Misc shots from AM milking

ozark_jewels · #1 09/01/12, 10:48 AM

Took my camera out a couple days ago for morning milking of the herd. Good thing I did it then, thanks to Isaac, we have nothing but mud and rain now. Its awesome to have a mud problem!!!

First set in the barn.

Misc shots from AM milking - Cattle

One of my favorite young Jerseys, Brass.

Misc shots from AM milking - Cattle

Brass had a pretty little heifer calf about a month ago. Running towards the bottle here.

Misc shots from AM milking - Cattle

Two first-fresheners in the mineral after milking.

Misc shots from AM milking - Cattle

Megan going back out to pasture after milking.

Misc shots from AM milking - Cattle

The result of a rodeo bull breaking in with some heifers about two years ago. Just bred for her first calf. She will be bred to a beef bull her second lactation.

Misc shots from AM milking - Cattle

3/4 Jersey-1/4 Milking Shorthorn Heifer.

Misc shots from AM milking - Cattle

1/2 Jersey-1/2 Milking Shorthorn heifer calf, Fyra.

ozark_jewels · #2 09/01/12, 10:52 AM

1/2 Jersey-1/2 Hereford calves.

Myersfarm, thought I'd let you know, calving has started. Just had our first calf born, a heifer out of Ace.
I'm watching for a good Jersey/Shorthorn bull to be born!

Mme_Pickles · #3 09/01/12, 11:00 AM

They're beautiful!!!

I'm sooo looking forward to getting my first dairy cow hopefully next year! That's when we're planning. We'll see what actually happens!

Thanks for these pictures! And the babies???? Squeeeee!!!!!

myersfarm · #4 09/01/12, 11:07 AM

are they cheapper if I buy 2?

Blair · #5 09/01/12, 11:11 AM

Wonderful!

ozark_jewels · #6 09/01/12, 11:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by myersfarm

are they cheapper if I buy 2?

Probably a little.

Price will depend on their size. I feel that its more fair than a price across the board. So I won't know a price for sure till they are born. If its a good-sized calf, probably $150 for a single calf out of a bull-quality cow. Less if I have two or more available and you buy more than 1.
We will probably raise some Shorthorn crosses this year(bulls and heifers), so all this depends on how many cows Ace covered last fall. We don't have that many cows.
But the 1st bull-quality cow that has a bull calf out of Ace, is slated for you, if you want it.

francismilker · #7 09/01/12, 12:59 PM

Emily is this the setup you moved to help get going with your sister? It looks really good. How are you guys getting by with the new dairy?

ozark_jewels · #8 09/01/12, 01:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by francismilker

Emily is this the setup you moved to help get going with your sister? It looks really good. How are you guys getting by with the new dairy?

Well, now that we are getting a little rain, we might do ok! It has been a rough first six-eight months. No pasture and we have fed out all the hay we were able to bale this year. Maybe if the rain keeps coming we will get a fall cutting?? Praying......
This winter will be rough, but with off the farm jobs we should make it. The goal is to get back on the farm.
Yes, this is my new job and their new barn. Its built into the side of an older wooden barn, but we made it Grade A and we got to milking our new cows!

topside1 · #9 09/01/12, 02:35 PM

Emily you are one amazing lady, your livestock is some kind of lucky....Topside

ozark_jewels · #10 09/01/12, 04:23 PM

I don't know about that......you do what you gotta do, you know how it is.
I look where I was two years ago, then where I am today. I feel like I went backwards. But hey, I got a load of experience in those two years!

G. Seddon · #11 09/01/12, 05:04 PM

Lovely cows, healthy and well cared for! Love the photos!

Callieslamb · #12 09/01/12, 07:00 PM

Love the short horn crosses!

springvalley · #13 09/01/12, 10:17 PM

Nice looking bunch of young cows Emily. They look a lot like mine, got some leg under them. I hate crawling under a cow to milk her. hehe > Thanks and Blessings > Marc

Gregg Alexander · #14 09/02/12, 07:24 AM

Good looking herd. Remember those cold, wet, hot, humid days milking. But wouldn't take anything for We had a mix herd of Jersey and Holstein our barn topped out at 175 hd. Tryed to keep a constant number of 85-90 head in the barn year round. I grew up in the milk business and after collage and living a way for 15 yrs came back and took over the farm milking for another 20 yr. Still miss those early monings milking and drinking coffee.

willow_girl · #15 09/03/12, 01:58 PM

Great pics! You are milking the hard way, though.

Gosh, the girls stay so much cleaner when they get to go out on pasture, don't they?

That's the only thing I don't like about the place where I work -- the milking string stays in the barn. We have 2 rotating brushes, and the girls love them, but they still stay dirtier than they would if they got out in the sunshine, and dried out and flaked off.

francismilker · #16 09/03/12, 07:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by willow_girl

Great pics! You are milking the hard way, though.

Gosh, the girls stay so much cleaner when they get to go out on pasture, don't they?

That's the only thing I don't like about the place where I work -- the milking string stays in the barn. We have 2 rotating brushes, and the girls love them, but they still stay dirtier than they would if they got out in the sunshine, and dried out and flaked off.

I'm with you willow, the last string I milked didn't stay inside the barn yet all 150 of them were drylotted on 5 acres between milkings. it was a 5 acre paddock of dirt/mud/manure that I was hard pressed to find a spot viable enough to move the alfafa bale feeder to each day to keep them from sinking up to their udders on.

I spent more time blading and moving manure piles than I did in the parlor. The owner, after much pleading from me, decided the high somatic cell count might better be resolved with grass to walk on instead of mud and started pasturing them out after milking instead of saving his grass for hay.

What he had was way too many cows and not near enough ground. He was a city slicker how had romanticized about moving out to greener pastures so he quit his electrical engineering job, cashed in his retirement, and spent it all on a dairy that was certified for 40 head of jerseys. Within months he had done all the number crunching his college degree had taught him to do and upgraded his parlor to a double ten instead of straight four. He got permitted for more cattle, upgraded septic systems, spent lots of money, bought his own haying equipment, and we started milking 150 threeX per day. It only took about 6 months for his small infrastructure and his bigger cattle numbers to collide. You just can't make that kind of upgrade without proper planning.

Anyway, after a few months of the milk check not making the big mortgage on his upgrade and his family seeing the milkers dig into the cashed in retirement fund, I ended up without a job. Yee haw, gotta love those big ideas.

springvalley · #17 09/03/12, 08:03 PM

We have one of the bigger dairies here have gone to pasturing their cows during the day. Now this is a herd of over a hundred head of holsteins, people are finally starting to figure out cows do so much better on pasture. This keeping cows dry lotted, and no room to walk is not working. Cows need to be out and about, cows love to lay in the grass and chew their cud. Yes it might be easier keeping them pinned up and milking in a parlor, but it`s not allways best for the cows, just best for the humans. Farming is all about the comfort of us people now days not whats best for the animals or land. > Thanks Marc

linn · #18 09/04/12, 12:57 PM

Beautiful cows!

TRAILRIDER · #19 09/04/12, 04:09 PM

All beautiful cows! I love the picture of Megan in the sunlight. I hope you don't mind if I borrow it for my desk top background?

Dreamfarm · #20 09/05/12, 12:53 AM

Such a lot of pretty girls you have!