This is what I bought

[Bird]

When the old cow hunched up to relieve herself

That's when you jump up, and hit her just as hard as you can come down on her back with your fist. She'll un-hunch. And she'll pretty quickly learn to wait until you're through milking and she gets out of the barn. At least that's the way my dad trained them.

the only experience I have ever had milking was beef cows that would not take their calf. You would be amazed how much a really ticked off old cow can move around in a squeeze chute.

I think that would be a lot worse job that what I had with Jerseys and Guernseys. The cows I milked were much easier to deal with; the problem was that it was a twice a day, 7 day a week job year round. Of course in those days, we didn't even have electricity in the barn, much less heat, so it was hot in the summer, cold in the winter, and when it was dark, we used kerosene lanterns.

 

[texasjohn]

My grandfather taught me to milk cows as follows:

take feed bucket (old metal 5 gallon bucket with rope loop) and put rope over animal's ears so it stays on head. Each cow had her own bucket with rope set to proper length.

let calf nurse all 4 teats to get them clean, then make it stay on the far two teats

use short 3 leg stool to sit on left side of cow

place tail inside the bend of your knee and clamp down on it to keep it contained and out of bucket and your face

lean forward and gently place your head in cows flank

begin milking

push hard with head into the flank if she starts to kick, hunch up or put foot in bucket. (thus usually stops the undesired action... but occasionally a good sock in the side is also required)

I milked two cows, by hand, morning and night all my high school years... and there were milk goats that also sometimes needed milking.

And, there was no milk shed... only a pen... rain, shine, wind, rain, snow, sleet.

 

[Bird]

We were fortunate enough to have a stall in the barn to do the milking, and we poured the feed into a wooden trough. Are you sure you didn't sit on the right side of the cow instead of the left?

And nearly all the time, we only had one Jersey to milk. There was a relatively short time that we had our Jersey and my granddad's Guernsey, so I had two to milk.

And when did they first invent the milking machines? We lived in southern Oklahoma, but used to come to Texas to visit Dad's best friend who was "herdsman" for a Guernsey dairy way out north of Dallas (now an area that's way down in Dallas) in the late 40s and early 50s and they milked over a hundred cows by hand. So when we came to visit, we also helped with the milking. Of course we milked morning and evening (about 5:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.), but the dairy milked at noon and midnight.

 

[Egon]

Nice looking Plough. When do you shine it up?

Electrical cable clamps may work to hold the cow tail.

I'd go without milk also if I had to milk.

Breeding a single cow can also be a pain.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

Most of the 2-way plows I've seen don't use coulters. (weight savings???) Not sure how that would work in corn stubble or sod. The #55 has a great reputation. Looks like that one is in great shape. Aughtta give years of service. Parts are getting scarce for them.

I grew up hand milking cows. I prefer to get my milk from Kroger stores. I'd drink muddy water a'fore I'd milk cows again.

 

[WarrenF]

Good looking plow. I'm afraid I would have to agree with Bird. I think I would do without milk before I started milking a cow. Of course, the only experience I have ever had milking was beef cows that would not take their calf. You would be amazed how much a really ticked off old cow can move around in a squeeze chute.

WOW! Milking a beef cow that would not take their calf seems to me to be akin to playing with a loaded gun. Should someone suggest to me to do that, I think I would not only want a squeeze chute, but also a couple of hobbles for their back legs. Why two hobbles? just in case they somehow managed to break a single one.

You and Bird have brought back memories. Both of you seem to have the same opinion of milking cows as I have about raising chickens.

 

[WarrenF]

Most of the 2-way plows I've seen don't use coulters. (weight savings???) Not sure how that would work in corn stubble or sod. The #55 has a great reputation. Looks like that one is in great shape. Aughtta give years of service. Parts are getting scarce for them.

I grew up hand milking cows. I prefer to get my milk from Kroger stores. I'd drink muddy water a'fore I'd milk cows again.

I asked my father if he used coulters on his plows. He said that most of the time he never needed them. They basically would cut the trash ahead of the plow. With all of the ground working equipment they have today, PLUS the power they have to pull heavier equipment....field trash can be cut up and worked in ahead of plowing. Also many of the farmers in this area use a shredder to beat down things like corn stalks and wheat stubble. That being said, I will now go on my treasure hunt to see if I can secure coulters for my plow. May only put them in the shed and never use them....but I can point to them and tell anyone....see that plow is complete.

Oh and FWJ, and the rest of you.....I am re-thinking my thoughts about milking a cow. All of your comments have made me smile and chuckle, but then the reality of the REAL WORK, sets in. Can I use the excuse that I had a high fever when I originally made the statement?

 

[Bird]

You and Bird have brought back memories. Both of you seem to have the same opinion of milking cows as I have about raising chickens.

I generally didn't mind the chickens except for the couple of times each year when we killed, plucked, and gutted 50 or so a day to be frozen. I didn't even mind shoveling out the chicken house and spreading fresh sand on the floor because it gave me a chance to play with the John Deere L tractor pulling a trailer.

But since I had to do the milking and take care of the hogs and horse, my younger sisters fed and watered the chickens and gathered the eggs.

 

[texasjohn]

well...Bird, your right may be my left...

I get into my cab tractor on the left side (safety reason..hydraulic controls are on right)
I mount a horse on the left side.
I get into a vehicle on the driver's side (left)
I milk a cow from the left side. (some wags would avow that there is no RIGHT side to milk a cow from)

 

[Bird]

well...Bird, your right may be my left...

I get into my cab tractor on the left side (safety reason..hydraulic controls are on right)
I mount a horse on the left side.
I get into a vehicle on the driver's side (left)
I milk a cow from the left side. (some wags would avow that there is no RIGHT side to milk a cow from)

Yep, I got on the tractor from the left side, into vehicles on the left side, and on a horse on the left side, and while there's certainly nothing wrong with it, I just never saw anyone who sat on the left side of a cow to do the milking. That's something new to me.