What is your opinion on the best milk cow?
 

We are talking about adding a milk cow to our crazy farm. We have a total of five acres and may have a chance to lease 60 acres abou 2 miles away. We have dairy goats already but my boyfriend will not touch the milk with a 10 foot pole. I will be doing 99 % of the work to care for her but there is so many breeds I do not know where to start.

NOT an expert by any means. i am just starting out as well. I asked many questions and read a lot of stuff. i finally decided it did not matter how great a milker was if I was uncomfortable with it things would not go well. I am a bigger guy 6;3" 250 lbs but the idea of being under a 1200 pound animal intimidated me. So i bought two jerseys. Strictly based on their smaller size.

That is one thing I am a little worried about. I am all of 5'4" and 140ish lbs . My other half works 6 days a week and normally gone about 15 hours a day. My mom is here bit shes 56 years old. I didnt know if certain breeds had better attitudes then others. I also looked at getting mini Jersey just for their size.

I prefer Guernsey's for their disposition and the taste of their milk.

What are your goals? Just some milk to drink? What kind of volume do you expect to need? No need to feed a high producer if you don't need that much milk. I like Dexters, for their size and type of milk, but they wouldn't be a good bet if you want high volume or lots of cream. A lot of people on the family cow board have good luck with dairy beef crosses, not as big a producer, but less health issues.

For sure want cream. We want to do cheeses, drink milk (best friend and her two kids, my boyfriend and mom. I like my goats milk lol). I want to try home made butter, And anything left over fed to pigs.

Donna,
You may want to look at one of the dual breeds (meat/milk) like a Milking Shorthorn or a Brown Swiss.
It is said that milk from the Swiss is the optimum for cheese making and the makeup of the fat in the milk is the best for making butter. They are really low keyed animals. Give between 40 and 88 lbs. daily.
The Shorthorn will, in general, be a little higher temperment and give just a little less milk, but are really good to cross with a beef bull.
Both of these breeds have very good feed conversion rates, not only existing but excelling on less than perfect feed conditions. Also, they seem less pron to bouts with ketosis.
The Swiss is also the oldest contunually documented breed of cow today.
You'll see a few more Milking Shorthorns in the Northeast whereas the Swiss will be seen more in the midwest.
Something came to mind concerning Geurnsy's. A geurnsey was often kept in a small string of cows to raise the butterfat content. Thus giving a better price at the creamery. Thier milk commonly has a more yellow color. They don't give as much but are sure nice to be around. The ones that are around today have more size to them.

Go to the keeping a family cow web site, they have an auction board that has milk cows.

The most important part about the cow is getting along with her. She should be calm and patient. Preferably she will have milking experience and be in milk so you can try her out and taste her milk. Even better is if she's all that plus bred back for the next calf.

I milk a couple Jersey cows. I ended up with Jerseys because I could find one already trained for milking, and in milk. I milked her a little by hand and tasted it. Everything went well. I had never touched a cow before I brought the first one home. I started out looking at Dexters but couldn't find what I needed. I needed a tame cow with experience to teach me what the heck I was doing. I found her at a Jersey dairy farm not far away.

My two Jerseys range from 10-11 gallons of milk a day together. I could use more but I work too and don't have the time to milk more than two cows at once. I have milk share customers, we raise pigs, chickens, the dogs and cats drink it and I make butter and cheese along with all the yummy cream for my coffee and milk. Lots of delicious, creamy milk. I biased to Jersey's. Can you tell? :)

I would start looking for what breeds are most available in your area. You'll find the best price on the most common breeds. When you branch out to the less common breeds the price will go up. There are a few dairy breeds I'd love to try including Guernseys but there aren't too many around here and when they do show up for sale, the price is double or more what I could get a good Jersey for.

I milked goats before I got my cow. I prefer to milk the cow. I can get from one cow what it would take five or more goats to produce, plus I prefer cow milk. The taste is better to me and the milk is more versatile and more forgiving. It doesn't go all funky on me if I don't get it chilled immediately after exiting the animal. ;)

Blackwillowfarm has a very good point, you can only buy what you can find.

