How to Milk a Cow by Hand

Recently, I learned how to milk a cow by hand. I have been hand milking Gertie, our family milk cow, for over a month now. I thoroughly enjoy our time together when I hand milk her. The kids love to come out with me and help me milk. Derek always comes out too when he is home at milking time.

UPDATE: I wrote this post back in 2014 when we got our first milk cow. To say that I’ve learned a lot since then would be an understatement. I remember what it was like starting out. I want to share my knowledge and encouragement to those just starting to learn. The hand milking technique is the same but now I have over a decade of experience milking cows and goats.

Key Takeaways

• Learn how to clean and prepare the udder for milking
• Learn the techniques used to hand milk a cow properly
• Learn to tell when the cow has been completely milked out
• Learn the best method for keeping the milk clean during the milking process
• Photos are used to show you exaclty how to milk a cow start to finish

Our family milk cows

In the last 12 years of owning family milk cows, I have learned a lot and had a few cows. We no longer have Gertie (she actually ended up being Gertie 1.0 because we had a Dutch Belted cross named Gertie later on). We currently (as of August 2026) have 4 family milk cows.

Cookie, who is my favorite cow ever, is a Jersey. She is nearly 12 years old and still gives us a beautiful calf and milk every year. She is also a great nurse cow and will take on any calf we give her as her own.

We also have 2 more Jersey cows named Elsie and Heidi. They are both wonderful cows and our family enjoys them so much. Most recently, we added a 1/2 Jersey, 1/2 Guernsey heifer. She had her first calf this summer and has turned out to be a really nice little cow so far.

That does seem like a lot of cows and it is. I may have a milk cow addiction! But seriously, We are a family of 11 and I make almost all of our own dairy products at home. Most recently this includes hard cheeses so we use a lot of milk. We also raise out our dairy calves on milk adding to the amount we have to utilize as well.

We currently machine milk our cows now that we are milking multiple cows at a time but we still hand milk our goats.

Keep in mind while reading this post that I was writing from the perspective of having one family milk cow. The method of hand milking hasn’t changed but the cows have and my knowledge has expanded which I have edited the post to reflect that aspect.

Hand milking cows

Milking a cow by hand really isn’t hard to do once you get the hang of it. The hardest part is building up your hand and arm muscles. Once you have those muscles built up, you’ll fly though milking! Be sure to drink lots of that fresh milk to keep you from getting sore muscles!

The same technique is used when milking a cow or goat (and perhaps sheep?). I used to hand milk goats with my friend when I was a teenager so I had some experience starting out. I guess a teat is a teat!

When I am ready to go out to milk, I gather my milking equipment and head out to the barn. We built a milking stanchion for Gertie that is elevated so that I can reach her better. She’s content to walk up on the stanchion and eat while I happily milk her.

How To Hand Milk a Cow- step by step

Step 1-

I start by using a rag that is wet with warm water and mild soap (like liquid Castile soap) to clean the udder. I’ve found that carrying a bucket with the warm, soapy water and rag in it works best. This is especially important in the wintertime to keep the rag nice and warm until you are ready to use it.

Cleaning the udder well is ivery mportant, be sure that all of the dirt, manure, and debris is cleaned off. You don’t want any of that getting into your milk. This also reduces the risk of bacteria entering the teat canal itself.

This warm rag also helps relax the muscles therefore the cow will let down her milk more easily. I don’t think Gertie (or any cow) would appreciate a cold rag very much! A cow may even protest with a swift kick.

Step 2- 

Grasp the top of the teat with your thumb and index finger trapping the milk in the teat canal. Remember, always use a gentle touch when milking a cow. There’s no need to be aggressive with their udder. They won’t like it and neither will you when they react strongly.

You can see in the photo below how I have the milk pinched off into the teat itself.

Then, I gently but firmly squeeze the rest of my fingers on the teat to squirt it into the bucket. I simply start closing my grasp one finger at a time from top to bottom. Important: DO NOT pull or tug on the teat, just gently squeeze the milk down.

When I start milking, I spray about 3-4 squirts onto the ground, on the hoof, or onto a rag (just not into the milk pail) at first so I can inspect the milk to be sure there are no clumps or anything off about it. If you have barn cats that like to hang around at milking time they will really appreciate this practice.

The first couple of squirts also contain the highest bacterial count so it is good practice to discard those squirts. Once I have checked the milk to make sure it is clean, I am ready to move forward with milking my cow out.

Step 3-

I like to use a small 2qt pail to milk into. Once the small pail is about 3/4 full, I pour the milk into my large pail that is lined with a mesh strainer. By handling the milk in this manner, I am able to make sure we keep our milk very clean and free of debris.

If my milk cow were to kick the pail over or put her foot in it, I won’t lose all of the milk from that milking. That would be really sad. I think the saying “don’t cry over spilled milk” came from someone that didn’t milk animals! The mesh strainer in the larger pail helps to keep any debris that may have gotten into the small pail out of the milk.

I continue to milk in this manner until my cow’s udder is out of milk.

Towards the end of the milking, you will notice that her teats will not refill as quickly. At the very end of milking you can coerce the remaining milk into the teat with a gentle massaging motion.

Step 4-

You can tell the udder is empty because it looks and feels empty and you are barely getting any milk out. Once your cow’s udder is emptied out completely, you are finished milking and can let her go back to her pasture.

I always make sure that Gertie is completely milked out so that we don’t risk her getting mastitis or her production going down. Milk in livestock is much like in a human, supply and demand so if you don’t fully empty the udder, it signals the cow’s brain that it needs to reduce production.

Once I am done milking my cow, I gently rub on my homemade udder balm. This is a wonder cream for cows. I have a friend whose cow had severe udder edema (swelling in and around the udder) after calving. Within 24 hours of using my udder balm, her swelling was almost completely gone. We’ve used this udder balm for over a decade now and it still works wonders for udders and hands.

It’s simple and easy to milk a cow

That is all there is to milking a cow by hand! Once you get used to it, you fall into a nice rhythm and just enjoy the bovine company while you milk your cow.

Do you have a milk cow already or are you dreaming of adding one to your homestead one day? I truly believe that a family milk cow is one of the most valuable assets on a family farm. Their milk can provide your family with a wonderful, nutritious food and none of it has to go to waste. Aside from all of the delicious dairy products you can make, your other livestock can greatly benefit from the excess milk.

We’ve grown out pigs and meat birds on milk for years and I believe it makes the best meat!

 Here is my youtube video on how to milk a cow by hand:

https://youtu.be/g6u-hGnCYsI