How to clean a milking machine

People often assume that using a milking machine would be more work that milking by hand because of the time to clean the machine.  Actually its surprisingly quick to clean after milking.  And it only occasionally needs a more thorough clean.  Much of the information you find online about cleaning milking machines refers to large scale dairies that are milking a hundred or more cows a day.  If you are only milking one or two cows you can use a simpler and quicker process, and gentler chemicals, to keep your machine clean.

The only extra-large gloves at the supermarket were pink...

After every milking, as soon as possible, we tip out the milk (either for calves or for our consumption) and clean the milking machine.  The first step is a bucket of warm soapy water (not too hot, as steam can damage the vacuum pump, and hot water can actually make the milk solids more difficult to remove), which gets sucked through the milking cups and through the machine.  We use a few drops of dishwashing detergent in the water.  We then slosh this around inside the milk can and wipe off all the hoses before tipping out the soapy water.  The next step is a rinse with a bucket of warm water (also sucked through the milking cups).  Finally we leave the milk can upside-down to drain.  This is all that is necessary after twice daily milking and takes only about 10 minutes.  If the milking machine is cleaned immediately after the milk is tipped out, this amount of cleaning is sufficient.  When the milking machine is left unwashed for longer periods (even an hour or so, if other farm chores demand attention), minerals, fat and protein from the milk will gradually form deposits called "milk stone" inside the milking machine .

About once a week, or if we haven't used the machine for a while, we give it a more thorough clean with additional chemicals to remove milk stone deposits.  It is generally recommended to use a caustic or a caustic/chlorine detergent.  You can buy specialty chemicals from a dairy supplier, but you can usually also find something suitable in the supermarket cleaning isle.  Look for a cleaner that contains Sodium Hypochlorite and Sodium Hydroxide (with minimum fragrance as you don't want your milk to taste lemon-fresh).  Both of these are strong chemicals that can damage your skin and eyes, so make sure you wear gloves and glasses while cleaning your milking machine with these chemicals.

Acid milk stone remover (based on phosphoric or nitric acid) can also be used (for example).  This would need to be purchased from a dairy supplier.  Acid cleaners are better for hard water, which tends to react with caustic cleaners and reduce their effectiveness.  Again, this is a strong chemical and care should be taken to avoid contact with skin and eyes.  You can read all about the chemistry of different cleaners here.  Never combine ammonia with acid or chlorine cleaners, as you will cause a chemical reaction, if in doubt, its best to just use one cleaner at a time.

When we do the big clean, we usually also take the opportunity to pull off all the hoses and give them a clean with a bottle brush.  We have bought a range of sizes of bottle brush, and one small one is particularly useful for cleaning the long tube between the milking machine claw and the milk can, we tie it on a piece of bailing twine and pull it through the tube a few times (hot tip from Pete, the best way to get the twine all the way down the tube is running water or compressed air).  When you first get your milking machine, its a good idea to take it apart to find out which bits you can get into the clean properly.

The queue at milking time

Do you use a milking machine?  How do you clean it?

Buying, selling and moving cattle - what are the rules?

When we first started with cattle I found the rules and regulations for buying, selling and moving cattle to be very confusing.  Here are a few tips that you may find useful.  Remember that I am no expert, I'm just telling you what I understand of the system, consider this advice from a neighbour leaning over the fence, please check the details with your local stock inspector or state department of primary industries (or equivalent).

All states and territories of Australia participate in the National Livestock and Identification System (NLIS).  This system is designed to track stock (including cattle, goats and sheep) from birth to slaughter.  Each animal has a number, each property has a number and each movement is recorded in the NLIS database, as well as on an electronic or paper waybill.

The first thing you need to do is get a Property Identification Code (PIC) for your property.  In Queensland this is free, and you can apply through the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries here.  Any property where stock are kept, including on agistment, must have a PIC.  When you have a PIC, you can register for an account in the NLIS database here.

You can now buy stock for your property.  These animals should have ear-tags with a unique NLIS number on them.  Do not buy stock that do not have ear-tags (you are just creating work for yourself!).  You must then ensure that these cattle are "transferred" onto your PIC in the NLIS database.  This can be done by either the seller or the buyer.  When you go to sell or slaughter the cattle, you will have trouble if the tag numbers are not registered on your PIC, so double-check that its been done correctly.

