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Permsteading.com • View topic - Just sealed the deal on a Guernsey milk cow

Just sealed the deal on a Guernsey milk cow

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Re: Just sealed the deal on a Guernsey milk cow

Postby George Collins » Thu May 08, 2014 11:42 pm

Silver, I have seven. One is out of the house. The youngest is 8. My 15 yo daughter will be the primary caretaker of "Ella" (so she promises;).

And speaking of Ella, we are scheduled to pick her up next Friday. The place we are going to is close to Nashville, TN. So, while in the area, we are going to try to take the kids to the Parthenon, spend the night in a hotel, watch Ella be milked (and maybe even try our hand at it), load her up and then drive her to her new home just in time for "good grass."

I am giddy with anticipation.
"Solve world hunger, tell no one." "The, the, the . . . The Grinch!"

"If you can't beat them, bite them."
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Re: Just sealed the deal on a Guernsey milk cow

Postby George Collins » Fri May 16, 2014 9:35 pm

Meet Ella!



Youngblood, my daughters and I traveled to Shelbyville, TN today to put eyeballs on Ella prior to money changing hands. I took Youngblood along because of his lifetime of experience in judging cow flesh. He opined that there was no reason not to proceed with the purchase. The only thing we are now waiting on is for Ella to come into heat so she can be re-bred by Mr. Hickman's Gurnsey bull. She calved her first time ~ 2 months ago so she should be coming into estrus any day now. Once the deed is done, we will arrange transport.

Assuming she comes into heat fairly quickly, (and the bull does his job) we should have a Gurnsey calf about February, 2015.
"Solve world hunger, tell no one." "The, the, the . . . The Grinch!"

"If you can't beat them, bite them."
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Location: South Central Mississippi, Zone 8a

Re: Just sealed the deal on a Guernsey milk cow

Postby matt walker » Sat May 17, 2014 3:44 pm

What a sweet gal, congrats to you guys. I'm officially jealous!
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Re: Just sealed the deal on a Guernsey milk cow

Postby George Collins » Mon May 19, 2014 10:17 am

Thanks Matt, this is a huge step for us and one fraught with apprehension.

According to Youngblood, a milk cow is the most valuable thing on a farm. I love to hear him wax poetic about the benefits of one: "A good milk cow feeds everything on the farm; the farmer, his wife and kids, hogs, chickens, dogs, cats and raises a fine tasting peice of beef to boot. And them Germans, they used em to work. They'd hook em up to a single yoke and make a garden with em."

They are also a huge responsibility and Ella will represent the largest single outlay of cash ($2k) we will have yet forked over on our path towards less unsustainability. If this project fails, it'll be a doozie.

However, my goal is to take exquisite care of Ella, treating her at all times like a sow with pigs (i.e. like a queen) and to use every drop of milk she produces.
"Solve world hunger, tell no one." "The, the, the . . . The Grinch!"

"If you can't beat them, bite them."
George Collins
 
Posts: 535
Joined: Mon Jan 16, 2012 10:57 pm
Location: South Central Mississippi, Zone 8a

Re: Just sealed the deal on a Guernsey milk cow

Postby George Collins » Sat Jun 14, 2014 2:53 am

Ella has arrived!

Image

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The first day of milking went about as I expected. A quick recap:

We put the feed in her trough and she jumped right in. She didn't seem to mind us milking her at all. What she did mind, however, was the horsefly that bit her. That was how we lost our first gallon of milk.

She didn't cotton to that second horsefly either. That was how we lost our second gallon of milk.

The third horse fly? Well, that one only cost us about a half gallon of milk.

So, getting wise to her distaste for horseflies, I started snatching the pot out from under her the instant I saw her twitch. So the fourth go saw us milking merrily along and then at about the 20 minute mark, ol girl said, "Y'all done."

And you know, when a 1400 pound girl decides that she don't want her teats fondled no more, there ain't no whole lot one can do.

So, after straining the trash out of the milk, we ended up with a grand total of a scant quart.

I talked to a friend who has milk cows and he told me about the anti-horsefly spray we should have used. A horsefly spray I will own before the sun sets again. He also told me how he milks into a cup and, when full, pours that into a larger bucket kept safely out of reach of his cows' hooves. So, hopefully, tomorrow will see us a little more organized and perhaps we might end the day with enough milk to make a respectable pone of cornbread.
"Solve world hunger, tell no one." "The, the, the . . . The Grinch!"

