Our new cow- pic

southerngurl · #21 12/18/10, 10:30 AM

She was bred two days before we bought her. I don't think she's had any breeding problems in the past. She has had 3 bulls in a row though. So hoping she's due for a heifer.

I like this cow. Today I didn't even tie her. Just gave her her grain and sat down and started milking. She ran out of grain but just stood there until I got done milking! My goats won't even do that. She gave a gallon and a half and her milk from last night rose to about 1/4 cream.

So I smell cow on me all the time. Do people with milk cows just go around smelling like a cow? Maybe it will be better when she's not stuck in that round pen.

I actually like milking her back teats better. They are a little smaller so I don't have to hold a squeeze so long. But that was one thing I was not going to put up with, small teats! I hate em!

Karen in Alabam · #22 12/18/10, 10:45 AM

She is very nice looking. She is a cross between my Yo and Maggie, she has Maggie's face, but Yo's horns.

Yo is very gentle with her horns, though she does use them. When she pushes at some of the calves she is gentle but firm, whereas the Angus cows hit a lot harder.

I always keep an eye on her horns though, she did gently poke me in the butt while I was trying to open the gate the other day.

good luck with her.

oldtimer · #23 12/18/10, 12:10 PM

Southerngurl,

So glad to hear things are going well for you.
Sorry about being a grinch, but I felt compelled to let you know that you may have been in serious danger.
Freemartins are the absolute worst and can be extremely dangerous.
I had one as a pet one time and I experienced a similar incident to what this guy did with a steer.
See:

IMO it’s not a sexual thing but rather a domineering thing.

As she has had 3 previous calves I now think you're not in serious danger.
I’m a little confused on when and when she has not been with a bull, so give her 2 more heats to see if she takes, then make your decision.
Best wishes and Merry Christmas.
OT

oldtimer · #24 12/18/10, 01:25 PM

Willow Girl,

Re:

Quote:

I would consider that pushing the cow pretty hard.
The voluntary waiting period (time between calving and next breeding) was around 90 days on most of the farms I tested.

Well, I’m a bit of a naturalist.
I keep my cows in what I call good condition ( a 5 ) and let them breed when they are ready. If its over 60 days, off they go.
Re:

Quote:

I'm curious as to your herd average?

I really don’t keep track of that once they enter the main herd.
It’s simply to time consuming when you have 100 head or more.
I test my heifers and bought replacement cows separately in a separate pasture.
Of these it runs about 60 % pass and 40 % don’t.
Those that don’t pass are sold off as first time heifers with calf by their side, or proven.

Re:

Quote:

Higher-producing cows often seem to be slower to breed back for some reason. One of the very good herds I tested (90+ lb. average) tended to have cows "go way out," sometimes requiring five or six breedings to settle. Another high-production herd (again, consistently over 90 lbs.) resorted to using beef bulls to settle a few of their cows.

The key word are “(90+ lb. average) “ “consistently over 90 lbs.”
That’s why. Cows with calving problems or hard calving always are slow to breed back.

There’s an old saying which is my motto.
“ I would rater have a live 70 lb calf then a dead 90 lb calf or a dead cow and calf”.
IMO the industry has taken high birth weight to far.
It’s not nice to try and fool mother nature! Our new cow- pic - Cattle

OT

Cannon_Farms · #25 12/18/10, 01:48 PM

Nice looking gal, you did good by local prices, you would have pain 2xs that for a heifer that is that easy to milk

DJ in WA · #26 12/18/10, 02:25 PM

Oldtimer, I believe Willow Girl was referring to 90+ pounds daily of milk production, not birthweight.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cannon_Farms

Nice looking gal, you did good by local prices, you would have pain 2xs that for a heifer that is that easy to milk

Possibly a good deal, though from my experience, you find out later the real reason they sold her. Like chronic, untreatable, low-grade mastitis, or milk fever at calving time, etc. Usually with heifers, they haven't had problems yet and have their best years ahead of them. And after they get problems, you can always sell them to someone, and get some of the extra money back you paid for the heifer. That's how we all play the game, right?

I realize it's hard to find the perfect cow. And people generally don't sell their best. So hopefully you did good. Overall a nice looking cow. If one is looking for issues, my first thought was I didn't like the large size and balloon shape of the front teats. I have read that balloon teats can be indication of previous mastitis. Anyway, when you're milking them, make sure to grab the end. A quote from the book, Keeping a Family Cow:

Quote:

....if your cow is old and has long teats, position your hand low enough on the teat end so that you are not creating a ballooning effect at the teat end. Ballooning will damage the teat end and predispose to mastitis. Also the cow doesn't like it and will switch her tail.

willow_girl · #27 12/18/10, 03:48 PM

Quote:

Oldtimer, I believe Willow Girl was referring to 90+ pounds daily of milk production, not birthweight.

Yes I was ... sorry for the confusion!

