dAIRY COW

[jadude]

how much space does a dairy cow take up how much milk does it give per day and does it give milk year round and how much feed does it consume

 

[jadude]

and are all black and white spotted cows milking ones

 

[Year of the Rooster]

How much milk and the quality of it depends on the breed I think. Cows don't give milk year round. They only produce milk AFTER they have had a calf. Once the cow dries up or doesn't give any more milk, you have to breed her again. As for the feed and space, can't help ya there...

ETA: The black and white ones are called Holsteins. Yes they are a dairy cow, but there are also Beef breeds that are black and white.

 

[MissPrissy]

A cow has to be breed annually to produce milk.

A cow needs several acres of grass/pasture to graze to make the best milk.

Grain is not really the best thing for ruminants.

You can't keep a cow in small place and think it will thrive and be healthy.

They have great big poops that splop and splosh. They draw flies worse than any other animal I know.

The average jersey and holsteins I am familiar with through growing up around herds of cows make anywhere from 2 - 3 gallons of milk twice a day.

The lady where I am very fortunate to get milk from has 3 milking jerseys on pasture and she gets 6 - 8 gallons of milk twice a day.

 

[lorieMN]

Quote:
actually they are usually bred within a month or so of calving..if you wait to breed them AFTER they dry up you will go a whole year with no milk,they need lots of protien to produce larger amounts of milk,but if your just milking for the family needs you wont need 60-80lbs a day,and a good holstien will do that easy,myself when I had the dairy I didnt care for the grass fed flavor of milk,but I didnt even drink whole milk then as I like fat free skim much better,the whole is just to thick and heavy for me,not to mention it has lots of fat in it..

 

[Farmer Kitty]

It takes 9 months for a calf to be born after the cow is bred if she settles. You breed a cow the first time roughly 45 days after calving-depending on when she comes in heat. A high producer will be longer out than a poorer producer.

The amount of milk depends on the breed, cow, and feed.

You feed hay, hayledge, or corn silage as the main part of a cow's feeding regimine. Grain is feed acordding to how much milk she is giving. Without the grain you won't get much milk.

Come on over to

. Where you can ask questions and get answers from people that have/have had cattle.

As for different breeds, follow this link and see what breeds are out there: http://www.backyardcows.com/web/viewblog.php?id=5-Breed_page

Oh, on the amount of space, if you are pasturing only figure on 1.5-2 acres per cow. It also depends on where you live and your weather conditions. If you supplement feed you can get by with less but, don't crowd them-you'll have a big mess.