I would look for a Swiss or swiss Holstein cross. Very easy cattle. With pure Swiss never get in a hurry with them. They have one speed. That's just about a crawl. Jersey would be next. But they can be from dead calm to flat high strung nuts. With them you need to spend some time checking them out.
Health wise swiss last along time very little hoof and leg problems.

Guernsey, absolutely nothing like them.

With only 5 acres assured for pasture I would stick to a smaller breed. My choice would be a smaller Jersey they are available, and not as expensive as the minis.

There are exceptions of course, but most Jerseys that have been treated kindly are usually quite easy going, respond well to gentle handling and are a joy to milk and tend to. Give a good supply of delicious, creamy milk.

Modern Guernseys and Holsteins tend to be huge, the breed temprement may have changed, but, when I was milking Swiss (50 years ago) they were pretty difficult to handle, not at all pleasant to be around.

It's hard to beat a jersey (or jersey/beef cross) for the family cow. Breed her to a beef bull every year and get meat for the freezer as well. Just my opinion though.

I tend to go for Holsteins. Yes they are bigger and yes they can give lots of milk but the Jersey breed hasn't been stuck in time either and animals from commercial herds can be as persnickity as Holsteins. Years ago when every herd had a couple of Guernseys tucked away to keep the fat test up I used to hate walking in front of our Guernseys, they were the most unfriendly cows in the barn.
As an organic dairy farmer I had several Holsteins that were fed little to no grain at all and they did quite well. They came from a herd that got lots of corn but they adapted to our grain free approach easily.
They didn't produce tons of milk like their well grained cousins and they produced bull calves that went on to grow into something that actually produced a decent amount of beef.
They are the heart of the dairy industry and as such are easily found almost anywhere and are usually cheaper than the less popular breeds.
If I had to pick some off the wall variety, I would opt for the Milking Shorthorn or a Normande, milked those in the organic herd as well and they are very hardy and gentle cows. Buddy of mine likes the looks of the Fleckvieh but I haven't run any of those.

I think BlackWillowFarm put it best.

Fitting the cow to your needs is extremely important. Your boyfriend likes the taste of cow's milk, so that sort of points you in the right direction.

Now you need a cow that produces the right amount of milk. Too little and you'll be looking for another, too much and you'll be paying for feed to make milk you don't need.

Then she will have to be friendly and a good match for you. You will be spending a lot of time with your face pressed into her flank. It helps a lot if you like each other.

With only 5 acres, and goats already, you will have to be careful not to overstock your land. If you do, it will ruin your pastures and they are very hard to reclaim.

Start out small, with a small Jersey or a Dexter. If you don't get enough milk, you can trade up. Milk cows are easy to sell.

We have talked a few times about getting Dexters. It wont be for awhile like next spring the soonest. Thank you all for your input.

Older Jersey, even one from a dairy that didn't milk enough for them, for a first cow, maybe bred back so if it has a heifer it could be your keeper cow after you learn. I would not recommend a heifer for a first cow, unless you raised it yourself....James

I think most of the people here are giving good suggestions. I'll offer my two cents.

We bought a jersey from a local dairy back in march. She was a low producer for them (4-5 gals / day). Basic dairy feedlot operation. Not much else to choose from here in SD. Anyhow she's 3 yrs old. Overall she's been a good experience, but difficult in others. She moos anytime she's unhappy. Which is very annoying. We're not talkin cute moos. No were talkin gutteral belly moos, until she goes horse. Milking wise she's pretty easy goin. But we've lost a few buckets of milk when she goes to kick at a fly or is unhappy with something we just did. And let me tell you spending 30-45 minutes milking out 2.5 gallons only to have her dump it for being a brat can be frustrating. I say all this not to complain about my cow but to point out they're not always so tame and docile and easy going.

