Dairy Cow

[valerie]

There's always the option of putting additional calves on a jersey for the excess milk. Jersey's are great nurse cows also. KFC is a great website to check out the 'auction barn' and to get great information.

 

[turnerstar31]

I help my dad run a dairy farm so I am going to add my 2 cents here which you may or may not like.
Ok if you want a cow than good for you however it is a lot of work. First off do you have enough pasture for this animal. They eat a lot. Also how are you going to get rid of the manure. They poop a lot. You also need to grain this animal to make sure that they get a balanced diet. With grain prices going up and how much they eat are you going to be able to afford it. The milking can be a pain at times and if you have carpal tunnel forget about hand milking besides it would take forever. Not sure what you pasture would be like but you also need to put up some hay if it would not be available all the time. Cows can wipe out a paddock pretty fast but with one it might not be as bad.
For me if I was just going to have one cow I would prolly go with something like a jersey but even than they can still eat and poop just as good as a holstein.
Good luck with deciding you want one and finding one if you do.

 

[kstaven]

1 1/2 to 2 acres of GOOD QUALITY pasture for a Jersey + Hay in the winter. Grain is pushed on dairy breeds to keep output up more so than dietary. There are options to grain and lots of references for options in the pasture based dairy crowd.

Milking can be a chore and does require a fair bit of hand strength.

Annual costs for a Jersey up against a Holstein? Bank on the Holstein consuming about 15 % more than the jersey. That equates to the manure obviously. Dexter will be 25 % less than the Jersey on average and has the advantage of being able to thrive on forage areas where a standard dairy would starve to death.

Then there is training a dairy cow. Lots of ups and downs here.

 

[greyfields]

I'd say your best choice would be a Jersey, too. I'd love to get one. Since we're already milking goats, it wouldn't be too much extra work really.

 

[BirdBrain]

My DH and I took the kids and went out to a dairy yesterday. Wow, that is some operation. They had 50 cows to milk twice a day. They were raising a bunch of replacement heifers and had chickens, turkeys, peafowl and barn cats everywhere. I think there were a couple of horses as well. My oldest son LOVED the tractors and spent some time in quiet contemplation as he sat in the seat up on that BIG tractor. I wish I had had my camera there.

Until I am in a situation, where I won't be going anywhere very much and can find a relief milker, I would have to wait. One thing is for sure, I have a better idea of what I would be getting in to. I love the 10 month old heifers. They were as docile as could be.

Thank you all for your input. I am saving these posts for later when I can actually do something about it.

 

[kstaven]

If you possibly can I would recommend getting a 4 - 7 year old dairy cow. They know the ropes when it comes to milking, stand well, less prone to try to take your head off with a swift kick, have calved before so they don't stress the way a first timer will, and you don't end up chasing them all over the field because they aren't sure they like the idea of being milked.

Either that or find a good dairy person who can assist you with the training. Even the most docile heifer can be potentially dangerous in a first time milking situation.

 

[BirdBrain]

Good point! One that knows the ropes would be a definite asset.