After tea for me, and coffee for DH this morning we went to get Bambi milked here for the first time. I readied the milking parlour then we went to shoo Mabel down the hill, moving mama Bambi behind her.
Mabel didn't want to enter the lower barn, so I picked her up over the entrance, being careful to stay away from her poopy bum. Bambi followed, then went back up the hill and had to be chivvied down again. Mabel was OK walking in the lower barn, but balked ar the step up into the milk parlour. Picked her up, deposited her and mama followed. Then mama left, so DH went around her to move her back into the milking parlour. He closed the overhead door once she was in, as well as the cattle panel gate once she was up in the parlour part again. We had the milking machine humming as she's been milked many years at Tinas' and thought the sound would calm her. She wasn't really interested in the grain, maybe Tina didn't give them grain at milking time ?
She was stressing a little, which was to be expected, but let out the biggest, longest pee I've ever seen from a cow ! Needed to be careful that she (or us) didn't slip in it. DH squeegeed it out but the wet cement was still dangerously slippery.
I started rubbing her back, which the other cows like and we eventually got her right way around in the stall. Tina had stanchions, we have a rope attached to the wall which we clip to the cows collar. Bambi wouldn't let me near her collar, and with DH brushing her, I washed her teats and attached the milker. She stood beautifully, until Mabel went around the front and climbed into the feeder ! Bit of a tense situation while I hauled Mabel out, but although she pulled back she was still attached to the milker. Her teats are huge, the largest we've had so far ! Milked about a gallon and then detached the milker, dipped her and opened the gate to let her and Mabel out. Success ! Just a few more times and she'll get the hang of it ! Then we'll be back into the daily routine of milking.
Didn't get a photo of her in the stall, maybe tomorrow.