1 #5
Louane removes the wet diaper, places it in a bucket at the foot of the table and replaces it with a new one then she cleans Sarah's vulva with a bamboo fiber wipe, creams her vulva and crotch then closes the plastic panties with pressure on the two anatomical layers.
She then puts the legs of the suit back on, closes the zipper in the back then undoes the front tabs.
She takes her lead and her stick back in hand before lowering the changing table.
She signals Sarah to get off and leave the room, heading towards her stall.
Once in Sarah's stall, she detaches the carabiner from her tether but leaves the collar with her cow before going out and closing the door.
From the outside she removes the two baby bottles from their plastic tubes.
The bottle of milk is only drunk half, the bottle of water a little more.
She removes the two bottles and carries them up to the farmhouse kitchen.
She empties both bottles into the sink and refills them—one with water, the other with milk and cereal.
She places them back into the holders on Sarah’s stall door and stops to pick up the bucket containing the wet diaper before heading back up.
She checks to ensure the cow is actually nursing from her cereal bottle, wanting to be certain she won't have to remove it and put it in the fridge; as it turns out, that won't be necessary, since Sarah seems intent on finishing the whole thing tonight.
The digital cameras are recording continuously, so Louane will be able to show the footage to Gwendal after dinner.
It is 8:00 PM when the young farmer comes in for dinner.
He talks with Louane about the first cow in this new herd, and she confirms that everything is going well.
She shows him the first diaper the cow has peed in, and then, once dinner is over, she plays back the afternoon's highlights for him.
Gwendal: "I need to compost that diaper discreetly along with the farm's manure; I want to test it and see how well these diapers decompose—no one must be able to spot them."
Gwendal is pleased that Louane can handle this new activity on her own for the time being; like his partner, he is eager to test his milking machine on this new breed of cow tomorrow.
Tomorrow, he’s tackling the construction of a new chicken coop.
Louane has successfully tested producing chicken-based feed pellets to supplement her herd's diet.
Consequently, they will eventually need more chickens than the couple currently raises for their own consumption.
The next morning at 7:00 AM, Louane goes down to check on her new cow.
The animal is asleep on her bedding when Louane enters the stall.
She wakes her up; the young cow has dark circles under her eyes and has clearly not slept well—or enough.
Louane leads her to the changing area and replaces her diaper, which is much wetter than it was the previous evening.
Both absorbent pads are swapped out for fresh ones.
Sarah returns to her stall, and Louane slots the two new bottles into their holders.
She then moves to the milking parlor to check that everything is ready.
It is the largest room—currently located in the cellar.
Gwendal has built a ramp so the cows can climb onto a raised platform.
To the left of the platform are five narrow stalls, each just wide enough for a single cow.
A large metal bar runs across the far end of the row of stalls.
The platform stands one meter high, with the bar positioned sixty centimeters above it.
When the cows enter the milking parlor, they walk up the ramp facing them, then turn left and step into their respective stalls.
Once they are inside, Louane can operate a gate that drops down behind the stalls—positioned behind the cows' hind legs—to prevent them from backing out.
For the moment, Sarah is the only one left to bring in.
She heads back to Sarah’s stall; the cow has finished her bottle of cereal feed.
Louane puts on her halter, placing the bit in her mouth.
She clips her lead rope to the collar’s ring and uses her stick to guide the animal out of the stall.
Sarah seems surprised to be taken out, as she has already been cleaned and fed.
She hesitates at the open door of the milking parlor, located opposite the changing area.
Louane guides her inside and up the ramp, then directs her toward the first stall.
Sarah pauses at the entrance, but a few vigorous taps of the stick on her hindquarters and hind legs urge her inside.
Louane closes the gate behind her, then descends the stairs at the far end of the platform, past the stalls.
Now at the base of the platform, she returns to the first stall where Sarah is waiting.
She attaches a short chain between the cow's collar and the overhead metal bar, then secures each of her front hooves with chains fixed to the stall’s uprights.
Louane smiles to herself, thinking that this young city-dwelling Englishwoman surely has no idea what a milking parlor is.
Now that the cow is snugly positioned and properly immobilized in her stall, she unzips the front of her coveralls to expose the udder.
This movement seems to trigger a realization in the young cow, who suddenly understands what is about to happen.
She struggles within the stall, but to no avail; the structure is solid, as are the restraints holding her.
Hidden beneath the platform lies the milking machine’s mechanism.
Louane starts the vacuum pump, followed by the pulsator, which alternates air and vacuum pressure within the teat cups to mimic a calf suckling.
She then takes the two teat cups and attaches them to the Jersey cow's udder.
She doesn’t clean the two udders beforehand, knowing this is the initial stimulation.
The young cow will be lactating within two or three days, depending on the intensity of the stimulation.
The young cow struggles in her stall, but to no avail.
Her udders are milked in rhythm by the two milking units; Louane has programmed a thirty-minute milking session.
She stays nearby—even though the machine operates autonomously—to ensure everything is going smoothly.
After a few minutes, seeing that all is well, Louane takes the opportunity to step into the changing room, keeping the doors to both rooms open.
She has four packs of diapers to stock on the shelves; she had placed an initial order with her supplier to test them out.
At the end of the programmed thirty minutes, a buzzer sounds, signaling the end of the milking.
Louane returns to the milking room, removes the milking units from the cow's two udders, and unfastens her.
She lifts the rear gate of the stall and leads Sarah out, guiding her back to her pen.
She then goes back upstairs to work and prepare lunch.