Funny title for a blog post huh? Well…I wish it was funny trying to milk a ‘moody’ mama. Our Jersey dairy cow, Betsy, freshened (gave birth) about 2 weeks ago to an adorable little heifer. She is the sweetest little thing but this sweet little baby has brought out the moodiness, in nice terms, from mama. I’m not going to lie, that first week was very hard. Mama charged me multiple times which I would be lying if I said it didn’t scare me. One of the times, I tripped and fell on my butt. That didn’t stop her, she kept coming. My only protection was my foot so I literally had to kick her head when she lowered it to continue coming at me. Not a moment I want to relive. It freaked me out but thankfully it worked even though I am only 1/10th of her weight. I was able to get up and get out but from that point forward, I have carried something with me at all times. She is extremely protective of her calf which might be because it is her first calf. This is actually a good thing because it shows her motherly instinct is strong and she will protect that calf if her life depends on it. Every day she relaxes more and realizes that we aren’t going to take her baby from her. I sometimes give human emotion to animals when in fact they are still an animal. It was a hard reminder to respect their natural instinct and be cautious. It was also a hard first week because everything we did was a learning experience. There was even a moment when I was crying over spilled milk – literally. Milk I had just spent 30+ minutes collecting and one kick from Mama tipped it right over.
Am I stronger because of all of these challenges? Definitely! I’ve learned a lot in the past two weeks and would do it all over again. Never be afraid of learning. We can read all the books and do all the research but until we are actually physically doing it, that is when we are truly learning. We want to be prepared but we can only prepare so much, then we just have to ‘get our hands dirty’. Milking in general is a learning experience, one that you need to be patient with yourself, the mama and the process. In my case, I am a first time milker and Betsy is a first time mom and milker. We both had a lot to learn about what we expected from each other.
Here are some ideas about what I do when I milk my slightly ‘moody’ mama so that I am safe through the entire process. I am calf sharing at this time, which means baby is with mama 24/7. I am also hand milking.
- Tie up or utilize a milking stanchion
- I am blessed to have an old milking stanchion in my barn; however, this blog is called “My Farmstead Revival” for a reason. The stanchion needs to be revived. So in the meantime, Betsy is in a halter and I tie her up. She actually has never been led on a lead rope so I use grain to get her to come into the barn. Using the grain distracts her while I clip on the lead rope and tie her up. I only give her enough grain to tie her up. When we are done milking, I give her the rest of her grain.
- Provide hay to munch on
- I do provide hay for her to munch on if she wants. Sometimes she will and other times she will just chew her cud. Either one tells me that she is content and relaxed enough to be milked.
- Tie up the baby next to mama’s head
- The first couple of days of milking, I let the baby run around while we milked. However, I noticed that when the baby ran around, it made mama more uncomfortable. She was more focused on her baby rather than relaxing and letting her milk down. I decided to try a suggestion of tying up the baby next to mama’s head. Wow! Night and day difference! She stood absolutely perfect!! She just munched away on her hay and relaxed. It was a much different milking experience. It also only took a couple milkings before the baby got used to the process too. She will just munch on hay with mama or lay down.
- Talk to mama softly & brush her
- This has a couple different purposes but all help get to the main goal of milking. Talking to your cow helps her know your voice. Brushing feels good to the cow but also helps get off any loose hair or straw that may fall into the milk bucket. Also, by doing these 3 actions, it actually buys mama some time to go to the bathroom. By stalling, Betsy will pee and poop before I even start milking. This is so nice to have it out of the way before I even start!
- Milk
- More about this process here!
- Untie baby
- I untie baby first. She will sometimes immediately nurse and other times run out of the barn.
- Untie mama
- I give mama a good scratch and thank her for all of the milk. Yes here I go putting human emotion to a cow but I just want her to know we appreciate her! Then I give her the rest of her grain as I untie her. Again, she is distracted and I’m able to gather my things and head back to the house.
I hope this blog gives you some ideas to try with your potentially moody mama. Remember to give your cow time if she is moody like Betsy. Betsy is definitely getting less moody every day. Also, as a side note, when I call her moody mama, it is completely out of love. I know how hard it is being a mama and sometimes you are just moody. Be consistent once you figure out a routine that works for you and your cow. It might take some trial and error to figure out but once you have it, it will only take the cow a couple days to know exactly what you want. Then she will be more willing to participate without drama. And the baby will follow suit. Happy Milking!
