milkstand training - how to get a cow to stop urinating? pooping

[cathleenc]

our cow has started a new habit of taking a good pee 3/4th the way through milking. lovely.

last night, the first time she did this, I yelled at her when she hunched her back and then when she did not stop I slapped with the palm of my hand, yelling more. Severely startled her, she acted nervous and confused and anxious for at least an hour afterwards.

This morning she urinated again, and again I yelled at her. It was a short pee - I really don't know if she abbreviated it because I yelled or because that was all she needed to release. She was anxious after I yelled - I took time to talk softly to her and pet her till she settled down.

Any advice to getting her to keep her business OFF of the milk stand? And what is the best way to correct her if she repeats the pee/poop thing?

She is a calm and gentle cow who we've had only 10 days now. From a commercial dairy.

thanks
Cathy

[mullberry]

do you feed her when milking?. I remember whe the cows were in the milking parlor the got fed there grain, I thought that the food distracted them while the machine was on them. . maybe that made them poop. ask the past owner how he handled the gals when milking.

[topside1]

My cow dumps once she finshed eating. I though milkin before she's done eating. She stands in this milkstand and has a small grain bucket that keeps her busy.

[65284]

One of my gals started this bad habit, I yelled, smacked, tried holding her tail down/up, every thing I could think of, all to no avail. In sheer frustration I finally grabbed a scoop shovel held it under her tail and deflected the urine stream back down her legs and onto her feet. She didn't appreciate it. About 3 treatments were all it took. May not work on your cow but it sure on mine.

[mammabooh]

My grandpa used to grab their tails and bend them up and over their backs until they broke. It was enough to make me puke. I would NOT recommend that method.

[Cliff]

Sometimes they can not help it. The hormone that causes milk letdown can also cause urination/defecation. The letdown that occurs when the udder is almost empty is the strongest and the one that gives you all that nice cream you want.
Cows are usually not devious creatures trying to ruin our day. They are ruled by nature/hormones.
Just move the bucket when you feel her start to hunch.

Don't want to start off on the wrong foot with a brand new cow who is now on the verge of being scared of your unpredictable behavior. I would not make an issue of it, never have with any of mine.

[agf0518]

I read somewhere to hold a metal trashcan lid under the pee - they don't like the sound and it will discourage doing it again. We have a hose in our milk parlor. The cow started getting into the habit of peeing during milk time; when she'd lift her tail, my husband would squirt her backside with the hose. Worked like magic.

[cathleenc]

well, she has not shown any unwanted behavior for the last 3 milkings and has settled back down again. I never intended to startle her as badly as I did - and felt bad when I saw how unnerved she was. When you are sitting mere inches from the downpour it's rather disconcerting! Just so glad that we bought open hole rubber mats for the milk stand so never ended up sitting in urine nor having a slippery milk stand.

thanks for the input and ideas. I really appreciate them.

fyi - we are handmilking.

[gone-a-milkin]

You could just keep an empty bucket there and try to catch most of it in the bucket. I have felt pretty darned clever doing that occasionally.

and HEY! you said something about pics of this Biscuit girl, remember?

[topside1]

Thank goodness it's sterile, right...Glad to hear you and your girl are bonding...Topside

[WhistlingWoman]

My cow is kind of house-trained. I have a ritual before I bring her into the milking stall...get her grain and hay ready, put out food for the other animals, pick eggs, etc. She knows that milking is next and usually does her business outside before coming in. Usually. When she's in heat she poos/pees sometimes when I milk. I usually give her a "hey!" but that's about it. Since I can tell when she's about to do her thing (dancing about a bit, hunching her back, lifting her tail) I can almost always get myself and my bucket out of the way. Then I clean up the mess, give her another quick wash and finish milking.

[Callieslamb]

I remember as a kid eating my dinner out in the dairy barn - trying hard to avoid the sudden showers and trying harder to ignore it when I wasn't quite successful. We were usually out there from 4 pm to after 10 so my mom would bring us down a plate. Yum!!