device at the local feed store, it's shaped like a large C and is adjustable. One end of the "C" hooks snugly under the flank and the other end hooks over the backbone. Same principle as the rope method but less danger of a fall.

try tail jacking her first. We tail jack the kicking heifers in the barn and if that doesn't work we go to the rope next. You milk and hubby lift that tail up :) Make sure his hand firmly grasps the tail right at her butt. make sure to push it forward only far enough that she isnt able to kick

Hey,
I'm milking and 8 year old Dexter and this is her first time being milked. Some days I don't want to sell her, I want to shoot her! But for the most part we're getting along. Nearly every day I put a rope around her body in front of her udder and in front of her hip bones, as suggested. This is a miracle worker!!!

I highly suggest that you do this. I have a piece of rope with a clip on one end and knots on the other. I drop the end of the rope with the clip on it down behind her front shoulder and reach under and grab it. Then I slide it back to her hip bones. I then pull it tight and clip the clip on at one of the knots so that it is really tight, this makes all the difference.

I grew up on a family dairy. We milked in a 50 cow stanchion barn with a pipeline. We milked lots of heifers and cows who liked to kick. We never used a kicker. Our first option was a halter or nose lead to tie the head tightly to on side. For real problem cows we had another person use the tail jack in addition to tying off the head. We also would lean into the rear leg on the side we were milking with all our weight. This helped keep her foot on the ground. It seems a little counter intuitive but the closer you are to the foot the less power she can generate in a kick. The only problem with this is that if you are milking by hand you will only be able to reach the two quarters on the same side that you are standing on. It takes a while but eventually she should come around. The whole time I was on the farm we never culled a cow simply because she was a kicker.

I didn't read the whole thread so this might have been mentioned but I have read about people who use a soft garden-type glove, stuffed & attached to the end of a broomstick to 'touch' the udder, essentially just to get her used to the sensation of being touched.

My feeling is the worst thing you can do it let her win by backing off when she behaves inappropriately. I would go out with this set up when you have plenty of time and can out-wait her.

eam,

We are curious for an update. Did you get her settled down, or sell her, or shoot her? :)

I am working with a little bitty holstein hiefer right now that I call White Lightning. She can send out 6 sideways kicks in the time it takes me to move one step. Just getting her into the barn has been a huge victory! She has figured out that she can both climb over and crawl under the cattle panels.

I think of you and your DH while I am milking her!:D

Marc went out to milk our cows when I noticed this thread. Question... Did you try leaving her calf milk one side while you milk the other? I wouldn't think she would kick if her calf was on one side. I like the other ideas you've gotten as well. We have a shute that we can use if a cow gets too hinkey. We put a bit of sweet feed at the head to coax her in. This will keep her from swinging around and keeps her from kicking too high although she can swing her foot around a bit. I don't really like the idea of tying her foot to the point she's balancing on three feet though hobbling her so she can't kick is OK. Just my two cents of ideas. Good luck and we wish you the best. Be sure to give us an update as to how it's going.

How are you doing?
Either way :bow: for even trying this long!

Eam, Did you make any progress?

I love reading all you guys fixes . Wonderfull!!!! Tailing works for us , rope around middle works ok, try tying her head up high with a halter. I don`t like tying legs for fear of going down. Hobbles have been known to make them kick with both back feet. I had a heifer last year took 6 weeks before I could walk away from her with the milker on her. Above all else don`t give up, thats what she wants , the more you mess with her the better, she will come around someday. Good luck, Thanks Marc

she may not like it because her udder hurts her. If the calf was taken off several days ago it may be sore/tender and that may be why she won't let you touch it...

Double a length of bale twine,tie her back legs together just above the hock,let her be balistic for a while, then milk her.Repeat each milking until she gets the message.

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for all the replies and encouragement. Unfortunately, we've decided to sell her or beef her if she doesn't sell. Nothing has improved on our relationship with her. We had a couple of people come to see her who are far more expereinced with cows than we. One person actually knew of her and the breeder she came from. He was shocked that she was sold to us at all given that we wanted to milk her. Apparently she's been a problem for some time. So, bottom line is that we feel misled, disappointed, and very frustrated. It's especially unfortunate that this is our first cow experience and there's no doubt that my DH wants this to be our last.

Anyone want to buy a Dexter cow? :(

Again, thanks for all the help and support.
Elizabeth

sad but true fact people.. is that your trying to get the animal trained so she will not kick and be milked .. anyone see the way that you have to control the animal to keep it from beening harmed in the milking proccess along with your own personal safety at times..they think that you are trying to hurt the animal ..for those who has never grow up working around animals allways thinks that you are trying to hurt the animal when trying to get to do something that is good for it..

I'm so sorry that you've had such a bad experience with your first cow. Shame on the seller, if you told them what you wanted to do, and they sold you the cow anyway. You should talk to them, if they are in anyway reputable breeders they should be happy to refund your money. I hope you don't think all Dexters are like this. I'm sure she is a fine cow, just not a milker. Advertise her and you should not have any trouble selling her, or, if you don't have too much in her, she will be some fine beef for your table. I'd like to know who sold her to you, just to make sure I never buy from them.............P.J.