If you need to move stock off your property (or if you are transporting them from someone else's property) you will need a waybill.  A waybill is just a form that records the owner of the cattle, the start and destination of the journey and the type and number of animals.  You can use a generic waybill downloaded from your state department of primary industries (or equivalent) website.  If you want to sell cattle into abattoirs (even if via a sale yard), you will need to register for National Vendor Declaration (NVD) Waybills under the Meat and Livestock Associations (MLA) Livestock Production Assurance (LPA) scheme (here).  These waybills also include information about chemicals used on the cattle (and therefore their suitability for slaughter and export).  The waybill must be issued by the person who holds the PIC that the cattle are coming from.

If you're crossing cattle tick lines, you also need to get the animals inspected for ticks and possible also dip or drench the animals.  I don't know much about this side of the process as we generally try to buy tick-free or from producers who do the tick paperwork for us.

If you are planning to breed cattle, you will need your own breeder ear-tags so you can sell them.  Any animal that leaves your property to another PIC will need an NLIS tag.  I think each state is slightly different when it comes to buying ear-tags. In Queensland I have to send a form to the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries because a Biosecurity Queensland inspector must endorse each NLIS device order prior to the order being placed with a supplier or manufacturer.  I order the tags online, but many produce stores will also take your order.  The tags are printed with your PIC number and unique animal numbers.  Animals born on your property need a white tag.  If you have animals that have lost tags, you need to replace them with an orange tag.  You will also need to buy a special pair of pliers to insert the tags, and then you're locked into a certain brand of tags as the pliers will only fit one brand.

See why I was confused!  Here's a step-by-step summary:

1. Apply for a PIC for your property
2. Register on the NLIS database
3. Buy cattle with NLIS ear-tags and ensure that they are transferred to your PIC in the NLIS database
4. Check if the cattle will be crossing tick lines and what you are required to do
5. If intending to sell cattle at saleyards, order NVD waybills through MLA
6. Otherwise, download a waybill for your state each time you move cattle from your PIC
7. If intending to breed cattle, order NLIS tags for your PIC (don't forget your pliers!)
8. Try to keep the NLIS database up to date when animals have moved to or from your property, animals that have died or been slaughtered on your property, or new tags have been inserted in calves or animals that had lost tags

This system is really not tailored for small-holders who just want to raise a few head of cattle and butcher them on-farm.  Its designed for large farmers who are buying, selling and moving significant numbers of cattle multiple times.  If you are moving large number of cattle, an electronic tag reader is worth the investment.

I hope that helps and remember, I don't know what I'm talking about, so do some research about how this works in your state and make sure you're doing the right thing.  Did I miss anything?

Managing house cow body condition

Dairy cows are naturally skinnier than beef cows. They are bred to produce milk, not meat! But it can be tricky to know whether your cow is too skinny, or too fat, as both can cause serious problems.

Bella a few weeks of calving and Molly inspecting my boot

A useful method for assessing cow condition is the “body condition score”, which is basically a method of ranking how boney a cow looks (more details with lots of photos of different cows here, see a chart for cow, horse, sheep and dog body condition here). Look at your cow and how many ribs and spine bones you can see, and how her tail sits, and give her an average score. A diary cow should be around 2.5-3, ideally you will see the back three ribs, but not the front ones.

Every cow is different though, and a cow’s body condition will change over time, early in her lactation when your cow is giving the most milk she will lose condition (get skinnier). Some cows seem to just give everything they’ve got to make more milk and get skinnier and skinnier until you dry them up (Molly has had to be dried up early both lactations because she was getting too skinny no matter what we fed her). Ideally your cow should have the opportunity to put on condition (get fatter) in the weeks before she has her next calf, and this should happen naturally as her body stops producing milk. But don’t let her get TOO fat either, as that can cause birthing difficulties.

