Ambidextrous Jersey - LOL

[vclavin]

Bambi, the Jersey Heifer, finally had her heifer calf - only 15 days after AI due date..... thought that calf would never get here. 40lbs birthweight, good thing she waited to grow a little before birth hehe.
Anyway, hubby get on her right side and I get on her left side and we milk her simultaneously! Bambi doesn't care a bit. We did however get blood in the milk on my side but it has almost totally cleared up after several days. We have left her calf - Cocoa - with her. Hubby says he has never seen teats so tiny, you have to milk her by stripping as they are not long enough to get a hold of... hopefully calf sucking will help with the length. Anyway, I'm getting almost 1 1/2 gallons morning and night ,not sure what calf is getting - she sucks first of course. Cocoa was born friday night about 8:12PM. We waited till the next morning to milk out Bambi so she'd have a chance to get acquainted with her baby. Her bag is still tight but dairy man said it would soften up in a couple days.
Blessings
Valerie

 

[bigbull338]

the calf sucking her wont lengthen her teats.she has short teats.blood in her milk means a blood vein burst in her bagg.an that means she will be a heavy milker.

 

[vclavin]

the calf sucking her wont lengthen her teats.she has short teats.blood in her milk means a blood vein burst in her bagg.an that means she will be a heavy milker.

Darn, I gotta find someone with really small hands lol! I had heard that about the blood and heavy milker. Got blood out of all 4 quarters but calf is clearing up her favorite side the fastest. Thanks
Blessings
Valerie
By the way, the cream is yellow? Is that just rich cream?

 

[bigbull338]

how long has she been fresh.the yellow color sounds like clostrume to me.an that shouldve cleared up after 3 or 4 days.her milk should be pure white.

 

[vclavin]

how long has she been fresh.the yellow color sounds like clostrume to me.an that shouldve cleared up after 3 or 4 days.her milk should be pure white.

Milk is from this morning (Tuesday) and she had calf Friday night at 8:12PM. Milk is pure white but cream is yellow. So... I should wait till cream is white like milk? Thanks
Blessings
Valerie

 

[suzorse]

Jersey cream is yellower , if it is dark yellow then there is still some colostrum in it
Suzanne

 

[vclavin]

Jersey cream is yellower , if it is dark yellow then there is still some colostrum in it
Suzanne

Its a mellower yellow than the first colostrum we saved. I also noticed a small layer of brown so I'm guessing there's still blood in the milk. Cat's are going to love this!
Blessings
Valerie

 

[regolith]

'tis a gradual change from colostrum to milk. Jersey and grassfed both make for slightly yellower cream, as I understand.
When you tip the bucket out if it's white plastic you'll see the blood that's sunk to the bottom - cat and calf food till it disappears I reckon. I've had lots of them lately, had to keep a few out of the bulk tank well past the required four days till the blood cleared up.

Sad about the short teats but bb is right. They'll get a bit bigger with each calf, but if they're tiny now they'll never be normal.

 

[vclavin]

'tis a gradual change from colostrum to milk. Jersey and grassfed both make for slightly yellower cream, as I understand.
When you tip the bucket out if it's white plastic you'll see the blood that's sunk to the bottom - cat and calf food till it disappears I reckon. I've had lots of them lately, had to keep a few out of the bulk tank well past the required four days till the blood cleared up.

Sad about the short teats but bb is right. They'll get a bit bigger with each calf, but if they're tiny now they'll never be normal.

I guess short teats is tolerable since she is so gentle. She is pretty patient as a heifer to wait for almost 2 hours of milking twice a day.... I wish I had a video of last night lol... Neighbor on her right side, I'm on her left side and the calf Cocoa is on the back side. That made it fun - Cocoa thinks we are family hehe
Found one quarter this morning I think is blood free, kept it separate to let the layers separate out. Will know soon.
Blessings
Valerie
PS. Is the amount of cream strickly a genetic thing or can they be fed to increase cream production or for that matter can feed drop cream production?

