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Autotech
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Loc: Hilltown Township, Bucks County, PA
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Dairy Cow Lifecycle...?
09/11/04 05:09 PM
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We are thinking of cows - once we have a barn and pasture we would love to have some both for their general appeal and perhaps some milk.
Our question is this - what is the lifecycle of your typical dairy cow like? Do they become less productive as they age? If so do most commercial dairy farmers cull the low producers? What happens to these culled animals?
We live in eastern PA where dairy is still a signifigant farm product. It occurred to us that a few older, low producing cows could be had cheap/free, and would provide just the thing we are seeking. Besides, my wife is all about "rescue" animals...
(I live on the only farm where ALL the animals are pets)
Are we way off base?
Gregg
Remember - If I sound like I know nothing about farming it's because I really don't!
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Re: Dairy Cow Lifecycle...?
[re: Autotech]
09/11/04 07:24 PM
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First let me qualify by saying my wife is also a "rescuer" who came from the inner city. Some of my mistakes were to buy "culls" or older, cheaper animals. Not only did I lose my shirt, but broke her heart many times.
In real life, low production dairy cows are sold for slaughter, and with beef prices today, that is not cheap.
I would look for private individuals who have a cow for sale, and I would go for a Jersey.
My wife actually raised some heifers on the bottle and that worked out the best for us.
I'm sure someone more knowledgeable than me will chime in, but look at it this way, young heifers need to be rescued from a life of confinement on concrete.
Dave
ps I know there are dairymen out there different than what i percieve and to them I apologize
Dave
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ThistleKop
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Re: Dairy Cow Lifecycle...?
[re: daveshanks]
09/11/04 07:42 PM
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I'm not a dairyman but I agree with Dave. You cannot beat a jersey for a family milkcow. Buy a young cow or raise from a calf as Dave suggested and you will have for years a cow/cows that are gentle, very rich in butter fat if you want to try your hand at butter or cheese. Also jersey male calves, when made steers, make excellent beef if you have an inclination to grow your own beef  . Dairy cows discarded by commercial diaries are used-up when they are culled.
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Bird
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Re: Dairy Cow Lifecycle...?
[re: Autotech]
09/11/04 07:43 PM
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Gregg, IF I were going to have a milk cow again (not if I can help it), I agree with Dave; get a young Jersey. When I was a kid, we had Jersey milk cows, my grandfather had Guernsey, and Dad's best friend worked Guernsey dairies all his life. But now I think the Holsteins are more popular on the dairies because they generally produce a larger volume of milk.
It's been many many years now, but in my old outdated experience the Jerseys were both physically smaller and gentler and easier to handle; ours were really like pets.
But before you get a milk cow, I assume you know that someone has to be there to milk that cow twice a day; no such thing as going on vacation or missing a milking because you're sick unless you have someone else to do it.
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egon
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Re: Dairy Cow Lifecycle...?
[re: Bird]
09/12/04 05:19 AM
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Bird:
IF I were going to have a milk cow again (not if I can help it)
The joys of milking a cow have evaded you Bird. Remember the cats all lined up waiting for a shot, sitting down on stool before realizing the rooster had also stood there, Getting that wet slap on face, the sudden side kick from the cows leg or when the cow humped up and you had to make a quick retreat with the milk bucket.
For those wishing a milk cow remember also that a new calf must be produced each year.
Egon
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Bird
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Re: Dairy Cow Lifecycle...?
[re: egon]
09/12/04 06:21 AM
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Yep, Egon, I remember all those, and the cockle burrs in the cow's tail when she hits you with it, the times she steps on your foot (especially bad when she wants to just stand there and not move), the cold, rainy days when you had to get out to do the milking, the miserably hot days when you had to try to keep the sweat from dripping off your brow into the milk bucket, the flies swarming around you while you're milking, and all those fun times.
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Autotech
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Posts: 121
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Loc: Hilltown Township, Bucks County, PA
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Re: Dairy Cow Lifecycle...?
[re: Bird]
09/12/04 01:08 PM
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Thanks for all the input - as usual this board has been a valuable resource.
Although I have to say you guys sure can take the romance out of hard work.....(lol)
Egon, you stated a new calf must be produced each year. This touches on another question I had. My understanding is that females in almost all species don't lactate without some form of stimulation (like birthing). Are production cows impregnated every so often to stimulate milk production? Is this why you say we would need to have a calf every year? If a dairy cow isn't impregnated, does it create a dangerous health issue for the cow?
Perhaps I'd be better off simply asking for a reccomendation on a few good books on the topic!!
Thanks
Gregg
Remember - If I sound like I know nothing about farming it's because I really don't!
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beenthere
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Re: Dairy Cow Lifecycle...?
[re: Autotech]
09/12/04 01:34 PM
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I recall my father getting a Jersey cow for my brother and I to milk. It was, as Bird and Egon have so well stated, a great experience, including all the 'extras'. But my milking time was every night, 7 days a week. And the cow had to be bred which became a problem with a lone cow. Seems they need some communication with others to get in the mood. Anyway, when that first Jersey wouldn't take, and finally went dry, we sold her and bought another. Produced more milk than a family of 6 could drink, more cream than we could process into butter, so we started selling milk to neighbors. Nowadays, that wouldn't work, as probably by law, the milk would have to be pasturized (maybe homogenized and the fat content lowered a lot!).
But, the flies, the tail, the kick, the cats, the barn cleaning, were all part of having a friendly cow (Haley was her name, and then Haley II) and lots of milk. I remember going to the barn on a cold, snowy night and how warm and toasty Haley kept it, along with a pig or two. The barn smells were great, and the hand muscles were fine-tuned.
Good memories.
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egon
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Re: Dairy Cow Lifecycle...?
[re: Autotech]
09/12/04 01:44 PM
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No health issue but the milk stops.
There is a great Taste difference in fresh whole milk compared to the purchased product.
Egon
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Bird
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Re: Dairy Cow Lifecycle...?
[re: Autotech]
09/12/04 04:26 PM
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Gregg, I'm going strictly from memory (and old memory at that), so anyone is free to correct me if I make any mistakes, but . . .
First, I'd recommend talking to your county extension agent.
Then, yes, you won't have a cow produce milk until she's bred and has a calf. You get her bred the first time when she's about a year and a half old, she'll have a calf in about 9 months, then she'll start producing milk. Two to three months after she has that calf, you get her bred again. She'll produce milk for about 10 months; give or take 10 or 15 days, be "dry" for 2 months; plus or minus 10 to 15 days, then have another calf and the cycle continues from there.
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ThistleKop
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Re: Dairy Cow Lifecycle...?
[re: Bird]
09/12/04 07:36 PM
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Bird, your memory is inline with my experiences with milkcows. As a youngster we milked 3 or 4 cows to furnish milk for the family and sold the rest to a local cheese factory. Now I have a small cow/calf operation and it seems there's always one of my cows that will allow me to milk her in the pasture. I only do it as a novelty not for the milk. BTW, Using both hands I could really play a tune on the bottom of the empty pail. To this day folks tell me I have a firm handshake, wonder why?
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