Post by Deleted on Dec 28, 2015 23:43:39 GMT -5
Hi,
We're a 4H family and have raised every farm animal over the years. We currently raise all our own protein - beef, lamb, pork, chicken, and are trying out rabbit. My youngest daughter got into the 4H dairy heifer project a couple of years ago. We've gotten weaned and day old heifers. I have had such a good time helping my daughter with the babies and watching them grow. I'm in love. They're the sweetest farm animal. So, I bought myself a day old Holstein heifer that I named Willa. She's about 6 months old now. About a month after we got Willa, my husband and I started talking about keeping her instead of selling her as a springer. I didn't want to keep her because of the sheer volume of milk that we'd have to deal with on a daily basis. My husband and I kept talking and finally decided that we were going to have a family cow. I was a little hesitant because of the time commitment but agreed if we could get a smaller heifer. I found a very sweet brown swiss cross that I named Joesee. She's almost a year old.
The more I read about machine milking, the more complicated it seems. We have no equipment. I'd like to start getting it set up now but not sure where to start. We wouldn't be keeping more than 2 cows. Willa is 6 months old and I'm not sure that I'd be able to sell her. She's a lovebug. So questions...I've seen the milker that sits to the side and the ones that hang underneath. Which is easier to use? Is there a set up that makes it easier to keep the milking area clean? What do you do with all that milk everyday? We were planning on adding onto our barn this year just for a milking area but had to deepen our well because of our California drought . We have to wait probably 2 years to do that which means that we'll have to "do" for at least a year.
I'm feeling like we're not as ready as I had planned to be, so maybe we should sell Joesee and hope that we're more ready when Willa's of age?
We're a 4H family and have raised every farm animal over the years. We currently raise all our own protein - beef, lamb, pork, chicken, and are trying out rabbit. My youngest daughter got into the 4H dairy heifer project a couple of years ago. We've gotten weaned and day old heifers. I have had such a good time helping my daughter with the babies and watching them grow. I'm in love. They're the sweetest farm animal. So, I bought myself a day old Holstein heifer that I named Willa. She's about 6 months old now. About a month after we got Willa, my husband and I started talking about keeping her instead of selling her as a springer. I didn't want to keep her because of the sheer volume of milk that we'd have to deal with on a daily basis. My husband and I kept talking and finally decided that we were going to have a family cow. I was a little hesitant because of the time commitment but agreed if we could get a smaller heifer. I found a very sweet brown swiss cross that I named Joesee. She's almost a year old.
The more I read about machine milking, the more complicated it seems. We have no equipment. I'd like to start getting it set up now but not sure where to start. We wouldn't be keeping more than 2 cows. Willa is 6 months old and I'm not sure that I'd be able to sell her. She's a lovebug. So questions...I've seen the milker that sits to the side and the ones that hang underneath. Which is easier to use? Is there a set up that makes it easier to keep the milking area clean? What do you do with all that milk everyday? We were planning on adding onto our barn this year just for a milking area but had to deepen our well because of our California drought . We have to wait probably 2 years to do that which means that we'll have to "do" for at least a year.
I'm feeling like we're not as ready as I had planned to be, so maybe we should sell Joesee and hope that we're more ready when Willa's of age?