cow's milk

[TexasChickenLady]

Ok we are going through milk like crazy with our 1 yo baby and a 5 yo and also i use alot when I cook and bake. So would it benifit us to get a cow and breed her to get the milk? Will it cost less in the long run? Im considering the cost of fule it takes to go to the store to get the milk which leads to getting other stuff at the store and fule to get back plus it's 4 somthin a gallon. Let me hear it!

 

[Farmer Kitty]

You also need to take into consideration the fact that she will need to be milked twice a day. Does your schedule and life style support this?

Also, a 1 year old should have (according to our pediatrition) pasturized milk yet. You shouldn't give a young child raw milk until age of 2 years.

Do you have a hay supply or would you have to buy it? How many months of the year would you need to feed hay verus pasture (1.5 or so acres per animal). You can get buy with less acerage but, then you need to feed more baled hay.

Come visit us at

. We would love to help with the decisions. We also have a breed page for you to look at. Some breeds will milk more than others. Some breeds are bigger and therefore will eat more, etc.

 

[menageriemama]

Oh man, I hear you about milk!!! I have been dreaming about getting a cow for a long time, but we have zero pasture- we live on approx 20 acres of woods. So I am now planning on getting a couple of dairy goats next year

because they will be able to make good use of all the underbrush that we have here. Luckily, we found a local, family owned dairy the sells milk directly for a GREAT price, and they have fantastic ice cream. Their milk is in bags, so there is less waste as well. Anyway, if you do get a cow, post pics!!

 

[TexasChickenLady]

I am a stay at home mom so my day is open and I would welcome the company! We have 20 acres so she would be happy plus we can afford to get hay, as we do for our horses. I also did some research on pasturizing (sorry if misspelled) milk and Im thinking I might be willing to give that a try! Thank you

 

[Chatychick]

Goats would be easier to take care of ...I raise both goats and cattle and the goats are so much easier to milk and feed and you dont have to worry about the children...My grandkids play with my goats but I dont let them in with the cows. 2 teats verses 4 and my jersey produces 4 to 6 gallons a day. More milk than we need. So goats will give you a supply with 2 large dairy about 2 to 4 gallons a day depending on the goat.Also they dont take as much space and feed either. Good luck

 

[TexasChickenLady]

Ok so does the milk taste funny? I have never had anything other than the milk at the store, so Im afraid of it tasteing bitter or something, I would love to have dairy goats because I could use them for soap making too! Where would I go about getting a couple dairy goats and thier boyfriend? Are they expensive?

 

[Littlecimarron18]

I worked on an organic Dairy all summer. they only supply raw milk, and in my opinion it tates funny.. I couldnt make myself drink it.

 

[Farmer Kitty]

I've never had goat's milk so I can't say on that but, finding them I would suggest looking for animal swaps and small animal auctions.

 

[Chirpy]

I'm going to put my two cents in here for dairy goats. I milk 2 Alpines and get 2 gallons of milk a day during the summer months. That will go down through the winter, I'm staggering the breeding of my two does so I will have milk all winter long.

Our family was going through 16 plus gallons of store bought cows milk a week! So, by milking my own goats I'm saving between $40 and $50 (at least) per week just on milk at our house. So, for us there is no question it's the wise and cost efficient thing to do. I was actually surprised but everybody in my house has switched over to drinking the goats milk with very little issues. I have one son who will only use it for chocolate milk or in his cereal but everyone else drinks it and likes it. We just literally quit buying cows milk so the kids had no choice but to drink what was here or go without. I've known people who put goats milk in a store bought container without their family knowing and let their family drink it for a few days/weeks before telling them.

Texaschickenlady asked:

Where would I go about getting a couple dairy goats and thier boyfriend?

First, you don't want a buck unless you have at least 10 or more does that can be bred to him. Even then you really want to think through whether you have to have one. Bucks can be a huge challenge in many ways. First, fencing for bucks has to be fantastic! High and tight with close posts, etc. Second, bucks smell badly during mating season. You walk by them and get their smell on you and it stays with you. Bucks pee on their own faces! They are such funny guys!

To find a good quality dairy goat you first need to figure out which breed works best for you or which breed you just like the look of better. Spend some time researching all the dairy breeds and decide what you want, then start asking around (local feed stores, vets, even watch Craigslist but be careful on there) and find some local people who have dairy goats. Even if you can't find the breed you want right away go visit some dairy people and watch them milk, talk to them, ask lots of questions.

http://thegoatspot.net/phpbb/index.php is a great site with wonderful, helpful goat people. I suggest you go there or find another forum on goats and start reading through posts. Use the search function at the top of this page and type in goats and you'll great threads on BYC talking about goats.​

 

[Beekissed]

Here's another option....stop using dairy products all together! We had to stop using them when my youngest was around 3 years old, as all the problems with allergies and upper respiratory illnesses he had had were caused by dairy.

So, the whole house stopped eating dairy because he couldn't. Its been great! I used to have allergies all the time, also, and we all used to suffer the normal gamut of colds and infections brought home from school and work. Its been many, many years since we have had to take an antibiotics and we have suffered only a few times in all these years with a brief allergy in the spring or fall.

That boy is now 16 and I have to look up at him...way up! Don't let the medical profession convince you that you have to feed dairy to get the necessary calcium. You can gain more calcium with eating green, leafy vegetables than with dairy any day. My mother and father went extreme vegetarian about 15 years ago. My mother's bone scans are that of a 21 year old girl. All her sisters, on the other hand, have severe osteoporosis and have steel rods in their backs. She is 74 years old and she works like a man every day, can do a beautiful series of cartwheels across the yard and doesn't have one health problem...now! Not since going without dairy and switching to raw veggies.

Drinking milk is not necessary, folks. As a matter of fact, humans are the only animal that continues to voluntarily drink milk, on a regular basis, after weaning!