Can this work?

[hillbillyhammer]

TB she has not been checked just guessing, but I believe that she is starting to make a bag. I will try to get a pic like you asked.
Butch I don't know a due date just a late summer/early fall guess. She has been with reg. char bulls. Very few calves get pulled from these bulls each year. I hope she can have it on her own. Never been around a milk cow and it just looks like there is not much room back there.

Do either of ya'll have a guess to what cross she is?

Nice looking heifer and beginning to build up a little fluid in her udder. I think she'll make you proud.

Thanks TB, I hope your right. Can I count on your support if I need some help pulling that calf. Butch is kinda far away and it might take him too long to get here. :lol2:

 

[TexasBred]

TB she has not been checked just guessing, but I believe that she is starting to make a bag. I will try to get a pic like you asked.
Butch I don't know a due date just a late summer/early fall guess. She has been with reg. char bulls. Very few calves get pulled from these bulls each year. I hope she can have it on her own. Never been around a milk cow and it just looks like there is not much room back there.

Do either of ya'll have a guess to what cross she is?

Nice looking heifer and beginning to build up a little fluid in her udder. I think she'll make you proud.

Thanks TB, I hope your right. Can I count on your support if I need some help pulling that calf. Butch is kinda far away and it might take him too long to get here. :lol2:

:lol2: :lol2: Yeah for sure. Don't think you'll have any problems. Jerseys are pretty good about getting a calf out.

 

[farmerjan]

To me she looks pretty much all jersey, if the dams were jersey crosses she might just be showing all the jersey. Have some jersey angus x cows that will throw a jersey looking calf bred by a jersey and have some jer/holsteins that will throw black & white for 3 generations bred jersey. Have one that had a blk&wht calf one year, bred jersey, then the next year had a jersey calf out of the same jersey bull. I would say mostly all jersey. Yeah, probably sept or so. Watch her close because even though the dam does control the size of the calf to some extent, a Charolais bull is pretty stout to use on a jersey for a first calf. Not trying to scare you, but you will want to keep a very close watch when she gets close. She looks pretty nice though, are the kids excited? GOOD LUCK keep us posted.

 

[hillbillyhammer]

Jan, I am a little worried about the char for her first calf, I sure hope it goes well. She will be bred back to my balancer bull next round, he throws little calves. The kids talk about milking her like it will be all fun and not work, bet it wont take too many times before that changes.

 

[farmerjan]

YEAH, IT IS ALL FUN....... but just getting a new heifer to understand and accept being milked can be an interesting thing. Some are fine, some are a real b#@$$#. The thing is that it is fun to some extent until it is raining or they have somewhere they want to go and the cow has to be milked. I really would suggest trying to get an extra calf or 2 on her so that if you can't get to the milking she will not get into problems with her udder and mastitis, etc. But you might find that one of the kids really likes the milking, and it is a good lesson in learning responsibility and all that like you said.

 

[hillbillyhammer]

it wouldn't surprise me that at least one of them if not both will enjoy milking. There will be times that we just aren't around to do it so I am going to try to get an extra calf on her if possible, getting her to accept it will be another thing I have no experience with. I just came in from feeding her some grain. She is comfortable with me standing right next to her while she eats it, but backs away when I put my hand on her. I put my hand back down to my side then she steps back to the feed again, so still got some work to do.

 

[farmerjan]

Either get a halter on her and "tie her"to a post or something, or get her used to putting her head into a head catch of some sort, like a stanchion, so that she can't move away from you when you touch her. And don't get her all upset, but just to get her to realize that you touching her isn't the end of the world for a few days/week. Then she will eventually not even flinch when you touch her. The big thing is to make it so she can't move any distance away from you and to touch her then to just take your hand off of her a few times until she isn't so skittish about it. Some get used to it quick, and I have one that still isn't too keen on it after her 2nd calf, but she will tolerate it enough to let me milk her. She has become a nurse cow and I can get 2 more calves on her plus hers, and does a fine job. She just isn't one for touching. Have another that would probably let you lay on her back, she is so tame. Sometimes a brushing will be more accepted at first as touching sometimes seems to be too soft for them and a brushing is firmer and they don't want to " swat it " away..

