(Update-Got one) Pregnancy tests & I think I want a Holstein
Nov 16, 2015 20:13:19 GMT -5
Shawn likes this
Post by barefootfarmer on Nov 16, 2015 20:13:19 GMT -5
Today I mailed in 4 milk samples to see if any of my cows are pregnant yet. Usually I have a good overlap, but this year everything seemed to go wonky and now here I am..sending in 4 tests.
First, we went through a spell without a good sized bull on hand to cover my tall Brown Swiss. Our junior Hereford did a good job of covering all the beef cows, but then he runs with them full time- so lots of opportunity.
Then, I'm not sure what happened. It seems like I was always a day late getting the dairy cow to the bull in time. I must have been missing the perfect moment by a few hours. Looking back on my notes from the summer...why didn't I take better notes?
Then September 11th rolled around and we had a barn fire. Lost all of our hay, a couple of dairy goats, a couple of pigs, tools, my goat milking stand, pump, tank...so much lost. It just happened to be the year that I ordered one extra load of hay, and because it didn't fit in the hay barn it was stacked in my driveway. Thank goodness- it fed the animals for the first month after the fire.
We've scraped together hay from everywhere. Most of it no where as good as what burned up. My milk production held up the first month and then plummeted to almost half of the usual. So I went to once a day milking...scared that I was going to set my cows up for mastitis or something awful. And completely shocked when they took to it like they'd always been milked only once a day. I'm absolutely LOVING the temporary freedom that comes with this schedule. And then hating how little milk I'm getting in my bucket. I need to dry off two of my cows, they've been in a very extended lactation. Peaches has been milking for over 17 months and as soon as we went to once a day she dropped from 3 gallons to barely 1. If her test comes back pregnant she's getting dried off the same day. And honestly, I'll probably dry her off no matter- it's just that a milk sample is so easy to send in. One of my other girls has been milking for 16 months and she's still going strong at about 2 gallons once a day. Still, I'd had plans to learn to make hard cheese all winter once my produce CSA wrapped up.
Which brings me to- I've always wanted to milk a Holstein I don't know why- maybe their size? Or their coloring? Or because I just want to see what it would be like to put all of that milk in a bucket and lug it up to my house?? Maybe because a Holstein would give me enough milk to make cheese to my heart's content all winter long and I could dry all the other cows up and start over next summer.
I just know that I really NEED all those cows to be confirmed pregnant so I can figure out what I'm going to do and move on. A dairy maid without enough milk in her bucket is a sad sight indeed.
First, we went through a spell without a good sized bull on hand to cover my tall Brown Swiss. Our junior Hereford did a good job of covering all the beef cows, but then he runs with them full time- so lots of opportunity.
Then, I'm not sure what happened. It seems like I was always a day late getting the dairy cow to the bull in time. I must have been missing the perfect moment by a few hours. Looking back on my notes from the summer...why didn't I take better notes?
Then September 11th rolled around and we had a barn fire. Lost all of our hay, a couple of dairy goats, a couple of pigs, tools, my goat milking stand, pump, tank...so much lost. It just happened to be the year that I ordered one extra load of hay, and because it didn't fit in the hay barn it was stacked in my driveway. Thank goodness- it fed the animals for the first month after the fire.
We've scraped together hay from everywhere. Most of it no where as good as what burned up. My milk production held up the first month and then plummeted to almost half of the usual. So I went to once a day milking...scared that I was going to set my cows up for mastitis or something awful. And completely shocked when they took to it like they'd always been milked only once a day. I'm absolutely LOVING the temporary freedom that comes with this schedule. And then hating how little milk I'm getting in my bucket. I need to dry off two of my cows, they've been in a very extended lactation. Peaches has been milking for over 17 months and as soon as we went to once a day she dropped from 3 gallons to barely 1. If her test comes back pregnant she's getting dried off the same day. And honestly, I'll probably dry her off no matter- it's just that a milk sample is so easy to send in. One of my other girls has been milking for 16 months and she's still going strong at about 2 gallons once a day. Still, I'd had plans to learn to make hard cheese all winter once my produce CSA wrapped up.
Which brings me to- I've always wanted to milk a Holstein I don't know why- maybe their size? Or their coloring? Or because I just want to see what it would be like to put all of that milk in a bucket and lug it up to my house?? Maybe because a Holstein would give me enough milk to make cheese to my heart's content all winter long and I could dry all the other cows up and start over next summer.
I just know that I really NEED all those cows to be confirmed pregnant so I can figure out what I'm going to do and move on. A dairy maid without enough milk in her bucket is a sad sight indeed.