The video documents a family’s hands‑on effort to train a first‑time milking heifer named Vanilla over more than a month. Beginning three weeks before her expected calving, the family works to get Vanilla comfortable with a temporary stanchion and a rope halter, using repeated short sessions, treats, and gentle handling. As the due date approaches, they monitor her udder development, manage mucus and early milk, and prepare for the birth. After Vanilla calves, they focus on colostrum collection, ensuring the newborn calf receives the vital first feed, and then transition to regular milking, collecting both colostrum and early milk while keeping the calf nearby. Throughout, the narrator (Speaker A) shares observations, adjustments, and occasional setbacks—such as Vanilla escaping the halter or kicking the bucket—while the children (Speakers B and C) assist with training, feeding, and morale. The narrative blends practical animal‑husbandry tips (stanchion setup, halter use, udder handling, colostrum importance) with family dynamics and a light‑hearted, enthusiastic tone, concluding with successful milking and a reflection on the experience.
Chapters
Wow, this didn't end at all how I thought it was going to. There was a struggle, but it wasn't the one I thought it was. I knew that it was going to be a struggle to train her. She's never been milked. This is a new mama. This is a heifer calf. And so the struggle would be time, taming her, training her to get into the stanchion. So we started several weeks in advance. Is she letting you pet her? Dude, we have like 3 weeks. She's gonna have a baby and we won't be able to milk her. Okay, come here. Come to this side so you don't get squashed. Good, keep doing that. Gideon, we need to train Vanilla. You coming? Come on. Hence name, because all the cream, all the vanilla ice cream we will get from this cow. We have to train her first. This is her first calf. You have to have a calf with mama cow to produce milk. You're gonna have to have that cow be still so that we can get the milk. Pet her, see how low you can go. Maybe start up at her head. Well, wait until she gets eating.
Papa, I can't do it.
He hates me.
Good morning, Vanilla. You ready to be trained? 2 weeks away exactly. Randolph has installed a little stanchion, just zip ties, so it's super temporary. Vanilla, you think you're ready to get in that? Think she'll go?
Maybe.
Today, Jonah, what do you think? She think she'll go? I have no idea. Never been in a stanchion before. You want to call it for today?
No, a couple more tries. I think she can do it. She's getting more greedy. You can tell.
Good first day session. We've gotten further than the last time. Come on, you almost did it. All right, good training session today. I wonder what happens if I do this. Let's just leave it right there. So close. Are you gonna get in there today? Plan B. Get a rope halter on her. You gotta first get a leash on her. Let's get a rope halter, see if she'll calm down and eat a little bit more with this rope halter on her head. Here goes nothing. Uh-oh, she can get out. Too wide. You just gotta get her in there calm and eating some. And maybe squeeze these shut. Have a snack. There we go. I'm happy about that. Scratch them down there when she's eating, come up when she's not. Swell a little bit with milk. That's good. Let her loose and kind of be on her own and let her enjoy herself in it. What do you think about that, Gideon? Cool. We trained her. Now tomorrow, will she go on her own without the rope halter? We'll see. Are you gonna go in the stanchion without rope halter today? That's all you gotta do, just walk in. You're safe. Oh look, she got one horn through. It's gonna be real wild when she has a baby. She's gonna be more hesitant. She's bagging up and she's got mucus and just goes to eating like we didn't just have an epic struggle. One week to do day. She's definitely showing signs. Today is the day. Let's give it 6 minutes. Leave that there. I'm gonna get some blocks to raise that up. You gotta stand there and block her.
Did you guys see that?
She almost went in. Y'all didn't block her last time.
Well, see if this will do it. She did it.
I put it on some blocks so it's not such a— I'm not gonna worry about shutting the gate on her today. Let's get her comfortable putting her head in there. She came out, that's okay. We're gonna get a bunch in there today. Look at that. Maybe I should get the other blocks to make it a little easier. Oh, she's fine. Eventually the blocks need to be taken away, so she's doing it just fine. Vanilla, we made huge headway. One week to go. Her udder's getting big. Look at that, you're gonna be in calf soon. She doesn't know what's coming, or she does. We got mucus hanging off of that. You're gonna be an aunt, honey. 6 days to due date. You're gonna hop right in today. We've got it set up, get you a taste. There it is. Close this on her. Now come down here, Gideon, and see if she's gonna let us milk her.
Wow, there we go.
