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Milk Cow Kitchen Book Updates and Revisions

suggestion - supplies checklist

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T O P I C R E V I E W
txbikergirl	Posted - Feb 15 2015 : 10:14:20 PM I got my book last year the day it came out. LOVE it! I have read it over and over the past year in anticipation of a cow in 2015. This weekend my hubby and I, for the first time, seriously sat down about a few cows up for sale and looking at calendars and thinking that this could be real... and thats when I realized I needed to start buying a few things to plan for the cow... and realized that although the information is in the book, it would be nice if there was one page that was a checklist for all the stuff related to feeding, milking, caring, illness, etc. there is a lovely checklist for cheesemaking stuff, and I think a similar thing for all the other bovine necessities would be a handy addition to the book. I was thinking that since the book is geared toward us newbies this wouldn't be out of line with its educational purpose.
25 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First)
Andrea0509	Posted - Feb 21 2016 : 7:57:32 PM Thanks Charlene and Cindy! May have to get her udder salve to have on hand. :)
txbikergirl	Posted - Feb 21 2016 : 4:41:51 PM i second what mary jane and charlene said, i also use dynamint after being led to it from everyone here. its wonderful, and more affordable. i have the dr sarah udder salve and love it, but it is thicker and messier; very lovely, but many times the dynamint is just easier and less expensive.
CloversMum	Posted - Feb 21 2016 : 4:23:19 PM We use the dynamint too, love Dr. Sarah's ointment but can't afford to use it 100% of the time. So we do both ... good to have some of Dr. Sarah's on hand though.
Andrea0509	Posted - Feb 20 2016 : 5:25:39 PM Thanks, that makes sense to me! :)
maryjane	Posted - Feb 20 2016 : 3:19:57 PM I've used the Dynamint successfully for years. Should you ever get into a situation where you need something with more ump (like Dr. Sarah's or Steuart's) you can get it then.
Andrea0509	Posted - Feb 20 2016 : 2:46:11 PM Mary Jane, I am planning to use dynamint after milking and then post dip just the teat orifice like you mentioned with iodine. Should I get one of Dr.Sarah's salves instead of the dynamint? She has the comfy cream, udderly soft, savvy udder salve, etc.
maryjane	Posted - Feb 20 2016 : 12:41:24 PM Andrea, If you aren't going to start out with some sort of teat softener/conditioner like Dr. Sarah's, then I recommend both the pre and post dips.
Andrea0509	Posted - Feb 20 2016 : 12:34:09 PM Cindy, thanks for the reply! That makes me feel so much better knowing it'll be similar to becoming parents for the first time. haha :) SO true. With our daughter I remember feeling a little overwhelmed with just finding a daily rhythm that worked for us, and after a couple weeks we had the swing of it. And when we had our son, we felt like old pros by then! Thanks for the further explanation on the teat dips. That was my thought process as well, starting simple to get my bearings and then add additional products in time. I will keep the two products of Dr. Sarah's on my list for future, they do sound worth the investment!
txbikergirl	Posted - Feb 20 2016 : 09:28:09 AM thats exactly correct andrea. you just want the iodine you "used" that was pushed up into the cup to be dumped out, then fresh iodine from the "well" below is pushed up to refill the cup for post milking dip. the only reason you would need two teat dip cups is if you are using two different products (except get yourself a backup just in case something happens to the first one....). i used the same hamby's iodine for both post and pre dip at first too, so just go with this one product for now to get your sea legs on. keep it simple for yourself to start, and less expensive, and then it will all become second nature and you can start adding to it. its truly like having your first baby. you buy all this stuff and are so overwhelmed and confused - but one week with that adorable pooping puking baby and you know the drill and it all makes sense. milking your cow will be that easy as well. when i started having chewed teat issues, or grass cuts on the teats, that is when i found Dr Sarah's products and introduced them... and now i use hamby's iodine for pre milking and i use ONLY dr sarah's for post milking. i love all her products, but to start you don't need to overwhelm yourself. if i could recommend only two products of hers it would be the post milking dip and the arnica salve. i even take the extra post milking dip in the teat cup and put that on my palms and rub all over sally's udder to give it a massage i think you got this thing down.
