Wednesday, February 3

Trusting

Stella is smiling at you. :)


Just so everyone knows, I am a nerd. I grew up on a small farm raising and connecting with several small animals ranging from dogs, to chickens, to goats. And yes, they all have their own personalities and secrets. As an assignment for a class, I wrote this extremely short response to hand-milking your dairy goats as opposed to machine milking them. My biggest argument was how personal you become. I believe this is huge.

Home Milking: Hand vs. Machine
Growing up, I was fortunate enough to be able to grow and learn around animals. Animals have been obedient to our Lord and now it’s our turn. We can learn so much from them. I’ve found animals to be so sincere and they always let you know exactly how they’re feeling; no secrets, no back-stabbing, no lies. I have always had an appreciation for animals, and because of this, I plan to work with them as a career.

The article I read was from the Dairy Goat Journal online, and it gave some vague differences of opinions about hand milking verses machine milking. For a few years, I hand milked my doe, Stella, and she’s probably one of my best friends, now. The article tells how small dairy owners love to hand milk their does in order to create that bond with them and to gain a sense of trust. I couldn’t agree more, as I have first-hand experience with this. As far as machines go, I feel this is a very impersonal expression of duty. However, experience plays an important key as I have never had a large enough dairy to rely on machinery to save time and quality. Thinking into it, I do believe that this type of decision would be best for the situation. If the larger dairy owners can find another way to connect with and respect their animals, I say all the power to them.

I’m quite excited about the opportunity in my future about helping animals and their owners find a deeper
connection. Hand milking is just the beginning.

http://www.dairygoatjournal.com/issues/88/88-/techniques_and_equipment_for_milking_dairy_goats.html

No comments: