new milk cow

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I finally got my milk cow and have a few questions for those of you with some know-how. Shes a 5 year old Jersey/Guernsey cross in her 11th month of lactation. She is open and has not received the best of care. No worming, etc. I can only milk her once a day and dont want more than a gallon. Currently I'm getting 6 quarts but could get a bit more if my pail were bigger, this is just in the one milking. Anyway, because she's already been milking for a long while I dont want to stress her out but I also dont want to damage her udder by not taking all of her milk. Her udder isnt hard, hot or full in the mornings.I'd like to continue this gallon a day until about two months before she calves, if I can ever find a bull close by. Would this be too long to milk her before letting her dry up (close to 2 years)? I'm giving her grain now with kelp and herbs. Any suggestions (besides getting a calf or pig, I would love to but cant for about a month)? Thanks so much, Julie

-- Julie (juliecapasso@aol.com), May 02, 2000

Answers

Julie, as long as she is well fed and cared for, it shouldn't hurt her to continue milking. Goats are sometimes milked through for two or more years without breeding if they will keep milking enough to make it worthwhile -- and the goat-owner considers themselves lucky to have a goat that will do that! I suspect, though, that only milking once a day will not be enough stimulation to the mammmary glands and she will slowly dry off. You can freeze the milk, if you have freezer space, until you need it. It sounds like you just got her; you need to be careful not to change her feed too fast, as it will cause an upset stomach, and an upset stomach in an animal with four of them is NOT good!! Good luck!

-- Kathleen Sanderson (stonycft@worldpath.net), May 02, 2000.

Kathleen, you are right about just getting her. I got her 3 days ago. She had been given a bit of wet cob, I just doctored some up with some herbs and am giving her about 3-4 lbs when I milk. She had a 2 week old calf on her, so I dont think she was giving much more than what I am taking. I've milked my goats once a day and they didnt dry up but didnt know if it would be the same for a cow since they have so much more milk. Just dont want to hurt the old gal. Does anyone else have experience with once a day milking?

-- Julie (juliecapasso@aol.com), May 02, 2000.

Julie, I'm milking an Irish Dexter that calved 2 months ago. I only milk once a day and the calve is still on her. I get 2 to 4 quarts a day. I think that I would get more but I'm just learning and so is she. She is not a first freshner but she had never been milked before. I found that persistence is the key. Milking once a day had not seemed to be harmful in any way. Gayle

-- Gayle (gvoshell@dol.net), May 02, 2000.

Gayle, the reason your cow is doing fine with once a day milking is because the calf is also milking her. As long as a milking animal is completely milked out at least twice a day, whether by you or by her baby, she will continue to produce (up to certain limits). I'm assuming that Julie's cow doesn't have a calf on her, so if she wants her to keep milking for a while she will need to figure out a way to milk twice a day. When people want to dry a cow or goat off, they often do it gradually by going from twice a day milking to once a day, then to once every other day, to reduce the milk flow so she won't suffer when milk flow is finally stopped. When your calf is weaned, you will face the same thing with your cow. It is hard, when the whole family is away every day at work or school, to adequately care for a milking animal, which is one reason it is often the last step taken by a homesteading family. Used to be that people *lived* on their farms, their whole lives were centered around that piece of land, and they seldom went more than a few miles from it -- and that rarely. Now, we are so restless that it is hard to be tied down to twice-a-day milkings day in and day out; the requirements of the animal need to be considered carefully alongside the living habits of the family. That said, I wish you both the best with your critters!

-- Kathleen Sanderson (stonycft@worldpath.net), May 02, 2000.

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