Hand Milking Cows

What supplies do I need to milk my cow by hand?

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May 21, 2010
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Milking Supplies and Hand Milking Cows
by: Countryfarm Lifestyles

Milking supplies are very simple when it comes to hand milking.

All you need is a clean, sterilized bucket, a stool, a sterilized cloth to wipe her udder and teats with some warm soapy water, and a halter to tie her to a pole of fence while you are milking her. A good, stiff brush is also useful as you will need to give her a quick brush to make sure that there is no cow poop that could fall into the bucket as you are milking.

Depending on whether she is use to being milked or not will depend on whether you think you will need to hobble her legs together.

It is always useful to do so in any event as you really don't want all your hard work of milking her suddenly end up on the barn floor with a careless kick.

It is also advisable to keep her tail out of the way too, so tie her tail to her legs as well. This prevents the possibility of contaminating your milk.

If you want to be on the safe side, you could also have a spare bucket which you can have next to you, but out of harm's way where you can empty your milk as you go, just in case the unexpected happens!

It also helps to keep her busy while you are milking her and so giving her some feed, is also a good idea.

After that you will need strainers and filters, your wide-mouth glass bottles for storage and some milking urns if you have lots of cows to milk.

If any other readers would like to add their hand-milking experience and supplies, feel free to add to my comments.

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