New Family Jersey Cow - Too Funny

[yankeeterrier]

Well, last night we we went and picked up a coming 3yo Reg. Jersey, milking light on three quarters, confirmed bred for May calf.
I told my husband that I would need his help in the AM so wake me up (I take the night shift with our baby son). Needless to say he forgets so I am left on my own with a brand new cow! She is lovely and well behaved but has very short teats and I am getting very little milk and pinching this sweet girl way too much. After about 6 oz of milk and lots of frustration I'm dragging up to the house, wondering what to do.....I can't find the regulator for the milking machine since its been about 5 years since I've had a homestead cow and really didn't want to have to clean the whole shebang for a gallon of milk a day.
Well my son was born at 30 weeks so our insurance co. issued a high quality breast pump so I could express milk while he was in the NICU. I grabbed the pump and the large sheilds and a long extension cord and headed down to the barn. Guess what!?!?! It worked great. Her teats are small enough to work in the large shields. I was able to get an additional quart of milk from her and when I head down this afternoon I'll bring more bottles to get her fully pumped out. Did I mention what a sweet, patient girl she is?

So if you see a woman heading down to the barn with a blue Medela portable electric breastpump, wave and don't laugh too hard.

[gone-a-milkin]

Good thinking! She sounds like a lovely cow to tolerate your experimenting. It makes perfect sense to me that a breast pump would work, mammals are mammals after all. Congratulations on your new cow, and good luck finding your regulator!

[cathleenc]

that would be a lactina pump you are toting there.

Very funny! I rent breast pumps (am a lactation consultant) and have often wondered, while milking my goats, how to adapt one to do the job. But in the end I like hand milking so have never experimented. LOL.

[yankeeterrier]

Well if she had bigger teats it wouldn't work, but if she had bigger teats I could easily milk her by hand! LOL I definitely think it would work on a first freshening goat without a problem. My guess is a longer more narrow shield/cup could be made and that would make an ideal 'mini'pump' if you only had a goat or two. I think the cheaper home models would not hold up, but if you could get a surplus hospital model I think it would really do the trick.
It is a hoot, I went down at lunchtime and got another quart out of her. Every once in a while she turns her head and gives me a quizzical look. It really is funny that I went down there this a.m. armed with a 'cow can't kick' all prepared to do battle since she came from a commercial organic dairy but she has been almost helpful. Such a good girl.

[matt_man]

Too funny but whatever works. I have one of those pumps and it is the best one out there IMO for human use. I used to rent one of them every time I had a baby until I found one at a resale shop for $20. I was spending $35 a month to rent one for 6 months after my babies were born.

You at least can do 2 teats at a time right? If I ever have one with itty bitty teats, I might give it a try.

Rachel

[yankeeterrier]

Since they don't have as much suction, you actually have to hold the cup on and I haven't gotten organized enough yet to do two at a time. She's giving most of her milk in the 2 rear quarters so I have been pumping a back teat and hand stripping out a front into a shallow pan so the pigs get a little treat and she gets empty.
Here she is


Tonite, since hubby was home, I was able to get her into a stanchion and I got 1/2 a gallon in about 10min pump time woohoo!

[matt_man]

Have you tried just strip milking? Just using your thumb and first finger, squeeze and pull down. That is my method anyway and I am pretty fast and get a good stream that way. And it doesn't matter how short or long the teats are, it will work.

Rachel

[gone-a-milkin]

I like her fuzzy ears. (I am a sucker for soft fuzzy cow ears...)