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I do realize that you are VERY experienced and know a LOT about cattle, a lot more than me since you've been doing it all your life. (lucky you!
)
But my limited experience with 6 different milk cows, and a few hundred beef cows has been that the beef cows will dry up/wean their calves at around 7-10 months old. A milk cow however will just keep on giving milk until she's really pregnant and the hormones kick in (this has been my experience anyway). Assuming you feed her well. Jenny calved 11 months ago and is currently giving about 3.5 gallons daily. She went down to 2.75 gallons daily during that awful heat we had, but went right back up to 3.5 gallons daily now that it's cooler. Dear old sweat Buttercup (RIP
) went 30 months between calvings and kept on giving milk. Olga went 23 months between calvings and also kept on giving milk. Jenny went 18 months between calvings and also kept on giving milk. Jenny and Olga would have both probably gone longer if they weren't pregnant. Bessie, Gurdy, and Patty we didn't milk much at all. Gurdy and Patty had attitude problems and Bessie had tiny teats, just little nubs, impossible to hand milk. So we put calves on them. After the calves were weaned we got rid of them. Bessie and Patty had been lactating for 7 months when we got rid of them, and Gurdy for about a year.
As far as it being better for the cow to be bred every year so that she has 2-3 months to rest and recuperate every year, I don't know about that. It takes a lot out of a milk cow every time she calves. Sure she gets that rest, but she's got to grow a calf inside her, calve it out, go through the stress of having the calf taken away a couple days later, and then produce a LOT of milk for the next few months (which stretches out and shortens the life of the udder and takes a lot of calcium out of her bones). Compared to breeding her every two years, where she just keeps producing a moderate amount of milk over a long period of time. I wouldn't consider either one better than the other. They both have their positives and negatives.
Commercial dairymen are in it for the money. Sure it makes financial sense to breed a cow every year. She gives you a calf you can sell or keep for replacement and also will give a LOT of milk over the next few months that can be sold. The commercial dairymen don't want cows only producing 3 gallons a day when they can be producing 10 gallons a day or more (Holstein). But for the small hobby farmer, you don't need that much milk. 3 gallons a day is more than enough for the average family. Also, the average lifespan of a commercial dairy cow is only 6 years. Many of them end up dieing before that. That is an extremely short life span for a cow. So I wouldn't say that the commercial dairymen have it figured out, they're just after the money.
Just my 2 cents, feel free to ignore it.
X2
I worked on dairies most of my life and have to second your opinion, cows are milk and baby machines on a dairy, for the money, most farms I have worked on keep them bred yearly, and milking 10 or so months of each year. How many cows actually lived to be 5 years old? in reality very few.....I would guess it's maybe 2 of every 10 heifers...... most can only hold out 3 to 4 years before giving out at the constant stress of pregnancy, calving, and milking. hormone injections, eating crappy feed mixed with extra's to make it more energy efficient, like oil, and such. So they produce 80 lbs of milk per milking. Insane if you ask me.
I would think every other year would be fine or have 2 and rotate the heifer you breed each year to ensure the milk supply.
Also not many know that Goats milk is so much like cows milk, my son who inhales milk by the gallon did not even know the difference when I started buying it. They eat less take up less room, are easier to work with in size, and produce around 1 to 2 gallons a day average 1 1/2.
HERE'S A POST OFF MOTHER EARTH NEWS
Goat milk ice cream? Some of you might be raising your eyebrows right now because you've heard goat milk tastes funny. We could blame the funny-taste fallacy on a conspiracy concocted by those comical Far Side cows. But more likely it is because someone kept the buck among the herd, especially at milking time. A buck can be quite odoriferous, and his strong, musky scent can permeate the milk. The fact is, properly collected goat milk tastes just as good as cow milk. Some people believe it tastes better.
Raw milk and your health. ...
I have a friend whose brother refused to drink goat milk because he knew he wouldn't like it, says 20-year goat veteran Gail Damerow, editor of Rural Heritage magazine and author of Your Goats and Raising Milk Goats Successfully. Gail's friend bought a carton of cow's milk from the store for her visiting brother. After he emptied the carton, his sister refilled it with fresh goat milk. The scenario continued until a week later, when he noticed the carton looked a bit worn around the edges. She admitted he'd been drinking goat milk all week. He became an instant convert.
More of the world's people consume goat milk than cow milk. Goats are hardy animals: They adapt well to heat and cold, productively forage and graze, require little space, and are inexpensive to keep. Since mature does (females) usually weigh between 120 and 135 pounds (dwarf breeds can weigh between 35 and 85 pounds), they're much easier to handle than hefty cows, which can weigh 1,000 pounds each. Goats may surprise you in other ways, as well. They're highly intelligent, remarkably friendly creatures. And, since they're active, extremely agile and very curious, their antics can amuse you for hours. With all that in mind, it's easy to see why dairy goats can be the ideal addition to today's family farm or homestead.
The Dairy Breeds
There are more than 200 different goat breeds worldwide; six primary breeds dominate the dairy goat arena: Alpines, Oberhaslis, Saanens, Toggenburgs, LaManchas and Nubians. While all breeds generally do well in most of the country, the first four breeds listed are well-suited to cooler climates since their origins can be traced to Swiss mountain regions. LaManchas and Nubians hail from tropical and desert climates where it's warmer, and they tolerate hot summer conditions better than the Swiss breeds.
You can recognize Alpine goats by their upright ears and long necks. This medium-to-large, hardy breed also milks well. Their coats are two-toned, with black and white the most common colors.
