Life On The Homestead A Cow?

I have officially leveled up in homesteading…. I hand milked a cow. Yep, I led the cow to the makeshift stanchion, fed her some grain, and sat on a log while I milked her.

Look! Here's proof lol

My neighbors have the sweetest milk cow, and they invited me over to come and learn how to milk a cow. How the heck could I say no to that? I went over there and followed along as I watched my neighbor step me through the process. The steps were:

Put a halter on the cow, lead her to the stanchion (a cow milking stand), grab her some grains and hay to keep her occupied, clean the utters with a warm towel, wash your hands with warm scent-free dish soap, sit on a log, put the bucket below the utters, and get to milking! We also strapped her tail and legs out of the way so the tail couldn’t flutter in your face or she couldn’t kick you or the pail. My neighbor said she doesn’t maliciously kick, but she shifts and sometimes knocks the bucket. The best bet is to strap her hinds back—her tail did get loose and started flapping about lol.

I was a little nervous, but I got the HAND of it pretty quickly. See what I did there? We didn’t get too much milk because the calf had just nursed, so mama cow was a bit drained. Mama cow was extremely happy to be with her baby and they literally frolicked and played together afterwards. Have you ever seen a cow frolic? I hadn’t, until I saw this happy mama dancing around the field with her baby—you wouldn’t believe how fast a ton on four legs can run! Lol!

Me learning how to milk not only helps me learn an important homestead skill, but I am now able to fill in for my neighbor if they ever go out of town and need someone to milk their cow. Cows have to be milked twice a day usually, and it can be dangerous for the cow if you don’t. Well, they have a fill in cow-milker, and they said I get to keep the milk if I ever sub for them! Have you ever had raw milk? It is all I drink now.

I began drinking raw milk the beginning of 2021 after listening to some podcasts and doing some research. My milk kefir is made with raw milk, and it is delicious—pricey though. Depending on where you live, raw milk may not even be legal to buy? Imagine the cancer-causing junk available at the stores legally, but a drink that has been drunken by people for thousands of years is illegal to purchase. Say what…? Wonder why…?

I also learned from a fifth generation dairy farmer about the rise and fall of the dairy industry. Let me give you a few hints: it was doing great then the government got involved. It was a pretty sad history, but with the upcoming boom of raw milk and people seeking ancient traditions, who knows what will become of it?

Anyway, maybe it’s time for me to get my own milk cow?