How I milk my cow

As you know Daisy stood (we think) on her udder while standing up the other day and ripped a teat almost in half. This teat was sewn back together by the vet.  It will be a good three weeks before I can use the machine to milk this quarter.  Did I tell you I heard crowing in my Baby Layers enclosure this morning!

A cow’s udder has four quarters.  Each of these quarters  is quite independent of the others. So each quarter has its own independent milking cup that is joined to the others at the base so that the pumped milk will flow down from the four milk reservoirs and along a plastic line into the sealed milk bucket. 

This is not a picture of milk this is the ladybird wine!

Yesterday there was mastitis in the milk. This is from the old problem quarter that often gets mastitis. Her defences have taken a hit and it does not surprise me that the mastitis has returned though I am grateful that so far it has not flared up in the damaged quarter. Above are the bottles for the honey mead, it is delicious and very scary!

Now, Mastitis milk cannot go into the general tank. We do not drink it and neither does Aunty Del.  So  my first task is to block off three of the cups and using the pump for speed,  and the remaining cup, milk that one infected quarter into a tank for discarding.  

Then I go to the other side and taking the lines off the little tank I hitch everything up to the main tank, plug up two of the cups and holding them upright, put the cups on the other two good quarters to pump that milk while hand-milking the damaged one.

Do you feel like I am running out of hands.

And this all while Daisy stomps her feet and throws her body from side to side trying to avoid me milking her hurt quarter at all.

Weirdly, this is a very satisfying  arrangement.  There are some heavy odds stacked against me as Daisy and I cycle through the various stages of milking a cow and trying to keep her healthy. 

Though for the record in any other operation Daisy would have been put out to pasture or gone to the sale barn. But she is my only milk cow and I have to get her super healthy before I can even think about drying her up early as the Vet has suggested and preparing her for her next career as a Nurse Cow raising orphan calves alongside her own.

I do hope she is pregnant.

I hope you have a lovely day.

your friend on the farmy

celi