Get a 2nd calf as soon as possible after calving so they are like twins to her. If you are graining her for the milking process, I don't think you will have to worry about her not having enough milk for both calves plus the house. You will get a routine going with her and find out what works for you. I would separate her calf from her like overnight, then put the 2 calves on her so that she can smell her calf and not pay as much attention to the newer one. Keep her in the head catch or stanchion, so that she can't turn around and butt the new on and after a couple of days, the calf will smell "right" to her once the milk gets into it's system. Cows associate by smell, ever notice that they will smell the rear ends to check them out? The cow is able to determine "her calf" by the smell of the manure from the cows own milk going through its system. That is why I push getting a cows milk into the calf for at least one or two feedings before letting the calf actually suck the cow if it is possible. But again every cow is a little different. A little urine from the cow and a little manure put on the calf makes the cow smell it and it smells more like "hers" . If you are real lucky and get the afterbirth and rub it all over a new (extra) calf, will help too. But the milk going in will make the manure coming out the other end smell right to the cow.

Lost an old cow about a week ago, not sure why but the heat probably didn't help. The calf was about a month old and had 2 younger cows freshen about the time the cow died. That month old calf has taken to one of the cows, and she is allowing it to nurse right along with her calf so we will let her raise them both as "twins". It is her 2nd calf and should have enough milk to do an adequate job. Was glad that the calf was hungry enough to try to steal, and a bit surprised that this particular cow would allow it, but she stands like an old milk cow and they both go right on her. Her half sister that calved at the same time, seems to be tolerating the calf as I did catch it on her once with her calf also. So between the 2 they should be able to raise the 3 calves. Usually we aren't that lucky.

 

[Flbeef]

 

[TexasBred]

it wouldn't surprise me that at least one of them if not both will enjoy milking. There will be times that we just aren't around to do it so I am going to try to get an extra calf on her if possible, getting her to accept it will be another thing I have no experience with. I just came in from feeding her some grain. She is comfortable with me standing right next to her while she eats it, but backs away when I put my hand on her. I put my hand back down to my side then she steps back to the feed again, so still got some work to do.

Just checking in to see how the heifer is doing?

 

[hillbillyhammer]

She is calming down well. I can touch her anytime now, when she is eating I can put my hand on her udder. She raises her leg immediately but then puts it down and I can rub around on her for a while before she raises it again. I don't see a lot of change in her bag though, to me it looks the same as when I took those pics you asked for. Back two quarters feel like there is fluid in them, front two don't.

 

[farmerjan]

Status update on the heifer?

 

[hillbillyhammer]

Status update on the heifer?

She is doing good, getting calmer everyday. I will try to get a pic of her bag in the next few days. I think she still has a long way to go.

 

[hillbillyhammer]

This is about a week old. Bag isn't changing. She may be a better hamburger producer than a milk producer.

 

[Son of Butch]

Looks like that one is doing fine. Black nose, white hoof, what is she? Jersey x Guernsey?

 

[MikeCunningham]

I will soon be acquiring a jersey crossbred bred heifer that should calve this fall. Never had a milk cow and know nothing about them. I would like for her to raise her calf and be able to get some milk for the house maybe 2 gallons per week. Can a crossbred make this much milk? Will I have to separate the calf from her for a while before I milk her? If so how long? Once I start milking her do I have to keep it up? Can I skip a week if I am busy? She is gentle now and I will be working with her to get her to come into the barn with a little grain as soon as I get her, and I plan to feed her some after she calves if necessary. Can this work? Thanks for the help.

Its can work , but will be better to consulte with vet about your idead , its very hard special when you dont know how to work with cows

 

[sstterry]

Sounds like an awful lot of work for 7 or 8 dollars worth of milk per week.

I saw that this thread had updated and I just had to comment that milk is about $2.30 a gallon here so that is less than $5 dollars these days. I really feel for the Dairy Farmers because milk costs less than a gallon of filtered water.

 

[collegeboundgal]

I wonder if she ever calved...