Where do I go?

[Karen in Alabam]

If its not a good idea to trust anyone on craigslist, and Dairies won't sell them.

Where does one go to get a decent milk cow?

Now I have gotten three through craigslist.

Yo--who was skin and bones when she showed up--she did give me Rita and I get a gallon or so off her each day.

Liza--10 month old Jersey--she looks pretty--time will tell what she puts out as far as milk.

Maggie--she was my trainer cow, she was a sweetheart. Didn't even have her a year--well I don't want to talk about it.

And I guess there was 4 I got off craigslist

Bones--Holstein bull calf who got his name because he was nothing but bones when the guy gave him to me--I didn't pay the guy for him, just the vet.

Now I am not looking for a cow that milks 10 gallons a day--4 might be nice. I don't have a lot of money to spend.

Where can one get a nice healthy cow that produces a reasonable quantity of milk?

[Karen in Alabam]

Oh, we have a sale barn right up the street, and that place is just pitiful. The guy I got Yo from dropped her off after he dropped his other cows off at the sale barn.

You can't get any information on any of those cows before you buy them, and dairy cows don't go through there too often.

[Cheryl aka JM]

I bought my two as bottle calves~ the man told me they were half angus half jersey because I told him that was what I was looking for. Turns out they are most likely cross jersey/holstien and that cross is reasonably easy to find as a bottle calf. I raised my girls, bred them last year to a belted galloway bull and they each produced me pretty little banded heifers. I milked the girls for a while but they were giving WAY too much milk so I put extra bull calves on them.

I think if your looking for a good one~ the best way though the longest would be to buy bottle calves, test for free martin right away and raise them up as future milkers. That way by the time they are ready to milk you know everything there is to know about them no questions asked. Or~ if you want less milk but want to know where the calves came from~ the two belted half dairy heifers my girls had this year will be for sale later!

Good luck!

[cindy04]

www.real-food.com

These are some good dairy cow folks and I'm sure you will find something through them.

[Karen in Alabam]

I have Liza, who is Jersey, who is 11 months old now and in the not too distant future she should be bred, and I have Rita who is daughter of Yo (and part beef), who is 8 months old. Both let me touch them and fake milk them.

I would like to buy a cow who I can milk next week however.

[Brooks WV]

I'm in the same situation Karen. I've been searching for quite a while. Craigslist isn't all bad, but you really need to look at them before you buy. I found a couple nice prospects on this site: http://www.bestfarmbuys.com/classifi...Cattle+-+Dairy I'm resigned to the fact that I'm going to be driving some distance to get a good animal.

~Mark

[Callieslamb]

How about a commercial dairy near you? They often have cows that aren't producing enough for their goals, but that might be perfect for you.

[MO_cows]

You might try jerseydirectory.com. Any time you want a certain breed, it doesn't hurt to go to the breed association to locate breeders.

[MARYDVM]

Go here
http://familycow.proboards.com/index.cgi

Once you become a member you can post on the auction board to try and find cows for sale nearby. On the other KFC forums you can make contacts with folks all over the country who have cows. Lots of helpful information, possibly some leads or warnings about sellers near you.

[Karen in Alabam]

Thanks.

I did call the one dairy I know, owners weren't in, but left my name and number. Girl said they had 4 pages of people looking for cows.

I think I am on the familycow.proboards, haven't been there in a while though. Will check it out.

Will also check out the jerseydirectory. How much do breeders cost? I was looking on facebook at brown swiss, and this one family got $37,000 for one cow, I am only looking to spend around a thousand.



Thanks

[topside1]

Someone may have mentioned it but, raise you own...Sure it takes a while, but you know what you have. If you're interested PM me...Topside

[topside1]

http://www.golsn.com/listings/farm-l...k/2467790.html

Here's one right in my neighborhood...Topside

[topside1]

http://www.golsn.com/listings/farm-l...k/2450375.html

[julieq]

We got our last milk cow, a Jersey/Holstein cross, from some people we know who run a dairy. She was down a bit on production for their standards, but had plenty of production for a family. Saved her from going to auction. Then we sold her to another homesteading family and got back into goats.

[Karen in Alabam]

I went on the family cow boards, and someone in the state contacted me. Will be tied up now till after Thanksgiving, but he will be sending me some pictures.


I have a registered 5 year old that is 6-7 months bred to a registered jersey bull. She give 3 1/2 to 4 gallons a day and has a really nice udder.


He is not asking much more than I was figuring on. Will post the pictures he sends me and yall can let me know what you think.

Thanks

[VaFarmer]

What's involved in Free Martin Test? is it just a blood test or the other kind of exam? Have 2 holistens I got cheap from uneducated source and want to know for sure if I can count on breeding them. There about 9 mths old maybe.

Originally Posted by Cheryl aka JM

I think if your looking for a good one~ the best way though the longest would be to buy bottle calves, test for free martin right away and raise them up as future milkers. That way by the time they are ready to milk you know everything there is to know about them no questions asked. Or~ if you want less milk but want to know where the calves came from~ the two belted half dairy heifers my girls had this year will be for sale later!

Good luck!

[BlackWillowFarm]

Originally Posted by VaFarmer

What's involved in Free Martin Test? is it just a blood test or the other kind of exam? Have 2 holistens I got cheap from uneducated source and want to know for sure if I can count on breeding them. There about 9 mths old maybe.

I haven't done it, but I think there is a blood test you can do to test for Freemartin. Your vet can palpate the heifers too and usually tell you if they are or not.

Your heifers should be having regular heats. Have you noticed any mounting behavior from either one of them?

[Cheryl aka JM]

I did blood tests on mine~ since I drew the blood myself and sent it in it was cheaper than having the vet come out and palpate. If your going to have the vet come out to draw the blood~ it's probably cheaper to just have him palpate while he is there instead.

Send blood samples to genetic visions (google search will find them)~ cost me $25 per test.
Good luck!

[TroutRiver]

are there any small scale dairy farms near you? Ask around and someone can probably point you in the right direction. It's tough, because nobody wants to sell their best cows. You might get lucky and find a really nice heifer for sale.

It might be the wrong time of year, but also try state/county fair livestock barns. Tons of dairy people to talk to and ask, lots of them often have decent stock for sale, or know who does. You could even contact the fair coordinator to get some phone numbers of dairy people who frequent the fairs.

[KMA1]

Karen,

If the one you have found doesn't work out, there is a dairy in Cataco valley in Marshall and Morgan counties. They have all Holstiens I think, at least that is what I have seen. Not sure how far that is from you, or wheather/how they sell calves, but you might check with them. You can PM me if you are interested in directions.