For six months, while we lived at one particular rental house, I had a shed to milk my cow in. She hated it. Otherwise, I have milked out in the weather, except for a few times at a different house when it was raining and blowing and I took her into a shed. The most recent house we lived in had no shed that would work, and we didn’t have anything here, either. However, in this region it rains a lot! I have just been tying my cow to a fence to milk her anyway, because that was all I could do. There were some very frustrating milkings, with rain pouring down in sheets and the wind blowing. I got drenched, and the cow did not hold still. In case you’ve ever wondered, it’s hard to milk when the cow moves sideways every few squirts.
Then, Mr. Diligence came to my rescue! A few weeks ago, he got started building a portable milking shed. Portable, because part of our problem is that we are using someone else’s land for grazing the cows, and we shift them from one place to another every few months. His dad helped him with the design, and he used all recycled timber and roofing iron to build this masterpiece. Today, it was finished, and the fellows all worked together to take it down the hill to where the cows will be for the winter and secure it in place.
Here are Gayle and Mr. Diligence working on the first part of the frame.
This was a week ago, when they got most of it put together.
Yesterday or the day before, Mr. Intellectual and Mr. Diligence finished the roof.
Today, they loaded the shed onto the trailer and took it down the hill.
Once down there, they chained it to a fence post and pulled it off the trailer.
Here comes Poppy to see what is happening in her paddock!
To prevent wind from blowing the shed away, they pounded a standard deep into the ground at each corner, and screwed the shed to it.
Mr. Diligence built metal brackets so that boards can be slotted into the sides for times when we need to hold a cow from swinging back and forth.
Poppy and Pansy investigating the car.
Mr. Sweetie and Little Miss supervising.
This is the view I get to enjoy while I milk!
The real test came tonight when I milked: Would Poppy accept the new place to milk? She did! We had to push her in, but she quickly relaxed and stood still better than she ever has before for me. She even started chewing her cud before I was halfway done milking, which she has never done before.
You sure needed that shed. I remember that coast rain ! We lived in Greymouth for 10 years, and the rain fall is often heavy.
We only get about half as much rain as Greymouth, since we’re inland a ways, but it still comes down heavily for days on end sometimes!