 

[dun]

From the title I thought she could kick with equal accuracy from either side

 

[vclavin]

From the title I thought she could kick with equal accuracy from either side

hehe that would not be unlike a cow Dun...lol... she doesn't mind 2 women and one calf all milking her at once - now that's unusual l0l!!
Blessings'
Valerie

 

[vclavin]

https://www.facebook.com/valerie.clavin/photos_all
I didn't think to put the pics in an album, so all my pics will appear... anyway the top 7 pics are of Jersey, her calf and the jar of milk with yellow cream (colostrum) and blood layer between it and milk. Ring of blood is still there but not as much, cream is not as yellow either. We are up to 1 gallon + 2 quarts + 1 pint + calf drinking twice a day.
Blessings
Valerie

 

[skeeter swatter]

From the title I thought she could kick with equal accuracy from either side

:lol: That was the first thing that I thought too!

 

[chippie]

Congratulations on a healthy calf!
I looked at your photos and boy does she have tiny teats. I don't envy you all having to hand milk her.
Being milked from both sides is not that unusual. Our kids have milked like that when they were in a hurry to get chores done (before we got a machine) and we have a friend who milks that way with her husband when they have more than one cow to milk. The milking goes twice as fast, especially if you are a fast milker.
Me, I am slow. My husband can hand milk one out in 10 minutes.

We strain our milk and put it in gallon jugs (or jars) and put it immediately in the refrigerator. I know that if when we put extra out for the critters, the cream turns yellow when exposed to the air. When it is refrigerated, you can see the cream line and it is more opaque than the milk.

 

[vclavin]

Congratulations on a healthy calf!
I looked at your photos and boy does she have tiny teats. I don't envy you all having to hand milk her.
Being milked from both sides is not that unusual. Our kids have milked like that when they were in a hurry to get chores done (before we got a machine) and we have a friend who milks that way with her husband when they have more than one cow to milk. The milking goes twice as fast, especially if you are a fast milker.
Me, I am slow. My husband can hand milk one out in 10 minutes.

We strain our milk and put it in gallon jugs (or jars) and put it immediately in the refrigerator. I know that if when we put extra out for the critters, the cream turns yellow when exposed to the air. When it is refrigerated, you can see the cream line and it is more opaque than the milk.

We have graduated from taking 2 of us 1.5 hours to milk her down to 36 minutes for 2 of us to milk her.... She sure is patient with us, God made her for a family cow. Milkers are so expensive! Haven't been able to find a reasonable priced one close. May have to see if they can rebuild the surge hubby used as a kid, we think it is still at his moms farm. For now, it's had exercise!!!
Blessings
Valerie

 

[TexasBred]

We have graduated from taking 2 of us 1.5 hours to milk her down to 36 minutes for 2 of us to milk her.... She sure is patient with us, God made her for a family cow. Milkers are so expensive! Haven't been able to find a reasonable priced one close. May have to see if they can rebuild the surge hubby used as a kid, we think it is still at his moms farm. For now, it's had exercise!!!
Blessings
Valerie

Sounds like you two are just getting better at it. ;-) Sweet little cow. Should raise you many calves and give you some fine dairy products for the table.

 

[vclavin]

We have graduated from taking 2 of us 1.5 hours to milk her down to 36 minutes for 2 of us to milk her.... She sure is patient with us, God made her for a family cow. Milkers are so expensive! Haven't been able to find a reasonable priced one close. May have to see if they can rebuild the surge hubby used as a kid, we think it is still at his moms farm. For now, it's had exercise!!!
Blessings
Valerie

Sounds like you two are just getting better at it. ;-) Sweet little cow. Should raise you many calves and give you some fine dairy products for the table.

Thanks TB... we are having fun making butter and soon , maybe, I 'll learn to make cheese. :lol2:
Blessings
Valerie