Yesterday before the surprise Jersey cow was delivered, I saw an ad on Craigslist for a milk machine. Cheap!
So Laura and I drove up the road, bought the machine, and came home right before Penny stepped off of her trailer and into our hearts.
Penny hasn't been machine milked before, so we milked her by hand last night and this morning to settle her in more easily.
We would have given her more time with hand milking, but this morning she stepped into the stanchion and stood for milking like an old pro, so tonight we'll try the machine for the first time.
When I milked her last night, I was shocked to find her to be the easiest creature I had ever milked, so I felt like the machine had been a mistake. But Becky assured me that although it's nice to have an easy-to-milk cow in case of a power outage or other rare event, she was perfectly content to use the machine normally.
Machines keep the cow's supply up better by getting out every last drop. They make milking effortless (that's a pro and a con) and they keep the milk much cleaner than an open bucket, so it stays fresh much longer.
I can't believe I waited so long to buy a milking machine. My goats have never been so well behaved. Not one of them ever even takes a tiny step when I'm milking them now. I wonder if I was too rough with them. They all LOVE the machine. So do my hands. You sure are tempting me to get a jersey cow but I have no idea why I need one.
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