The Dairy Farmers

In this edition we catch up with our pals Peter and Paula Hynes, aka #TeamHynes, to learn more about dairy farming and how cows talk to each other!

How often do we need to milk cows?

We milk our cows twice a day. All our cows calve in spring so we start milking in late January & milk right through until late December

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How does the milk go from the cow to the tank?

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We use a Dairymaster milking machine & can milk 20 cows at a time . Milk is pumped from the milking parlour to the dairy & stored in a bulk tank cooled to 3 degrees Celsius & collected every 2 days by a truck

How many glasses of milk per day does a dairy cow produce on average?

Our cows average about 25 - 30 litres milk a day at peak , that is over 100 glasses of milk per cow per day

What are the breeds of dairy cows you have?

We keep pedigree Holstein & pedigree Jersey cows. In Ireland people also milk British Fresians, Shorthorns, Montbeliarde & Jersey crossbreeds (Below, meet Trixi the Highland and Jasmine the Jersey cows!!)

Why is a freshly calved cow so dangerous?

A freshly calved cow is very dangerous because it wants to protect its baby calf as best it can. We have special facilities for calving cows, crush gates for restraining the cow & escape routes to keep the farmer safe

How should we behave around cows?

It is always best to be quiet around cows, never get between a cow & her calf, never enter a field with a bull & always stay away from livestock unless there is an adult present

Hynes' Fun Fact!

Cows talk to each other by saying MOO , by scratching & licking each other & sometimes they will even make a funny face or cross face at each other

Cows always have best friends, they are natural herding animals & prefer to stay in groups, some cows even know their own names. We have cows called, Val Jumbo Kitty etc

Find out more on the Hynes family and their work with the Maasai tribe, visit

Twitter: @Peterhynes15 and @paulahynes4 (#TeamHynes)

Website: Our Maasai Family

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