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T O P I C    R E V I E W
maryjane Posted - Feb 10 2015 : 4:05:43 PM
UPDATE 3/6/2015
Even though her pregnancy was confirmed yesterday, I've decided to keep Eliza Belle through her first pregnancy so I can train her as a milk cow.

Eliza Belle: (Update: I'll be doing a pregnancy check on her the end of this month, so I'm going to wait to give details about Eliza Belle until then.)



Eliza Belle newborn



Eliza Belle 1 month old with mother, Etta Jane



Mia with Eliza Belle



25   L A T E S T    R E P L I E S    (Newest First)
maryjane Posted - Oct 18 2016 : 11:10:32 AM
It's the little things:)
GingerBKelly Posted - Oct 18 2016 : 06:15:33 AM
I'm pleased to announce that yesterday evening was the first time Little Bit didn't "dump" during her milking session. Perhaps she's getting a little more at ease and happy. It was a pleasant surprise.
maryjane Posted - Sep 19 2015 : 08:08:35 AM
Yes, Eliza Belle is clicker trained to the extent she needs it. She's a very mellow, compliant, easy-going cow. We've been taking her into the milking parlor as part of her training (easy peasy) but I have yet to ever milk her. I look forward to seeing what her udder is like after her first birth, how well she births, etc. She's a big doll baby. And she's gotten so large lately that her sigh (when we tell her it's time for exercise and a walk) can be heard around the farm.
GingerBKelly Posted - Sep 18 2015 : 05:22:25 AM
Will Elisa Belle be "clicker" trained as well, Mary Jane?
GingerBKelly Posted - Sep 12 2015 : 11:51:56 AM
Cindy has the summer kitchen....oh so sorry about that. Oh my! She is certainly a lucky girl! Sigh! Wouldn't it be fun to have a summer kitchen? I think so.

GingerBKelly Posted - Sep 12 2015 : 11:46:03 AM
Ah yes! The splatter catcher! I've already sized one up, at the local hardware store. I will purchase one, when the time comes and milking chores are underway. Thank you. It's a great idea! I also love love love the smooth mats you have in your milking parlor and the fresh white milk paint. It's all so lovely!

I've been reading your book and reading parts of it to Ken. I showed him your set-up and of course, lovely milking parlor and great photos of your set up in the Milk Cow Kitchen Book. It's simply perfect, Mary Jane! I'm sure this brings you a lot of smiles and joy, along with the work (which isn't all that bad, it's good happy work).

GingerBKelly Posted - Sep 12 2015 : 11:44:48 AM
Yes, I know Cindy is very concerned. I would be too. Her concrete crew needs to get things done....like now! I'll be praying for her, her family and her little ones.

I'm sure she will be ready, concrete or not, "when the cows come home." New cows, new calves, new milking chores, new beginnings and new wonderful stories to tell. It's all a beautiful thing. I'm really happy for her.

maryjane Posted - Sep 11 2015 : 09:00:42 AM
It's Cindy that has the summer kitchen. You thought it was me because I'm so jealous of hers. Now if she could just get the concrete crew there.
maryjane Posted - Sep 11 2015 : 08:58:52 AM
I'm not sure a cow can reason "hold" but they tend to dump when uncertain or afraid and once that goes away and getting into a stanchion every day is old hat, the dumps diminish. I did come up with a cool way to eliminate the splatter factor for both pee and poo, https://heritagejersey.org/chatroom/topic.asp?whichpage=1&TOPIC_ID=1047
GingerBKelly Posted - Sep 11 2015 : 08:52:15 AM
Seriously? They do learn over time to try to hold it? Wow, that's pretty amazing regarding dairy cows. BTW: We are planning on converting or tearing down and rebuilding the shed and turning it into a summer kitchen, similar to the one you have. My husband LOVES carpentry and designing buildings, so he's all into the planning stages. I told him to keep things simple and frugal! Anyhow, today we are pouring more concrete in the stalls to hopefully, make them drain better for washing and things.
maryjane Posted - Sep 11 2015 : 08:35:54 AM
For sure I will, Ginger. In the last week, we started training her to go into the milking parlor (she's trained for everything else) and she had no problems other than she's been dumping every time. They do learn over time to TRY to hold it.
GingerBKelly Posted - Sep 11 2015 : 08:14:03 AM
Sorry, Mary Jane. I overlooked the fact that she's only a bred heifer at this point. Who is the sire of her calf? Oh I see, it is Beau Vine. Let me/us know how the milking goes and how easy she is to train.
GingerBKelly Posted - Sep 11 2015 : 08:12:38 AM
What an amazing size. Thank you, Mary Jane. I love the tiny size of her. Is she easy to milk? How well does the EZ Milker fit her udder? Sorry about that, she hasn't freshened yet. See my post, below.
maryjane Posted - Sep 10 2015 : 8:06:50 PM
Right after Eliza Belle's bath today I put my height measuring contraption up against the back of her foreleg with a level across her back. She is exactly 40 inches tall (taken at her withers).
GingerBKelly Posted - Sep 08 2015 : 8:28:08 PM
Silly goose, Maryjane! (I do that sort of thing all the time) No worries! Whenever you do, give me a shout. I'll be here.
maryjane Posted - Sep 08 2015 : 8:21:06 PM
I did measure her but didn't write it down and now I can't remember. I'll get a measurement tomorrow AND write it down.
GingerBKelly Posted - Sep 08 2015 : 6:27:30 PM
Oh Sydney...AppleButter is amazing, way adorable. I love them all! Did anyone get the chance to measure Eliza Belle yet?
Sydney2015 Posted - Aug 31 2015 : 3:19:46 PM
You know... Eliza Belle looks a lot like AppleButter, just darker.
GingerBKelly Posted - Aug 27 2015 : 05:50:37 AM
Once upon a time, I had a lovely cherry red fifth-wheel three horse slant trailer, that matched my red truck, perfectly. With cute little girl barrel racer curtains in the trailer windows, I loved my trailer set up from the day I got it. I drove it all over town and to the feed store, simply to show off. Silly me. It didn't take long before I went to back the truck under the trailer and the fifth wheel met the tail gate. Crash! I was very humbled at that moment. The dent in the tailgate was so big, from that day on, my pretty red truck was driven tailgate-less.

