Depends on the breed, Brown Swiss seem to milk longer than other breeds. For example, some milk 330 days, 350 days etc. A good example of this is at
www.wilsonviewfarm.com, they have the lacation periods listed, as far as each cow.
353 16784 for example.
That is 353 days in milk, and the other number is how many lbs. He doesn't push his, and that was her 2nd lactation, swiss mature later than other breeds (6 yrs vs 2-3). Look into Brown Swiss, Jerseys are fine, except those swiss are hardy animals. I wish I had bought two more swiss, vs having 4 Jerseys. Jerseys are good, except they aren't as hardy. For instance, as far as Jerseys willingness to give up. While trying to lead them, breaking them in etc. If a Jersey doesn't want to walk, they will either fall over, or lay down. Now not all Jerseys are bad, in fact they are a nice breed, dossile. But Brown Swiss have the following I like.
Hardyness
Gentle
Not as snotty, Jerseys can be snotty. I know someone will disagree, but they can have a snotty attitude at times, some don't.
Brown swiss will give you protein and butterfat, but mature later. They will give you enough milk, and each year it will increase.
Swiss are a rare breed, there aren't as many as Jerseys, and obviously Holsteins. They are nice animals, extremely gentle and have very pretty coats, faces etc. Heck you can even train them to be oxen, cows too. Either way, I would chase down either a hereford/holstein cross or a brown swiss for a cow.
As far as breeding, give her a break. Time the breeding so she has 60 days or so between lactations. It gives her time to rest. Also keep in mind of this, while your are milking her, she also has to feed that growing calf inside. Imagine being milked, feeding yourself, and feeding a calf that is developing. It would be very taxing. Even the big farms give the animals a break, any records I see, show that. They milk for 305 days. We had one that milked for well over a year, when she was finally dried off. She looked like crap, she had been to two different farms, but it did tax her. So give her a break, and as I said, some breeds will milk longer, you could time it so if you milked for 330 days, she could calf 60 days afterwards. For example, say you breed Dec 1st, she calves out sept 1st. Now you could breed her again around Dec 1st, to keep a tight schedule (it wont be dec 1st, that date will change. Could be Nov 20th, could be dec 10th, things change). But you could also wait an extra month, and breed her Jan 1st, so she calves Oct 1st or so. It is up to you, depends what you want to do. This is if she milked 330 days, you could "assume" she will go that long, and wait an extra 30 days to re-breed her to give her that 60 days.
Jeff
