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Post by barefootfarmer on Nov 17, 2015 3:16:58 GMT
I've been on a once a day milk schedule for last month or so. I milk Jersey and Brown Swiss cows. I'm at that point where I need to dry off two of them, they've been in milk for 16 and 17 months. I just sent in milk samples to confirm pregnancy on all four of my dairy cows. My third one is coming up on a year in milk...the milk bucket is feeling pretty light right now. Now Holsteins- something about them has always caught my eye. I'm thinking pretty hard about buying a Holstein to milk. For any of you who love your Holstein ( willowgirl?) what can you tell me about them in general? Are they pretty hardy as a breed? Is their milk good for cheese making? Everyone always says the Jersey is best, but I actually prefer my Brown Swiss milk for the little bit of cheese I make. Jersey is really good for yogurt. I'm sure it can just plain depend on the particular cow. And is it true that it's hard to find a good Holstein? I've been looking on Craig's list for almost a month. Nothing. Then all of a sudden this past week about 5 of them popped up all of a sudden. The drive time is anywhere from an hour and a half one way to three hours one way. What's the average daily output for a first time freshener and a seasoned one? My Swiss will peak at about 6-7 gallons and one of my Jersey cows peaked at 7, then dropped down to about 5. Sigh. I just want a LOT of milk in my bucket.
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Post by willowgirl on Nov 18, 2015 3:54:03 GMT
A Holstein will give you what you want, and then some ... (see the thread titled "8 gallons," lol).
It's hard to generalize, because so much depends on the cow. We have cows in the herd I milk who make anywhere from about 80 to 120 lbs. of milk at the peak of their lactation. (There are approximately 8 lbs. to the gallon.) Of course, that's on a fairly high-octane diet. (The farm where I work doesn't push its cows as hard as some I've seen, but it's definitely a commercial dairy.) Marianne, our Holstein currently in milk, gets the equivalent of about two-thirds of a commercial dairy cow ration, supplemented by second-cutting hay. She was making 8 gallons a day at the peak of her lactation, or about 64 lbs. a day. That's about 20 lbs. less than she probably would have made at the dairy, but we're not complaining!
As far as availability, that's really, REALLY gonna depend on your location, and how much dairy farming there is in the area. For instance, in the area where I'm from, there was so much farming that the local sale barn did a monthly dairy auction! And there were fairly regular herd dispersal sales. Not so here. It sounds like you are trying to find a homesteader cow? One that's already a family milker? Just be careful you don't get one who won't settle or has problems like chronic recurring mastitis.
If there is dairy farming in your area, you might talk to local farmers about picking up a low-production cow. (What is low-production in a commercial herd might be fine for you!) For instance, in the herd I milk, if a heifer isn't making at least 50 lbs. by her second test, she's usually culled, sold for slaughter. A real shame, as those heifers would probably make nice homestead cows, but unfortunately there doesn't seem to be much interest in keeping a family cow around here.
Anyway, if you have any other questions, feel free to ask, and I'll try to answer as best as I can!
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Post by willowgirl on Nov 18, 2015 3:57:26 GMT
Oh I'll add that butterfat is really variable among Holsteins. It's generally believed that Jerseys will produce the richest milk, but my boss breeds for components .. it's not unusual for our Holsteins to have 4.0+ butterfat and 3.5+ protein scores on test. I tease my boss that he's breeding black-and-white Jerseys there, lol.
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Post by barefootfarmer on Nov 20, 2015 23:37:28 GMT
willowgirl,Thank you for taking time to answer back! I'm going to go see a Holstein heifer this weekend. I bumped into her when I replied to an ad for a different cow. That cow was already sold and the lady mentioned she had a Holstein for sale, too. This one is registered and has a due date of Dec 14 using the beef cow gestation calendar. I'm thinking that will make her due a bit earlier. It's her first time freshening and the owner is requesting the calf back. Her daughter does 4H and showed this girl and wants to show the calf. That works great for me because it's one less calf to feed and care for over the winter. I've had lots of well meaning folks telling me that I'd better be careful with a Holstein. That they tend to have problems calving and lose a high percentage of calves. Is that true in your experience? She was AI'd to a Holstein bull and I don't have any info on the bull. Apparently there is a 98% chance of the calf being a heifer which is why the family is requesting it back. That was reflected in the pricing. I'm cautiously excited. I've been looking at several cows and they have all been disappointing once I got to the farms. The pictures of this one were from May so of course she's going to look much bigger now. But she is a beautiful girl in those pics. I'm totally ok with 8 gallons a day! But as a first time freshener, would you expect her to produce that much- everything else being equal? I'm curious about the amount of grain that you feed your girl. I'm feeding Jerseys and a Brown Swiss. The smaller girls do well on 7-9lbs a day and the Swiss on 12lbs when milking. What do you think I should be feeding to keep the new girl in good shape- grain wise? Cross your hooves for me
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