Let's do a little bit more every time. I'm gonna keep my hand on her, getting her used to a hand. She's not kicking me, she's just moving her foot forward. Okay, we're off, we're off. Enough of that udder training today, huh? Hey, oh, stepped on my foot. I'm gonna be out here at an angle. That's cool. Wait till she eats. Then I'm going to crush your udder. Now my hand. Every day gets better. Tomorrow we'll squat. Grabbing her teats. She's holding still. We're going to be just fine. I think we just do this every day until baby comes. So I'm pretending like I'm milking here. She's letting me. She'll have a frenzy when the baby comes, but at least this will be in her head. One day to due date. You going to be on time? You got to take these due dates with a grain of salt. She didn't even step this time. She's going to be just fine. All right, she's trained. Hey, you better get some practice here, cuz we're going to have 3 cows in milk and you're the most likely candidate. Vanilla, 4 days past due. I'm a little surprised you didn't have the baby because it's like 19° out here. Sometimes that's how— that's how things go. 6 days overdue. You like doing that job? It's okay, it's okay. You can tell the truth. You like that? You do like that ice cream though that comes out of there. Yeah. Oh yeah, her udder's gonna burst. I figured and hoped that she would just give birth without it and we'd come out, we'd see a happy calf who had nursed. 12 days past due date and look what we have here. Look like she just had it, huh? I need to get them up away from this fence. What do you think, darling? He's so cute, and she's such a good mom. She's on him. We always go through this. It's the mother in me. It's the cowboy in me. The mother in her wants me to help. It's already like, Mom, stop, stop licking. Uh, I wonder if I should get a cloth and clean the udders a little bit. Is he gonna stand? I mean, it takes him a minute. Let's clean her udder. Hopefully Our training comes in handy right about now. Look how milky she is. Yeah, we're gonna get her in that stanchion. We're gonna have to get this baby over there for it too. You run and get me the rope halter. She's not gonna do it because she's so enamored with the baby. Really? Can you go get me my cloth? Get this guy out of the line of fire. Wow, we're gonna remove one obstacle from nursing. She's sore, she's not used to that. She's a heifer. Back end. I'm glad I did help the calf because I noticed later that Every time the calf got to her udder and touched it, she would move out of the way. It's important that they get this colostrum, this yellowy— it's not milk, it's colostrum. A baby's got to get colostrum to seal its gut to live. Like, it won't Leah's if it doesn't drink within the first few hours. This utter superstition. So she's not making the connection that, hey, this calf is gonna suck this down and make this feel better. My thought was I'd need to get her in a stall, in a small confinement. She would not go over there for the life of me. How can you pull her? We're almost there. Well, almost is a strong word. This cow has never really been on a halter. She's doing pretty good. We're going to tug her with the four-wheeler a little bit. New moms are tricky when they have that new calf. It's hard to herd them and get them to do anything because they don't want to leave their calf. And you could pick up and take their calf, but you can't like go too far or they lose it and then they panic and they don't— they don't see you, they don't connect that and follow you long enough. Now once you got a rope halter on a cow, if you can control their head, you can control them per se. And she had her fair share of sitting down on this. Come on.
Baby, come on, get up. Come on. There you go.
Yeah, cows are not lead animals.
I didn't train her to this stanchion. Let's get her in the stall. You can only run so far from the baby. Okay, they're resting. They nurse. Let's look at the time lapse. Shoot, she hasn't nursed. Give a couple more hours, then I'm gonna have to get her in this stanchion. Come on, guys. Well, there's a chance it was nursing while she was eating hay here, but I'm not gonna risk it. Let's get that calf some food. I mean, she's nurturing it, she's not neglecting it. I think she's just unsure what to do with the pain in her udder, and the calf touching it doesn't help. Definitely getting my training for today, aren't I?
Good. Hey, Pooley, so close.
Got it. You're showing instincts. I mean, you're, you're bellowing, you're licking it. And then one more time. What do you think? Check the time lapse. I don't think it's happened. We're gonna have to get you back in this stanchion. She does let me do it. All right, it's gonna be the last time we're gonna feed this calf.
Probably.
He ain't even doing nothing on there. There you go, got on his own. One teat heat in the front is just gushing. And then it was good night and hope for the best. How did the little calf fare last night? Nursing. It's nursing. Nursing. Vanilla! That was easy. Woo! Oh my gosh, this could have been 5 days of this. You did it, guys. The vanilla to the mom, chocolate to the baby. That makes my life so much easier. Thank you, Vanilla, because guess what? We have to move out of this house. We'll get her back in the pole barn today. Vanilla, you got the hang of it, girl. Okay, we still gotta milk her though. Well, she's hungry. We need to get her going. I should probably get her back into the stanchion she's used to. Let's see, does she remember her old— she needs to go from there to here. Look how good he's walking. He's one day old right now. Working with nature right there. Get the baby, then Mama will follow. You remember the drill, not leaving the baby. Just to be expected, she's, you know, first-time mom. They're always a little crazy first couple of days. I'm not surprised she won't necessarily go in here. Now, now, you're gonna hurt somebody. Good girl. First time milking, coming right up. Hard part's behind us. Yeah, it's working Good. These are nice eats. Got her some alfalfa. It's key to have the calf nearby. You need to give them something to eat. There we go. Perfect. It's gonna be colostrum. She's standing very still for me. That's nice. Probably got a half a gallon right there. Not bad. That's colostrum. The milk comes in in a few days. It's a superfood. We're gonna mix it with the other milk. The kids will never know it. Just— I don't know it. You'll probably watch for the date. Milk's a little salty, and if you're thinking about it, you'll definitely taste it. The colostrum's a little salty. Hey, speaking of milk, is it working?
Yeah, she's almost done. She kicked over the bucket though.
You didn't get any milk from her today?
I did, I got some.
Oh, she kicked a lot of it. We've weaned these mama sheep. Lily is harvesting their milk. We had sheep's milk yesterday. What did sheep's milk taste like, girl?
Really, really sweet.
Yeah, it's very, very sweet. Henry loves it. Yeah, I bet it's like a dessert. It wouldn't be good for like something neutral like an oatmeal or cereal. It's super good on its own though. It'd be killer in a smoothie.
Wow.
Now here we are, 48 hours later. She walked in the station herself, and look at that score.
