Hayes Family Alaska

09/20/2026

Someone asked me if I could milk cows again, would I?

Absolutely. What I would not do again is sell family milk cows.

Here is why: I have watched too many wonderful cows leave good farms and end up in the hands of people who trhuly loved them, but had no idea how to properly care for them.

And love alone is not enough.

A family milk cow is not a lawn ornament. She is not something you figure out as you go. Dairy cows require knowledge, preparation, observation, and quick action when something is wrong.

I have seen good cows suffer and even die because someone did not bother to learn before bringing one home.

That part became too hard for me. I would milk cows again in a heartbeat.

I just do not think I could ever again hand one of my girls over and hope someone else took her care as seriously as I did.

09/19/2026

09/19/2026

A cow is a living, breathing animal, not a machine. When you buy your first milk cow, please do not, and I cannot stress this enough, change her feed immediately.

A dairy cow’s diet needs to be changed slowly. Like molasses slow. Especially Jerseys. Before you bring her home, ask exactly what she is currently eating. What grain? What hay? How much? How often?

Then ask the farmer to sell you a bag or two of the exact feed she has been getting. If they will not sell it, ask for the brand and exact formula so you can buy it yourself.

She is already dealing with the stress of leaving her herd, riding in a trailer, arriving at a strange place, meeting new people, drinking different water, and adjusting to a completely new routine. Her rumen does not need a sudden feed change added on top of all of that.

If you want to switch feeds, transition her gradually by mixing the old and new feed together over time.

Milk cows, especially high-producing dairy cows, require a little more thought than simply bringing them home and putting feed in front of them.

A little preparation before she arrives can prevent a whole lot of trouble afterward. ❤️
🐂🐂🐂🐂🐂🐂🐂

09/18/2026

Madness. Unless you're raising your own beef. I'm not sure how the price per pound after feeding and growing out, processing, and packaging isn't going to be astronomical per pound. 🤔 😱

09/18/2026

09/18/2026

📣📣 A little accountability quiz. 📣📣

Your friend comes to you upset. They tell you people are spreading lies about them. Saying hurtful things. Accusing them of doing terrible things. What do you do?

A. Immediately believe your friend because they are your friend.
B. Join in defending them without ever asking what actually happened.
C. Decide the other people must be horrible because surely your friend could never have done what they are being accused of.
D. Care about your friend enough to ask the uncomfortable questions.

✅️ What happened?
✅️ Why are these people saying this?
✅️ Is there evidence?
✅️ Is there another side to this story?
✅️ Did you actually do any of the things they are accusing you of?
✅️ Could some of what you are calling “lies” actually be accountability that you do not want to face?

Because being a good friend is not just comforting someone. Sometimes being a good friend means refusing to help them hide from the truth. Sometimes it means saying, “I love you, but I need to know what actually happened.”

Loyalty does not require blindness.

And friendship should never require you to abandon your own ability to recognize right from wrong just because the truth might make your friend uncomfortable.

Sometimes the most loving thing you can do for someone is help them face the very thing everyone else is helping them avoid:

📣📣📣 Accountability.

09/17/2026

AI WHO.. AI WHAT.. Ummm
Go watch Terminator.

09/17/2026

Some people may be offended by my ability to joke about our situation. It’s actually a coping mechanism. 🫶

Some people stay deeply sad and can slip into depression. Others find themselves using dark humor, and more specifically, gallows humor.

Gallows humor is when people joke in the middle of something painful, frightening, stressful, or downright awful, not because the situation is actually funny, but because humor gives them a little relief from the weight of it.

And that explains a lot for me. 😅

I often catch myself laughing or making jokes about everything we’ve been going through. Sometimes the whole situation is so absurd that humor becomes the only way to carry it without letting it swallow you whole.

Have you ever heard of gallows humor? More importantly, have you ever experienced it yourself during a really difficult season of life?

09/17/2026

Too many times I see people buy their first family milk cow, and within a short time they’re dealing with a downed cow, a very sick cow, or worse.

If you want to own a family milk cow, please go visit a farm that has them first. The farmer won’t bite. ❤️ Find yourself a mentor. Ask questions. Watch. Learn. Get your hands dirty.

When we sold cows, I saw too many really good cows die because their new owners simply didn’t have the experience yet to recognize when something was wrong or what needed to be done.

And I say that in the kindest way possible. Nobody starts out knowing everything.

We’ve always answered questions for free and helped people when we could, because we want both the family and the cow to succeed. But nothing beats firsthand experience.

A family milk cow is an incredible blessing, but she’s also a living animal depending on you to know when something isn’t right.

Find an experienced dairy farmer. Find a mentor. Learn before the emergency happens. ❤️