The family milk cow

[Zundapp]

How many of you grew up with a family milk cow or goat? Or had a neighbor with one or the other. Or maybe that have one now. Tell us about it.

[beenthere]

I did, and she was a Jersey cow named "Hallie" (don't know why). I milked her every evening, and a brother every morning. We supplied milk and cream to two neighbors along with our family of 4 boys. Churned butter from the cream, had fresh buttermilk to drink, and cream to pour over fresh strawberries, currants, and gooseberries. That was back when I was 11 - 16 year old.
Good memories.

[Qweaver]

We never had cows but my girlfriend's (now my wife) family had a milk cow( Flossie) that Sarah was responsible for milking.  When we went out on a date Sarah either had to milk (by hand) before we went out or Flossie would be impatiently waiting by the fence for Sarah's return.  Nothing like going out on a date accompanied by cow smells.  
Quinton

[thurlow]

My Dad first bought cattle in 1951..........10 or 12 head, beef "type".  There was Heart, Judy, Bessie, Big Teat, Betsy.........can't remember the rest of them.  We milked Ole Betsy;  she was solid black (mostly Angus; maybe partly something else) and gave an acceptable amount of milk.  My mother did the milking, I was responsible for finding her in the pasture in the late afternoons, where she would often hide in a thicket and for driving her to the barn, where she stayed penned up over night.  Remember the taste of the milk when they had been in the wild onions or bitter weeds?

[logwalker]

We had a good ol' gal we named Daisy. She was a Jersey/Guernsey cross. Raised 5 kids with the bounty she produced for us. Gave us a calf each year we raised for beef. My job for a few years was to milk her in the morning. When I think of what the modern youth is missing it makes me a little sad. Joe

[fishman]

my grandpa left a large farm in so. L.A. in 1931 lotsa milk cows and strawberries, plus all the other animal and plant life needed in those days for a self suffienct family of 11, as the oldest he was responsible for the milking(by hand, of course) i wasn't allowed to look at a cow, until i left home my granparents raised me from 6 mos. old, i sure learned a diffrent way of life than my freinds, now i can really appreciated my upbringing, amazing the work ethic that genaration had.

[beenthere]

................ When I think of what the modern youth is missing it makes me a little sad. Joe

Strong hands for sure...
And couldn't agree with you more.  Makes the Grandpa's job of teaching and telling stories all the more important. .......also the Grandma's 

[Norm]

We had milk cows from the time I was able to remember until about the age of 12. Mostly Jersey's but a Guernsey or two also. We milked by hand until the last couple of years when we got an older vacuum machine. We milked twice a day and one of the jobs I had was to bring them in. We belled the lead cow but I swear that one could tip toe through the thickest brush without moving the ringer.

The one I remember as more pet than anything was a huge old Jersey named Nolah. We could ride her but the backbone was just a bit to sharp to do it for long. After we sold them off we kept her and another one that I've forgotten the name of until they died of old age.

[sharp edge]

Our cow was called Reddy. She provided milk and a calf every year for us. The middle of the day ma told me to get Reddy. Thought it was about that time of year again, better not ask to many questions, so went and got Reddy. When I got back no one was around, they all got ready and went to town.

SE

[Patty]

We lived on a farm outside Oregon, WI one year. We had 2 milk cows, Katy was a Holstein and Dolly was a jersey. Katy's milk was for drinking and from Dolly's milk, mom made butter. Instead of coming in to be milked like normal cows, they would head to the back of the farm and hide in the marsh  .  My little brother and I had to slog through the wet marsh to bring them in every night after school. Ah yes....the good old days!! 

[Haytrader]

Dang Patty,

I bet you sure miss that.
 

My wife tells me how much she misses saddling her horse every evening when she was a kid to get the sheep in for the night.

[tim1234]

Neve had a whole milk cow, but I now own part of a cow.

We are part of a cow share and get milk from our cow.  Albeit we have to pick it up every few weeks.  Government wants to shut it down, but can't find anything wrong with it. 

Cows are pastured and no antibiotics or other drugs.  Milk tests better than the big dairies milk.

Tim

[Tom]

We had a cow for a several years when I was a tyke in the early and middle 1940's. It got us through the diaper years and then was given to Mr. Guettler who had a dairy.  Granddad still went to the dairy to get the milk.  Everybody in town was friends back then and I think he must have made some kind of deal with Mr. Guettler.   I remember the cow but wasn't too sharp on business deals back then.

[Zundapp]

My earliest memorys are going out to the barn with Dad to milk the cow. After awhile, he sold her & we bought milk from the neighbors. All my growing up years there was always an abundunt supply & I don't hardly remember drinking anything but fresh cows milk. When we bought our place 15 years ago we got some goats to eat down some brush & knapweed. Decided to milk one. Started to sell the surplus. Word got out & we couldn't meet the demand, got up to where we were milking 3 goats & were turning people down left & right. I couldn't beleive how many people wanted fresh goats milk. Then we got shut down. Now I understand its a felony to sell raw milk (I beleive you can still produce it for your own use). I don't understand that. In all them years I never heard of anyone gitting sick from it. Oh well, go figure

[Furby]

I did, and she was a Jersey cow named "Hallie" (don't know why). I milked her every evening, and a brother every morning. We supplied milk and cream to two neighbors along with our family of 4 boys. Churned butter from the cream, had fresh buttermilk to drink, and cream to pour over fresh strawberries, currants, and gooseberries. That was back when I was 11 - 16 year old.
Good memories.

