Post by talithathecow15 on Sept 17, 2015 17:44:47 GMT -5
Hello! I have been milking Talitha for almost four weeks now (she freshened on August 24th) and I was wondering how much milk you think I should be getting. She is getting about three pounds of sweet feed twice a day, prairie grass hay, and grazing in the pasture (the grass is getting pretty sparse). We took the calf off of her (we sold it because it was a jersey bull) so it's just us milking her. For those who don't know or forgot (like I do!) she is a Jersey cross, two years old, and first freshening.
When I first milked her with the calf eating too (didn't separate them till the calf was two days old) I didn't get much at all! So I think the calf was getting most of it.
So I've been getting about one and a quarter gallon per milking, which is two and a half gallons a day. That is more than plenty for my family but I'm just wondering if I am milking her out all the way or not. She is doing very well with letting us milk. Although she does hold up on us sometimes just because she is impatient. Her milk production goes up and down, for example 13.8lb evening then down to 12.6lb morning or vice versa.
Also, it seems like the right back quarter gets more wrinkly than the left back quarter after I've milked her. Even though she gives the same amount of milk from both. One just seems to always stay 'full' as in not getting very wrinkly up top (it does shrink in size though).
I'll try and get some pictures tonight so I can show you what I mean. But here is one to give you an idea of how big her bag is. We milk at 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. It doesn't help that her back teats are very little (maybe two inches long). I don't know if even a milking machine could handle those little things!!
Thank you in advance!
When I first milked her with the calf eating too (didn't separate them till the calf was two days old) I didn't get much at all! So I think the calf was getting most of it.
So I've been getting about one and a quarter gallon per milking, which is two and a half gallons a day. That is more than plenty for my family but I'm just wondering if I am milking her out all the way or not. She is doing very well with letting us milk. Although she does hold up on us sometimes just because she is impatient. Her milk production goes up and down, for example 13.8lb evening then down to 12.6lb morning or vice versa.
Also, it seems like the right back quarter gets more wrinkly than the left back quarter after I've milked her. Even though she gives the same amount of milk from both. One just seems to always stay 'full' as in not getting very wrinkly up top (it does shrink in size though).
I'll try and get some pictures tonight so I can show you what I mean. But here is one to give you an idea of how big her bag is. We milk at 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. It doesn't help that her back teats are very little (maybe two inches long). I don't know if even a milking machine could handle those little things!!
Thank you in advance!