I have been milking Choupette, our house cow, in the new cow shed, purpose built… bliss. It is a rectangle of 20m2, at the moment one big closed in area. There is a stanchion at one end, with platform on the other side to put the box of hay down.
Eventually we might put a rail that goes from the stanchion to in between the small and big gates, so the cow and milker are separated a bit more, but for now there is no need. The calf sleeps in there at night, then in the morning I tie him up and let Choupette in. She is such a great house cow, I don’t need to tie her up or lock her in the stanchion. I do tie her up when my little assistant milker comes with me, just in case, but she hardly moves when being milked. She gets a feed of hay, a bit of grains and minerals mixed in with molasses (and apples if they are available). If her back leg is in front of her teats, I just give her a gentle nudge and she moves it back. Once finished, I take my bucket. stool and washing gear out, let the calf off and close the gate. Once back home, we strain the milk into jars and billies, put them in the freezer to cool down for a few hours and let the cows out to pasture.
And that’s my morning meditation done!
pioupioukids 