Post by rainyclayday on Apr 18, 2010 14:49:46 GMT -5
Hi everyone,
A while back there was quite a bit of talk about Brown Swiss with some people buying some and others searching for one (or more). I chimed in that I thought they were great but hadn't owned mine for very long, only for a few months, and she was due with her first calf (whenever -- I wasn't sure exactly when). So I was not able to speak of calving ease (or not), how the milk was, how she might act after calving, how much milk, how much grain needed to be fed to maintain weight, or anything like that. All I could tell everyone is she had a wonderful personality and was calm and easygoing.
So I thought I would check back in to let everyone know how our Ellie is doing now. She had her calf (a bull calf) on April 2nd. Ease of calving? Let's see, I walked out to check on her at 11 or 11:30 p.m. and she was resting peacefully in her usual spot. No sign of labor. No sign of anything. I checked back at 2:30 a.m. for a last check before bed and found a calf next to her! He was HUGE. But evidently no problems. I was shocked to say the least. I mean I was watching her like a hawk and did not see any signs of calving. The only thing that I know of to go by was her pins hollowed out drastically that day, which I noticed, but there were no other signs.
She has been a GREAT mom. Too great actually, she doesn't stray too far from baby. Her personality has not changed in the least, not one bit. We started milking her with the machine the next day and never a problem. We have continued to feed her 5 to 7 pounds of grain a day and she has maintained her weight without any issues. She also has free choice hay and grass too, and also alfalfa pellets. Now, I know that I could get more milk out of her by increasing grain but I am not of the mind to feed a lot of grain if not absolutely necessary to maintain condition.
At first I wasn't getting much milk but we started separating for 6 hours a day, and now 8 to 10 hours a day, and we are getting 1-1/2 to 2 gallons usually. Mom is holding up for baby but we are getting a nice amount so I am fine with that. Baby Leo is growing fine so he is getting plenty.
Now as to the milk, it is excellent. Not tons of cream yet but I will wait for that until we wean. The milk and cream (what little there is) is sweet and has a wonderful flavor.
The only thing negative I have to say is the placenta was retained for 10 days. We were really concerned about that, having it hanging there for that long, but we consulted 3 vets and numerous "cow people" and everyone said leave it alone. So we did and it finally fell out. That has happened to us once before with another cow but I think it was only a week that time.
So that's it, those are my thoughts for anyone considering a Brown Swiss. I have had several people PM me asking about them so I wanted to post this for anyone who was on the fence about what breed to buy. I know that this board is very pro Jersey, but I would certainly recommend a Swiss if you had the chance to buy one! I would get another one without a second thought.
A while back there was quite a bit of talk about Brown Swiss with some people buying some and others searching for one (or more). I chimed in that I thought they were great but hadn't owned mine for very long, only for a few months, and she was due with her first calf (whenever -- I wasn't sure exactly when). So I was not able to speak of calving ease (or not), how the milk was, how she might act after calving, how much milk, how much grain needed to be fed to maintain weight, or anything like that. All I could tell everyone is she had a wonderful personality and was calm and easygoing.
So I thought I would check back in to let everyone know how our Ellie is doing now. She had her calf (a bull calf) on April 2nd. Ease of calving? Let's see, I walked out to check on her at 11 or 11:30 p.m. and she was resting peacefully in her usual spot. No sign of labor. No sign of anything. I checked back at 2:30 a.m. for a last check before bed and found a calf next to her! He was HUGE. But evidently no problems. I was shocked to say the least. I mean I was watching her like a hawk and did not see any signs of calving. The only thing that I know of to go by was her pins hollowed out drastically that day, which I noticed, but there were no other signs.
She has been a GREAT mom. Too great actually, she doesn't stray too far from baby. Her personality has not changed in the least, not one bit. We started milking her with the machine the next day and never a problem. We have continued to feed her 5 to 7 pounds of grain a day and she has maintained her weight without any issues. She also has free choice hay and grass too, and also alfalfa pellets. Now, I know that I could get more milk out of her by increasing grain but I am not of the mind to feed a lot of grain if not absolutely necessary to maintain condition.
At first I wasn't getting much milk but we started separating for 6 hours a day, and now 8 to 10 hours a day, and we are getting 1-1/2 to 2 gallons usually. Mom is holding up for baby but we are getting a nice amount so I am fine with that. Baby Leo is growing fine so he is getting plenty.
Now as to the milk, it is excellent. Not tons of cream yet but I will wait for that until we wean. The milk and cream (what little there is) is sweet and has a wonderful flavor.
The only thing negative I have to say is the placenta was retained for 10 days. We were really concerned about that, having it hanging there for that long, but we consulted 3 vets and numerous "cow people" and everyone said leave it alone. So we did and it finally fell out. That has happened to us once before with another cow but I think it was only a week that time.
So that's it, those are my thoughts for anyone considering a Brown Swiss. I have had several people PM me asking about them so I wanted to post this for anyone who was on the fence about what breed to buy. I know that this board is very pro Jersey, but I would certainly recommend a Swiss if you had the chance to buy one! I would get another one without a second thought.