Post by wildprairiefarms on Mar 27, 2008 21:15:42 GMT -5
Hi all. I need some help.
As the ongoing saga continues in our search for a dairy cow, we found a local woman who has a 3 year old jersey that just freshened 2 weeks ago. I was thinking about buying her 2 year old bred heifer, but now she is considering selling the mom. The mom has had 2 healthy births and she knows how to milk. She just ties her up to a pole and milks her, no problems.
She has proceeded to let my children and I come learn everything we can about cows and that includes milking them.
Yesterday I brought home some of the milk. She gave me the current days milk and one from the evening before.
She hand milks. It was 25 degrees outside. We brought it right into the house. She poured it thru the strainer, poured it into the glass jar and handed it to me. She also gave me one from the fridge from yesterday with the cream seperated out on top. I took them home.
Here's the "problem". When we got home, I put the fresh one in the fridge and took the one from yesterday. I skimmed off all the cream ( I like non fat milk and make my own butter). The milk and the cream is not white or yellow colored but an off white / tan color. When I poured it out of the glass jar into a pitcher there was a brown "sediment" on the bottom. I thought it was grit or dirt but it wasn't. It almost looked like someone had poured light chocolate syrup into it and it hadn't been stirred in. It kind of swirled. I thought, well, maybe she forgot to strain it (?) So this morning I did the same with the new one, that I helped milk out and saw her strain it. The same thing. Plus, the milk also has a sort of smell to it. It smells like the cow.
Milk I have purchased from another ex-dairyman here in town was white colored with yellow colored cream. Once it had a smell to it, kind of fishy and he apologized and said she had eaten some grass, and for some reason she has to eat only hay or her milk gets fishy. He put her back on hay and it was wonderful and sweet.
This lady's milk was not wonderful and sweet. The smell is slight but not appetizing, and the brown swirl is a question/concern.
What does she feed her? She give her hay (alfalfa/grass I think) and when she milks her she gives her cracked corn with a sprinkle of minerals over it and some... (?) baking soda (?) She said an old timer told her that was a trick to help get "that smell out".
A friend of mine said the brown swirl could be the minerals she adds. And to get sweet milk, I would need to give her corn with oats and molasses. Does everyone agree?
There is no sign of mastitis. ALthought she hasn't been tested. (The lady thinks the milk is wonderful.) The calf currently shares the milk. She leaves the calf with mom all the time. She gives her a thorough cleaning first, then she milks in the morning and the early evening. I hope I have given you enough info.
So the question is, what is the brown swirl in the milk and how do you get that smell out and have sweet milk?
Thanks for your input!
As the ongoing saga continues in our search for a dairy cow, we found a local woman who has a 3 year old jersey that just freshened 2 weeks ago. I was thinking about buying her 2 year old bred heifer, but now she is considering selling the mom. The mom has had 2 healthy births and she knows how to milk. She just ties her up to a pole and milks her, no problems.
She has proceeded to let my children and I come learn everything we can about cows and that includes milking them.
Yesterday I brought home some of the milk. She gave me the current days milk and one from the evening before.
She hand milks. It was 25 degrees outside. We brought it right into the house. She poured it thru the strainer, poured it into the glass jar and handed it to me. She also gave me one from the fridge from yesterday with the cream seperated out on top. I took them home.
Here's the "problem". When we got home, I put the fresh one in the fridge and took the one from yesterday. I skimmed off all the cream ( I like non fat milk and make my own butter). The milk and the cream is not white or yellow colored but an off white / tan color. When I poured it out of the glass jar into a pitcher there was a brown "sediment" on the bottom. I thought it was grit or dirt but it wasn't. It almost looked like someone had poured light chocolate syrup into it and it hadn't been stirred in. It kind of swirled. I thought, well, maybe she forgot to strain it (?) So this morning I did the same with the new one, that I helped milk out and saw her strain it. The same thing. Plus, the milk also has a sort of smell to it. It smells like the cow.
Milk I have purchased from another ex-dairyman here in town was white colored with yellow colored cream. Once it had a smell to it, kind of fishy and he apologized and said she had eaten some grass, and for some reason she has to eat only hay or her milk gets fishy. He put her back on hay and it was wonderful and sweet.
This lady's milk was not wonderful and sweet. The smell is slight but not appetizing, and the brown swirl is a question/concern.
What does she feed her? She give her hay (alfalfa/grass I think) and when she milks her she gives her cracked corn with a sprinkle of minerals over it and some... (?) baking soda (?) She said an old timer told her that was a trick to help get "that smell out".
A friend of mine said the brown swirl could be the minerals she adds. And to get sweet milk, I would need to give her corn with oats and molasses. Does everyone agree?
There is no sign of mastitis. ALthought she hasn't been tested. (The lady thinks the milk is wonderful.) The calf currently shares the milk. She leaves the calf with mom all the time. She gives her a thorough cleaning first, then she milks in the morning and the early evening. I hope I have given you enough info.
So the question is, what is the brown swirl in the milk and how do you get that smell out and have sweet milk?
Thanks for your input!