[Helen Wiltshire Horn]

My cow, a black short Dexter,  had a non-short red heifer calf on Friday night.  We are planning on milking her and started yesterday.  We tied her up in the handling gates and gave her a bucket of food.  We brought her calf in as well and spent lots of time handling her (she will be halter-trained).  I was wondering if anyone can give me any advice.  Firstly, Mum isn't hugely keen on having her udders handled and whilst I had meant to get her used to me doing this before she calved, what with one thing and another I didn't get around to it. It is more a kick of annoyance and I have been getting really close so that any kicks don't hurt so much!  Towards to end of the session today she was pretty calm and wasn't trying to kick but I still don't risk sitting on a stool with a bucket under her udders if you know what I mean!  I really only want to take a small amount from her, perhaps a couple of pints a day.  Do I have to take the same amount every day and at the same time and is this a reasonable amount?  My problem is that milking seems at the moment to be a pretty much two person job and my husband is likely to get busy with work soon.  Anyway, as you might be able to tell this is the first time we have milked one of our cows but I would love to have a bit of milk for the house and it seems to be quite complementary to halter-training a calf and getting it used to human contact.  Also, at what age is the calf likely to follow the herd?  It is a very spritely thing when it wants to be but was quite happy lying in the grass this morning which meant getting her in the handling area was quite tricky. Any tips? 
Helen

[SallyintNorth]

My experience is with my Jerseys, not Dexters, but I am happy to share my findings.

Ideally you'd have got her used to being tied up and you fiddling about underneath, clattering with buckets, etc, before she calved, which would have made this stage a little easier, yes.

However, she will settle to it, I'm sure, with patience and persistence.

With a heifer I find it best to be very consistent, yes, so same routine, same sequence of events, same amount of milk every day.  Once they've 'learned the job' and the routine, you can start to take days off milking when you don't need any milk, take less or more, as you require.

In your situation I would recommend, if you can, separating mum and calf for a few hours before you want to milk.  (You're going to need to do this later as the calf grows in any case, or there'll be no milk for you when you come to milk her )  Calfie will be keen enough to follow mum when you lead her off to the milking parlour then .  And mum will be so pleased to see calf and feel calfie on her teats that she'll drop the milk no bother

Re: the kicks when you get onto mum's teats, these should disappear as she gets used to the job.  Yes, get in close so she can't hurt you or knock the bucket over.  I do tell mine off if they kick, it's never allowed to kick a human, but some of the heifers do take longer to get used to the shenanigans underneath than others.  Rather than have her getting into a habit of kicking, I'd be inclined to hobble her until she's settled into the whole thing.  She'll soon learn there's no point trying to kick and will stop trying.  I use a couple of quick-release puppy collars and a quick-release clip between them.

I do all my milking on my own, even when a second pair of hands would be useful.  I just find that introducing another human for the heifer to think about and interact with is counter-productive, so I solve any problems on my own

And any time I'm really struggling, I use 'pressure-and-release' tactics.  Ask for what you want, firmly but kindly.  As soon as you get even a tiny bit of what you asked for, release.  Repeat repeat repeat.  So for instance, if she's a kicker and is not happy with me putting a puppy collar on her leg, I'll stroke the leg, then handle the 'ankle', then hold the collar against it, and so on, all the time getting a little bit further but stopping the instant she relaxes into it.  Then go again but a little bit further this time.

Good luck!

[shygirl]

it gets easier.
 we are still learning but are milking our Shetland, who now has her 2nd calf. she wasn't too keen to let us milk her when she had her first calf but now she is a lot more relaxed. infact she loves coming in to be milked as she knows she will get a feed, she is ruled by her belly.
since last yr, wev progressed from irritated kicks to now allowing my children to have a try. we just take it as and when as the calf is with her and use a small plastic cup which we use to top up a bigger container so if it gets spilt its no big deal.

[Helen Wiltshire Horn]

Thanks so much to both of you for your replies.  I shall try a hobble, more for my peace of mind, and hopefully she will get used to having her udders handled.  Any other ideas for fashioning one if I can't get hold of quick release puppy collars?  I have a soft sheep harness but I am not sure how I could make it quick release.   Do you think I should put Mum in a field shelter for a couple of hours before milking?  I could bring her in first thing when I check on the cattle and give her a haynet for a few hours.  I am really only thinking of taking a couple of pints each day but could increase and decrease according to needs.  I would ideally like a bit of flexibility in due course, especially as I have other animals to look after.  Thanks again.
Helen

[SallyintNorth]

Before I got the puppy collars I used baler twine.  Using double thickness and making the piece that went round each leg safe so it couldn't pull over-tight.  Then joining the leg pieces with another piece of double baler twine using a quick-release knot, like you tie a horse's haynet up with.

I am much happier with the puppy collars though

[SallyintNorth]

Pointless pedantry warning...

I'm so sorry, but I can't help myself...

A cow has one udder.  A cow's udder has four quarters, each of which has one teat.

A sheep has one udder too.  A sheep's udder usually has just two quarters  (I know, I know, but this is physiology, not mathematics!), each of which usually has one teat.

