Raising a future milker?

[Dirtslinger]

My first heifer calf will most likely be raised to be a dairy cow. Are there any tricks to raising her to keep her handleable?
Is raising on the bottle a good idea? Thanks.

[Oakshire_Farm]

Put a halter on her! After a week or two start trying to lead her.

Get your self a nice horse brush and groom her every couple of days! Don't leave any place unbrushed! They love it!! Rub her udder when doing your grooming routine.

I like to teach my cows to pick up there feet, not of any use, but I find it just makes the cow know that I am not a threat in any way and they can trust me.

Hand feed! My 3 jerseys each get a indivuidual bucket of grain every day, while they eat I groom. one at a time they come in, get there breakfast and get brushed.

I have way to much time on my hands! lol

My little heifer hangs out with us all day long in the yard, she is quite happy to stand right beside me while I am using the chainsaw to cut fire wood. Once a cow learns that you are a good thing and you can be trusted milking is easy! The first time you try to actually milk them they WILL kick, it is a strange feeling and well there udder is very tender so be gentle and stay calm.

[Dirtslinger]

Thank you!
Would this be with a bottle fed calf or can she be left on her mom with same effect?

[Ronney]

You can do the same thing with a calf being reared by the cow and of course it helps no end if the cow herself is used to being handled but it doesn't matter if she has been. As Oakshire says, calves quickly cotton on to a good thing.

I have just weaned a 6 month old cow reared calf that I did nothing special with because she will go as a beefie but I can scratch her ears, give her tail a gentle tug as I walk behind her, run my hand down her back as I walk past and have a hell of a job keeping her head out of the feed bucket as I'm tipping it into the trough. And that's without even trying! So yes, follow Oakshire's advice and you will have a nice little house cow at the end of it.

Cheers,
Ronnie

[travlnusa]

Based on how big your "calf" is, you might want to tie her to a post in the barn if she is 3-400 range. Keep water and feed close, but it give you a chance to teach her that when you are close, you are not there to kill her.

If she is a true, small little calf, the halter and leading her around each day is the way to go.

[raymilosh]

I bought a year old dexter heifer who had never been handled. I set up a routine where she would eat from a feed bowl once a day. While eating i eventually (over the course of weeks or more) got to where i could pet her and then massage her udders. It took me a while to get to where she trusted me, then I got a halter on her, but she was too strong to be led. I tied her lead to my truck and went on long slow drives a few times. She quickly learned that pulling against a lead didn't work. After that, I could lead her anywhere with ease.
After she had her calf, it took me a while to get to where she could be milked, but we're both getting there.