A Question for Willow Girl

[Daniel]

I have two pastures, 7 acres and 6 acres that I've been working on to bring them back to normal, nothing has been done to them for many many years.  I'm about to get it under control.  I'm thinking about re fencing them and getting a couple of cows as pasture pets. I know you love your pasture buddies. I don't want to make any money off them, I will give them a home for life. Lots of cows around me, next door are a herd of Simmentals.  I've been looking at Jerseys, I can get calves and bred heifers for reasonable around Macon Ga.  My question is, what to do with all the milk.  I really don't have use for more than 3 gallons a week.  I would love to let her raise her calf and let me steal a little milk every few days.   Is it more genetics or husbandry that makes jerseys give that much milk, would her production be lower if you didn't put the demand on her from the beginning.  There is also a full fledged dairy at one of the state prisons near me. They don't sell livestock to the public, but at the local cattle auction. I've meet the guy in charge and he said that if I ever wanted a Holstein he would pick a few good ones and give me a list and time of the auction.  I guess I could never breed and get open cows, but having a calf or two once would be kinda nice.  The neighbor next door would sell me a couple heifers and take care of breeding for me.  I'm considering this also.  I could keep any heifers born and let him take the little bulls for me.

[willowgirl]

I approve of your plan! lol

Years ago, when I bred Christine and Twister, I got a new job right after they calved, and couldn't keep to a milking schedule, so I just let them raise their calves. It was summertime, so they were just on pasture, with maybe a little grain. They did fine, both raised some nice, big healthy bulls!

Ordinarily I'd say to go for it, but the experience we've been having with Marianne (Holstein) gives me pause. It seems she is a high-octane animal whose metabolism simply won't hold up on forage alone. It occurred to me the other day that Christine is 13 years old, and Twister, if she were still alive, would be 16. A lot has happened in the Holstein world in a decade, in terms of breeding and milk production. It's sad to think that Holsteins may someday become such mad milking machines that they simply don't make very good backyard cows.

And, yeah, excess milk CAN be an issue! We're getting 6+ gallons a day now, which is a lot for 2 people. I noticed with alarm this morning that one of our chest freezers is already half filled with blocks of cheese! There is no way a calf could consume all of this milk, with humans only taking off a couple of gallons a few times a week. That would be one uncomfortable cow ...

So here's a couple options that I would recommend in your situation, given the parameters you've outlined:
1. Look for a dairy breed (Holstein or Jersey) who is being culled for being a low-production cow. The farm I work on culls 3-4 a year for this reason. If a heifer doesn't make 50 lbs. of milk within her first few months of testing, she usually goes on the truck. Even a low-pro cow will still drown you in milk if you want some for your table! Try to get one that has already been bred back, or have a vet do a breeding exam to make sure she's fertile if you want calves. You can always buy a sale barn calf or two to stick on her when she freshens if she makes more milk than you can handle.

2. Get a nice beef cow or heifer. She probably WON'T drown you in milk, but if you train her up to stand for being milked, you can rob her of a few gallons per week.

3. If having a calf isn't that big of a deal to you, get a freemartin heifer and raise it up as a pet.

4. In this equation, personality is a big factor. You want a friendly cow, one who is easy to handle (the smaller the better, in that regard), one that you will enjoy spending time with. I have found cow personalities to be somewhat inherent -- some cows are friendly, some cows are not, and personality doesn't seem to run along genetic lines. I've had very friendly heifers born to standoffish cows, and vice versa. My perception is that dairy cows are friendlier than beef breeds, perhaps because of the breeds' long history of close human interaction. OTOH, my Krishna cow-rescue partners got an Angus heifer from the sale barn whom they said was VERY standoffish in the beginning, but after a few months of loving care, she warmed up and now is a "back-pocket" cow, even with strangers. (She's a little darling.) So take my advice with a grain of salt, LOL! It would probably be best if you could spend a little time with your cow before buying her, to see what her personality is like. A sale barn, unfortunately, isn't really conducive to that.

That's all I can think of, off the top of my head. Feel free to hit me up with more questions if you want. Sorry for the delay in replying; I just noticed this thread. Wish you lived closer; I could hook you up with a nice cow for sure.

[comfortablynumb]

milk.... dont talk to me about milk....

[shellymay]

Feeder pigs LOVE milk....Just sayin 

[willowgirl]

All our critters are "feeder" animals because that's all we do ... feed them.
We're vegetarians. We really don't need a pet pig ... lol.

[manygoatsnmore]

I second the idea of going with a beef breed rather than a dairy cow. Less milk, but enough to be able to steal what you need from the calf.

[Daniel]

Thanks for the replies. I'm one step closer. I have a guy coming with a big mulcher this week to clear some more woods and the edges of the pastures. I'm getting an estimate for the fencing later this month. I'm going to have to spend a little money this year to keep my farm status for tax purposes. Hope our pecan trees are going to produce some nuts this year. A bit of early nut fall, but it's not too bad. I need to show some profit also. It's taken me about three years getting the place back in order. It hadn't been farmed in over 60 years and was a dumping ground for all sorts of things. I bet I've had a couple dozen large trailer loads of scrap hauled away so far with more to go. One step closer.