Have I made a terrible mistake?

Thanks for your tip Gone A Milking. Yes, I need to get a rod of some sort.

Took the monsters: Bones and Liza to get de-horned yesterday. Not sure who is more traumatized us or them. I had to hold Bones' head (the rope on the nose-ring) while the Doc yanked them out. I took off before Liza got in the chute, so the husband had to hold her, and he was grossed out too--she got the circular saw.

They both seem very mellow today, I imagine that will change soon enough.

But aside from that, back to milking.

I tried to tie Yo up when I first tried to milk her after she had Rita. She absolutely freaked out--when she was done eating of course.

So now I just milk her outside. I have been penning her up at night, so milked her in the pen--but now fixed it so Rita doesn't have access to her, so she stays on part of the pasture with a few others. But I bring her back into the pen and milk her.

She was a brat and when she was done she would just walk away. So I give her her regular bucket of food and at the end I give her a scoop of calf starter. So she waits for it, and that has worked good, as long as she is hungry.

In the winter, we will go back into the barn.