Hand Milking a Cow
 

I have a first time Holstein cow that I am trying to milk by hand.

She appears to be holding her milk.

She gives partial kick at my hands.

She has small teats, I have big hands.

Any advice? :hair

Thanks.

What kind of advice do you want:
1)How to milk a cow?
2)How to make her not kick?
I would take a warm wet cloth and massage her udder and then lubricate her teats, if you can't use your whole hand just try your thumb and a couple of fingers.
I'm not a veterinarian, but I played one on TV......:umno:

Where is the calf? Are you milk sharing with the calf on the cow or have you separated the calf permanently from the cow?

I am milking {trying} in the morning and then turning her out with calf. At this time we only need enough milk from one milking to satisfy our needs. Plus work schedule.

Cow is penned at night away from calf but in earshot of each other.

I would keep doing this but at milking time halter the calf, bring it to the cow, let it nurse until the cow lets her milk down, then tie the calf near her head and milk.

As far as kicking, if she keeps it up after nursing the calf I would tie a leg back or use a cinch rope.

Thanks tinknal

Will try that.

^^^^ what they said

Penning the cow at night did not work.

Cow managed to undo 2 barn door latches and get back out to the calf.

Calf has a full, satisfied look on face and cow has an empty udder.

To be outsmarted by a cow..............

LOL! Put the CALF up. You want the cow on grass 24/7. Makes her eager to come in, also, to see her baby.

plus you do not want a new born out in field by itself with out a mama to protect it...coyotes or even tame dogs running lose

Will be trying that today.

No one told me getting milk was this hard. :happy2:

small teats and big hands = buy a milking machine or sell the cow! They will get slightly bigger after being nursed for a lactation or two, but good handles are a neccessity for handmilking in my book. If you're share milking with the calf I'd take mine from the most desireable teats and let the calf handle the rest.

:sing:Its really not hard at all. you grab the silver handle to open the door then reach in and grab a gallon..

:doh: I was told to pump the tail and the milk would come out. I was funny colored milk tho. :happy2:

Well said. I look at some dairy cows and see teats less than an inch long - apparently okay for machines, but not hands.

One reason I prefer a beef/dairy cross, as beef cows usually have bigger teats.

How much milk do you need? Many holsteins are capable of over ten gallons a day - not the best idea for many for a family cow.

Beef/jersey cross works well - smaller than a holstein, with fewer health issues and fewer nutritional issues than a straight dairy cow.

I had looked around for a Jersey for months but in my area, could not find any.

Bought this Holstein because she was breed to a Hereford bull and due to calve.

She is hand tame and got them for $1,000.

Good price. I hate the small teats they have bred into them. If you want to keep her I would do everything I could to breed some longer teats into her so you can at least milk her young. As far as that goes they do make one cow milkers for around $700 bucks.

As someone already mentioned the teats do get longer with the next lactation, if this is a first calf heifer. If it is a mature cow, then I suggest a milking machine, if the teats are too small.

What they said, when I tie my cow's leg back, I just used baling twine with a slip-knot, it doesn't take much if they don't really mean it. And hang in there, once you get a routine, she'll be happier, cows love their routines.

She is 2 1/2 yrs old and first calf.

Maybe AI breed her to a Jersey to get a good milking heifer?

I had a large Holstein milk cow that liked to kick. I think she did it for entertainment. Otherwise, she was a pretty good old cow that would give me up to 7 gallons per day at her peak.

I used a halter and 1/2” lead rope on her, and I tied her right hind leg back with a 1/4” manila rope. Not to stretcher her out, but just to limit the forward motion of that leg. After a narrow escape, I also put a loose 3/4” flank rope attached to the side of the barn on her each time. The flank rope was not to keep her from kicking, but to keep her from falling on me if she ever lost her balance again.

I had to put the kick rope on her for every milking. Once we were well into the milking routine for the year, I could simply put the kick rope snug on her leg and lay it on the ground behind her and she was fine. Although, on days when she was feeling foxy, she’d roll that big right eye back in my direction and slowly lift her leg forward to see if there was any resistance. At that point, I knew it was time to tie it off. And not putting the kick rope on before I started would get a kick every time, and she was deadly with that thing...

CD in Oklahoma

I milk on one side and the calf on the other I take the big teats and the calf the other .I also give her the grain ration while milking