WAYS OF MILKING

Waipa Post, Volume 32, Issue 1778, 3 July 1926, Page 2

WAYS OF MILKING

THE RIGHT AM) THE WRONG.

CLEANLINESS ESSENTIAL. .There is a right and a wrong way of milking a cow- Cleanliness is a first essential. The cow’s ud,der and teats and the hands of the milker must be clean. Tile se'cond essential (writes an English dairy authority) is quick and effidient milking. The worker §nus£ be alive to his job. Slow and careless milking will spoil the best of cows. If the ud'der Is not stripped of its last drop of milk at each milking there will be a natural tendency on the part of the cow to produce less milk. Thus many a cow goes dry long before she ought to close her lactation period. Lost quarters, garget, and other udd,er troubles are often due to carelessness on the part of the milkers. A good milker finds less trouble in handling young and refractory cows than does the careless or incompetent one. Cows should be treated gently at all times, but more especially when being milked.

A cow can hold her milk, and she will invariably do it when the milker abuses her or handles her roughly.. A young cow or heifer will naturally kick a little at first if her udd,er is swollen, hard, and sore, but she will soon desist from it when she comes to recognise the comfort it gives her to be relieved of her stock of milk, especially if She is to be a heavy milker. The poor-milking cow is often the most refractory to handle. The sooner that •any such cow in the herd gives place to a more useful member the better.' A record of each cow’s performance at the bucket should be kept. The cowhouse must be kept clean and well ventilated, and the cows be made as comfortable as possible. Tire feeding, it need, scarcely be said, should be on a generous scale, but no amount of feeding will transform a poor milder into a good one, or will good feeding make amends for careless and inefficient milking. Regularity in the times of milking and feeding must be observed.