Recently our milk cow, Blossom, decided to wean her son, Joey. She began butting him away when he tried to nurse. She wasn’t overly aggressive, just decisive and clear. I was impressed by her sudden decision. The next morning when it was time to milk she was not eager to come into the milking parlor. I led her in by her collar, where usually I’d just open the gate and she’d walk right in. We cleaned her teats and attached our vintage Surge Milker as we have done every morning for the past five months.
This is Blossom’s first lactation, so being handled in this way, giving milk, and weaning are all new to her. The first time we brought her in to milk her, she stepped right into the milking spot and stood eating hay. She didn’t move a leg or flinch, not even once. It was as if she had done this all her life and was completely comfortable. So we were surprised when she tried to kick off the milker.
Blossom is a mild mannered girl. We have been able to coax her to continue milking. But, we’ve gotten the message that she is thinking about wrapping up this lactation. We plan to milk her through the month of March and we feel quite sure she’ll cooperate!
