{"id":56419,"date":"2019-03-19T08:00:17","date_gmt":"2019-03-19T12:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/?p=56419"},"modified":"2024-08-01T10:26:31","modified_gmt":"2024-08-01T14:26:31","slug":"living-off-grid-learn-milking-hand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/living-off-grid-learn-milking-hand\/","title":{"rendered":"Living Off the Grid: Learn Milking by Hand"},"content":{"rendered":"

When you live off-grid, you needn\u2019t give up homegrown dairy products if you milk the old-fashioned way\u2014by hand. Doing so is better than machine milking in a lot of ways. You don\u2019t need expensive equipment. Cleanup after milking is easy. You get to spend relaxing time interacting with your favorite animal. And you can have sweet, creamy milk, cheese, yogurt and butter.<\/p>\n

Dairy: Do or Don’t<\/h2>\n

If you\u2019re considering adding a dairy animal to your farm, understand the commitment before you commit. Dairying, even on a micro-scale, is a huge obligation. Someone has to milk dairy stock twice a day, around the same time of day, throughout lactation. Sometimes low producers and animals nursing offspring can be milked once a day. However, howling blizzards, sizzling heat and humidity, days when you\u2019re sick or exhausted \u2026 it doesn\u2019t matter. Dairy stock must be milked.<\/p>\n

In most cases, to get milk, you need to breed your animals once a year. This means finding a \u201cboyfriend\u201d or having them artificially inseminated. You might borrow or rent a bull, buck or ram, or haul your female to someone else, which isn\u2019t an easy task, especially when dealing with cows. The exception is milking through. Once they\u2019ve produced offspring, some goats continue lactating over a long period of time without rebreeding, but this isn\u2019t the norm.<\/p>\n

All species require a timeout prior to giving birth when they aren\u2019t milked. Two months is typical. During this time, you won\u2019t have fresh milk, and freezing a supply to tide you over isn\u2019t practical in many off-grid situations.<\/p>\n

You need to be there when your livestock gives birth, too. Yes, cows, does and ewes have given birth without assistance since the dawn of time, but many of those animals or their offspring died.<\/p>\n

You also must let your ladies raise their offspring and then start milking when babies are weaned, or sell or separate and bottle raise them yourself. Modern dairy animals produce considerably more milk than their offspring need, so when calves, kids and lambs are a few weeks old, some folks separate them from their mothers at night and milk once in the morning. This works, too, but it requires protected overnight facilities for mothers and babies.<\/p>\n

It takes good feed and plenty of it to produce good milk. This means quality hay or good grazing and, for higher production, supplementary grain or a bagged, species-specific commercial feed. Sufficient housing and decent fences are also musts. Finally, find a species-savvy large-animal veterinarian, then program that person\u2019s number into your phone. You\u2019ll need it.<\/p>\n

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Shutterstock<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Equipment<\/h2>\n

To start hand milking, you\u2019ll need some specific equipment. First, you\u2019ll need a stainless steel bucket or bowl to milk into; a large kitchen bowl works fine. Some folks milk into a bowl and periodically dump its contents into a larger container, an especially good idea when milking nervous or fractious animals. Plastic containers are out because you can\u2019t sanitize them properly,\u00a0and glass containers break if kicked or dropped. A scrupulously clean, damp cloth or unscented baby wipes to cleanse teats and udder before milking.<\/p>\n

The first few squirts of milk go into a strip cup with a fine screen in it or into a dark bowl, to check for clumps or lumps that could indicate problems. After milking, a commercial teat dip in a teat dip cup or a small, disposable paper cup, or an aerosol product such as Fight Bac, help close teat orifices in a timely manner.<\/p>\n

Back in the kitchen, strain the milk into a glass or stainless steel container, through a commercial milk filter nestled in a stainless steel strainer. At this point, if you choose to pasteurize your milk, do so. Otherwise, cool it as quickly as you can, immersing it in icy water, if available. Then use it to craft cheese, yogurt or your other favorite dairy treats, or store it in glass containers in the refrigerator or your springhouse. Lidded canning jars work well.<\/p>\n

Sanitize utensils after milking by thoroughly rinsing them in cold water, washing them with warm soapy water, immersing them in a 10-parts warm water, 1-part chlorine bleach solution for 60 seconds and upending them in a draining rack. When they\u2019re dry, pack them for the next milking or leave them in the draining rack and cover with a towel.<\/p>\n

Milking 101<\/h2>\n

The best way to learn to milk is watching an experienced milker. But it\u2019s relatively easy, and if you have a well-behaved dairy cow, sheep or goat, you can teach yourself.<\/p>\n

Goats and sheep are generally milked on a stand fitted with a feed cup and a stanchion<\/a> to secure their heads. It\u2019s nice to have a stanchion or head gate for your cow, but it\u2019s not necessary. Cows and goats are milked from the side, but because sheep\u2019s udders are set farther back, plan to milk them from behind.<\/p>\n

Secure your animal, sit on the side of the milking stand or on a separate stool, wipe the animal\u2019s udder and set your milk bucket or bowl in place. Grasp a teat in each hand. Don\u2019t pull. Pinch each teat between your thumb and forefinger, and then close your hand: middle finger, ring finger and little finger in sequence.<\/p>\n

Milk should shoot out of the teat. Alternate teats or squeeze both at the same time; either method works well. Be sure to grasp just the teats and not pinch a piece of the udder between your thumb and forefinger. That hurts and your animal, and she will let you know.<\/p>\n

Be careful not to push milk back up into the udder; once it\u2019s in the teat, it needs to come down and out. Continue until milk flow slows, then massage the udder or gently bunt it with your hands to bring down the rest of the milk in the udder. Milk until teats are flaccid and, even with bunting, you can\u2019t coax out any more milk. Don\u2019t leave milk in the udder. This tells the animal\u2019s system that there\u2019s enough, and her production will fall.<\/p>\n

Getting Good Stock<\/h2>\n

Home dairying can be rewarding, but you need the right milking partner for it to be fun. Dealing with sick, spooky, cantankerous animals takes the joy out of milking. Here\u2019s how to avoid that.<\/p>\n