"If you can't beat them, bite them."
George Collins
 
Posts: 535
Joined: Mon Jan 16, 2012 10:57 pm
Location: South Central Mississippi, Zone 8a

Re: Just sealed the deal on a Guernsey milk cow

Postby pa_friendly_guy » Sat Jun 14, 2014 12:20 pm

I am so pleased for you that Ellsa has arrived George. I read with great interest about your 1st Milking. All I can say is that its Great to get so many Learning Experiences out of the way so quickly. :lol: I am sure you will catch on to her habits quickly and be able to pull the bucket out before she kicks it again. Your kids seem to be right there and very involved with the process, that's great. You will be baking corn bread before you can turn around. Good Luck on your new adventure. :D
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Re: Just sealed the deal on a Guernsey milk cow

Postby mannytheseacow » Sat Jun 14, 2014 12:40 pm

How about that bone sauce- will it work on black flies?

I remember milking a brown swiss as a kid. We did as your friend said, use a smaller pail and put that into a larger pail. I would expect you will be getting about a ten-fold increase once you get it dialed in.
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Re: Just sealed the deal on a Guernsey milk cow

Postby George Collins » Sun Jun 15, 2014 1:23 am

I don't know if the bone sauce will work on black flies/horseflies or not. But that stuff they sell at the feed store did a number on em. I like organic. Heck, I love organic. There might be some organic way to protect a milk cow from them heinous bastards but I was desperate. Getting rid of the horseflies though only seemed only a partial victory.

This morning, we had our stuff more together than we did yesterday and when the feed hit the trough, we attackted them udders and we got TWO GALLONS! before ol girl told us to back down. Happy with our haul, we returned home triumphant. The thing that made the difference was milking into gallon-sized, plastic tea pitchers and frequently dumping them into a master bucket. Doing so meant we could only milk with one hand at a time but since we had two milk maids working simultaneously, it still went pretty fast. All told, we were very well pleased with how the morning went.

Then it was time for her afternoon milking. First, we fed the savage beasts (aka the hogs) and, armed with too much confidence gleaned from our morning success, we strutted up into the pen with the taste of Lucky Charms drenched in fresh Gurnsey milk on our lips. The feed was poured in the trough and as she closed her mouth on that first bite, we started in on her nips and she started dancing. Every time we touched her, she would kick our hands away. Only through the reflexes and timing earned through a life time of martial arts, was I able to get an appreciable amount of milk out of her and that had a sizable ratio of my sweat mixed in.

Too soon though, the fatigue of fighting for every drop of reluctantly relinquished milk from the duck-walk position saw me slink away with barely a gallon. The milk was still flowing freely though, sometimes from all four nipples simultaneously. I knew we could not yet walk away. I called in the big guns - my momma.

She walked out there, quickly appraised the situation and pronounced her judgment. "What you need is some anti-kickers."

Not having any nor having any idea what they even look like, my wife did a quick Internet search, found what Momma what referring to and showed the picture to me. A quick trip to the barn and I was back with Youngblood's catch-rope and Ella found herself with a pair of shackled back legs. Now that she couldn't fight us off (in spite of her best efforts to do so) we ripped, nay, we raped the milk from her.

Got just shy of four gallons on the day.

My wife then contacted a friend of ours that has a couple of milk cows and he said that experiences such as we are having are not unexpected. He says the fault stems more from the novelty of the whole situation to the cow and that as she learns us and what is expected, she will soon settle down into the routine and will not give nearly so much trouble. He went on to say that her period of intractability will likely last for about a week before she smooths out.
"Solve world hunger, tell no one." "The, the, the . . . The Grinch!"

"If you can't beat them, bite them."
George Collins
 
Posts: 535
Joined: Mon Jan 16, 2012 10:57 pm
Location: South Central Mississippi, Zone 8a

Re: Just sealed the deal on a Guernsey milk cow

Postby George Collins » Sun Jun 15, 2014 2:43 pm

This morning, we started out by applying our make-shift anti-kickers. Ella didn't like it, but thankfully, a lifetime spent around Youngblood has given me enough experience and confidence dealing with cows that in short order, Ella was standing ther shackled and as still as a sow in standing heat.

For the first time, I can report with some confidence, that we milked ol girl slap out.

Got three gallons.

What's more, this morning, I had real cream in my coffee, made biscuits with fresh milk and washed my breakfast down with a pint if the best milk I've ever tasted. The kids all agree re: the taste of the milk.

I'm loving this.
"Solve world hunger, tell no one." "The, the, the . . . The Grinch!"

"If you can't beat them, bite them."
George Collins
 
Posts: 535
Joined: Mon Jan 16, 2012 10:57 pm
Location: South Central Mississippi, Zone 8a

Re: Just sealed the deal on a Guernsey milk cow

Postby matt walker » Sun Jun 15, 2014 4:23 pm

Right on George! I was down moving the cows yesterday and was staring at those full udders, wishing I could get one of them to stand still. I'm going to have to go buy some cow treats and start working with one of the little heifers. You are inspiring me, and that last bit about cream in your coffee really got me. Congrats man!
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