It's obviously really hard to think of everything all at once, and since I've been doing the milking for a while, there are things I don't think to mention, so I really appreciate people coming up with their own questions and curiosity. I will attempt to address some things now that hadn't occured to me before!
How much does the can hold? As I mentioned before, we run two cans at a time, and they are actually different sizes. One holds about 4 gallons and the other about 5. Either one is usually sufficient, but sometimes we have to pay attention. When I said Kristin could overflow the can by herself, I was talking about the big one, so we have to make sure we are using that one for her. She has settled down a bit now, but could probably still overfill the small one.
The biggest culprit is the fact that the milk is so foamy at this point, and that takes up more room. So if the smaller can is full and the foam is starting to creep up the vacuum hose, it doesn't really have 4 gallons of milk in it, probably more like 3 1/2.
How long does it take to milk a cow? Just milking one cow, around 5 minutes. The whole dip, clean, strip process is supposed to take 90 seconds for the best milk letdown, and once you have the claw on, it works pretty quickly.
Because we don't really have to stand there while the actual milking is happening, it's generally a leapfrogging kind of thing, where you prep one cow and get her hooked up, then while she is milking you get the next one on. By that time the first one is done, dip the third, empty the can, prep and hook up, go back to the second to unhook, dip fourth, empty can, repeat until all cows are milked.
How many cows do you milk? Right now we are milking 14 cows in the morning and 6 at night. The reason for the number difference is that some only get milked once per day, either because they are nearing the end of their lactation or because their calves are still nursing during the day.
How long does the whole process take? The morning milking takes around 4 hours, the evening significantly less. In the morning we are milking a lot more cows, so the actual milking takes quite a bit longer. In addition, the barn gets completely cleaned out and redressed after the morning milking, which we only do once a day. The evening milking comes at the end of the day; just a few cows, pretty relaxed atmosphere, usually takes 2 hours, or even less if you have a two person team. (Ross and I have it down to a science and can do afternoon milking in about an hour and fifteen minutes.)
What happens if something breaks or the electricity goes out? We do have a bunch of spare parts, an extra can/claw, and plenty of can-do attitude. Dont forget, TWCF apprentices
How much does the can hold? As I mentioned before, we run two cans at a time, and they are actually different sizes. One holds about 4 gallons and the other about 5. Either one is usually sufficient, but sometimes we have to pay attention. When I said Kristin could overflow the can by herself, I was talking about the big one, so we have to make sure we are using that one for her. She has settled down a bit now, but could probably still overfill the small one.
The biggest culprit is the fact that the milk is so foamy at this point, and that takes up more room. So if the smaller can is full and the foam is starting to creep up the vacuum hose, it doesn't really have 4 gallons of milk in it, probably more like 3 1/2.
How long does it take to milk a cow? Just milking one cow, around 5 minutes. The whole dip, clean, strip process is supposed to take 90 seconds for the best milk letdown, and once you have the claw on, it works pretty quickly.
Because we don't really have to stand there while the actual milking is happening, it's generally a leapfrogging kind of thing, where you prep one cow and get her hooked up, then while she is milking you get the next one on. By that time the first one is done, dip the third, empty the can, prep and hook up, go back to the second to unhook, dip fourth, empty can, repeat until all cows are milked.
How many cows do you milk? Right now we are milking 14 cows in the morning and 6 at night. The reason for the number difference is that some only get milked once per day, either because they are nearing the end of their lactation or because their calves are still nursing during the day.
How long does the whole process take? The morning milking takes around 4 hours, the evening significantly less. In the morning we are milking a lot more cows, so the actual milking takes quite a bit longer. In addition, the barn gets completely cleaned out and redressed after the morning milking, which we only do once a day. The evening milking comes at the end of the day; just a few cows, pretty relaxed atmosphere, usually takes 2 hours, or even less if you have a two person team. (Ross and I have it down to a science and can do afternoon milking in about an hour and fifteen minutes.)
What happens if something breaks or the electricity goes out? We do have a bunch of spare parts, an extra can/claw, and plenty of can-do attitude. Dont forget, TWCF apprentices
Just Make It Work
There are always help and tools available if something goes wrong, but more importantly we pay attention to our equipment while we're using it. Hose looks like it's getting worn out? Replace it now before something drastic happens. Have you noticed a valve getting a little sticky? Bring it up before it's a problem. Preventative maintenance is the most effective way of solving a problem.
Of course, we have no control over some things. The power did go out when we had that storm a couple of weeks ago. We actually have a generator for the barn that we can run off of the tractor in emergencies, so it wasn't even an issue for milking. We are prepared!
And yes, we all know how to milk by hand, so if it comes down to it, we can have a good old milking party. The cows must be milked. It would be extremely detrimental to their health to leave them unmilked, and we would do everything in our power to make sure that didn't happen. Farmers are pretty much on call all the time. If something happened in the middle of the night, I would be ringing both of Andrew's phones and banging on bedroom doors to find the help I needed, and I would get it.
Of course, we have no control over some things. The power did go out when we had that storm a couple of weeks ago. We actually have a generator for the barn that we can run off of the tractor in emergencies, so it wasn't even an issue for milking. We are prepared!
And yes, we all know how to milk by hand, so if it comes down to it, we can have a good old milking party. The cows must be milked. It would be extremely detrimental to their health to leave them unmilked, and we would do everything in our power to make sure that didn't happen. Farmers are pretty much on call all the time. If something happened in the middle of the night, I would be ringing both of Andrew's phones and banging on bedroom doors to find the help I needed, and I would get it.