Family cows, Share milking and Creamlines

[BlackWillowFarm]

We've been having an off topic discussion in the Homesteading forum about whether or not a cow holds back her cream when she's nursing a calf.

Thought I'd bring it over the the Cattle forum so we can continue with the subject.

My experience with share milking has been that the cow holds back her cream when she has a calf on her.

I penned the calf at night, milked in the morning, turned them out together for the day, penned the calf again at night so I'd get my milk in the morning.

I bottle in 1/2 gallon jars and would get about an inch of cream after several days of letting it rise.

Next lactation, same thing, she had the calf on for two months and again I was getting an inch of cream. After I weaned the calf, the cream line increased to three to four inches in the 1/2 gallon jar. I referred to this as holding back her cream for the calf.

Some people responded that cows can't "hold back the cream" for her calf and that the cream is mixed in with the milk and can't be held back. I disagree and say a cow can hold back cream for her calf. My cow has proven it to me twice in the last two years.

If you milk a cow for your family and have share milked with a calf before, what was your creamline like when the calf was nursing compared to after you weaned the calf?

[francismilker]

The reason, (in my experience) that a cow "holds back her cream" when she's nursing her calf is that the cream is the last milk to be stripped out during the handmilking process. The way I've generally shared with a calf as long as they're not too big to wrestle is to put the calf on first and let it nurse for a predetermined amount of time. Then, she's let down good and I get the strippings. I then turn the calf out with her all day and let it nurse for the day before re-penning it that night.

[eruehr]

I wondered about this some time ago myself. I don' think it's so much the cow holding back cream for the calf, it's that the milk gets richer later in the milking. )As mentioned above.) I milked a pint of milk into a jar, milked the cow almost dry and then filled another pint jar with the last bit of milk and the strippings. Left to separate, the second jar had more than twice the cream the first jar with the earlier milk had.
I milk into a smallish pail (2 gal.) and so have to fill it more than once. The cans with the last milk always have more cream - quite a bit so.
-Eric

[springvalley]

I have never share milked with a calf, but it sounds like a novel idea. As you can milk once a day and the calf gets the rest, and if you want to go on vacation the calf can milk while your gone, good deal. I have never thought the cow could hold back cream, but it does make sense. Thank you for your input. marc

[Alwaystrying]

I've always known the cream to be called the 'hind milk' as in the thickest concentration comes out at the end of milking. Yes, I do believe a cow can hold back the best for the calf.

[JHinCA]

Originally Posted by Alwaystrying

I've always known the cream to be called the 'hind milk' as in the thickest concentration comes out at the end of milking. Yes, I do believe a cow can hold back the best for the calf.

I agree and know this to be true from my experience.

Jean

[eruehr]

But does she hold it back? Or does it naturally progress from leaner to fatter? Doesn't matter whether there is a calf involved or not.

Please be carefull milking once a day when the cow is first fresh - might not be enough even with a calf on her.

[linn]

We usually end up separating our milk cows from the calf because they hold back their milk. The cream is in the last milk, so if they are holding back, you don't get much cream.

[darbyfamily]

I wonder if its them holding back as much as it is that we milk until we're happy with how much we have, and then knowing that the calf will finish her off when we turn them loose, we don't worry so much about getting it all?

We've never share milked, but will be doing that with our new Jersey when she arrives on Saturday/Sunday.

[linn]

I don't think that is the problem with our cows. I milk out and strip, but they still hold back for that baby.

[luvmyjersey1]

I always share milk. Get a 1 to 2 " creamline when share milking. As soon a I wean the calf, the creamline goes up to 4-5". When I sharemilk, I strip out as completely as possible. I hand milk.