The Cow Schedule

Jan
27


The milking schedule here goes like this:

My day: In the evening of Glory Bee’s day, at dinnertime I take Beulah Petunia out and put her back in BP-land. Or, actually, she takes herself. I have the gate open to BP-land and she goes straight there to her dinner in the milk stand. I milk her the next morning and evening.

Glory Bee’s day: After milking BP in the evening, I take her back to the goat yard to Glory Bee. Or, actually, BP takes herself. I open the gate while I’m milking her so as soon as I let her out of the milk stand, she goes straight for Glory Bee. BP spends the night with Glory Bee, and Glory Bee gets to milk her that night and ALL DAY.

To show you how she takes herself, I made this little video. She really does amaze me. Cows are so trainable. What you’ll see first in this video is the evening when I’m taking BP out for my day the next day. It ends with the next evening when I take her back for Glory Bee’s day the next day. They are both impatient and eager for their reunion by then. They know the schedule very well now, though, and there’s not a bunch of crying in between. They have adjusted their internal rhythms to the routine. The evenings when I take BP out, she is looking for me, ready to go. The evenings when she goes back to Glory Bee, she is in a frenzy to get to her. (Glory Bee is in even MORE of a frenzy to get to mommy!)







Comments

  1. Pete says:

    Awwwww. They are so content and well-mannered!! :snoopy:

  2. Brenda E says:

    I love it – that baby is in a romp for her mother when she gets in there. It’s so funny how they know the routine and BP is so smart to learn so quick. Glory Bee is so cute and I love the dog barking at BP all the way to the milk stand – how cute.

  3. Urbanite says:

    That was very sweet at the end when BP rested her head on Glory Bee for a moment.

  4. CindyP says:

    She can’t wait to get away and she can’t wait to get back. Oh sweet Bp ๐Ÿ™‚ And Boomer is quite the herding dog. He has a purpose!

  5. texwisgirl says:

    BP is such a good cow!!! Did you ever think you were going to get so lucky with your first cow? Now hopefully her baby will learn her manners… ๐Ÿ™‚

    Amazing that the other goats and such don’t escape under BP when you open the gate for her. You have such a barnyard full!

  6. holstein woman says:

    I love how easy they are to train. Mine has been here 3 days and learning very nicely.
    BP and GB are very beautiful and sweet. :fairy:

  7. AA says:

    That’s pretty cool. So much easier when the animals are cooperating. I had a horse that would come when I whistled or when I called him. Sometimes he would start nickering when he just heard me talking to someone.

  8. Heidi says:

    Haha, I like that honk that she makes at the end right before going through the gate.

  9. Zusiqu says:

    Is it my imagination? Or is BP limping a bit on her left rear foot?

  10. Teri says:

    Oh Suzanne I just love your videos! The bond that those two share just give me the warm fuzzies. :snoopy: :snoopy: Thank you for sharing.

    P.S. Just HOW do you deal with all that guinea noise????? :bugeyed:

  11. Deborah Hitayezu says:

    at the beginning of the video, there is an animal sound that I can’t identify…it goes whaa whaa whaa, rhythmically for about 53 seconds.

    I even asked my daughter to come watch the video to see if she knew what it was.

    Forgive my ignorance, but could anyone tell me what creature is making those sounds?

  12. Eggy says:

    Deborah, I heard the sound too and it was fowl (goose, duck or guinea!)

  13. Laurie says:

    I think that sound are geese. Am I right?

  14. joycee says:

    you have done the impossible, a lot of hard work to get here! Moma and baby are so sweet!

  15. Bev says:

    Perhaps the sounds are the Guinea?
    I was going to comment on the limp also.
    Glad is it not something new.
    When can the lil’ “sucker” get weaned? I think Momma needs time to get fattened up.

  16. Diane says:

    I wonder if BP was ever allowed to bond with her calf or was the calf bottle fed with previous owners. Such a sweet lovely creature she is. You are truly blessed for your first milk cow to be so easy. I would think it could easily be a nightmare! I want to get little GB and smoosh her little fuzzy head against mine :moo:

  17. thunja says:

    brrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!

  18. patchkat says:

    On the off days, does Glory Bee eat grain now? She’s getting to be a big girl! Was it just my imagination, or was BP limping?

  19. Blessings says:

    Nice that GB has gotten use to the routine! However I think BP is feeling used :)..lol

  20. Lindsay says:

    That BP is one patient mama! Glory Bee is adorable and feisty, and I love her moo!

  21. Karen says:

    What a cool video!!! Love little ones tail flipping momma in the eye but she doesn’t care! They both look so relieved to be back together.

  22. lauren says:

    awww I love the harmony at your place ๐Ÿ™‚

  23. ellen mcbryde says:

    Routines are no just good for OUR children…animals love routine too!
    BTW: when I watch your videos my rat terrier goes crazy looking out the windows looking for the source of all the sounds!

  24. lavenderblue says:

    You make it look so easy, such a peaceful little kingdom you have there. I know that there is such a lot of hard work that we don’t always see.

  25. T M says:

    With all your wonderful critter videos you make me long for the country life again!!

  26. Jane says:

    Aw, BP is so sweet! I am glad you found a way to make it work for both of you:) Wow, does it look cold there though. I am shivering just THINKING of having to milk BP with bare hands:(

  27. glenda says:

    Cows love routine…..whatever it is…..

    Glad you have this all worked out.

    I really think you need another dog or three!

  28. Ramona says:

    What a very smart girl BP is. And GP missed her Mommy!

  29. Brenda H. says:

    Are you still pasteurizing BP’s milk? Do you have to do it forever or at some point can you use the raw milk? Just curious.

    • Suzanne McMinn says:

      Brenda, it depends. I use raw milk for hard cheeses because the curds are so much better and I’m going to age them anyway. I usually pasteurize for soft cheeses, drinking milk, and cream. We could use it all raw if we wanted to. It’s just a personal decision, whatever an individual is comfortable with.

  30. Gen-IL Homesteader says:

    Is that a goose honking in the background??? :wave:

  31. Candy Stivers says:

    interesting how all the farm babies wag their tails when nursing!

  32. MaryB says:

    My hubby and I are enjoying your farm. I love your animals! ๐Ÿ™‚

Add Your Thoughts