The cows that make the most milk tend to be slowest/hardest to breed back. I suspect it may be Nature's way of limiting the stress on the animal. We ask a lot of our best cows -- that they make 100 or more pounds of milk a day while also carrying a calf!

It's not hard to calculate your average, either, even if you're not on test -- just take the lbs. on your milk hauler's receipt, divide it by the number of milkings that went in the tank, then by the number of cows.

Shades of Gray · #28 12/18/10, 11:06 PM

Just did the quick math on 100+ pounds of milk per day. That's over 12.5 gallons a day!! GEEEEZZZZ....you are asking alot!

willow_girl · #29 12/19/10, 05:49 PM

It's not at all unusual to find cows on commercial dairies who will do 100 lbs. a day at the peak of their lactation. In fact, I'd say it's more normal than not.

Some good herds I tested even had a fair percentage of first-calf heifers making 100 lbs. I remember one in particular that ran their first-lactation cows in a group by themselves and got good results.

Some of the highest milk weights I saw were at one of the top farms in the state, where a few cows made 150+ lbs. at their peak. This herd was milked twice a day, and both milkings were tested, so those are actual figures, not computer-generated.

It truly is mind-boggling!

southerngurl · #30 12/19/10, 07:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by willow_girl

It's not at all unusual to find cows on commercial dairies who will do 100 lbs. a day at the peak of their lactation. In fact, I'd say it's more normal than not.

Some good herds I tested even had a fair percentage of first-calf heifers making 100 lbs. I remember one in particular that ran their first-lactation cows in a group by themselves and got good results.

Some of the highest milk weights I saw were at one of the top farms in the state, where a few cows made 150+ lbs. at their peak. This herd was milked twice a day, and both milkings were tested, so those are actual figures, not computer-generated.

It truly is mind-boggling!

I don't think I'd want to hand milk them. :baby04:

myersfarm · #31 12/19/10, 07:22 PM

southerngurl put a tennis ball in your car and squeeeze it when your driving.....will help with the soreness....I know you milk goats.....and yes we smell LIKE COW...or soured milk...from getting it on your clothes and it souring there

springvalley · #32 12/19/10, 07:24 PM

And when the cows are pushed to get that 100-150 lbs. of milk per day is why cows generaly only last a few years on those big dairies. I know production is key to making money, but I also think we are shooting ourselves in the foot, we keep producing more milk per cow and more milk on the market than we can sell. We are heading down that road the hogs have gone, and poultry. Soon the small dairy producers will be a thing of the past and the huge dairies will own all the cows, and the cows will never see pastures, daylight and blue skies. We don`t push our cows and have little trouble with them. I know I farm to the beat of a differant drummer, and I don`t mind that, I just hate to see agriculture head to the mass produced, mega farm mentality. > Thanks Marc

willow_girl · #33 12/19/10, 07:26 PM

Quote:

I don't think I'd want to hand milk them.

Oh, no doubt about THAT!

When I got my Holsteins, I bought a milking machine. LOL

Timberline · #34 12/20/10, 03:41 PM

She is lovely, congratulations!

bruce2288 · #35 12/22/10, 04:20 PM

One of the reasons dairy cows have breed back problems is because of the selection for high milk production being the #1 priority. Any time one trait is the major priority other traits suffer. When polled herefords were first being developed they were inferior to the horned for the very reason that exceptional individuals were disqualified because of one trait. Dairy breeds are being selected to fit the niche of todays dairies, high production, high concentrate diets. Grazing ability, fertility and other traits have suffered.

myersfarm · #36 12/22/10, 10:17 PM

Bruce...yes 1000% ...why I also think dairy bulls are mean....if the mean bull's cows gave more milk since they AI they bred to that bull instead of the gentle bull that's offspring gave less milk

ozark_jewels · #37 12/23/10, 10:34 AM

Yes, as with most things, the important things were let go in favor of more profit. Thats where we have to fight to get them back in our breeding program ourselves.

oldtimer · #38 12/23/10, 04:11 PM

Food for thought!
It’s beginning to sound like that old hobby farmer vs. Dairymen/cattleman is beginning to show it’s ugly head, mixed with a little class envy.

I have been both a Dairymen and a Cattleman and now I am a hobby farmer since my retirement, so let me tell youENS this.
We are all in it together and we all need to stick together if we are going to solve anyone’s problems.
OT

ozark_jewels · #39 12/23/10, 04:21 PM

Yeah, my "hobbyfarmness" is rearing its ugly head here from my commercial dairy. I don't have class envy, but I will admit to a little attack of land envy and fence envy and barn envy every now and then as I drive down the road.

Give me a break.

Of course we are all in this together, but if we never try to change things, we get stuck in a rutt. Cows were never meant to be what greed has made them become.

southerngurl · #40 12/23/10, 06:42 PM

Just got her Johne's testing back, negative