Throughout your cow’s lactation its really important to monitor her condition and adjust her feed and milking routine to keep her in around a 2.5-3. If she does get too skinny or too fat, she won’t cycle and get into calf again. She could also have compromised health. See “Keeping a family cow” for more information on cow digestion and optimal feeding. Your cow is an expensive investment, and in order to get the most from her, you need to look after her and provide her with top quality feed. If pasture is not available, then good quality hay is essential. You may also supplement with grain for extra protein, and you MUST provide additional minerals.

If your cow losses weight suddenly with no corresponding increase in milk production or change in diet (i.e. no obvious reason for it), she is probably unwell. There are a few possible reasons, some more serious than others. If the cow seems alert and otherwise well, you might have a bit of time to eliminate some of the possibilities, but if she is clearly unwell, contact your vet immediately. The first cause that comes to mind is worms. We use copper sulphate and diatomaceous earth to worm our cows, and don’t regularly use a chemical wormer, but if a cow loses weight suddenly, you should try to get a stool sample to a vet for a worm count and the chemical wormer might be your quickest option to get that under control if you have a positive result.

Another important sign of ill health is your cow’s coat. It she is getting all the nutrients she needs, she should have a smooth, sleek coat, it will be longer in winter, but it should never be rough and patchy.

If you're new to cows you might not be familiar with how they should look, so I hope this helps to monitor the health of your house cows from their appearance.  Any questions or suggestions?

Skinny Cow (rating 2) - this is Molly just after we weaned her calf, probably on the skinny side, but the more we fed her, the more milk she made, some cows are just like that.  All we could do was wean her calf, dry her off and feed her as much hay as she could eat.  She eventually gained the weight (put on condition), but we will have to manage this with her next calf (possibly wean the calf early again).

you can see all her ribs, including the back "pin bones"

hip bones very prominent

tail sunken

Fat Cow (rating 3.5-4) - Bella had a year off having a calf and milking, so she got a little too fat.  This is what you would want a feeder steer to look like before going to the sale yards!  Not a cow!

you can hardly see any ribs

hip bones not visible

tail raised

Buy my ebook "Our Experience with House Cows" on Scribd, Lulu and Amazon, or email on eight.acres.liz at gmail.com to arrange delivery.

Reviews of "Our Experience with House Cows"

Kim from the Little Black Cow Blog

Fiona from Live at Arbordale Farm

Marie from Go Milk the Cow

Renata from Sunnyside Farm Fun

Gavin from Little Green Cheese (and The Greening of Gavin)

Three day sickness

Recently our little steer Monty was unwell.  He had the classic symptoms that we have learnt to recognise as "three-day sickness" or bovine ephemeral fever.  Just think of it as a really bad man flu.

Here's Monty when he was sick, he looks depressed, doesn't he?

Three-day sickness is caused by a virus that is spread my mosquitoes and midges, so it is common in late summer, particularly following rain.  It occurs in eastern Australia (mainly QLD, NSW and NT), Asia and Africa.  The cattle show the following symptoms:

• Depression
• Fever
• Lameness, muscle stiffness, reluctance to stand
• Drooling saliva, watery eyes, runny nose
• Reduced water and food intake

Don't ask me to explain how you can tell if a bovine is depressed, but you really can, they look so unhappy when they are sick.  We know its three-day sickness when we find an animal lying down when the others are eating, reluctant to stand when we approach, running nose and looking unhappy.  We usually try to get the animal to stand at least twice a day as they can damage their legs if they are down for too long.  We bring them water and try to move them into the shade if its hot weather.  If they are unwell for more than three days, that means its probably something worse than three-day sickness, and we would call the vet (so far this hasn't happened).  The animal will usually show improvement by day three and be back to normal on day four.

There's not much a vet can do for three-day, its just like human flu, so we wait the three days and hope the animal will recover.  Anti-inflammatory drugs are a possible treatment if a bovine is really suffering.  So far nearly all of our steers have had it once, and after that they are immune for life.  Vaccination is available, but that is mostly used for bulls, who can lose fertility due to the fever.  Cows in later pregnancy may abort.  We know that Molly has had three-day when she was younger, and its very likely that Bella has had it too, so we haven't used the vaccination.

Have your cattle suffered from three-day sickness?

Resources:

MLA

NSW DPI

QLD DAF

More information about buying my ebook "Our Experience with House Cows" here.

