How Long Do You Spend Milking?

Breed her to so that she is dry for the coldest two months of the year.

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Emily Dixon
Ozark Jewels
Nubians & Lamanchas
www.ozarkjewels.net

"Remember, no man is a failure, who has friends" -Clarence

My calf had favorite teats and would drink from them and ignore the others. I went away for a weekend and when I came back the cows udder had hard spots in the front quarters. I'm trying to rememeber, I think the calf was three months old. I milked the cow a couple extra times and everything went back to normal, but I'm sure if I'd been gone longer than the weekend, I would have had trouble. Try to be aware of your calf's nursing habits before you rely on him/her to keep the cow milked out.

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~Carla~

Sounds like 6 kids could use lots of milk, but you might consider a beef/Jersey cross to reduce production. Not so much milk, and so a calf can better take it all if you don't want to milk as much. I have a angus/jersey cross and just milk once daily and the calf gets the rest. Sometimes I take more if needed, but calf does fine.

I've actually suggested to my sister who has your concerns to just get a beef cow, which are usually easier to find, and might have fewer problems than a used Jersey. Keep a beef cow milked out early in lactation and you'll keep getting milk. If you get tired of it, just turn her back into a beefer. Better yet, get two beef cows for more production. Get more beef than from pure dairy. Or you could breed to Jersey to get a higher milk producing cow.

And with a beef cow, you can learn the whole routine and milking skills without getting overwhelmed. Many want to start with a 6 gallon a day cow and can get discouraged. I've been down that road. Considering you're not getting any milk now, any cow would be an improvement.

Thank you all for your advice! I'm looking forward to getting my first milk cow!

We also have 5 kids and I am pregnant with twins. Congratulations!

I milk 3 cows twice a day and am back in the house to strain milk in 45 minutes. A few minutes less if they are in a closer paddock where I don't have to walk them as far. At the peak, I was getting 12 gallons/day.

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Rachel K
(and sometimes Matt)

Parents to Danial, Jacob, Isaac, Clara, Sarah Jo, and twins Emma and Anna born 12/18/2009!

http://www.jerseyknoll.com

LOL, now me, I would rather have them dry in the summer. In the winter, I don't have much better to do, but in the summer there are so many things I would rather do, and the longer days make it harder to do the 12 hour thing.
I have not done this though, just what I think would work for me. have only milked goats, and it is not likely to get a dairy goat to kid in the fall.

has your answer breed the cow and arrange for the two month dry period for when you want to vacation.. Myself i prefer to milk in zero weather and have time off in July-August...hot weather is when it is best to cut back on milk and cornbread as they are heat generators, especially corn bread..;-)

I was actually answering someone else.
We have between 2-4 cows milking at one time. We stagger the breedings so there is *always* at least one cow milking, as we need the milk. My favorite calving season is September through December. Then my next choice would be March.
If I was trying to get a couple months off from milking, I would certainly breed to dry off at the end of December. I HATE WINTER COLD.

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Emily Dixon
Ozark Jewels
Nubians & Lamanchas
www.ozarkjewels.net

"Remember, no man is a failure, who has friends" -Clarence

I do not milk cows but do milk goats. I stop milking at Christmas and start again the first part of March when the kids arrive. This works great for us as I vacation with girlfriends in February. Hubby does his thing during hunting season.............

Getting away is the hardest thing about having livestock - IMO.
BUT - lol - I absolutely, posatively love to milk my goats. I started milking two, leased a third that same summer and four summers later - milked 15!!! We are milking seven this year. Milking is almost a spiritual experience to me - I take a deep breath from my day, and just connect with a simpler, slower existence.....but hey - I also like listening to my ponies eat! I'm weird that way.

A single goat giving approximately a gallon takes maybe five to ten minutes to actually milk - plus 5-10 for prep and filtering. The act of milking doesn't take a whole lot of time - depending on the orifice size, and ease of milking out that particular animal - which is why you want to at least milk a prospective cow/goat before you buy it. AND if you are new to milking it will seem to take forever, and then in a few weeks you will be an old pro - taking you a fraction of the time. So, if you have one, bring along an experienced milker friend to milk your prospective cow.

There is some flexibility - IF you have nearby livestock owners willing to 'trade' vacations, or like others have mentioned, breeding for specific 'dry' times - although we breed for milk year around instead, lol. We milk once a day and leave kids on - til butcher weight, and then leave breeding doelings on five or six months because they are so growthy that way. Anyway, it gives us some more flexibility.

We milk our jersey once a day. We milk by hand right now. From start to clean up and milk in the fridge is about 45 mins.

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Only by His merciful grace,
Marci

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