Wash your hands before milking. 29 Make sure your fingernails are short . Long fingernails may hurt your cows. Checking your milk 30 Begin milking, soon after washing. Milk out the first milk from all four teats into a stripcup .
Washing stimulates the cow's udder and the cow produces a hormone called oxytocin.
The blood stream carries oxytocin from the brain, where it is produced, to the udder. In the udder, oxytocin causes cells surrounding to contract. These cells expel the milk towards the teats, from where it can be milked out. This is the cow's reflex for let-down of milk. Therefore, start milking immediately after washing.