Breeding Dairy Cows

Homesteader333 · #1 05/12/14, 03:09 PM

So my plan is to have a Jersey cow and breed her to a small Angus for meat each year. I do not like the idea of breeding back to back and would like the cow to be able to properly dry up, but I don't want to go with out milk too long. How can I manage this? Thanks!!

**gone-a-milkin** · #2 05/12/14, 04:49 PM

The 8-12 week long dry period during late pregnancy is very important for the health of the cow.
It provides the udder a time to rest and rebuild tissues.
I guess I don't see that as too long.

If you think she should have a longer maternity leave than that, you might consider a second dairy animal.

kycountry · #3 05/12/14, 05:44 PM

Barter with thy neighbor if there is one close enough that milks a cow too. Time their dry months so they have milk when yours is dry, and you have milk when theirs is dry. Win, win for both and nobody goes without milk. Make and freeze butter when both cows is in milk so there is enough to go through the dry spells..

Sensiblefarmer · #4 05/12/14, 07:17 PM

Sometimes the only answer is the obvious one. Buy another cow, buy milk when she's dry or go without.

Cindy in KY · #5 05/12/14, 07:23 PM

I froze milk in gallon baggies for a while before we had Jersey Girl dry up. I can not go without my milk. It was good, of course not the same, but it was good. Ice cold chocolate milk every day for this girl. Hot chocolate in the winter.

I laid them flat to freeze, then stacked them. Worked fine.

Homesteader333 · #6 05/13/14, 06:12 AM

So did you just put the milk in the baggies and freeze them? How long do they stay good? And to thaw do you simply just take them out of the freezer and into the fride? Thanks everyone!

oregon woodsmok · #7 05/15/14, 10:39 AM

You get two cows and schedule breeding so one of them calves in the spring and the other one calves in the fall.

It is a lot easier to keep 2 cows together than to isolate one cow by herself. Your 2 cows will be happier. They are herd animals and like to have companionship.

Bubbas Boys · #8 05/18/14, 08:23 PM

If we are not interested in have 2 milkers, is there any other ideas to keep them happy?

Tex- · #9 05/19/14, 01:42 AM

At the moment I only have one dairy cow, but looking for anothe one or two. I am going to AI my cow and We have another beef cow that looks like she may have some dairy cow way back in her background, so I decided to AI her as well. I am trying to come up with a good dairy cross that will do good in our area, because a straight Jersey isn't it. Anyhow, I put the beef cow in with the dairy cow and both cows seem to be doing real well.

Sometimes, having a goat in with a loan cow will do a good job for a companion animal.

I like for our milk cow to be in milk for 10 months and then have a two month dry spell to rest and recuperate before she calves again. I will put bum calves on our cow while she is in milk and she does a great job of it, plus giving milk for the house.

The picture is of our Milking Shorthorn lastweek.

Tex