That being said I would also look at how you plan to milk. I never wanted to get a milk cow without a vac system and now that we have a milk cow, getting one is all I can think of. Both my gf and I work full time, and milking 3 gallons per day by hand after a long day of work while tending to a bunch of other stuff gets old in a hurry. With that I would look at her teats. We got a budget cow, with small teats. Those may work great for a vac system, but are terrible for milking by hand when she's super full. It's hard to get two fingers around her back ones. So again, things to really consider when on the lookout.

Overall it's not a bad deal. I enjoy it. Although at this point we milk when we feel like it cause of the hand milking pain. But boy her calf is a meat.

We're also gonna be getting a Brown Swiss this winter. I would like to feed pigs free choice milk and 3+ a day isn't gonna do that. Plus I read nothing but good things about the Swiss' temperaments, production, meat production, etc. Very excited about the swiss. Hope that helps.

Some days I think it is Peaches, some days it is Nellie. I am ready to sell Sweat Pea.

Peaches (breed unknown. An odd blend of various dairy and beef ).

Pro: Super small frame. Maybe 850 lbs, and short. Top producing of the three. Perfect milk. Excellent udder and teats for a milking machine. High riding udder. Even though she is short, her bag is higher off of the ground than the taller cows. Ok for hand milking. Gentle disposition.

Con: tricky calving with the small frame. Stubborn. Swift right hook. And she is Butte ugly. The 4 quarters don't milk at the same rate, requiring staggered hookup.

Nellie (Brown Swiss X)

Pro: perfect udder and teats for milking machine or hand milking. Herd queen, but super gentle. Fast milker.

Con: She is a bit of a mudder. I have no idea where she spends her day, but cleaning those teats for milking is a nightmare. Her milk is a bit on the lite side, fat wise. She has half a tail, and she beats me with it like a billy club while I milk. Painful.

Sweet Pea (Jersey)

Pro: Very nice milk and cream. She is my Jersey. Extremely mild, easiest to handle of the three.

Con: ridiculously unmilkable udder and teats. She is a tiny-teater, and hooking up the inflations to the back teats requires an acrobatic act. She is also a dancer in the stanchion, and is a challenge to milk. I milk her last because she occasionally makes a mess of the gear and I have to toss the milk. Her frame is long.

I guess the point of all of that is that if I had to start all over again, I would be looking for a milkable cow first, and my preference of milk, second. I don't think I would be worried too much about breed, as long as I got a pint or so of cream per gallon.

I think all the dairy breeds have their good points and their drawbacks. Pick the one that best suits your personal needs.

The jersey I had in the past was a beauty. Sweet, healthy, with a beautiful udder. A joy to milk. No need to tie her, just gave her grain and she gave us nice angusX calves for the freezer.

But she filled the milker morning and night. We drank milk, made butter, ice cream @ cheese, raised pigs, fed chickens, gave it away to family and friends, gave it away to anyone we could find ..... And still the fridge was full of milk. It adds up 2Xs a day.

A perfect milk cow..... But too much cow for us. She was not a good match for a small family with modest needs.

We sold her. That was a few years back. Now I've found dexters. I'm going to train one of them.

My opinion of the best milk cow... One who calves and cleans easily an breeds back quickly. She milks steadily, is easy to milk out, makes way more milk than her feed costs. She is healthy, has no nerves to speak of, will let a 4 year old milk her, and strips out clean. She can milk on good pasture with a minimum of grain needed. She holds her weight well when dry, but will milk the fat off her back when she freshens. She is not necessarily purebred, may well be a 3 way cross; she may be brown, black, blue roan, or even tiger striped or brindle.She comes from a maternal line that all milked past ten years of age, and will throw heifers that can do the same. Her feet and udder last as long as she does without special attention. She will meet you at the barn door, pasture gate, or hayrack, but will follow a kid with a lead rope like a puppy. IF you're fortunate, and search high and low, you will find her. When you do, NObody can raise the money to buy her away from you!!!:coffee: