Post by happyfarmwife on Mar 28, 2015 22:56:07 GMT -5
My husband and I both grew up in families with farmstead cows. He was born into a dairy farm family and cows have always been part of his life. I was born into a farmstead family where my mother LOVED dairy cows and my father should never have owned livestock but that's another story.
Currently we have 10 cows, most are old style Jerseys. We recently started breeding via AI to Dutch Belted bulls for better grass based production and vigor.
We halter train all our heifers and handle our heifers daily! We work really diligently to desensitize them by touching and rubbing teats, udders, back legs, rump, belly etc. AND we practice having them come in to the milk shed for touching and a little food.
We have had GREAT success with the method we use and encourage EVERYONE to handle their heifers a lot before the big day comes when you MUST remove the extra milk from the udder so the horrors of mastitis are not an issue!
Yesterday one of our 50% Dutch Belted heifers blessed us with a 75% Dutch Belted HEIFER calf! The mom is a heifer that was born here and she has never known anyone but us. We have been training her to be a milk cow from the time she was tiny.....
This morning, 15 hours after calving, we brought Duchess in to the milk shed......a little feed in the trough and locked her in the stanchion just like we have before. Washed and dried her udder just like we do for the other "working girls" and she stood like a champ! She picked up her foot briefly but no stomping, no kicking, just a response to say, "Whooo, that's different and a little tender"!
Today she came in to the milk shed and stood beautifully....
We milk out most of the milk on three quarters then put the moms in with their babies for about 30 minutes..Then the cows are turned out to graze and the babies stay in a safe pen with shelter, water and hay. We have found that this system works great for both mom and baby!
I CANNOT STRESS STRONGLY ENOUGH HOW IMPORTANT IT IS FOR COWS AND HEIFERS THAT YOU INTEND TO MILK BE HANDLED BEFORE THE TIME COMES WHEN YOU MUST MILK!
We even have a beef heifer that we purchased as a 2 day old calf that we have petted and desensitized so that in the event we need to handle her udder, she is not going to try to jump on top of our heads or kick our heads off!
HANDLE YOUR BABIES, HANDLE YOUR BRED HEIFERS, HANDLE YOUR COWS, YOUNG AND OLD! The time you spend before you go in the milk shed for the first time after they give birth......will pay dividends and reduce the stress and pain for both you and your cow!
Currently we have 10 cows, most are old style Jerseys. We recently started breeding via AI to Dutch Belted bulls for better grass based production and vigor.
We halter train all our heifers and handle our heifers daily! We work really diligently to desensitize them by touching and rubbing teats, udders, back legs, rump, belly etc. AND we practice having them come in to the milk shed for touching and a little food.
We have had GREAT success with the method we use and encourage EVERYONE to handle their heifers a lot before the big day comes when you MUST remove the extra milk from the udder so the horrors of mastitis are not an issue!
Yesterday one of our 50% Dutch Belted heifers blessed us with a 75% Dutch Belted HEIFER calf! The mom is a heifer that was born here and she has never known anyone but us. We have been training her to be a milk cow from the time she was tiny.....
This morning, 15 hours after calving, we brought Duchess in to the milk shed......a little feed in the trough and locked her in the stanchion just like we have before. Washed and dried her udder just like we do for the other "working girls" and she stood like a champ! She picked up her foot briefly but no stomping, no kicking, just a response to say, "Whooo, that's different and a little tender"!
Today she came in to the milk shed and stood beautifully....
We milk out most of the milk on three quarters then put the moms in with their babies for about 30 minutes..Then the cows are turned out to graze and the babies stay in a safe pen with shelter, water and hay. We have found that this system works great for both mom and baby!
I CANNOT STRESS STRONGLY ENOUGH HOW IMPORTANT IT IS FOR COWS AND HEIFERS THAT YOU INTEND TO MILK BE HANDLED BEFORE THE TIME COMES WHEN YOU MUST MILK!
We even have a beef heifer that we purchased as a 2 day old calf that we have petted and desensitized so that in the event we need to handle her udder, she is not going to try to jump on top of our heads or kick our heads off!
HANDLE YOUR BABIES, HANDLE YOUR BRED HEIFERS, HANDLE YOUR COWS, YOUNG AND OLD! The time you spend before you go in the milk shed for the first time after they give birth......will pay dividends and reduce the stress and pain for both you and your cow!