dairy cow: training

This question from a beginning farmer:

I was listening to y’all’s podcast on the HOA link and had some questions.

Do you have any particular tips for training to begin milking that we can start? I heard Beth mention on the podcast to run your hand across her back, down her back hip and leg to let her know you are not a coyote, then touch her udder.

Thank you both so much for all y’all have done to preserve and promote the homestead milking process!

Hi, thanks for reaching out! So, she's bred for her first calf, and you are wondering about the process of gentling her before she freshens, is that right?  

A lot, of course, is going to depend on her previous experience of humans.  If she has been intensively grazed (daily or twice daily moves), she will be already accustomed to regard humans as benign and benevolent, always a plus.  Assuming you plan to practice holistic grazing, you will be reinforcing this regard.  If you keep her in paddocks near the dairy, you can leave her a lane back to the barn and give her access to the stanchion you plan to use for milking, just so she can get comfortable.  Leave treats in there so she gets accustomed to putting her head in.  If you have the time and dedication, hang out with her a bit.  After a week or so of leaving treats for her in the manger, shut the head gate and let her stand there awhile.  Brush her, stroke her, talk or sing to her, and, yes, when you go to handle her udder, broadcast your intention by starting at her back, running your hand down her spine, her leg, and so to her udder, so you don't take her by surprise.  She shouldn't mind much, and she shouldn't kick (just lifting a foot is acceptable, but not an aimed kick).  If she does kick, get kicking irons on her right away.  Don't give her a second chance to kick you; a scared or angry cow takes a lot of pleasure in kicking, and it can become a habit almost instantly.  No problem if you have irons; once they're on she can't/won't kick. ( Alternatively, there is a kicking bar that is rather more cumbersome, but serves the same purpose.)  A few days or weeks with irons on makes them forget about kicking.  Kicking irons are cheap insurance. 

All that said, we don't actually anticipate you'll have trouble.  We seldom bother to train a heifer before she freshens, but dairy cows like lactating, nursing, and being milked, and we've never had an animal we couldn't train in just a few days.  In over 20 years of keeping dairy cows, we've only shipped one for kicking, and she was a tough customer; still, if I'd just put chains on her in the beginning, I think I could have gotten her under control.

If you have our field guides for family cow owners, look at Milking for Beginners; it goes at some length into the early stages of having a family milk cow.  If you have any further questions, feel free to fire us an email.  And please keep in touch and let us know how it goes.

Best blessings,

Shawn and Beth