Jersey lactation ?

Cannon_Farms · #1 12/29/10, 07:54 PM

I have seen this cute little girl on craigslist since she was born, http://atlanta.craigslist.org/wat/grd/2135095735.html but they say the heifer dose 3 gallons a day isnt that a bit low for a heifer period?

I also think the price is a bit high, at the dairy sale they where going for less than $1 per lb for bottle heifers, theres no way I could make sence out of buying a cow that eats 100lbs of feed a day vrs my dairy goats who some will do 2 gallons a day per goat

springvalley · #2 12/29/10, 08:46 PM

You must have some darn good goats that will give two gallons a day, most won`t give more than a gallon or a bit more a day. Is the calf registered? Does the cow give three gallons a day all during her lactation? That would be a bit low for just fresh, but not at the end. And the price for the calf is relative, it is only high if they don`t sell it. > Thanks Marc

Cannon_Farms · #3 12/29/10, 09:01 PM

my saanen doe will do 1 and 3/4 gallon, one of my nigerians will doe a bit over 3/4 a gallon a day.
I was thinking 8 or so would be more cow like, the calf is papered by one of the top bulls in the country they say. I am a firm believer its only worth what some one will pay for it, she may be great but not for me. If thats all a heifer can do, Ill stick to beef

springvalley · #4 12/29/10, 09:13 PM

Some cows will give 8 gallons per day, some won`t. Holsteins will give a 100 lbs a day or more. I don`t understand what you mean by "I`ll stick to beef". > Thanks marc

Cannon_Farms · #5 12/29/10, 09:27 PM

Meaning I dont see dairy cows being the right choice for me, as to where I could do better raising a beef cow to consume, were not milk lovers to boot sometimes its hard to use all the goat milk

BlackWillowFarm · #6 12/29/10, 10:12 PM

I tried goats and decided a cow was a better fit. My Jersey gave me 8 gallons a day on pasture this summer. She was in milk for 15 months. I dried her off in Dec. to have a break from milking this winter but she would have kept milking for me if I'd wanted her to. She's due in March and her daughter/heifer calf is due to calve in April. They're eating about 35lbs of hay a day and I give them about 3lbs each of grain most days but not everyday.

Goats are easier to handle for sure, but in order to get 8 gallons a day, you'd have to milk 3 or 4 vs 1 cow. For us it was a taste thing. I loved my goats personalities. I love my cow even more! She's sweet, slow and she never escapes her fence and waits on my porch bench for me to come home.

mrpink · #7 12/29/10, 11:37 PM

I saw that ad today and thought it was way overpriced for this area for a 3 week old dairy calf. the ad didn't say if she was registered or not. the 3 gallons was the daily average for her lactation

springvalley · #8 12/30/10, 08:37 AM

I think you answered your own question, if you don`t care for milk that well, you don`t need a cow. Because you are going to get alot of it, and unless you are going to make everything you can think of out of that milk, no need to have one. > Marc
P.S. Carla, do you have a picture of the goat on the porch up on the bench?? hehe

southerngurl · #9 12/30/10, 09:11 AM

Another thing to consider is an cow that isn't such a heavy milker might be able to milk of pasture or at least not eat so much grain.

Looking4ewes · #10 12/30/10, 02:13 PM

A lighter producer is good for a hand milker as well. Also, not so many worries about milk fever, ketosis, etc. Now that the pigs are gone, I struggle to keep up with 2 gallons a day.

Karen in Alabam · #11 12/30/10, 03:11 PM

As a new milker, I am still having fun.

We had Lasagna for Christmas dinner (actually made 2 big ones and a small), I made all the Mozzarella and ricotta for it. If I had started earlier I could have made the provolone and Parmesan. The first two are really easy. Besides the butter, coconut cake (that I use my buttermilk in) and coconut icecream (have a batch on the stove right now).

I am excited about all the things I can make with the milk.

I am only getting a couple of gallons a day, and half of it goes to the calf we picked up end of August, and we have an angus calf that was born about that same time, who to me doesn't look like he is getting much of anything from his mother. He comes in while I am milking and I dump about a cup into the feed I give him.

He is not as friendly as the bottle calf, but he has come a long way and filled out some too. (His mom is the smallest cow we have and he was small, but he started looking thin--so we started with some feed and recently adding some milk to it)

My sister is coming today for a visit and I plan all sorts of cheese adventures this coming week.

BlackWillowFarm · #12 12/30/10, 06:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by springvalley

P.S. Carla, do you have a picture of the goat on the porch up on the bench?? hehe

No, dang it, no pictures. I have two benches on my back porch. One on either side of the door. I lost count of the times I came home from work to find a goat on each bench hanging out, waiting for me. They sure did make me smile a lot.

I'll stick with the cows though. They're more my type. Plus all the stuff you can make with the milk. Yum Yum.

Callieslamb · #13 12/30/10, 08:54 PM

My cow gives us almost 4 gallons a day. I'd love to have a cow I could brag about how much milk she gave....BUT....I am hard pressed to use the milk she does give. And we DRINK MILK. I make cheese, butter, yogurt, velveeta......it helped to raise two bull calves...but even taking milk to __________( I guess I can't say that since we can't give away milk here)....I still have 2 gallons of milk in the fridge. So if you don't need that much milk, why worry about how much she produces? It's how much she eats that becomes the issue. And remember, a cow can produce quite a few Tbone steaks with every bull calf she has. Let a goat try that one!

Cannon_Farms · #14 12/30/10, 10:30 PM

I wasnt personally interested in that cow/heifer but just curious because that seemed low production.
I have beef cows for tbones lol.. I may get a dexter one day but I dont think a dairy cow is in my future now that my older kids have become bored with farm life

matt_man · #15 12/31/10, 12:47 AM

A bit off topic but along with what posters have commented...

We had a Saanen goat when I was growing up that gave 3 gal of milk/day. She also had trips all the times she kidded with us. We had her for several years. One year we named the kids winkin', blinkin', and nod.

francismilker · #16 12/31/10, 01:11 AM

I've got a part saanan doe that gives 2 gallons a day if fed right. I just dried her off and am waiting on a new freshening.

I prefer jersey milk by far. But, it's easier and more economical on my to milk a goat for family consumption provided I don't have any bottle calves to feed or pigs to raise. I just can't hardly use all the milk the girls are producing these days.