How to raise calf and still get milk

[phantompark]

How does everyone raise a calf and still get milk?
I have a 2nd time mom Jersey who had a heifer calf on Easter. All is going well.
A week ago we had a highlander calf born who on the 2nd day wouldn't nurse on the teats but on his mom's tail. He did nurse on the teats the first day. We observed this. The 2nd day I stayed and watched and in the 8 hours I watched and the 2 hours the hubby watched. He only nursed the tail. Weird.
We ended up bottle feeding the highlander till my Jersey calved.
So now the Jersey is nursing her own heifer calf and the highlander.

But, I need milk.
So do I take the calves away at night and milk in the morning?

Just bring her in for milking in the evening or morning and let her raise the calves on pasture and get what I get?

Or should I take the calves away now and bottle/bucket feed them. If so how long before they can be pastured with the mom? Ever?

So what does everyone do?
Thanks .
Tricia, NY

[poorboy]

Hi, I'm new to the board but milked cows for years, Milk a couple of teats and then turn the calves in with cow..:-}

[JHinCA]

We have a Normande/Jersey cross with an almost 4 month old calf. We milk once a day in the late afternoon and are getting plenty of milk for our needs--1 to 2 gallons, depending on when the calf last ate. We milked twice a day when he was tiny and not eating as much and got about 4 gal/day.

We have not separated them at all. For the first couple months the calf only used her front teats and left the back for us, but he has discovered the rear teats in the last month. We need to wean him soon!

This is our first year with a milk cow, so don't know if our experience is typical or not.

[Patt]

We have always shut the calf or goat kids (whichever we happen to be milking) up at night and milk in the morning. There's always some left after milking for the calf for breakfast, the mother always holds a bit back. The calf stays with mom all day then is shut up for the night. It works best for us because if we have to take a day off of milking the calf just stays with mom.

[george darby]

it has always been common to pen the calf for half the day then milk and let the calf nurse the other half day , when both the milk cows were dry a few winters ago at the same time i was milking an angus hefer very small teats were a pain to milk but she let down good an it was 2 gallon a day with the calf getting a good share later in the day and since it was an older calf i substituted the robbed milk with some grain . even with a large family a good dairy cow can drown you in milk without a calf to help out