Andrea0509	Posted - Feb 19 2016 : 10:05:20 PM This is making more sense now, thanks! To make sure I understand, I can use the same gallon of iodine solution for pre and post dip? And long as I dump out the iodine that's in the fill cup at the top, and fill with fresh for post dip, I'm following proper procedure correct? I don't need to dump out all of the iodine in the entire container between pre and post right? (Who would've thought learning to use a teat dip cup could be confusing haha!! I apologize for that, I've never used one!)
maryjane	Posted - Feb 19 2016 : 1:30:06 PM What I meant by that is to dump out the iodine in the little fill cup and push fresh iodine back into it again. The post iodine has ingredients like glycerine to help keep the teats soft because the iodine can be rough on them. For post dipping you don't need to dip the entire teat again, just the orifice so that as it seals up for the day, there is a bit of iodine protection right at the end of the teat. What I do after milking is rub the udder and teats with yummy salves or dynamint and then because I always wonder if maybe I've rubbed salve into an orifice, I give each teat a quick pull to get a squirt of milk out and then I dip only the very end of each teat again with a fresh load of iodine in the little cup. So yes, you could buy just the pre-dip if you did it that way.
Andrea0509	Posted - Feb 19 2016 : 12:59:15 PM So I'm planning to order Hamby's pre-milking Iodine teat kote. I'm considering Dr. Sarah's milking comfort for post-milking dip, but if don't decide to order that, could I use the same gallon of pre-milking teat kote for post, long as I always use my designated separate post-milking teat cup? I read p.214 & 219 of MCK and just want to make sure I'm thinking about this the right way. MCK says, "give all 4 teats a post-milking iodine dip with fresh iodine, not the same batch you used for the pre-dip. You've discarded that." Thanks :)
CloversMum	Posted - Feb 08 2016 : 09:41:01 AM Or maybe that just happens as you get more and more cow-crazy! Honestly, Dr. Sarah's essentials are quality products and when you receive your order, she hand signs your receipt!
Andrea0509	Posted - Feb 08 2016 : 08:27:16 AM Good to know Dr. Sarah's products are dual purpose! Well worth the investment :)
CloversMum	Posted - Feb 06 2016 : 09:27:38 AM The arnica salve is probably my favorite, but I may try to use the comfrey cream. Although my goat milk lotion works wonders as well!
txbikergirl	Posted - Feb 06 2016 : 07:03:43 AM i admit to using dr sarah's products on myself as well. some cold mornings my hands are chapped and the comfrey cream works wonders. and i had a sore, and the arnica salve worked GREAT!
CloversMum	Posted - Feb 05 2016 : 8:27:03 PM And, Andrea, I've used Dr. Sarah's products on myself! :) It helped heal an injured finger tendon. And, they smell so very good!
Andrea0509	Posted - Feb 05 2016 : 8:12:10 PM Cindy and Charlene, thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions in detail!! I continue to learn so much from both of you ladies. I now know why nothing was coming up in my search for the soap...I had been spelling it liquifan, instead of liquipfan! Oops. That would explain it. That really helps hearing what storage options you both use, and what's worked well. I took a look on hamby's site and found the teat dips, thank you. And Dr. Sarah's products I'm hoping to include as well! Especially with how well you say they work! ;) Thanks you guys!
CloversMum	Posted - Feb 05 2016 : 8:02:17 PM Don't you know I try to keep you smiling all the way, Cindy!!
txbikergirl	Posted - Feb 05 2016 : 6:56:23 PM charlene you forgot to mention that we adore Dr Sarah's products so much because all you have to do is buy them and they work via osmosis that is my favorite post of yours of all time
CloversMum	Posted - Feb 05 2016 : 5:27:35 PM Page 214 of MaryJane's book talks about the teat dips. Sydney, MaryJane talks about hand-milking beginning on page 210 of her book ... and has some great pictures of exactly how she does it.
CloversMum	Posted - Feb 05 2016 : 5:24:48 PM Oops...both Cindy and I were typing at the same time! Glad to see that we said similar "stuff."
CloversMum	Posted - Feb 05 2016 : 5:21:51 PM I use half gallon mason jars with metal screw lids for most of my milk. The white plastic screw-on lid leaks if the jar tips or gets jostled. I also have several of these classic milk bottles (Cindy had posted a link to them and I haven't found a better price): http://www.redhillgeneralstore.com/housewares/kitchen/kitacc/pics/half-gallon-glass-milk-bottles.jpg We don't use anything larger as it is too hard to get the milk to cool down fast enough. And we use too many small jars up if we use smaller than a half gallon. I love the classic milk bottles as they have grooves and a skinnier spot where your hand goes... much easier to pour and easier for younger kids. They are more expensive than regular mason jars though. But the plastic tops that come with the bottles are reusable which is great as well. In time, I'd like to switch completely to the classic milk bottles and not use the regular mason jars. Liquipan soap can be ordered almost anywhere ... a dairy supply website like hambydairy.com It is a great washing solution that rinses extremely clean ... no residue. I think Cindy used some of the stainless steel bowls to hold her milking bottles so they stayed cleaner and off the ground. Cindy, please correct me if I'm wrong and if you use them for anything else! Again, Dr. Sarah's essentials has the pre/post dip or you can use some that you find at hambydairysupplies. Use the search feature that is up near the top of the page and write in teat dip. Lots of posts referring to what different people use will show up. We use an iodine solution for both pre and post dip and have the teat cups for each one. I did not answer all the questions in the proper order ... but hopefully, answered a few for you!
txbikergirl	Posted - Feb 05 2016 : 5:13:02 PM Hi Andrea. all good questions. The liquipfan soap is a specialized soap to cut milk fat. and especially for hand washing your stuff. there are other specialized soaps if you are running milk lines and such, but this one cuts the fats and cleans things wonderfully. got it at hamby http://hambydairysupply.com/xcart/product.php?productid=18068 mary jane taught me this one, she puts her ez milker bottles in the stainless steel bowl so they never sit on the floor of the parlor. i got larger ones than hers, and use it to move the ez milk bottles and hoses to/from my kitchen each day. i line it with a few of my parlor towels to keep it all clean. i may change this over time, but they are a nice size and i can essentially hold it against my hip with one arm and carry a lot in it to/from house. I use the Teat-Kote from Hamby for pre-milking teat dip as found here http://hambydairysupply.com/xcart/product.php?productid=199&page=1 and also use the Dr. Sarah's milking comfort teat dip like you but for post-milking teat dip. Note that Dr Sarah's specifically says it is for POST milking teat dip. I went with true milk bottles. Lover boy was pushing for them, and I'm glad he did as we just love them - makes it all feel "real" to us. We use both the half gallon and the short pint. and the plastic lids. the lids are reuseable, i put them through the dishwasher but don't use the "sanitize" feature for that load. we do have half gallon mason jars with screw on lids for when needed, like if i want a quick fix to skim cream off. but honestly i just pour off the cream off any milk bottle i want to get the cream i want. and a sharpy marker is great on them to mark the date - a scrubber sponge will take that off with a little warm water when you wash the bottles. we use these bottles http://www.redhillgeneralstore.com/housewares/kitchen/kitacc/Glass-Milk-Bottles.htm i have learned most of this either on HJO or by reading MCK.
Sydney2015	Posted - Feb 05 2016 : 4:11:17 PM I have one more suggestion.(If you started making lists, MaryJane) this is a lot like I said earlier, one for hand milking. I know you don't need to much extra, but it would be nice. Thanks!