Yesterday I posted our process and video on how to milk a cow. Today I wanted to give you a printable recipe for the teat spray I use on the animals after I milk.
As I’ve stated before, I don’t have running water in my barn, and while I’ve tried various things for after-milking-udder-cleaning, I have found that having this teat spray mixed up and waiting for me in the barn is really a big help! Beulah Belle the Jersey Cow doesn’t mind being sprayed at all. The goats, on the other hand, don’t really like it, but it is over quickly and I just keep my hand back far enough not to get kicked.
Some of the teat spray recipes I read online before I began making my own involved bleach, and I really didn’t want to use that on my animals’ skin. Others were made in such small quantities that I would need to mix them up almost daily, which didn’t really work for me either. Also, because some of my animals return to the pasture to nurse babies, I needed something that wouldn’t be toxic to the little ones when they put their mouth on the teats.
So I did a little research on alternative cleansers that would be easy to obtain and not too expensive or difficult to mix up. These are the teat spray ingredients I settled on: Grapefruit Seed Extract and essential oils mixed into a bottle of water. Easy peasy.
Grapefruit Seed Extract is a natural antiseptic, it is anti-fungal, and it can help heal wounds and skin infections (and trust me, udders get lots of scrapes and small cuts!)
The essential oil blend I chose is called “Purify” by DoTerra. If I didn’t have that on hand I would have chosen my old standby of Lavender and Tea Tree Oil which do a great job of cleaning and healing as well!
- 16 oz (1 pint) water
- 30 drops Grapefruit Seed Extract
- 10 drops Purify Essential Oil Blend (or 5 drops lavender and 5 drops tea tree oil)
- Mix all ingredients together in a good spray bottle and keep near your other milking supplies. Use after every milking, applying extra if you notice a cut or other teat problem.
If you like this teat spray recipe, you might also like our Fresh Milk 101 Pinterest Board, and be sure to sign up for Beulah’s Mooooooosletter so you don’t miss a thing!
Happily shared with the Backyard Farming Connection, From the Farm Blog Hop and Small Footprint Fridays!
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