When to start Milking?

jlgoinggreen · #21 02/22/10, 01:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by triple divide

Years of selective breeding by farmers have built your dairy cow for one purpose, to make milk. A lot of it. More than your family could probably consume. They were bred into what they are to create a surplus of milk on the farm. By virtue of the nature of your op, I'm going to assume you may not realize this fact either.

You are absolutely right triple divide. I had no idea she was created to make milk!!!

And then LOTS of it to boot. To think all this time I have been looking out my window admiring this beautiful lawn ornament never realizing the Lord created her to give my family milk, butter, cheese, ice cream, yogurt, etc..... Thank you so much for enlightening me. Your 39 years of agriculture knowledge has really helped my family and I in our current situation. Thank you so much for all of your help.

Oh and thanks for your concern on the amount of milk coming into my house. I'm guessing you either have a small family of maybe two kids or you don't have a family of your own. But don't worry your head. My family will have no problem consuming the delicious milk created by our Jersey. And what we don't consume, our other farm animals will be more than happy to help us with.

jlgoinggreen · #22 02/22/10, 02:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mahafakir

I'm surprised that the calf stopped nursing when the cow got milk fever. The calf itself might have been sick if it was refusing to suckle the teats. The calves will never refuse to suckle the teats. The cow should be milked atleast twice a milk. People ask can ewe milk once a day? If you do not think that milking is fun you do not have to milk. But the milk shpuld not be allow to stay in the udder. If the udders are big they would get filled soon after the cow is millked.

There are several uses for the milk even if you do not drink it. The first thing you can do iis to save the milk for feeding the calves. The milk may not be fit for human consumption. But it is good for the calves. It may get rotten and become spoiled the calf will drink it. This is especially important if you want to sell the milk so that you can use the money to buy feed for the cow.

No matter what you do the calf should be weaned off the mother and fed by bottle or the bucket. Do not worry about the cow. It would not matter much to the cow whether it is milked by humans or its clf. It will get used to being milked by you. If you use the Colustrum for feeding the calf you'd not have to use good milk for feeding the calf.

By the way you can make desert out of the Colustrum by boiling it for a few minutes and adding sugar. Try it. You'll love it. They do it all the time in India and akistan and Bangla Desh and Nepal and Tibet and so on.

Thank you so much Mahafakir. This is all very useful information.

I've heard from my mother about making delicious deserts from the colostrum. I regret not trying it, but with all the worrying I did it completely slipped my mind.

The calf is nursing again. I believe my husband removing her from the stall confused everyone a little. We were concerned the mom would fall on the baby. My son thinks she never actually stopped nursing and maybe just didn't nurse while we were there. She never acted sickly and is pooping normally so far.

jlgoinggreen · #23 02/22/10, 02:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by springvalley

I have miked cows most of my life, and I have been farming 30 years, I just love helping young people, and old, that want to move to the country and try and live the good life.

And we appreciate you so much Marc. Unfortunately my grandfather, who was a farmer all his life, passed away while I was still too young to appreciate all of his knowledge. All of his children moved to the city and do not care to teach us any of it. Sadly, they feel it's going backwards. None of my grandfather's grandchildren have ever been exposed to the beauty of farming. When I was younger my mother will tell me stories of her growing up in the farm and making cheese, butter, ice cream, sewing, etc... But again back then I had no interest. Now that I'm actually living on a farm, she has Alzheimer and can not help me much. In my family my cousin and I are the only ones who have been drawn back to this lifestyle, but without the knowledge of living it, no amount of books compares. All we have are the people who are kind enough to help. Thank you. I pray that our Lord will Bless you for all the help you give on these forums.

jlgoinggreen · #24 02/22/10, 02:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gone-a-milkin

Milkfever is a much more common ailment for Jerseys than for Holsteins, regardless of the size of the dairy herd.

Jennifer, how is Blossom doing now? Have you caught that calf nursing yet?

We need an update.

Yes, I have heard it's more common in Jerseys. I had my choices, but LOVE the taste of the Jersey milk. We went back and forth in our decision until we met her. She is the sweetest cow I have ever met (and believe me we met a lot in our search). I believe it was love at first sight all the way around with my dh, children and Blossom.

I have personally not caught the calf nursing, but my children and dh have. She's also very spunky and full of life. She has to be healthy with all that energy. LOL

triple divide · #25 02/22/10, 03:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jlgoinggreen

You are absolutely right triple divide. I had no idea she was created to make milk!!!

And then LOTS of it to boot. To think all this time I have been looking out my window admiring this beautiful lawn ornament never realizing the Lord created her to give my family milk, butter, cheese, ice cream, yogurt, etc..... Thank you so much for enlightening me. Your 39 years of agriculture knowledge has really helped my family and I in our current situation. Thank you so much for all of your help.

