Feeding fodder - effects on milk?

[lew92]

So I'm wondering if anyone can give "testimony" about the effect that feeding fodder has had on the milk they get from their cow/s? I know my situation is different from most, in that my cow has no grazing, just free choice hay. She no longer gets any commercial feed, just two feedings a day of about 3 cups of cooked corn, 2 cups of soaked beet pulp, a cup of BOSS, minerals and vitamin supplement, plus enough fodder to fill up her two gallon pail - on top of the above mix.

I've been getting a decent creamline - about a quart per gallon of milk and even better now that I learned how to knead her quarters as the milker is working. The butter I made the other day is nearly white, though it is very good. I think because the fodder has more mass in the roots than the tops. There isn't enough growth in the yard for me to give her anything from that yet.

My experience with cheesemaking this week was fantastic. Here's what I posted on the Cheese Forum:

I am used to getting an average of 1 pound of cheese per gallon of milk when using my cow's fresh, raw milk. Yesterday, I used 5 1/2 gallons of milk to make a Gouda. There was no way I could fit all of the curd into my 6 inch wide, 8 inch tall mold. Normally, I can push them down with my hand and get all of them to fit. There was about a pound of curd left that just would NOT fit in the mold, though.

When I took the wheel out of the mold, I weighed it. 6.02 pounds. And the curds had been contracted and fairly firm when I molded this cheese up, too. I've had "fluffy" curds in the past, but that wasn't the case with this cheese yesterday.

The only difference is that I am feeding my cow no commercial grain blend anymore. She is fed cooked corn, soaked beet pulp, and fodder - grain that is sprouted by soaking in water, then rinsing twice a day until there is a dense root mat and about 4 inches of growth on the top - plus she gets free choice hay. She also just freshened about a week ago.

I'm very impressed with this yield.

[mrssmitho]

hehehe, not sure what I hit there...

anyway...

i give you a HUGE

WHOOP! WHOOP!

I think that is awesome! I can't say I have anything to compare to...but I KNOW it is the fodder ;D

[wacowgirl]

Well, my 7 year old cow just freshened a week ago and she is putting out TONS of milk...more than she has in previous lactations.
She is giving 2-2.5 gallons twice a day (so 4-4.5 per day) AND feeding her calf 24/7 She has peaked at 6 in the past without nursing a calf! I feel like this is going to be an amazing lactation.

I haven't yet made any butter or cheese though. It's is high on my list of things to do as I am being overrun with milk! LOL

[lew92]

WaCow, I've been waiting to hear what you get when you make butter and cheese, knowing that your cow is in early lactation, too, and that you've just gone the fodder route, too.

Funny thing is, my take of milk has dropped to about 2 1/2 gallons a day now. I know I'm getting good letdown and she isn't holding back on me because the creamline is 3 to 3 1/2 inches. When she's holding up, I only get an inch of cream. She started out giving me 4 gallons a day, but I think Miss Etta is taking that much milk already. She's a big girl! Every time I look up there, she's got her head tucked down at the milk bar.

That's fine - I won't get piglets until June and I haven't had any luck finding a second calf to foster onto her. If I were getting any more milk, I'd have to make cheese every day, instead of every other!

[eljay]

Lew92: did you call the guy I get my jersey bull calves from?
Laura

[lew92]

I left a message on Friday, but haven't heard anything back. Not sure if I should try him again - would he feel harrassed?

[wacowgirl]

lew, I'm getting only that inch or so of cream...nothing like the normal cream line. She is definitely holding up and it doesn't seem to be getting better. I'm about to start separating them now to try to get her to let down at least once a day!

[eljay]

Apr 22, 2012 21:25:26 GMT -5 lew92 said:

I left a message on Friday, but haven't heard anything back. Not sure if I should try him again - would he feel harrassed?

He'll call when he has something available. Sometimes he has already promised the next bull calf to someone. The other guy with the Holsteins and jerseys has more cows. I don't know the johnes status of his herd though.

Laura

[lew92]

Yeah, I can wait for the first guy. Especially since Miss Etta is making such a pig of herself!

[wacowgirl]

OK from between 1/2 and 3/4 gallon of cream I got 1 lb 1.8 oz of butter and it is much whiter than normal...still slightly yellow, but not the bright golden yellow it was last year. Strange...might be the fact she just freshened 9 days ago though. Don't really know. It will be very interesting to see what the butter looks like in a few months.

[lew92]

I got two and a half pounds of butter from a gallon of cream the other day. That's cultured cream, though, and normal yield compared to last year. The white is really weird, isn't it?

I made a cheddar on Sunday with 5 1/2 gallons of milk and the cheese weighed 6.08 pounds out of the press. According to this table on the CheeseForum (http://cheeseforum.org/articles/wiki-milk-cheese-yield/) "normal" yield for 6 gallons of milk is about 5 lbs of Gouda or Cheddar.

That's some fantastic milk!

[jerseycowgirl]

WOW lew92 that is great!! Those yields are amazing.
Asia just freshened, and has been getting about 15 lbs of fodder a day split between two feedings. I've also been giving her some sweet feed to keep her condition up, but she prefers the fodder to the grain. I'm getting around 4-5 gallons a day, with the calf on her. This morning was the first milk I saved for the house, I'm anxious to see my cream line.

Gotta love that fodder!!
Pam

[mindierose]

I've only done 4-5 days of fodder, and 3 days in a row and gotten almost a half gallon less a day of milk. I am giving her a tray of fodder daily, plus a quart of oats that have soaked for 48 hours, plus about 2-3 lbs of grain, plus her hay. Not sure what's going on. First day I figured she was in heat. She never shows signs of heat, but I think it was around this time last month that she dropped for about a day and a half. I added soaked beat pulp pellets today again, figuring at least that's a cheap addition. I would like to double her fodder amount, and with BC calving soon, I am going to need 3xs the amount of fodder I am growing now.
I also have nowhere to graze right now. Hopefully this weekend I can get the pasture fenced so they can have what little bit is growing there. It's not a nice, lush pasture by any means, as we are nearly on Lake MI (can see it from the back of the property), so it's all sand here.

[wacowgirl]

lew that is IMPRESSIVE! I culture my cream too. MUCH better tasting butter that way. Might have even picked up that little tid bit from you!

I'm looking forward to seeing how my cheeses turn out! I think my yogurt culture is dead :-( I have made 2 batches and they are both still about as thin as milk. So, I'll have to order new before I can make some of the yogurty things I like.

[mindierose]

I should add that I'm not complaining...as I know fodder is healthier. At this point I'm just happy that Val's milk actually lightens my coffee now when I add it to it. Seriously, it barely made a difference in color in the coffee, even when adding 1/4 cup to a cup of coffee! It was THAT bad/skim when we got her. Her cream line is 1 1/2-2" depending on day/night milking, which I don't consider great, but it's much better than it was.
Oh and I also add Vit e, minerals, flax oil, and powdered kelp to her feed. I know I can only expect so much from her this lactation with her being in such terrible shape when we got her.

[lew92]

Mindie, I feed some BOSS to help richen the milk and I think it works. BC gets about a cup of it twice a day.