Getting Closer
March 13th, 2015 · No Comments · Posted in Blog, farming
Emily, our Jersey heifer, is due to calve in less than a month and, sure enough, look at the udder she’s growing.
We’ve never owned a cow before and have been a little anxious about the whole birthing and milking process. One of the tips we picked up along the way was to start early paying attention to Emily’s mammary glands. Start touching, feeling, massaging to get her used to the idea of being milked one day.
A cow will let you know she doesn’t like being touched in certain areas. She’ll swat at you with one of her hind legs. That’s not the same thing as being kicked (you don’t want to spend too much time directly behind a cow where she can’t see you.) Rather, this is a flicking motion with the leg that could hurt if your arm were in the way or knock over a milk bucket. Lately, I never know if my attempts to massage Emily’s udder will result in a swat, or just a contented stare.
When I bring her feed bucket in the afternoons I also carry a curry comb and give her a good grooming. Cows especially like to be scratched under the chin. They stretch their necks out like a cat. She arches her back and curls her tail when I comb along the spine–even more like a cat. When she seems completely relaxed, I reach down to the udder so she can feel my hand, feel me rubbing and gently squeezing around her teats. Her udder seems to be getting bigger every day and it’s very taught–like a water balloon.
Our plan is to share Emily with her calf and since we have no milking machine–or facilities for milking–we’ll be doing it by hand. Mr. Elsworth, the farmer we buy our non-GMO feed from, grew up with dairy cows and he’s been particularly helpful instructing us on what to expect. Keep checking those teats for milk, he says, because when there’s milk, she’s close to having her calf. He also thinks we should have some sort of stanchion or head restraint when it comes time to milking. A cow that’s never been milked before may take a while to get used to the idea.
As novice farmers, we learn as we go along. When we started our farm, we knew we wanted a dairy cow. We had visions of fresh butter, cheese, cream. Fortunately, Emily’s not a terribly big cow, and Jersey’s typically produce less that those big Holsteins. Still, we’re a bit apprehensive we won’t know what to do with all the milk when the time comes. A few pigs to drink the excess would come in handy, but we’re not there yet either.
These things seem to just work themselves out somehow.
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