Bet you got more milk from Hallie then her brother eh
 

[beenthere]

 
Good catch der Furby

I could modify that line, but won't spoil it

[ARKANSAWYER]

  I was going to say that if you were milking Hallies brother you had a friend for life.    Furby caught it before me.

  GrandMa and GrandPa always had a milking cow.  One summer I was there the whole summer and got in good with the little darling.  She loved to be milked but was prone to go to the bathroom while you were under there milking and you had to move the pail to keep the mess off of it.  My younger sister came with my parents to fetch me back from the summer visit and she went with me to milk the cow.  She was standing behind the cow trying to watch me milk when the tail came up and my sister remarks  "Now I can really see!"  But not for long as I moved the pail just as the mess plopped onto her head.         Thats been over 35 years ago and it still brings a smile to my face.  Just wished there was a video tape of it.

[thecfarm]

My parents never had any animals,but my Grandmother had 2-3 of everything.I was young and don't remember too many names.I can recall the animals roaming around the farm here.I can remember one work horse my Father had,Buster.Queenie was his side kick,but died when I was very young.My grandmother had a big pig that we called Velma Brown,that's the women we got it from.It would run loose and I would go up and scratch her back and she would roll over on to her back so I could scratch her belly.She would lay there and grunt.

[Sprucegum]

When I was 13-16 Dad and I milked 4 cows, morning and night. If I had a question that was the time to ask. I always got a straight answer.

[Burlkraft]

I grew up with 85 of dem cows.........Love Milk....Hated Milking....

[Dave Shepard]

I also grew up with about 70-80 milk cows, in fact, there still there, well, the next few generations anyway. I wouldn't have a problem milking a cow, but I won't touch raw milk. I like it processed. You know, into things like ice cream. i bet the Boss will be here soon, now that I mentioned ice cream.


Dave

[Furby]

Naw, he's eating gritz today.

[Dave Shepard]

That explains the expression on his face then.


Dave

[Furby]

Yup!

[Quartlow]

hmmmmmmmmmmmm ice cream!!!!
I made ice cream last weekend. a gallon each of chocolate, vanilla and peanut butter.

Brother had milk cows on off over the years. He had one Holstein named Hurricane. Man that cow could kick, fast and often!

[sawguy21]

We never had cows thank goodness, I never wanted anything to do with anything that stupid and stubborn, but mom bought raw milk from the neighbours. We got it in square bottles with the cream on top. Mmmm, that was good. After the neighbours retired and moved to town, mom tried to save money by buying powdered skim milk. There is no way of making that stuff palatable. Yech.

[Zundapp]

When I was a kid, one of the neighbors we bought from was a older lady down the road. Wasn't any relation but we always called her Aunt Alice, made cheese that smelled like dirty socks. She had a Brown Swiss/Jersey X. That cow gave the thickest, richest cream I ever had, over a third of the gallion was cream. I still remember that incrediable stuff poured on oatmeal & huckleberrys, or on huckleberry cobbler. The butter Mom made from it was undescribably delicious. Man, makes my cholesterol go up just thinking about it.

[isawlogs]

 I remember as a kid going to the barn to milk da stupid cows with a glass and spoon in one hand and the can of Nelson's chocolat in da ouder , man dat was da best ever chocolat one good have ever had tasted .... I want to get a stupid one to have here .. only for that . 

[Frickman]

I grew up milking Holsteins, even an occasional black Angus from the beef side that had lost her calf.

[Onthesauk]

We always had one or two milk cows when I was growing up.  Still remember my Dad bringing a new one home one evening and trying to teach her about electric fences.  He worked for the longest time trying to drag her over and get her nose on the wire.  Finally he was hot and tired and without thinking he reached out and drug the wire to the cow.  Nearly knocked him down.  We teased him about that for years.

[pigman]

Like a lot of farmers in this area my dad milked a few cows . When I was six he sold all the milk cows except  for one to have for our own milk. I never had to milk the cow because of my older brother.  He was not the sharpest tack in the box when he was young. Come to think of it, he never was very smart anytime . When I was about eight my dad thought I should start taking turns with my two older brothers milking the cow. It seems my less than bright middle brother told dad that he watched me milk the cow and I didn't do it correctly . So dad said the brother could just take my place in the rotation.


Bob the non milker

[Handy Andy]

  We always had from 3 to 5 milk cows.  My mom had a separator and we ran the milk through that thing, took the cream off, and she put it in cream cans and when I was small a truck came around and picked it up, then a postcard check would show up in the mail.  We fed the extra skim milk to calves we bought, or pigs, and my sister and I went to college off a baby calf we bought each year.  Started young.  My mom sent 2 gallons of milk back to college with me after trips home.

[isawlogs]

 Oh those separators .. that brings a memory back .. I was little when I first recollect being the motor for that .  Once you had momemtum going it was kinda ok ....
It was a nice job, well only nice thing about it was that I was besides my grandpa, and he would always have a story to tell . We would also have first go at the cream once finished ,that was good too 
 Churning (sp) the butter was another favorite job my grandma was notorious for giving out  Where not any volunteers for that ... you had to ern it    Having most of her grand kids there for summer .. it was not hard for her to find a churner .