How to choose a milking machine

If you decide that you want to use a milking machine with your house cow you are going to need to choose between a few different options. Unfortunately, you get what you pay for, so don't be tempted by a cheaper model until you understand why its cheap. If you can, go and visit someone with a milking machine, or go and see a display model, so you understand what you are buying.

Many of the “mini” milking machines that you can buy are made for taking to shows for milking demonstrations. These are just small versions of the big milking machines found in commercial dairies. There are also some cheaper models made specifically for home milking, but we weren’t sure if they were the same quality.


Milking machine parts
Most milking machines consist of a claw, four teat cups (metal shells and rubber liners), a long milk tube, long pulsation tube, and a pulsator. The claw connects the short pulse tubes and short milk tubes from the teat cups to the long pulse tube and long milk tube. Claws are commonly made of stainless steel or plastic or both, ours is clear plastic, so we can see the milk coming out of the teat cups.

How does it work?
Milking machines use a continuous vacuum applied inside the soft liner of the teat cup to massage milk from the teat by creating a pressure difference across the teat canal. The vacuum also helps keep the teat cups attached to the cow. Air enters the pulsation chamber about once per second to allow the liner to collapse around the end of teat so that the milk is released from the teat into the cup. The four streams of milk from the teat cups are combined in the claw and flow to the collection vessel via a plastic tube. Essentially, it’s very similar to the action of squeezing and releasing used for hand-milking. 

 

How to use a milking machine
To operate the milking machine we turn it on and use the valve on the claw to seal the vacuum until it builds to 15 psi. Then we get down behind the cow and release the valve as we put the first teat cup on the first teat, this causes the vacuum to release until the teat cup is sealed around the teats. We quickly put the rest of the cups on the remaining teats and the vacuum holds them up while removing the milk. We watch the udder and milk flow until we’ve taken enough milk, then we use the valve to seal the vacuum again and gently remove all the cups in one movement. We then release the vacuum and turn off the machine at minimum vacuum (around 5 psi).

Cleaning the milking machine
After milking, the milking machine is cleaned very quickly and easily by sucking up a bucket of water with a little detergent and then a bucket of clean warm water. We were told by the manufacturer to use only warm water, not even the hot water from the tap, because any vapour sucked into the vacuum pump will damage the pump. The water is then tipped on the garden and the milking machine is left to dry out until the next milking session. We bought a BBQ cover to go over the milking machine to keep it clean and out of the sun (we keep it under porch on the side of our house).

How to choose a milking machine
Milking machines are expensive, our machine cost about $1700 in 2011, but you may also be able to find a cheaper one second-hand. Now that you have a better understanding of the milking machine, you will be able to compare the options available.

Here's a few things to consider:

• Hygiene – will you be able to quickly and easily clean the machine after milking?
• Durability and quality of materials – is the machine good quality? is it going to last?
• Moving parts and spare parts – generally moving parts tend to wear and may not last as long. Also, can you buy spare parts? Can you replace individual items that wear quickly like the teat cup inserts, or do you have to buy larger items, like the entire teat cup?
• Noise levels – all of the milking machines use an electric motor on the vacuum pump, it means that you have to connect to electricity and it is quite loud. Some models may be worse than others.
• Type of vacuum pump – different systems come with different pumps, you need to make sure that the pump will draw the required vacuum (at least 15 psi) and, if possible, find out the manufacturer. A cheap pump may not work reliably and may fail completely.
• Warranty – how long is the warranty valid? Does it cover all parts?

I’m not saying that you shouldn’t buy a cheaper system, but its important to understand why one system is cheaper than another. We decided we wanted to spend more on a quality system that will have spare parts available, and so far that has been a good decision for us. You may want to try a cheaper system and take your chances.

What do you think?  Do you use a milking machine?  How did you choose your system?

Raw milk and kefir

If you are interested in raw milk in Australia, please see the post on my other blog:

Even if you are not personally interested in buying and consuming raw milk, this story has implications for everyone's right to chose what we eat and drink. Most of the media show very little understanding of the complexity of raw milk and tend to portray it as “toxic” and those who would drink raw milk as “idiots”. Personally I have seen a huge amount of misinformation about raw milk in comments on news articles, and while I may be singing to the choir here, I’d like to take the opportunity to set the record straight.


