I love to hand milk but I own a 1950 Surge belly milker for when I am in a hurry. And all FOUR of the cows I bred this year had bull calves! Why is the woman with five sons and no daughters not surprised?
The really nice thing about Dexters is that if you calf-share you can still have vacations, get sick, or not milk for a day or even a week without having everything go bad. I gave up the Jersey because you just can't do that with a cow that produces 5 gallons or more of milk a day. She is now loved and milked by my frend who has a bunch of kids still at home and can make good use of it.
I leave my calves with their cows and when they start taking more milk then I am willing to give up I pen them, sometimes 12 hours a day if I need a lot of milk or because I work I more often put them up in the morning before I leave, then milk when I get home...about 9 hours give or take.
If I can't come straight home or have to be gone overnight I just don't pen the calves and they take most of the milk.
I make yogurt and cheese and butter and have totaly supplanted grocery dairy and and beef (and chicken). Next year I hope to can and freeze enough out of the garden to pass up the veggie section too. The cpws are almost 100% grass fed except a treat they get in the stanchion during milking which may be overflow veggies from the garden or day old bread or corn or...???
I love raw milk and have really enjoyed a boost to my health. I think I would own a cow even if I lived in a neighborhood and keep her in the garage at night and stake her on grass during the day. City folks used to do just that before all the ordaninces that prevent it now.
Uh-oh... I am rambling...