To add insult to injury, soon after, I "nicked" the roof of the house with the top of the trailer, taking down a few shingles, while driving around the circle drive with the trailer. Ouch!

I'd like to say, now I know better, but I don't want to jinx my trailer backing skills.

Perhaps many of us have had this sort of trailer back-up experience, at least once in their cow-reer? Just sayin'
maryjane Posted - Aug 26 2015 : 11:08:55 PM
Thank you Janet for your endorsement of my glamping book. And thank you Keeley for taking a chance on some of my publications. I hope you like them.

If you have a minute, check out my glamping Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/groups/glampersontheloose/
It has more than 13,000 members already. "Backing up" is a subject that crops up often. I love that women are getting outdoors on their own terms and not letting a few backing up sessions deter them. I still get nervous in certain situations when I have to "steer 'er backwards," but you only learn by doing. Don't forget that the people (mostly guys) who "know how" to back up were once just as unsure but it was a rite of passage and so they ended up "learning by doing."
NellieBelle Posted - Aug 26 2015 : 08:01:34 AM
Good morning Keeley. Don't let the title "Glamping" fool you. Her book is full of great information, on laundering, showering, Campsite organizing, what to pack, etc. Chockfull of great ideas as well as "glamping"ideas. Yap, one for the booklist for sure. :)
farmlife Posted - Aug 26 2015 : 07:35:54 AM
I just got several other of MaryJane's books, Janet, but Glamping wasn't one of them. When we go camping we are lucky to get everything we need packed, let alone pretty stuff. If I had known there was trailer backing up advice I would have gotten it, too. Lol!
CloversMum Posted - Aug 25 2015 : 4:44:32 PM
Cindy, I love reading your stories and experiences. :-) It makes me smile. I, too, do a poor job at backing trailers up. Definitely need a big wide parking spot! But then someone told me to put my hands at the bottom of the steering wheel and then my hands can go in the direction that I need the trailer to go ... helped my brain out tremendously! I just don't back up trailers when my hubby is around as he is a pro at it.
txbikergirl Posted - Aug 25 2015 : 4:36:46 PM
thanks janet! mary jane has shared tips already and they are all so appreciated. i know i would LOVE that glamping book and this is another reason to get it.

the "backup the trailer" comment is a joke to mj - i shared with her when in idaho in july that this is the ONE thing in my life i am horrible at. i am pretty fearless in trying anything in life, and not a perfectionist at all.... but literally my brain works wrong for this backing up the trailer thing.

i grew up rural so have backed up trailers for years, but i do a poor job ;>

during our huge storm last spring that had power outage and fallen trees all over i had what i call my "come to jesus" moment with backing up a trailer and decided then and there that before the cow comes i will have worked on these skills. and thus lover boy and i have a "date" this weekend to practice on the farm. what us farm gals and guys won't do to get a little time off of choring...
NellieBelle Posted - Aug 25 2015 : 07:10:35 AM
If you don't have MaryJane's Glamping book then you need to get it. Inside it's pages the dear woman instructs and guides you into "backing it up," be it for stock, or Glamping for camping trailer. :) Plus many more informative pages you just shouldn't be without. Just saying. ( And I don't even own a trailer.) But definitely thinking about it.