switching hand too machine milking

[fordson major]

was offered a nice hand milked brown swiss the other day. because one of my hands does not work well and one handed milking is not fast nor will anyone else here hand milk ,would have too switch her to machine . has anybody switched a cow from being hand milked too machine? (have all the milking equipment already) any problems with them letting their milk down?

[linn]

I started our milk cow out by hand and switched to a machine. It didn't seem to bother her once she got used to the noise of the vacuum pump. I think that would be the key issue. You could start the pump up and run it a few times to get your cow used to it. If she is in a stanchion, you could tie her near leg back just to make sure she won't kick the milker off until she is used to the idea. She might hold her milk a time or two; but washing her udder with warm water and drying it with an old towel before putting on the milker will aid in her let-down.
Good luck with your cow!

[Haggis]

Originally Posted by ford major

was offered a nice hand milked brown swiss the other day. because one of my hands does not work well and one handed milking is not fast nor will anyone else here hand milk ,would have too switch her to machine . has anybody switched a cow from being hand milked too machine? (have all the milking equipment already) any problems with them letting their milk down?

I switched my Jerseys from hand milking to machine milking: one was nearing the end of her lactation and the other had just freshened. The only part that set them off was the noise of the machine and the hiss of the vacuum if a cup came off. At any rate they were accustomed within a couple of milkings; they still don't like the hiss, but the machine running maked them let their milk down; the Pavlov's cow effect.

[JeffNY]

If it is a good system (milking system), then it shouldn't bother. Just make sure the vaccuum pressure isn't excessive, ideally 13.5 works well, the range is 12-15. Good inflations, a good habbit of changing the inflations every 3 months is ideal as well. Mainly because they do wear out, even if they feel fine, or look fine. When you do get a set of claws, get some that will fold over and cut the air off, so when you put the inflation on each teat, it wont make a sucking noise. Some cows dont like the noise, and will kick. The only thing foreign to her will be the weight of the claw on her udder, but once she gets used to it, she might like it over hand milking (no tugging, more of a "pulse" on her teat). It will also be more sanitary (buy an inline filter, you wont regret it).


Jeff

[fordson major]

thanks for the input! i used too milk out some of our herford holstein x and angus cows for colostrum. think the hh would have been ok on a machine but the angus barely tolerated anyone near them or there calves! (got better as the calves got older!) been a few decades since i milked cows, have a complete sheep milk pipeline set up with electronic pulsation (too high a beat for cows) but cow boards are cheap! every thing else on the set up is the same as a cow milk line ,have a cow claw (surge) and will put new liners on it before trying it out! lot of small dairy have gone out here in the last 2 years.