MurraysMutts
Well-known member
I'm still researching as I get time.
Finding all sorts of kool stuff!
Lets talk milk production!
- Thread starter MurraysMutts
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I'm still researching as I get time.
Finding all sorts of kool stuff!
Peace
Well-known member
See the ribs, it's a dairy thing, they produce milk, not meat and fat.
Dairy guys supply feed to these animals free choice all the time. Generally, they mix a ration that gives their animals a ration that is geared to milk production, so a lot more protein than just grass and maybe a grain serving. The cows basically eat, drink, crap and pee, then lie down to chew their cud, wash, rinse and repeat (maybe several times) then get sent to the parlor or walk to the robot to get milked then repeat the process again. The trend, as I'm told, is they now milk 3 times a day instead of 2. The benefits are more production and less wear and tear on their udders.
I'm not sure how long the current milk production cycle is, but back when I was on a dairy we milked them for about 300 days and gave them 60 days of dry off time to calve again. I'm guessing many delay breeding to keep them in production longer now, I'm just out of the loop and don't know the more modern methods.
Back in the 70s the big thing was production in lbs/day and body and udder be damned. Once farmers figured out that you go all out for production you end up with an udder too low to the ground to put a machine on, so they then took those production cows and bred them to udder and teat confirmation bulls, without sacrificing production. I see many a dairy cow go thru the chute with those low udders, and that's probably one of the main reasons they're there.
You got a good one...trust me...plus she just stands for calves that aren't hers...that shocks the heck out of me.
Dairy guys supply feed to these animals free choice all the time. Generally, they mix a ration that gives their animals a ration that is geared to milk production, so a lot more protein than just grass and maybe a grain serving. The cows basically eat, drink, crap and pee, then lie down to chew their cud, wash, rinse and repeat (maybe several times) then get sent to the parlor or walk to the robot to get milked then repeat the process again. The trend, as I'm told, is they now milk 3 times a day instead of 2. The benefits are more production and less wear and tear on their udders.
I'm not sure how long the current milk production cycle is, but back when I was on a dairy we milked them for about 300 days and gave them 60 days of dry off time to calve again. I'm guessing many delay breeding to keep them in production longer now, I'm just out of the loop and don't know the more modern methods.
Back in the 70s the big thing was production in lbs/day and body and udder be damned. Once farmers figured out that you go all out for production you end up with an udder too low to the ground to put a machine on, so they then took those production cows and bred them to udder and teat confirmation bulls, without sacrificing production. I see many a dairy cow go thru the chute with those low udders, and that's probably one of the main reasons they're there.
You got a good one...trust me...plus she just stands for calves that aren't hers...that shocks the heck out of me.
OP
OP
MurraysMutts
Well-known member
These 2 cows above are oklahoma jersey cows. Not 200lb milkers that I can tell. Even the record butterfat holder is far less than that on average for the year. I'm gonna check out some holstein production stuff too!
Hopefully Buck and Jan come along and provide some input as well.
This is kool and fun stuff!
@Peace
Counting my blessings! She did kick a couple times when Lil 'Nuf attacked her. She seems very smart tho. I fed her and she quit that! Then, the bwf was coaxed out of the trailer with a bottle. Kinda led her over to Brandy and she decided to HELL with your bottle mister!! That's the real thing and went to town!
I guess I'll judge production on how many she can feed. May run into a 4th calf b4 long. Who knows. But I don't pay high dollar prices for bottle calves. So maybe not. There's so many pairs being split the market may be a bit flooded and I'll luck into another one.
Hopefully Buck and Jan come along and provide some input as well.
This is kool and fun stuff!
@Peace
Counting my blessings! She did kick a couple times when Lil 'Nuf attacked her. She seems very smart tho. I fed her and she quit that! Then, the bwf was coaxed out of the trailer with a bottle. Kinda led her over to Brandy and she decided to HELL with your bottle mister!! That's the real thing and went to town!
I guess I'll judge production on how many she can feed. May run into a 4th calf b4 long. Who knows. But I don't pay high dollar prices for bottle calves. So maybe not. There's so many pairs being split the market may be a bit flooded and I'll luck into another one.
Holstein produce more milk then Jersey with a lower milk fat so it is a trade off.
You will never get the amount of milk produced on a dairy , produced on grass or anywhere close. Nutrition plays a huge roll. Many dairies are customizing at least part of what is fed to each cow on a daily basis based on milk production and where in the milk cycle they are.
Cows have a tag that dictates feed ration .
You will never get the amount of milk produced on a dairy , produced on grass or anywhere close. Nutrition plays a huge roll. Many dairies are customizing at least part of what is fed to each cow on a daily basis based on milk production and where in the milk cycle they are.
Cows have a tag that dictates feed ration .
Buck Randall
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I wouldn't get too aggressive about putting more calves on yours, especially with her not being very fresh. Milk production peaks around 60 days after calving and tapers down from there. That's why dairies try to have cows calving every 12-13 months, to get them back to peak milk.These 2 cows above are oklahoma jersey cows. Not 200lb milkers that I can tell. Even the record butterfat holder is far less than that on average for the year. I'm gonna check out some holstein production stuff too!
Hopefully Buck and Jan come along and provide some input as well.
This is kool and fun stuff!
@Peace
Counting my blessings! She did kick a couple times when Lil 'Nuf attacked her. She seems very smart tho. I fed her and she quit that! Then, the bwf was coaxed out of the trailer with a bottle. Kinda led her over to Brandy and she decided to HELL with your bottle mister!! That's the real thing and went to town!
I guess I'll judge production on how many she can feed. May run into a 4th calf b4 long. Who knows. But I don't pay high dollar prices for bottle calves. So maybe not. There's so many pairs being split the market may be a bit flooded and I'll luck into another one.
OP
OP
MurraysMutts
Well-known member
Speaking of peak milk production
I guess a guy could say peak milk production and average milk production are 2 very different things eh?
usjerseyjournal.com
So I see these yearly averages...
How does one figure the daily average?
Because they obviously don't milk 365 days. Is there a standard to calculate the daily?
Had I read just a little bit farther...
I see average is calculated on 305 days!
I guess a guy could say peak milk production and average milk production are 2 very different things eh?
Jersey Production Reached Record High in 2020 | Jersey Journal
In 2020, the official Jersey breed average for production reached a record high 20,205M, 980F, 750P and 2,547CY on an ME basis.
usjerseyjournal.com
So I see these yearly averages...
How does one figure the daily average?
Because they obviously don't milk 365 days. Is there a standard to calculate the daily?
Had I read just a little bit farther...
I see average is calculated on 305 days!
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