well - no surprise I want to see it 🙂

Are you sure DH is willing?
Depending on position it could get either very dangerous or very messy!
Of course, if he is game, I think it would be very informative.

To be honest Denob, I made the offer without checking with him, but compared to some of the things I have asked him to do in regards birthing or butchering when it comes to the critters.

Now I have been practising my aim so that I can hit a cat in the face from x amount of space away, so I as long as I play fair, he will be fine.. a kick is certainly possable with a wild ewe but should honestly not be a issue with a trained girl..

I wouldn't be worrying about Farmgal's hubby. He is going to be rolling around on the floor laughing anyways. She may need to edit the sound on that video when she gets to milking that first time heifer. They are a pain in the backside especially when they have a calf and really don't need your help thank you very much. Don't use your best milk bucket till you reach an understanding. I find a "cow can't kick" device to be handy for first timers. Your sheep milking experience is going to make life so much easier.

I would be interested in the sheep milking and a cow milking video including the training of the cow is very much needed. I hope you do it.

He might indeed be laughing but we will see..

my family had a milk cow named Jessie, so its not my first time milking, it has been awhile though to be honest on that one, I had goats as well for a number of years and did milk them but gave them up to be able to have the cow, as odd as it sounds, other then one goat, I don't much care for the taste of goat milk, and as you know if you make cheese, it just makes it taste that much "more of the milk".

I have been wondering if I need to get a kicker for her but I am going to give it a whirl without first, While she will lift a foot and threaten DH if he tries to touch her udder area, a firm no from me gets her to put it back down and I have been touching and play milking her teats since she was a few weeks old, and so far, she has been excellent about it, its just part of the routine, get grain, get brushed, the odd time get bag/teats washed down, fake milking etc.. I make a habit of touching her bag area and gently tug/pull the teats daily for the past two years when she is getting her ration.

I am aware that add in hormones and calf and it could be quite a bit different but regardless, the basic's are in her head, go to barn, go in stall, have to wait till tied up, then stand and wait till pan filled, then mom can touch me all over, and that the udder area, her development in the udder is amazing to me, its like she is changing weekly, I like what I see so far..

If I did need a kicker, what kind do you use?, I know how to make a old fashion kicker, and I know how to do a over the back leg hobble, but I was reading about this..

http://www.animart.com/store/kow-kant-kick/

I both like and dislike it, it sounds like it could work very well if you had a real problem cow but on the other hand, it seems a bit like a cop out to me, its not really training the cow, so much as stopping it.

He might indeed be laughing but we will see..

my family had a milk cow named Jessie, so its not my first time milking, it has been awhile though to be honest on that one, I had goats as well for a number of years and did milk them but gave them up to be able to have the cow, as odd as it sounds, other then one goat, I don't much care for the taste of goat milk, and as you know if you make cheese, it just makes it taste that much "more of the milk".

I have been wondering if I need to get a kicker for her but I am going to give it a whirl without first, While she will lift a foot and threaten DH if he tries to touch her udder area, a firm no from me gets her to put it back down and I have been touching and play milking her teats since she was a few weeks old, and so far, she has been excellent about it, its just part of the routine, get grain, get brushed, the odd time get bag/teats washed down, fake milking etc.. I make a habit of touching her bag area and gently tug/pull the teats daily for the past two years when she is getting her ration.

I do all of that from the day they are born right up to the day they calve. As soon as the calf is born all bets are off. Your cow won't be mean, she will still go to the milking stall for her feed, but she will be very anxious about the calf. Don't try to do anything for 24 hours so that you don't interfer with the bonding. Heifers can be really weird the first time or be old pros. Just leave them alone. The exception is that if it is a Jersey, you must give her subcutaneous calcium shots within 12 hrs of birth. She will hate you for that. Give her another dose of calcuium 3 weeks after that. With first time calvers you probably won't have a problem but its not worth losing your cow to milk fever if you don't catch her in time. Also avoids an emergency vet bill.

I am aware that add in hormones and calf and it could be quite a bit different but regardless, the basic's are in her head, go to barn, go in stall, have to wait till tied up, then stand and wait till pan filled, then mom can touch me all over, and that the udder area, her development in the udder is amazing to me, its like she is changing weekly, I like what I see so far..

If I did need a kicker, what kind do you use?, I know how to make a old fashion kicker, and I know how to do a over the back leg hobble, but I was reading about this.

The contraption in your link is very good. It looks draconian, but it isn't. It fits over the back just in front of the hip bones and is slanted backwards so that the tips of the arms are just in front of the back legs. You then tighten the screw to hold it in place. Not squeezing too hard or poking the udder. Just tight enough to hold it in place. It works by putting pressure on the nerves that allow a cow to kick forward. By all means, try without it, but 90% of the time the heifer will not allow you to milk her. She won't hurt you, but that leg will be constantly coming up and setting down in the bucket. Expect her to hold back the milk as well. That part just takes time and sometimes several milkings a day.

The kow can't kick will help teach her to stand quietly because she simply cannot kick forward. After about one week, stop using it. If she still doesn't accept the milking put it back on for another week. Never takes more then that because at that time they are less concerned about the calf and the milking has become normal. It really is training the cow, not a cop out, and not something that will always have to be used. They simply get used to standing without moving the legs. They can still step forwards and back, poop, pee they just cannot swing their legs up or side step. I pretty much have to use it on all of my experienced cows for a few days after calving, because it is their instinct to kick away anything that isn't their calf.

Yes, you can train without it, but you will lose all your milk for what ever length of time it takes for her to accept you milking. They are just too quick. Just when you think its going to be ok, there goes the bucket or you get shoved off your stool when she swings over to get rid of you instead. Your husband starts laughing when she hits the bucket on the outside and lifts it straight into your face giving you a lovely milk bath. It will also save you an hour of fooling around.

My first three cows were retired dairy cows and they trained fairly easy. I ordered the kow kant kick when I got my first spoiled heifer and got tired of being knocked about. I thought it was going to be an expensive waste of money and I felt guilty using it, but it turned out to be a god send. It hung on the wall another 2 yrs before the next two heifers came along and I was thankful to have it. And yes, every heifer had been handled from day one. I have 2 more heifers coming up and they are going to be the worst ever. They just seem to be late maturing and are total dimtwits.

http://www.animart.com/store/kow-kant-kick/

I both like and dislike it, it sounds like it could work very well if you had a real problem cow but on the other hand, it seems a bit like a cop out to me, its not really training the cow, so much as stopping it.

Thanks for the reply, I do understand what you mean, the first couple milkings on a sheep are critter milkings for sure and lots of milk a little, dump it into a different pan and go again LOL

happens, the other day I both laughed and groaned.. prefect milking, put the pan over to the side, and before I can stop it, the silly sheep, turns around and sticks her whole muzzle in it, I guess to see if it had more feed there? and boy where the purrpots and chickens happy, me not so much..

I guess I will invest in a kow Kant Kick after all.. good luck on your coming girls..