One-cow Family Meets the One-family Cow
(Page 6 of 14)
May/June 1972
By Hank Rate
Always remember, however, that anything out of the ordinary—strange surroundings, different people, unusual noises—can lead Bossy to produce adrenaline . . . which overrides oxytocin . . . and causes her (especially her udder sphincters) to tighten up and disrupt the whole process. Easy does it . . . with the same grain, gentle pats, smooth movements and lukewarm bag massage morning and night, day after day.
RELATED CONTENT
You can maximize your cow's long-term production each lactation period by always milking her (smoothly but) rapidly. The longer Bossy stands in the stanchion after finishing her grain, the more she starts to think about other things. This tends to dry up her oxytocin supply and cause her to retain some of her milk. . . and anything short of full production will, in turn, cause a cow to "dry off" and produce progressively less. Don't worry about this at the outset, though . . . a few days of slow, fumbling milking isn't going to cause your new pride and joy to go dry.
HOW TO GET THE MILK FROM THE COW TO THE BUCKET
There are two schools of thought on the proper way to grasp and milk a cow: "thumbs-in" vs. "thumbs-out". I'm a thumbs-out man myself.
When milking thumbs-out, you grasp one of the cow's teats in each hand with your fingers all opposing your thumb and the base of your palm. The squeeze, as might be expected, starts at the top of the teat between the thumb and forefinger (to shut off any backflow). The middle finger closes against the base of the thumb next and, finally, the last two fingers are brought against the base of the palm. This should result in a solid jet of milk . . . that will land on your foot or the floor. Trial and error will direct the trajectory toward the pail, and you'll soon have the feel of things.
Practice with one hand at a time until you learn the trick of raising each teat slightly to let the reservoir fill before pulling firmly but gently downward as you squeeze with the proper rippling motion. As your coordination improves, try milking with both hands . . . then strive for the rhythm and speed that appears to produce maximum flow (this will vary for different people, depending on physical strength and sense of timing) . . . and you're in business.
The thumbs-in grip and squeeze are basically the same as those used for the thumbs-out method of milking . . . except for the fact that the thumb on each hand is bent at the joint and held "under" rather than around a teat. Some folks find this a more comfortable milking "hold" and still others prefer to "rest" by switching back and forth from one grip to the other while milking.
Whichever method you prefer, you should change quarters as Bossy's flow begins to weaken through the teats being milked. As you empty your cow's other two quarters, the voids above the first two teats will refill to some extent and you will soon learn to switch back and forth from one half of the bag to the other until you've nearly exhausted all four creamy fountains.
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