Post by Aleisha on Dec 7, 2011 10:49:42 GMT -5
Hi,
I recently sold one of my two cows that I milked every morning. When I milked (with a machine) I just combined their milk and I always had 2-3 inches of cream in my half gallon mason jars after 12 hrs of cooling. But now that I am only milking one cow, Rose, a full blood jersey, I am lucky to have 1 inch of cream.
Rose has been in milk about 5 weeks and this is her 1st lactation. She came from a jersey dairy and was culled because she kept slipping on the concrete floors (she's straightened out just fine since coming home with me 2 1/2 weeks ago). When I got her she had only been in milk for 21 days and the man who acts as the middle man for the dairy put calves on her right before I bought her. I have kept calves on her so that I only have to milk once a day. My other cow that I just sold also came from the same dairy but she had been in milk about 6 months when I bought her, and she was also put with calves. But she always gave lots of cream.
This is my theory and I'd like to know if anyone knows if I'm heading in the right direction: I think that the cow I sold was trained to give all her milk before being put with calves, thus she didn't withhold all her cream even after becoming a part time nurse cow. I think Rose wasn't milked long enough before nursing calves and she withholds almost all her cream (even though I am getting 2 1/2 gallons of milk every morning).
I have read that if I take the calves away for a few days and milk TAD she will learn to give me all her milk/cream. Is this a good method to try or does anyone else have a better remedy for a cow who is stingy with her cream?
And how should I feed the calves? I don't know that they would take a bottle. How do you bucket feed? One is about 2 months and the other is about 6 weeks.
Thanks so much and I'm sorry for my long-windedness!
Aleisha
I recently sold one of my two cows that I milked every morning. When I milked (with a machine) I just combined their milk and I always had 2-3 inches of cream in my half gallon mason jars after 12 hrs of cooling. But now that I am only milking one cow, Rose, a full blood jersey, I am lucky to have 1 inch of cream.
Rose has been in milk about 5 weeks and this is her 1st lactation. She came from a jersey dairy and was culled because she kept slipping on the concrete floors (she's straightened out just fine since coming home with me 2 1/2 weeks ago). When I got her she had only been in milk for 21 days and the man who acts as the middle man for the dairy put calves on her right before I bought her. I have kept calves on her so that I only have to milk once a day. My other cow that I just sold also came from the same dairy but she had been in milk about 6 months when I bought her, and she was also put with calves. But she always gave lots of cream.
This is my theory and I'd like to know if anyone knows if I'm heading in the right direction: I think that the cow I sold was trained to give all her milk before being put with calves, thus she didn't withhold all her cream even after becoming a part time nurse cow. I think Rose wasn't milked long enough before nursing calves and she withholds almost all her cream (even though I am getting 2 1/2 gallons of milk every morning).
I have read that if I take the calves away for a few days and milk TAD she will learn to give me all her milk/cream. Is this a good method to try or does anyone else have a better remedy for a cow who is stingy with her cream?
And how should I feed the calves? I don't know that they would take a bottle. How do you bucket feed? One is about 2 months and the other is about 6 weeks.
Thanks so much and I'm sorry for my long-windedness!
Aleisha