E-1-2 Planning for a cow in my future - questions

[anniet]

My husband and I will soon be moving to a lovely 20 acre property in the foothills of the Coast Range in Oregon's Willamette Valley. We have a small amount of pasture and most of the property is forested (primarily with Oregon White Oak).

Our plan is to get some chickens and goats right away, and have the goats begin working on clearing some of the underbrush (especially the poison oak!) out of the forest. In the Spring we'd like to add a dairy cow (who we expect will provide us with a source of beef as well as milk for making cheese, yogurt, butter, etc.), some pigs to work along with the goats in clearing out the forest underbrush, and beehives.

So I have lots of questions. Here are a few: What breed? I have read that Dexters are a good dual purpose breed, and I like the idea of a more compact size cow, but the old version of the Keeping A Family Cow book I have borrowed from the library (I just ordered the new one), mentions that Dexters are prone to abort their calves. Is this information still accurate? That edition of the book was published in 1981, so I'm wondering if this problem may have been bred out within the last 30 years. Anyone have any information about this? Any other advice/suggestions about dual purpose breeds?

I also am thinking that it might be easiest for us to start out with a bred cow. Having never observed the birth of anyone besides a human and a cat, I think I might be more comfortable dealing with a cow who has had some experience with calving already. On the other hand, it seems that there may be a lot to be said for forming a bond with a cow we raise from the time she's a calf. Advice?

[jerseylovinliz]

I'd vote a cow that's had a calf before... That way she'll know what to do when it comes to milking & you guys won't have to wait 2 years before you get any milk. A cow that's calved before & is already tame will be much easier for you guys to 'learn on'. OR get a pair. A cow that has recently calved & comes w/her baby. That way you don't have to worry about the actual birth. I have NO experience w/Dexter's so I'm not going to offer advice there.

My personal favs are Jerseys (hence the name lol) but everybody has their favorites. I like Brown Swiss as well there just aren't any in my area. Jersey's have been sweet & mild tempered. The milk is awesome, the cream is even better! If it's possible taste milk from a variety of cows in your area & see what you like.

Congrats on the new place! Lots of exciting changes ahead for y'all! Best of luck... -Liz

[rainyclayday]

My suggestion is to do a good amount of research on each dairy breed, read the pros and cons of each, read what people have to say about the milk from each breed. This will allow you to make a more informed choice.

Good luck, cow shopping is a lot of fun.

[Janene]

Lots and lots of information in the Tree of Knowledge.
"New Cow-Now What" is a great section to start.
familycow.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=home
Janene

[jamie]

Hi anniet,

I am new here too so I don't have much advice for you, but I thought I would share my situation on the cow or calf question. I posted a similar question here a few months ago and got lots of good advice. After considering the options my hubby and I decided to look for a cow that had calved already because of my lack of experience. BUT then I saw this little 3 month old heifer and that was it! We aren't in a huge hurry for milk so it's not a problem for us to have to wait two years. In the meantime I am love, love, loving raising my calf!! Now, I may be sorry when it comes time to milk her, but for now it is working well for me
It is so much fun watching her grow, and I get a lot of joy from working with her every day. I am learning so much about caring for her now while she is still little so hopefully I will be prepared when she is ready to have a calf.

Have fun making your decision!
Jamie

[anniet]

Thanks to all of you! I will check out the link and do some taste tests. We have some time to figure out what we're doing. Jamie, I'd love to hear how things work out with you and your little heifer when it comes time for her to calf. Keep us posted. I think this is going to be fun!

[gardenofglory]

Sounds like your farming goal will be a great thing for the land that you just bought. I'm doing pastured poultry, pigs, bees, cows and hens this year, and I can tell you that the best thing you can do for yourself is TAKE THINGS ONE AT A TIME. The problem comes when you see how all those animals perfectly complement each other, and you want to be able to 'grow' them all at once!

Jerseys don't push fences, which is what you want for your MI grazing system. However, breeding a purebred Jersey to a beef breed is a must if you want a calf for beef - in my limited experience, raising purebred Jerseys does not give enough meat to be worth the feed and butchering cost, unless you have enough grass and time to manage the grazing well.

Goats are great! However, they will need good fencing If I were to start over again, I'd try a milk goat to see if I would dairying enough to expand to a milk cow. Maybe raise a steer on your pasture for a year to see how you like the bovine race?

We started with two milk cows that had calved previously, so we had milk right away, but the learning curve is huge, so I can see the wisdom to start with a young cow and halter train her early on.

All the best!