First Dairy Cow Buying Questions

[Organic Cowgirl]

We are going to look at some cows over the weekend. We're going to see some 3-5 yr old Jerseys, off of a dairy. They are bred, due in 3 weeks to 90 days. Some are heavier milkers than others. The man is local to us. He says he goes out to a friend's dairy in W. TX once a year and gets a cow or two for himself, but brings back several other cows to sell and offset the cost of his trip. There is not much dairy around here, so it works out nicely and he says they're usually all spoken for by the time he gets back.

If we go and see them and it all seems good, I would like to know what to look for and what else to ask. I know "good udder attachment" is important, but can't seem to figure out how to identify that via the internet. And, I don't have a dairy mentor that I could ask to help.

We're looking for a family cow that we can graft a calf onto and use the remainder for our family of three adults and one (to be two) young kids, if that helps on what to look for, at all.

Thanks, guys!

[matt_man]

Make sure she has tested negative for Johnnes, BLV, TB, Brucellosis. Ask about her health history, if they know and whether or not there is a history of mastitis.

Check out this thread on the Keeping a Family cow forum. Good udder attachments was discussed: http://familycow.proboards32.com/ind...y&thread=16112

[tyusclan]

Here's another thread from the same board that matt_man's link was from. It shows some pictures of several cows.

http://familycow.proboards32.com/ind...d=16112&page=2

You can see how most of the udders in the pictures have the udder nice and tight up between the legs. It looks like everything "fits", if you know what I mean.

There's one picture by comparison of a cow that they mention doesn't "have much attachment". Her's isn't as bad as some I've seen, but you can see how the udder doesn't fit as snugly up against the body. It's "hanging" just a little.

Edited to add: It looks like that link may be another page to the same link matt_man posted. If so, sorry for the repeat.

[BlackWillowFarm]

If you will be hand milking, make sure she has good "handles" and that the orifices are large enough so you aren't spending too long milking her out.

[francismilker]

Originally Posted by BlackWillowFarm

If you will be hand milking, make sure she has good "handles" and that the orifices are large enough so you aren't spending too long milking her out.

Amen to the "good handles" thought. Cows that are bred for machine milking don't have good teat length for getting one's hands on very good and there's nothing worse than trying to two finger milk something that has tiny orifices and it takes an hour to get her stripped out. (With some mighty sore fingers afterwards.)