Read more here....

If you want to know more about making kefir, here's another recent post from my other blog:

Most people have heard of yoghurt, but kefir, also made by fermenting milk, is less well known and just as tasty and benefitial for our health. The origins of kefir are shrouded in mystery, we may never know where it came from, but if you can get hold of some kefir grains for yourself and look after them, you will always have kefir, which has endless uses.

Read more here....

The story of our house cows - Part 2

In part 1 of the story of our house cows I explained how I didn't really want a house cow at first, but after meeting our lovely Bella, I was persuaded that it would be worth the effort. We brought home Bella and her little calf Molly and spent several months learning how to milk and how to make cheese.  I've included lots of links back to posts that get into more detail, so if you want to know more, follow the links.

Molly with baby Monty

Bella with her adopted baby Romeo

We didn’t tackle the problem of getting Bella in calf again until about six months after we brought her home, and we used the vet to do artificial insemination. This resulted in a successful pregnancy, but the much-anticipated calf died, we weren’t home, so we’ll never know what really happened. Fortunately Bella accepted a large Friesian foster calf after a week of him following her around the paddock and we were able to continue our milking routine.

Meanwhile we had weaned Molly at about 12 months old and by then we had also bought a small Dexter bull, because it can be difficult to AI a heifer. Donald took care of that, and Molly was in calf too. Molly had a quick and successful birth of a tiny bull calf, and was no trouble to milk except that she couldn’t always remember how to come into the milking bales (Molly is not as smart as her mother and often gets “stuck” on the wrong side of a fence when she forgets where the gate is).

Bella’s next calf was a lovely healthy girl, but Bella developed a serious case of mastitis, and had to have antibiotics this time, as the natural methods didn’t work quickly enough. The vet also suspected metritis, although this was never confirmed. 

 

Bella with baby Nancy

Molly with baby Ruby

Molly has turned out to be a huge milk producer and got very thin with her first calf, so we had to wean her calf early. This is when we learnt the challenges of drying off a high-producing cow. Bella was much easier to dry off as she never makes much milk towards the end of her lactation, but Molly was still making 10 L a day! No wonder she was skinny and the calf was very fat. Donald the bull did his job again and Molly’s second calf was a little girl.

Bella got mastitis again when we dried her off before her next calf, and had to have antibiotics again. This is really not how we hoped to manage our cows, but I think Bella had a rough start to life and doesn’t have the natural health that Molly enjoys. And then Bella’s next calf never appeared. We gave up waiting after a few months, realising that she had either miss-carried or had never been in calf. Around this time Donald died, we think from eating lantana, which can be very poisonous for cattle. Without our bull, we were back to AI to get the cows in calf, and we were having a tough time working out when they were on heat. Cows are very vocal when they are younger, we certainly know when the two heifer calves are on heat, but not their mothers.

Our little bull Donald

Molly was getting thin again, so we had to wean her calf and dry her off too, and then we had no milk! Two house cows and no milk is not a good management situation, but we are still learning.

Then we heard about another small bull for sale in the area, even though bulls can be very very annoying at times, we decided he would probably do a better job. When bully arrived he was very interested in Molly. Dammit. Looks like Donald didn’t get a chance to mate her before he died. It could be a while before we have a calf again! 

Bella is a special cow

Bella is looking very fat and healthy. We don’t know if she is in calf, or if the metritis has affected her fertility. Tough choices lie ahead, but honestly I can’t see us selling her or eating her. I know some small farmers keep their cows for a few years, then send her off the meat works and get a new one, but Bella is special. She is our first cow and we really have a bond with her. (I told you she was crafty!).  When a cow gives you her milk, its like you're one of her calves, and it really feels wrong to me not to look after that cow, even if you can't give you another calf.

In a few weeks we will get the vet to come and pregnancy test the cows so we know what to expect. Its kind of nice to have a break from all the milking and cheese-making, but I’m missing the raw milk. To be continued.... read Part 3 here.

Here's Molly again

I'd love to hear your house cow stories! Tell me all about your lovely cows :)