I can't understand why one would fuss with a milking machine for one or two cows. My older brothers hand milked up to four with no problems. I had a goat that I milked. It went pretty fast. The goat and I had a deal: She would let her milk down as long as she had C.O.B. in the trough. She ate fast and I learned to milk fast. Between the two of us it only took a few minutes to get those 2-3 quarts of milk.

I used a stainless steel bucket and three legged milking stool.

And finally...don't do what my grandpa reportedly once did: He tied a brick to the old gal's tail to keep from getting his head swatted. Knocked him cold.

You win!

Save labor,use the kids.....,,,,, I remember,,,,, my Grandfather was smarter.
he established a creme collection route.....

Make a trip to a local pastry shop or WalMart get 2 or 3 of the empty frosting buckets (usually 2.5 to 3 gal in size with lids bring em home thoroughly clean an sanitize and milk by hand if just 1 cow

Hold calf off for part of day and milk once a day by hand

I have worked with dairy cows all my life and having a cow would be great, but if it were me in your situation I would find a dairy farmer near by and barter something you have that he can use for the milk you need. If you don't want to drink it raw, buy a pastuerizer.

Bryce

https://mittysupply.com/product/single-cow-milker-tjk1-ps/

I bought this unit a couple years ago when I running a dairy. Not cheap, but worth every penny in my situation. Worked great for fresh cows and using in our sick pen when we didn’t want to walk certain cows through the parlor. I was very pleased with it, Easy to use and clean. We averaged 82 lbs/cow a day so hand milking was not an option.

I’d definitely look into a machine if this will be a long term venture. Otherwise as mentioned above, hand milk once a day and let the calf do the rest

My brother had a milk cow, that was milked by hand. I tried milking it a couple of times. All I remember is how badly my hands cramped. It takes some getting used to to get your hands strong so they don’t cramp, at least for me.
We would take the cream off of the top and make whipped cream. My sister-in-law would make homemade gingerbread. We would eat warm gingerbread with whipped cream on top.

Mother of God was that good. That was 50 years ago and I can still remember that taste.

My brother would give the extra milk to the little hogs he was raising up to eat. They got so fat that they looked like little basketballs.

Thank you. That's one I've been eyeing up

My grandpa would milk with one hand and hold a big tin cup ( I still have it ) with the other hand and dump in bucket until he got a days worth. Then turn the calve into her. Fresh milk every day was better than hanging it in the well and running the risk of milk getting it in the water.

My dad always had 4 or 5 cows he milked by hand. We had a big old cream separator with a crank on it and it was my job to crank it. He would save the cream and take it a couple of miles to the highway where a guy would come by on his route and pick it up on certain days. Later we took cream and eggs to the creamery.

My dad always fed the skim milk mixed with wheat shorts to the hogs. I remember when I started to the trough to empty a bucket I had to run for my life! Later we built a board fence that would hold the big hogs so I could dump it over without having to get in the pen.

Now we send the cream to the State and Washington to our pet pigs !

All the time growing up.

Slop fed hogs used to be done on a large scale for the time, they had feeders and everything, the reason was at that time everyone wanted cream or the butter fat and what was left was fed to the hogs.

Ultimate easy is what my wife uses. It's made in America. Buck Wheeler makes them.
You can buy direct from Buck or from Shenandoah homestead supply.

She replaced it with the next size up when we lost it in a fire.

She milks every day. Not saying it's the best, but it works well and is economical. Customer service is as good as it gets.

https://www.shenandoahhomesteadsupply.com/products/ultimate-ez-milker

What breed is that cow Nate? Looks a little small for a Devon.

The photo is gone on my thread but that cow looked like it had a lot of Jersey in her.

Bryce

Some cows have been conditioned. When my wife bought her cow, it wouldn't let down. The cow had been conditioned to a machine. A milker also helps keep the milk clean, which is very important.