I think my math is correct. This June it will be 12 years since we've been hand-milking cows. We've always milked into a couple of blue speckled enamelware gumbo pots. Over the years the pots have gotten kicked by cows and dropped by us. Some of these drops involved full buckets of milk, and we learned the old saying, "You can't cry over spilled milk" all too well. The buckets have dings and dents that you would expect to happen with things that get used. Unfortunately, the enamel coating on the bottom of the pots has worn off and after washing the pots, you can see a small bit of rust on the exposed surface of the pot.
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| Luna's milking bucket |
Tricia started looking in a Jeffer's Livestock Supplies catalog and found some stainless steel pails with handles. She ordered the 13 quart pail just to try it out. It came in and we wrapped a muslin rag around the top and headed out to the barn to try out our new purchase.
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| Luna looked at the new pail suspiciously |
The nifty thing about it is the handle. We quickly noticed that the handle is a great benefit. With the enameled milking bucket, you must carry it with two hands by the handles on either side. The handle on the stainless steel bucket allows you to carry it with one hand, leaving the other hand free to carry other items.
The stainless steel pot seems much easier to clean after pouring the milk out. The only downside to this pail is that it did not come with a lid. Although we use a rag tied around the top as a filter of sorts, it would be nice if it would have come with a top.
After using this one in a trial, we really like it and will likely purchase another one for Rosie's milking pail.
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