WHY won't she just HAVE THAT CALF!

melwynnd · #1 04/15/05, 04:49 PM

Here I am, thoroughtly calf crazy, and Daisy just isn't cooperating!! Okay, so she isn't due until the 18th, I want a baby NOW! :waa:

This weekend I got my milking machine out, cleaned the pump, and ran the electric cord through the hayloft to the breaker outside(I swear those beams up there were a LOT wider when I walked across the as a kid :haha: ). Of course the gentle sound of the milking machine just added to my ferver. I can already taste the lovely cottage cheese, the eggnog for breakfast(raw milk AND eggs, a thought to horrify the FDA

), and the lovely butter(3.27 a pound at the store!! :no: ).

I feel much better now that I've vented. My aquaintances look at me strangly when I tell them I'm looking FORWARD to milking. But here, I can't see anyone :haha: !

So everyone send me some prayers for a weekend calf!!

Sherry

Patty0315 · #2 04/16/05, 06:43 AM

She 's waiting til shes gosh darn ready

. I felt the same way witing for mine to freshen. Now 2 months into it and a busted up ankle I wish she would stop just for a week! Plus I milk by hand :waa:

melwynnd · #3 04/16/05, 08:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patty0315

She 's waiting til shes gosh darn ready

. I felt the same way witing for mine to freshen. Now 2 months into it and a busted up ankle I wish she would stop just for a week! Plus I milk by hand :waa:

Patty,

I bought my machine used on E-bay. It was the best $500.00 I ever spent

. Daisy gave 8 gallons a day last year(should be more this year, only her 3rd calf), and I have to go to work in the morning. When I bought her I was a housewife, but that changed :waa: .

Daisy also has small back teats and is hard to hand milk. But even with a machine, I don't completely get out of hand milking since I hand strip her.

Hopefully I'll have a calf this weekend!!

Sorry to hear about your ankle, is there someone else to milk for you? I know it's harder to find someone to milk your cow than to watch your kids!! :haha:

sherry

Patty0315 · #4 04/18/05, 07:59 AM

Anything yet ? The kids help out with chores and have been very good since I got hurt.

melwynnd · #5 04/18/05, 11:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patty0315

Anything yet ? The kids help out with chores and have been very good since I got hurt.

Daisy May had the sweetest little heifer yesterday(it was nice of her to do it on my day off, wasn't it? She even waited until after I got the horses washed!). She's a dark steel grey, LONG legged and quite large. Very dairy and dainty looking. We named her Darcy Jane. This is Daisy's third calf, all from the same bull. The first was a pitch black heifer with horns, the second was red, the spitting image of Daisy, with no horns, and then this one.

Daisy had an easy time of it and only had about an hour of labor. My daughter and I watched the whole thing.

I've started milking.

Sherry

Haggis · #6 04/18/05, 11:59 AM

Congrats on the heifer calf!! Its nice to hear when things go well.

melwynnd · #7 04/18/05, 02:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Haggis

Congrats on the heifer calf!! Its nice to hear when things go well.

Very nice of you to say that. It sounds like you've had more than your share of problems. I hope everything works out for you.

Sherry

luvrulz · #8 04/19/05, 04:09 PM

How do you make cottage cheese?? Hmmm..... I have a Jersey and am getting more milk than I can use! We make yogurt, and feed the excess to our oinkers but I'd like to make my own cottage cheese! Thanks for your help!

melwynnd · #9 04/19/05, 05:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by luvrulz

How do you make cottage cheese?? Hmmm..... I have a Jersey and am getting more milk than I can use! We make yogurt, and feed the excess to our oinkers but I'd like to make my own cottage cheese! Thanks for your help!

I make cottage cheese with skim milk. I do not use rennet so it takes longer and the cream gets yuccky. I just add a mesophillic cheese culture to skimmed milk(if you want it fast, don't refrigerate, let it sit out and the cream rise). Then I set it in the oven with the pilot light on. If it hsn't been refrigerated, it's usually ready overnight. If it has it may take a day and a night. It will look like firm yogurt(this can be eaten with fruit like yogurt).

Then I cut the curds into 1/4 inch pieces and gently stir it with my hands to break up any long curds. Cook very slowly till your curd is as firm as you like(don't let it get over 104 degrees). This may take a long while, depending on how small your curds are. When they are firm enough, drain the curds for 15 minutes or so. I salt them with about 1 tsp salt per gallon of milk.

This takes some practice. The longer the milk sits, the more sour the cottage cheese. You can rinse the curds to make it milder. Don't feel bad if a batch doesn't turn out. CHICKENS LOVE IT, PIGS TOO!

I've even pressed this for a firm farmer's cheese.

Have fun,

Sherry