Milking Cows

by mike12ludewig in Living > Homesteading

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Milking Cows

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Hi, I’m Mike Ludewig I have been working on farms for many years. Working on farms can give you a better understanding of how animal products are produced. I’m going to show you in six easy steps on how to milk a cow. There are six main breeds of dairy cows, one dairy cow can produce 7 to 9 gallons of milk a day, so let’s get to milking cows.

Supplies Needed

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  • milk plug
  • milk pipe, seal, clamp
  • filter casing and sock
  • paper towels
  • dip cups, iodine dip

Prepare the Dip

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Firstly, need to prepare the dip for sanitizing the cows’ teats. So grab a set of dip cups and fill one with the thinner iodine pre-dip the other up with the thicker iodine post-dip. The pre-dip will clean and sanitize the teats so that no bacteria will enter the milk, the post-dip with sterilize the teats so that no bacteria will enter the teats which could otherwise cause problems like mastitis which is like an infection in the milk

Set Up the Parlor

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Secondly the parlor needs be set up to milk the cows and to do that take the milk pipe from the clean wash sink and clamping it with a seal onto the pipeline and swinging it over to a line the pipeline with the opening of the tank. Then the filter sock needs to be put onto the metal filter casing and fold in the top so that it can be screwed onto the cover of the filter. then place the filter into the pipeline in the parlor and seal it with a clamp and a rubber seal. Then take the milk plug and switch it with the wash plug that is in the pipeline in the parlor

Pull Off Wash Cups

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The third step is to pull off the wash cups off each individual milker and unhook them and flip them over. Once all that in place it is time to start the milking system and for that go to the control panel and flip the right switch from wash to milk and that should start up the system. after the system is running go into the parlor and press the stop button on all the milking control panels so the milkers will stop sucking air.

Moving Cows to the Parlor

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The fourth step is to go bring up the cows and to do that you have to open the doors to the parlor and make sure the gates to the holding area are open and locked into place. then make sure the gates to the open area between the parlor barn and the hoop barn are closed. Then open the gates on the hoop barn and start bringing in the cows to be milked. Once the cows are all into the parlor barn pull the south gate closed.

Milking the Cows

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The fifth step is that after the cows are in the parlor it is time to start milking to do that take the pre-dip which is the thinner lighter colored dip in one hand and dip all four teats of the cow then with the other free hand grab a teat and strip it, pulling out milk to check for mastitis and do that with all four teats then take the dip and re-dip each teat. Go down the line dipping, stripping, and re-dipping each cow. Then after dipping the cow is to grab some paper towels and fold them together and wipe each teat so there is no manure that can get into the pipeline then go down the line and wipe each cow clean.

Attach the Milker

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The sixth step is to attach the milker to the cow that gets done by grabbing the milker and pressing the start button on the units control panel which the milker should drop down and start pulsating then take each inflation of the milker and place one on each teat of the cow then go down the line and attach each milker to the cows.

Post-Dipping the Cows

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The tenth step is that as that side is milking, go to the other side and do the same thing. And by that time the first side should be done and can be post-dipped with the thicker darker dip. And there take the post-dip cup and dip each teat of the cows.

Exchange of Cows

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Lastly once all the cows are milked and post-dipped it is time for them to be let out and a new group to be brought in. to do that press the open button for the exit gate on the gates control panel and the cows should start walking out otherwise tap them on the leg and they will leave. Once all the cows are out press the close button on the gates control panel and press the open button for the entrance gate. And repeat this process till done that’s how you milk cows.