In this informal, family‑style video Victor (Speaker B) walks viewers through his DIY milking station that he’s preparing for two dairy cows arriving later in the week. He explains the design of right‑handed stanchions with a squeeze bar, a tall milking stool, a stainless‑steel 2‑gallon bucket, and a portable reservoir tank. He shows feeding accessories such as a rubber feed pan, alfalfa and apple‑cider‑vinegar supplement mix, and dog brushes used for grooming. He demonstrates how the simple 2×4 hinged latch secures the stanchion and discusses alternative low‑tech milking setups. The video then shifts to family logistics: dressing a child (Gideon) for the snow, shoveling, moving hay bales, and debating a snow‑plow‑equipped four‑wheeler. Throughout, the family jokes, plays, and does a quick workout by shoveling stairs. The content blends practical homestead milking instructions with everyday family life in a snowy environment.
Chapters
This is the old familiar chair.
You guys want to see a tour of my ultimate homestead milking setup. First, the stanchions. It's important with a stanchion to be able to get your animals to the right. If you're right-handed, you want to milk on the right side. So I have this squeeze bar that I built in that pulls them over to the right, and it gives them a little bit of comfort with that squeeze. It just latches on here with a carabiner just for storage. Can come over here. We have a couple of rope halters. We're getting cows in 3 days. We'll have milk in 4. So we're getting cows Thursday, we'll be milking Friday morning. We've got a little stool for the kids while I milk on the right. I use a bucket because the stanchion is elevated. The traditional milking stool is not tall enough. We have a stainless steel bucket for milking into. This is a 2-gallon. We're gonna have a reservoir tank out here too because we're getting 2 dairy cows. 2 dairy cows. So we fill that up, put it in our stainless steel reservoir tank, and milk some more if we need to. We have a couple of brushes. These are dog brushes, one for just combing them down, and then this is for helping them shed if they need some help with that. You saw me— oh, this is just an old-timey. Grandpa used to use this to you— hock, hocks, I think. You could put these on the cow's back legs if they're not going to stand still for you. These guys are experienced milkers. These gals are experienced milkers. Don't think we're having a problem with that. Right here I have my alfalfa in a bucket and my apple cider vinegar. Critical. We put a scoop of alfalfa, just added protein here during the winter when they don't have so much greens. Chaff hay, which is fermented alfalfa, and it's still on the stalk, so that's really good stuff too. They're used to having that. We're going to use that when they come. This is a rubber feed pan inside of a stand for their, uh, eating, for their snack. You know, I don't really like— my cows don't necessarily have to have that to stand still, but it's added health. They're in milk, let's give them some of this protein. If we need to do any meds or anything like that, we could do it here. I like the stanchion, how simple it is. You saw me open it. This is just a 2x4 on a hinge, and once you shut it, it's locked. It automatically locks. They can't open that any further. But to open it to let them out, you just lift that 2x4 up and they can get out. You can do it on both sides. That's my basics for the ultimate milk setup. Actually, you don't even need that if you've got a calm cow. All you need is a bucket, a food-grade bucket, You could go out there and milk them. Maybe you need a leash, tie them to a tree. I've done that before with my cows. If you guys are interested in these parts plus milking supplies plus a natural medical kit, I'm going to leave— got— we guys, we've put together a checklist for you. We've put together a checklist for ourselves since we're getting ready. I'm going to give it to you guys. It's down in the description. Now to deal with all this snow. First up, getting Gideon dressed.
That's quite the feat.
You ready to go? Hey, y'all play with Gideon. No coming back out, okay? You got me? Takes too long to dress and undress. You got me?
Yeah.
Okay, sit down.
I want to go out and look online.
You can go inside, but you're gonna stay inside. Do you want to go inside or not?
Yes, I do, but I don't want to go and join them up.
Okay, they're gonna go inside too. You're gonna go put them by the fire. You understand?
I don't want to stay in Ross Marino. I want to go outside.
You want to go outside?
Yeah, I want to go with you.
Okay, well let's put on our shoes.
You want Mama.
Mama's not gonna be able to help because she's doing her therapy. Come on, you can come with me. You can ride the wheelbarrow.
I know nobody else is gonna want to ride in a wheelbarrow.
No, nobody's gonna even know. All right, come on. Here, let me put your— Come on.
No, don't wheel.
No, he won't.
Why?
Because he's over there playing. We're gonna be over here on this side. All right, let's go. The cows are— no, the cows are coming Friday. I mean Thursday. They're coming Thursday. It's Monday. We gotta keep going whether it's snow or not. I got you, I got you. Come on, Mr. Brown. You want to stay here and play or go with me? He's playing so nice. He didn't rip it. Hey, you're gonna stay here and play or go with me? That's ownership right there. That's ownership. I didn't even ask you guys. Thank you. Okay, Brown, you ready? You gonna go with me? Okay, we'll see how this goes. Look who's here. Good to get out, Beauty. You're just in time to get this shot of me lugging this wheelbarrow. Oh good. This is very, this is very tempting for me to get a four-wheeler. One?
I think we should, because I was thinking we should get one that has a snowplow on the front and we can just plow our own road. I like it. We not wait for people, cuz the state will take forever. Oh my gosh, it's so beautiful out here. I was like, because it's going to rain, I got to get out here.
Hopefully there's a car track. I think so.
I think so. There was a car that drove down last night.
Let's see if this is it. Okay, good.
Oh, what We would be pulling your trailer right now. I'd take 2 hay bales out here. Just fed them. They're doing happy. They, they love this. Besides the fact they don't like to graze in the snow.
Read online that people, um, you're to be concerned in the summer months because that's when it's harder to keep them cool. They love this because their hide, their leather hide, keeps them keep all their body temperature in.
Yeah, they don't seem bothered in the least.
They're not—
they don't like to graze underneath the snow, but no, we spoil them with hay.
Wow, I think—
gosh, it's so pretty.
It really is.
I can't get a bad shot. For my workout this morning, should I shovel or should I go try to broadfork?
Why don't you shovel our car out?
All right, they got the shovel. Hey, do we have more shovels? All I could find was this. I guess the kids have the flat shovels. I'm gonna start with the stairs. I need to do about a 30-minute workout.
That should do it.
Okay, workout's over.
You would do that.
You would. And I got the camera. Oh, she got me in the kidney.
Oh, Jess.
Hey, 2 against 1.
That was weak.
Oh, she's nailing me. She's got a surprisingly good aim.
Oh, I like to catch her.
Oh, all right, let's go in. Peace, peace. I hear Bulletproof Coffee calling my name.
