I know, I know, I skipped day 4. I didn't feel the need to subject you to day 4, but to quickly hit the highlights, the flies are back (especially in the evening) and that spells trouble when milking!! The fly in the milk disqualifies the whole batch and makes for very happy pigs.
Well since Lot left we allowed Treva to mingle with the other ladies. I should have known that Marian would try to corrupt my sweet girl. This morning she was out in the arena with the others, she had been returning to her corral even though the gates were open, and was not going willingly into the stanchion. To say the least I will not tolerate this kind of behavior and today she is back in her corral on temporary lock down. She has 2 corrals to wander and graze, and now she has time to think about the kind of cow she wishes to be. :)
On the upside, this morning it took dh and I 30 minutes to milk 2 gallons out. Since we only take 2 gallons in the house we milked the rest out into the bucket and the pigs got whatever was left. She is a great producer and I'm glad we are able to get her milked out daily. My hands are getting more used to it but they still hurt terribly. The new pump will be here soon so there is relief coming.
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We've talked about getting a milk cow, just for us, someday in the future. I guess we'd have enough for cheese and butter and cream and all sorts of stuff if we had one that produced four gallons a day! We drink a lot of milk, but not that much.
when you consider how much milk is needed to make cheese the 4 gallons is not so much and you only get about a pint of cream from 4 gallons which makes about 1 pound of butter. When you're done with your butter needs make ice cream :) A good hard cheese takes about 18 months so think of all the other cheeses you can make in the mean time :) If you like cheese that is :) I make a great honey ricotta cheese cake :) Then there is frosting, ummmm. Now I'm hungry. :(
Janelle,
I love it when I come across someone who milks their own cow. Take heart! Your hands will get over the strain! I milk 2 cows, twice a day by hand. Your cow must be pretty fresh and a very good milker to give you 2 gallons each milking!
I thought I might give you a tip. You don't have to throw out a pail of milk just because a fly fell in. We never do. Just be sure you strain the milk before you drink it :). Raw milk, from healthy cows contains plenty of good bacteria so that it is very hard to contaminate. We've been milking several cows for many years now and have never had a problem.
Happy milking,
Taci
www.thelowerbarn.com
I'd love to make cheese!
It'll still be a while before we tackle having a cow. We've got enough to do right now just with the house!
The hind milk has the most cream, you might want to give the piggies the first milk, and keep the last milk for the house. The hind milk is the last milk in the cow. :) I like the timeout for Treva. ;)
Welcome Traci, glad to hear that it gets easier. I can't imagine milking 2 each day, wow.
I didn't know that about Raw milk, it is good to know that all that work doesn't have to go to the pigs, lol.
throwback, glad you liked it. She was back in line this morning and now is on a modified social schedule with the other cows. lol. Thanks for the tip on the hindmilk, I really want to make a lot of butter and such so I need to get the most cream I can. :)
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