Cow house 1101

This post is probably long overdue. Coz I obviously can’t take pics of myself at work. Or ask Inge or Unni to do it coz they’d probably think I’m some crazy loon. So good thing bcc came over to stay the other night and she was able to follow Unni and I to the evening milk to document the works of cow house 1101.

Note: pics may appear a little dark. But it’s not some dirty and dingy cow house ok. Coz I washed the whole cow house and it’s VIP status for those 4 legged beasts hor!

Also, check out my very funky cow house outfit. I used to wear an all blue one but it had to be sent to the wash after i accidently got some cow poop smeared on the back.

Step 1:
Animal feed! It’s 2 scoops per cow, which equates to a lot. So first gotta unleash it from the ceiling and fill the whole trolley up. The cow nearest the trolley on the right always tries to stick its tongue out for an extra share. So I always gotta start waving my arms to distract her. Sometimes it just pisses her off and she nudges me with her head. OUCH!


Animal feed is a godsend I tell ya, coz the cows go crazy over it and once they get it served right in front of them. They shut the hell up and start eating away.


Step 2:
Then it’s time to clear the cow poop and pee. Especially those which just can’t aim into the cellar below. Sometimes the cows get irritated with the poop scraper disturbing their legs and they start kicking. But a little nudge on their legs with the poop scraper should do the trick in getting them to move to the side for their stall to be cleaned.


Step 3:
Then it’s off to the milk room to get the piping hot towels. Add a little soap and it’s ready.


(2-buckets in 1, i side for the fresh hot towel, the other for the used ones. bcc says someone should invent a bucket like this for berry picking. so you can pick blueberries and tyttebaer together and not be a bozo and carry 2 buckets and a berry picker around)

Each cow will go through 2 towelling processes. 1 wet towel to wipe off all the dirt and another towel which has been wrung, to dry them off. 2 steps to using the wet towel. First give the udder a general wipe all round. The warmth from the towel helps to get the milk moving to the teats, then start wiping the individual teats, especially make sure the opening is clean clean clean.


In between, Unni starts to come out with the milk machines to start the milking process on cows which udders have been cleaned.


But before she starts, she squirts a little milk into a test container. The black surface allows her to check the milk to make sure it’s not anything funky. And also coz the first few squirts ain’t that fantastic milk anyway.


Then the milking machine is plugged into the teats and starts pumping away. The milk travels through the pipes above and into the big milk tank in the milk room.



Continue washing and drying and milking and trying to shake of curious cows……………







Step 4:
After washing is done, time to tend to the younger cows. First gotta take some extremely hot water to make a bath for a bucket of milk to be warmed up for the youngest calves to drink. In between, time to start soaking the dirty towels to be washed later.



Step 5:
Grass. The cows go through about 2 balls of grass each day. Each weighing around 700kg. New balls of grass need to have the plastic and inner netting removed. 3 incisions and it’s ready to come off. Grass goes to the young cows first. Then to the milking cows. 12-14 trips of the wagon are made each milking session.





Stop for a chat in the middle...


Step 6:
Don’t forget to give the calves their milk!! 1.5L each. No more no less.


Step 7:
Some saw dust for the baby calf to keep it’s stall dry.


Step 8:
Make sure all the milking cows have enough to eat. Use pitch fork, or hands to distribute grass evenly. Favourite cows get more grass of course. Cows which kick... well depends on my mood then...



Step 9:
Wash towels which have been soaking. I’ve got a specific system to washing towels to make sure it’s clean clean clean! But trade secret… don’t tell you.



For those of you who couldn’t imagine how working in a cow house is like. There you have it. Repeat process twice a day. With time you’d get faster and better.

Photo credits:
Bcc. First time in cow house somemore!