Oberhaslis have distinctive coloration, and are usually bay (reddish brown) with black markings or sometimes completely black. A beautiful medium-to-small breed, Oberhaslis don't produce quite as much milk as the other breeds.
Read more: http://www.motherearthnews.com/Sustainable-Farming/2002-06-01/Want-Milk-Get-Goats.aspx#ixzz1VVMXEygY
I do realize that you are VERY experienced and know a LOT about cattle, a lot more than me since you've been doing it all your life. (lucky you!
But my limited experience with 6 different milk cows, and a few hundred beef cows has been that the beef cows will dry up/wean their calves at around 7-10 months old. A milk cow however will just keep on giving milk until she's really pregnant and the hormones kick in (this has been my experience anyway). Assuming you feed her well. Jenny calved 11 months ago and is currently giving about 3.5 gallons daily. She went down to 2.75 gallons daily during that awful heat we had, but went right back up to 3.5 gallons daily now that it's cooler. Dear old sweat Buttercup (RIP
As far as it being better for the cow to be bred every year so that she has 2-3 months to rest and recuperate every year, I don't know about that. It takes a lot out of a milk cow every time she calves. Sure she gets that rest, but she's got to grow a calf inside her, calve it out, go through the stress of having the calf taken away a couple days later, and then produce a LOT of milk for the next few months (which stretches out and shortens the life of the udder and takes a lot of calcium out of her bones). Compared to breeding her every two years, where she just keeps producing a moderate amount of milk over a long period of time. I wouldn't consider either one better than the other. They both have their positives and negatives.
Commercial dairymen are in it for the money. Sure it makes financial sense to breed a cow every year. She gives you a calf you can sell or keep for replacement and also will give a LOT of milk over the next few months that can be sold. The commercial dairymen don't want cows only producing 3 gallons a day when they can be producing 10 gallons a day or more (Holstein). But for the small hobby farmer, you don't need that much milk. 3 gallons a day is more than enough for the average family. Also, the average lifespan of a commercial dairy cow is only 6 years. Many of them end up dieing before that. That is an extremely short life span for a cow. So I wouldn't say that the commercial dairymen have it figured out, they're just after the money.
Just my 2 cents, feel free to ignore it.
X2
I worked on dairies most of my life and have to second your opinion, cows are milk and baby machines on a dairy, for the money, most farms I have worked on keep them bred yearly, and milking 10 or so months of each year. How many cows actually lived to be 5 years old? in reality very few.....I would guess it's maybe 2 of every 10 heifers...... most can only hold out 3 to 4 years before giving out at the constant stress of pregnancy, calving, and milking. hormone injections, eating crappy feed mixed with extra's to make it more energy efficient, like oil, and such. So they produce 80 lbs of milk per milking. Insane if you ask me.
I would think every other year would be fine or have 2 and rotate the heifer you breed each year to ensure the milk supply.
Also not many know that Goats milk is so much like cows milk, my son who inhales milk by the gallon did not even know the difference when I started buying it. They eat less take up less room, are easier to work with in size, and produce around 1 to 2 gallons a day average 1 1/2.
HERE'S A POST OFF MOTHER EARTH NEWS
Goat milk ice cream? Some of you might be raising your eyebrows right now because you've heard goat milk tastes funny. We could blame the funny-taste fallacy on a conspiracy concocted by those comical Far Side cows. But more likely it is because someone kept the buck among the herd, especially at milking time. A buck can be quite odoriferous, and his strong, musky scent can permeate the milk. The fact is, properly collected goat milk tastes just as good as cow milk. Some people believe it tastes better.
Raw milk and your health. ...
I have a friend whose brother refused to drink goat milk because he knew he wouldn't like it, says 20-year goat veteran Gail Damerow, editor of Rural Heritage magazine and author of Your Goats and Raising Milk Goats Successfully. Gail's friend bought a carton of cow's milk from the store for her visiting brother. After he emptied the carton, his sister refilled it with fresh goat milk. The scenario continued until a week later, when he noticed the carton looked a bit worn around the edges. She admitted he'd been drinking goat milk all week. He became an instant convert.
More of the world's people consume goat milk than cow milk. Goats are hardy animals: They adapt well to heat and cold, productively forage and graze, require little space, and are inexpensive to keep. Since mature does (females) usually weigh between 120 and 135 pounds (dwarf breeds can weigh between 35 and 85 pounds), they're much easier to handle than hefty cows, which can weigh 1,000 pounds each. Goats may surprise you in other ways, as well. They're highly intelligent, remarkably friendly creatures. And, since they're active, extremely agile and very curious, their antics can amuse you for hours. With all that in mind, it's easy to see why dairy goats can be the ideal addition to today's family farm or homestead.
The Dairy Breeds
There are more than 200 different goat breeds worldwide; six primary breeds dominate the dairy goat arena: Alpines, Oberhaslis, Saanens, Toggenburgs, LaManchas and Nubians. While all breeds generally do well in most of the country, the first four breeds listed are well-suited to cooler climates since their origins can be traced to Swiss mountain regions. LaManchas and Nubians hail from tropical and desert climates where it's warmer, and they tolerate hot summer conditions better than the Swiss breeds.
You can recognize Alpine goats by their upright ears and long necks. This medium-to-large, hardy breed also milks well. Their coats are two-toned, with black and white the most common colors.
Oberhaslis have distinctive coloration, and are usually bay (reddish brown) with black markings or sometimes completely black. A beautiful medium-to-small breed, Oberhaslis don't produce quite as much milk as the other breeds.
Read more: http://www.motherearthnews.com/Sustainable-Farming/2002-06-01/Want-Milk-Get-Goats.aspx#ixzz1VVMXEygY
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