Oh and thanks for your concern on the amount of milk coming into my house. I'm guessing you either have a small family of maybe two kids or you don't have a family of your own. But don't worry your head. My family will have no problem consuming the delicious milk created by our Jersey. And what we don't consume, our other farm animals will be more than happy to help us with.

hey jlgoinggreen, you're welcome!

I figured that anyone who would buy a dairy cow and not know when to start milking her would appreciate a little trivia! Consider it a freebe.

As I said before, I do wish you the very best.

dairymon · #26 02/22/10, 05:21 PM

Jennifer, how is Blossom doing?

Marc you can get on that soapbox anytime you want and if its to short I will lifter her for you so all can hear. We had also been farming for over thirty years, however we sold our herd of Jersey and Holstein in 2004/05. Helping others learn and enjoy the farm life should be our goal as it will be in our best interest in the long run.

Jennifer keep us abreast of your new learning experiences and Blossoms new beginnings with your family.

DJ in WA · #27 02/22/10, 11:22 PM

It's interesting to me that alot of Jerseys people get are about 5 years old. Seems to be the age about when people sell them for reasons they don't mention.

The 5 year old I got I found out had chronic mastitis they couldn't clear up, I found out later.

I believe cjb got a 5 year old cow with mastitis that spread to other quarters.

I know milk fever risk increases with age. Makes me wonder if this 5 year old cow had milk fever before and the seller "forgot" to mention it.

I suppose one can avoid milk fever with proper nutrition, but most homesteaders don't have the knowledge. Which is why I usually recommend a Jersey/beef cross cow with lower risk of problems - get two if you need more milk. But most will not consider less than a fullblood Jersey.

topside1 · #28 02/23/10, 09:59 AM

I'm with DJ on this one. Speaking just generally it seems like buying a used cow is like buying a used car. Usually something is wrong with the car. I learned the hard way a few years back and that's why I promote buying a young heifer or bottle heifer and start with zero miles on it's chassis. Jennifer I'm not saying you bought I problem like I did, I'm just spreading my limited knowledge and experiences to anyone who is reading...Topside is not a dairymen by any means, but he has learned from his mistakes. If for some reason I ever buy an older cow again I will cautious plus educated. My two cents.

Marianne · #29 02/23/10, 04:18 PM

We bought an 8 yr. old 3-quartered Guernsey from a lady that was moving to CO. We had been buying milk from her for a couple of yrs...for "animal use", you know,,,wink, wink. We even milked her a couple of times before buying to make sure we knew how. She had a heifer a few months after we got her and a raging case of mastitis, which I fought off and on for a couple of yrs. before breaking down and hauling out the "big guns" (LA200). None since. She is the sweetest, most patient, loving animal we've ever had. She isn't perfect to many folks I guess, but she is to us. She patiently let us learn on her. This old "used" cow has been such a blessing to my family. A "new" cow would NOT have been a wise choice for us being as we had such a learning curve. She is beautiful. And pampered. And loved. And VERY well cared for!! Just like YOURS will be, Jennifer! I'm so glad you have her, and you're ALL going to do fine! Listen to the oldtimers mostly, ask here and at KFC, and enjoy your new family "member". We all learn as we go. Everyone wasn't fortunate enough to grow up with cows and we have to start somewhere!

jlgoinggreen · #30 02/23/10, 10:03 PM

Thank you Dairymon. She is doing a lot better now. She ate all of her grain and hay this morning and is also drinking normally again. We are not getting as much milk as we would like, but we're hoping that now that she is eating things will pick up.

DJ you are probably right, but I will still give him the benefit of the doubt. He has called a few times showing real concern for the cow and how we were getting used to each other even before she gave birth and got MF. He seems very nice and has offered to help us in any way he can. Did he know and knowingly sold her to us without telling us? Hmmmm...possibly. I'm not going to worry about it though. What's done is done. She's ours now and I love her and will do everything possible to get her healthy. No use crying over spilled milk (no pun intended...well maybe a little..lol).

topside1, thank you for your 2cents. I will take it into consideration if we ever decide to buy another cow. Not that I'm planning on it after all this, but you never know what God has in store for our future. I've learned to never say never again even if this is how I feel at the moment.

Marianne, Thank you. Your post was very sweet and inspiring. This is the reason we bought a "used" cow. We were told trying to milk a heifer by hand who had never been milked before was a bad idea for a newbie like us. We did "test drive" a yearling heifer, but she was very skittish and not friendly at all. Having our Blossom get MF was very hard on us stress wise, but we don't regret getting her. She is the sweetest most loving animal I have ever had the pleasure of dealing with. She is very patient with us.

I am sure I will most likely make mistakes and I'm so grateful to have people who are willing to help get me through this learning curve both here and at KFC while I try to give my children a better, healthier life. As for Blossom, she is very loved and cared for. I have been studying nutrition for cows and have spoken to our vet and local dairy men on their nutritional requirements. I will not push my cow as I do not believe in it. She is fed grain, but not pushed.