The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Cattle => Topic started by: trish.farm on April 20, 2014, 07:05:29 pm
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So chuffed, Daisy's calf is totally adorable, her Dr Barnardo's calf is sucessfully adopted and she even lets him feed from the front quarters. Her mastitis is cleared up and all 4 quarters are hard at work! Dr Barnardo calf has normal poo again, obviously got used to the rich jersey milk. Both calves curl up together in the calf hutch when it is raining with Daisy watching over them. Got to say this has been an amazing emotional experience, totally different to lambing, far more intense and rewarding! :love:
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i find cattle so calming and peaceful compared to other animals.
:love: :love:
enjoy the moment
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All great :thumbsup:
So pleased this has come right for you.
Yes, I was taken aback by the strength of the emotional attachment with my Jerseys. More so for me as I handmilk. It's a two-way thing too - BH has said that if I am about, Hillie's eyes never leave me. :hugcow:. And if I want her, I just call, and she comes. :love: :cow:. If she doesn't hear, I walk towards her, and when she sees me, she comes to me. If I turn and walk back to the farmstead, she follows. BH said once, "I think that cow would follow you to Silloth." :)
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Sally, i cant thank you enough for all the advise you have given, especially regarding adopting on a calf. Your step by step instructions made the process very relaxed, calm and effective. Many thanks. :hug:
Could i possibly ask you for some instructions regarding milking. I would like to take around a pint a day for home use. Daisy is really easy to milk so the milking process is fine. However i have no idea of teat hygiene, what to do with the milk regarding straining, chilling etc and also what equipment i will need. Sorry for all the questions!! Many thanks in advance. :innocent:
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Always happy to help :)
Re: milking; I can tell you what I do - it's pretty simple.
Wash teats and bag in hot water with Ecover washing up liquid, dry. I just use old towels as wash and dry cloths. Make sure any flakey bits of dirt that could drop off into the bucket are removed - from around the bag, inside the back legs, under the rear part of the belly. Drying is important as otherwise dirty water from the washing could drip into the milk. ;)
Milk into clean bucket.
As soon as possible, get the milk strained. I use muslin in a sieve over a jug. I wash the sieve/funnel and the muslin out each time, and give the muslin a boil wash maybe once a week. I buy it at £2.60 / m from my local handicraft shop so I just chuck it and tear off a new bit every few weeks.
I don't pasteurise. I store the milk in a cool larder. I put a lid on the jug to keep flies and passing airborne nasties out of it. I mostly drink or use up what I take within 24 hours, but in fact I find it lasts 48 or more no bother. You can put it in the fridge if you want, of course, and it will keep a little longer still.
That's it!
So my equipment is:
- 2 gallon bucket of food grade plastic (or stainless steel if you prefer)
- old towels
- pot for washing udder wash cloth (which I keep in the byre where I milk)
- old drinks bottle for taking hot soapy water out to the byre for udder washing
- big old mineral lick bucket which, overturned, is my milking stool
- funnel-shaped sieve which sits stably on the top of my 2L kitchen jugs
- supply of muslin which I tear into squares that sit inside the sieve / funnel
- 2L plastic jugs for decanting milk into
- plates / saucers for lidding milk jug if it isn't a lidded one
You think you will want just a pint - but once you have beautiful fresh unadulterated Jersey milk on tap you will find lots of other ways of using it! :yum: :D (And the dog or the cat, or the chickens, will be very glad to lap up yesterday's leftovers ;))
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im following this too, as we are in a similar boat.
do you have to dip the teats afterwards, if so with what? do you have to use udder cream? or is topical stuff for cows who dont have a calf at foot?
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Sally is a fountain of knowledge!!! Will do some shopping tomorrow inbetween harrowing and rolling! Cant wait to try her milk!! many thanks sally!
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I don't dip the teats afterwards, no, as the calves will be straight on once I finish so that cleans her up :)
There was one year when Hillie got nasty cracks in her teats; that year I did put salve on the teats at night when I took the calves off, so it helped her overnight. Then it would be washed off when I washed her before milking in the morning. It did seem to help - I was bothered about the flies and infection, and this treatment seemed to keep the teats from cracking so badly so the flies were less interested in them. I think at one stage I was keeping the calves off during the day as well, just putting them with her twice for feeds and loves, so I could use the salve twice and also the teats weren't constantly wet from sucking calves. I did wash the salve off before letting the calves back on her.