Sorry again.  I shall go hide in shame for being such a pedant. 

[Rosemary]

Please post a photo of your hobbles, Sally

[Helen Wiltshire Horn]

My third attempt at hand-milking today and I got just over 2 litres.  We got both cow and calf into the field shelter and tied them both up.  She only tried to kick a couple of times when I brought over my milking stool and am going to get a hobble even though she was much calmer today.  My latest problem is hair on the udder.  Do you think I could clip around the udder?  It is a bit disconcerting having long black hairs floating in the milk! I think I am just going to experiment over the next few weeks, with quantity and timing and with separating cow and calf for a couple of hours beforehand.  Thanks for the advice so far. 
Helen

[ballingall]

You can clip the udder if you want. Sometimes you catch the hairs as you are milking and that can cause a kick. I did know someone who waxed her goats udders' if they were were a hairy goat, but knowing how sore that it is for us humans, I'd don't think I'd like to try it on an animal! If you do want to try that her tip was to do when the udder is full and tight and therefore the skin tauter.


I would add all of my experience is goats rather than cows. But, however awful they are to be milked at first, they all do settle to being milked. Sometimes it's just time and perseverance which are required.


Beth

[Sbom]

She'll soon settle down, cows are creatures of habit and will soon just accept being milked as part of her daily routine 

[shygirl]

mine also has a hairy udder, I was thinking about trimming her a little bit as its easy to snag a hair whilst milking.
sounds like you are doing a great job 

[Helen Wiltshire Horn]

Thanks for all your replies.  I had my first go at milking by myself today and got just under 2 litres which is probably about all we need for the house.   I think I am getting a bit better and braver regarding the kicks but my husband has ordered me a Fearing cow hobble as a present!  Can anyone give me a few tips regarding technique?  Is it a pull and a squeeze?  I am worried that I will hurt her or land up deforming her teats.  I am also milking one handedly because I am worried about her kicking over the bucket.  Her calf, Scarlet, seems to be doing really well.  I got her into the field shelter with Mum and tied her up with a soft halter while I milked Mum.  She has stopped pulling and lay down pretty quickly after being tied up.  I am also making sure I handle her and give her a brush with a soft brush.  Any other ideas to get her as used to human company as possible and as easy to handle in future? 
Helen

[fsmnutter]

Milking technique is ideally to squeeze your thumb and forefinger round the top of the teat, blocking any milk from going back upwards, then gradually closing your other fingers in turn, so as to squeeze the milk downwards towards the teat opening. One handed is fine, if you need one to hold the bucket, you can do each teat until you have taken all you want, or alternate between them if you prefer.

[SallyintNorth]

It sounds as though you are making great progress. 

If you are sitting close up to the heifer, hold the bucket between your shins.  Then you aren't worried about it getting knocked over

Be relaxed about the occasional 'accident' while she's learning.  When training, I often use two buckets, and decant frequently into the one that's safely out of reach

The technique is exactly as fsmnutter describes.  However, if the heifer isn't dropping her milk well, it is very hard to get that feel.  Once she's milking well, you will get that feel - you loosen the grip at the top of the teat, the teat fills with milk, you restore the 'valve' effect and gentle pressure with the other fingers will then squirt the trapped milk out of the teat.  If you were to watch me milking Plenty, you'd see no movement in my arms or hands, just a rhythmical squeeze - without pulling - of the fingers and thumb.  But while you and she are learning, you will feel a bit more as though you have to pull it out of her.  You won't harm her as long as you take care to not be pushing milk back up the channel into the udder - so get that 'valve' thing working well, and don't worry while you are learning if you feel as though you are pulling more than you would like. 

One thing that can really help her to drop the milk is if the calf is on suckling her at the same time.  So then you can get the feel of how it should be and can develop your technique without struggling to get milk into the teat.

[SallyintNorth]

On befriending the calf, if you're grooming it you're probably building a good relationship with it anyway.

While it's very baby it'll enjoy sucking on your fingers (or clothing, or hair, or a bit of string...  .)  As it gets a little older you may be able to introduce calf crunch, which will make it like you very much

I find that stroking the calf under the chin, forward from neck to chin, seems to trigger a response to lift the head (as it does when mum cleans it.)  Doing this regularly makes the calf think I must be like mum, and it starts to come up to me looking for me to do this.

Needless to say, don't mess on stroking the front of the head, face, between the ears, or you'll end up with a calf that head-butts you for attention.

When it's suckling mum, scritch the top of the tail and around its backside.  It'll lift its tail, like it does for mum to clean it, and again this seems to be a bonding thing.  As it gets more comfortable with you, you can do this tail-top and under the tail stroking and get it to lift its tail even when mum isn't there.

As it's a heifer calf, if you are planning to breed it and milk it, then also get it used to handling its undercarriage.  Move on from the under-the-tail stroking to stroke inside the rear legs - some calves will lift a leg for you, again as they would for mum for cleaning.  And then on to handling the teats and under the tummy.