Good morning! Lots and lots to do here early in the day. Come along with me to do the milking chores!
Disclaimer: This is truth in advertising!! I milk Matilda in my jammies haha. Rather than get dressed to look decent in this picture, I am choosing to keep it real (even though my poor momma will probably cry) and let everyone see me in my Santa pajama pants.
Early morning, bringing Matilda from her pen where we keep her nice and safe at night. She does try to go her own way sometimes but for the most part, she behaves.
We lock in her head so she can’t back out and she doesn’t mind because she is eating treats and alfalfa which she loves. We feed only non-gmo grains at milking time.
Eddie and I each tie a back leg to a post so she will stay still and not kick the bucket. I never knew what this meant until she actually did kick over the bucket full of milk and I wanted to…well you know. Funny where many of or sayings come from.
Next, I clean her with warm soapy water a few times with 3 different rags. Cows lay in all sorts of stuff and it is important to clean them off before milking obviously. At this point she usually starts to let her milk down and it starts dripping all over.
We put coconut oil on our hands to make the milking easier and we milk and milk and milk. This picture was taken when I was already done milking into the bucket and just getting the last of the milk out into a glass bowl. My hands would be positioned differently if I was milking her. I am stripping the last of the milk out. This is important so that she does not get mastitis.
once we are done with the milking, Erica will brush her all down to say thank you for giving us our milk for the day. She also sprays her down with a fly spray that I make from essential oils.
I then send the milk up to the house and do to clean up her pen.
she leaves lots and lots of cow patties everynight. The cow manure mixes with hay and that helps it break down faster in the compost pile. This will become my compost to grow food in for next season. There is no waste on a farm
We then tether Tillie out somewhere to eat grass for the day. We never tether her if we are not around and check on her throughout the day making sure she has enough water. Erica especially likes to go out to her and take her veggies and lettuces from the garden.
Once it is all done, I will strain the milk, put it into the freezer for an hour to bring down the temp and then transfer it to the refrigerator. If I am making butter then I will let it sit out for a bit for all the cream to rise to the top.
If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or follow me by email at the top right hand of the screen to have future posts sent to you. Tricia (Crunchy Catholic Momma)
I am very excited to read more on your blog! I am a Catholic home school mother with six children and run a small farm with dairy cattle, goats, chickens, large family garden. Yippee, perfect fit! I can't wait to read on. Thank you for sharing with us!
Welcome Erika!!!
I LOVE LOVE LOVE your blog. Found you through a post on pinterest and am SO happy! I aspire to have a little farm as well and be as self reliant as possible. We have a 2 year old little boy and live in the suburbs of Georgia right now but we have a dream and plan and your blog is very inspirational and encouraging. Thank you!
oh you are so very welcome!!
I loved seeing all this, Tricia! Thanks for showing us.
He is blissful and divine Tricia, blissful and divine. I ADORE this age (he's 7mo), we "waste" hours doing nothing but snuggling. I will remember it always! x
You know your little msg "if you enjoyed this post…", well, I DID enjoy this post! It looks idyllic to an urbanite like me!
How is your baby?? I am guilty of not having visited your blog in a while. I am off to visit you know 🙂