Our Jersey heifer Bonnie is getting closer to her due date of March 22^nd. Are we ready? We are getting there! I have found that scheduling, supplies, and milk training are the key things to focus on during this time.

First, SCHEDULING. The last few weeks I have been prepping. Going outside earlier in the day and getting Bonnie used to seeing me. Getting her fed at a more scheduled time. This is not as easy as it sounds!

Scheduling can be a little hard to transition to for a small family. When preparing to start milking, it is important to not just prepare the cow, but the entire family. I’m planning to milk around the 7 o’clock hour. I am also prepared for that to shift or change if that doesn’t work well for our routine.

I have been thinking ahead. To make it easier for me and as less stressful as possible I went ahead and prepped some breakfast muffins. Simple things like having some made ahead freezer meals, or breakfast foods ready will really help things ease along.

With Bonnie less than two weeks to her calving date, I have stocked up. Here is my list of all the essentials needed when STOCKING UP for milking and calving. A great resource for supplies is ValleyVet.com.

For calving:

• Veterinarian contact: Have your veterinarian’s number in your phone! Getting in contact with your local vet is important. Make sure they make house calls, just in case you need to pull a calf or have a hairy situation!
• CMPK paste & dispensing tool: Giving your cow one tube before/right after calving and one 24 hours after boosts calcium levels, preventing milk fever. Jerseys can be prone to milk fever, so it is good to be prepared.
• Molasses: Give a bucket of warm molasses water after calving to help give your cow an energy boost.
• Calcium Gluconate and IV set: This is precautionary, best to have on hand in an emergency case of milk fever.
• Calf bottle

For Milking:

• Stainless steel bucket
• Udder Balm
• Udder Cream
• Mastitis test strips
• ½ Gallon Jars (to store milk)
• Calf rope
• Tying rope or stanchion
• Iodine teat dip
• Teat dip cup
• Cheesecloth for milk straining

Feed is also highly important. Be prepared as Jerseys switch from a low calcium diet to a high calcium diet upon calving. I have our lactation feed and alfalfa hay stocked up, but Bonnie is on only brome hay until she calves.

Now the really fun part! MILK TRAINING the heifer!

Milk training is really basic right now. I don’t have a stanchion, and I’m okay with that! I want to train Bonnie to stand for me to be milked. First, I have introduced her to the milk bucket. I clanked that around, rubbed it on her, and put it under her. She handled that. I’ve been getting her used to me being around her udder.

I’ve been reading the Keeping a Family Cow book (keepingafamilycow.com), where this technique of a glove on a stick was suggested. To try to ease her into the idea of being milked, I duct taped a glove onto a cattle prod. As she kicks it is important to keep the glove on her. This way she begins to understand that kicking is not helping. It looks awfully silly, but if she was less tame it would be very helpful. It is for sure safer than getting your hands down there right away.

I have been touching her with my hands also, trying to keep my arm close to her back leg. Always patting and verbally telling her that she is a good girl when she lets me without any issue. If she kicks at all I am trying to keep touching until she stops. So far, the only really strong kick I’ve seen was when I wanted her to move her leg. During this training it is important not to squeeze the teats. They are sealed closed until time to nurse the calf and opening them prematurely would allow for infection. Her udder is swollen at this time. I am trying to be gentle but still get her used to being handled. After the training we have done, Bonnie lets me touch her entire udder without an issue. I think we are ready to milk!