Nurse cow or not. Thoughts

[TexasJerseyMilker]

I plan on keep one of my jersey heifers for a replacement heifer in my own herd. Daphne is old and this will be her last calf. I would not want to add any eared Bos indicus to my bloodline, although they have great hybrid heterosis because 1. Its too cold here. 2. There aren't any because no one wants them. 3. IMO they are ugly. I'm going to look on facebook and see what dehorned, vaccinated halter broke home milk cows are selling for in this area, compare those to auction yard prices. Big commercial dairies are often buying their replacements from calf ranches so there is the economy of scale and they pay a lower price. Seems like the few cows in milk going through the sale barns often have something wrong with them.

For meat animals it looks like Brown Swiss dairy cows crossed with beef, people could get a good beef on dairy thing going. The dairies are using big Holstein cows for that.

 

[MurraysMutts]

I plan on keep one of my jersey heifers for a replacement heifer in my own herd. Daphne is old and this will be her last calf. I would not want to add any eared Bos indicus to my bloodline, although they have great hybrid heterosis because 1. Its too cold here. 2. There aren't any because no one wants them. 3. IMO they are ugly. I'm going to look on facebook and see what dehorned, vaccinated halter broke home milk cows are selling for in this area, compare those to auction yard prices. Big commercial dairies are often buying their replacements from calf ranches so there is the economy of scale and they pay a lower price. Seems like the few cows in milk going through the sale barns often have something wrong with them.

For meat animals it looks like Brown Swiss dairy cows crossed with beef, people could get a good beef on dairy thing going. The dairies are using big Holstein cows for that.

Alot of your pricing will be regional.
BUT it depends how u handle/train them/advertise them.

A dog gentle, halter broke, udder desensitized bred jersey heifer that's bred right will be worth a lot of money for someone that is really wanting one.

I think you have a very good opportunity with your lil operation. Do it right, and people will be beating your door down to get a milk cow bought!

 

[Travlr]

I plan on keep one of my jersey heifers for a replacement heifer in my own herd. Daphne is old and this will be her last calf. I would not want to add any eared Bos indicus to my bloodline, although they have great hybrid heterosis because 1. Its too cold here. 2. There aren't any because no one wants them. 3. IMO they are ugly. I'm going to look on facebook and see what dehorned, vaccinated halter broke home milk cows are selling for in this area, compare those to auction yard prices. Big commercial dairies are often buying their replacements from calf ranches so there is the economy of scale and they pay a lower price. Seems like the few cows in milk going through the sale barns often have something wrong with them.

For meat animals it looks like Brown Swiss dairy cows crossed with beef, people could get a good beef on dairy thing going. The dairies are using big Holstein cows for that.

Yeah... what @MurraysMutts said...

And word of mouth is the most effective advertising once you get some sold and in production.

 

[TexasJerseyMilker]

Thank you for the encouragement. I had an old retired Jersey I had and her brought from Texas in a trailer. She can not make milk anymore due to horrible mastitis in all 4 quarters she got when evacuated to an auction yard because of a fire. I love her for sweet gentle nature and her classic big eyed beauty. All her calves were sired by Angus and now she's old so I thought, well, thats it. So I wanted to have another milk cow and I raised one from a dairy. She makes so much milk what to do with all this milk?
And I had discovered it is possible to AI my old cow for a heifer calf sired by the bull I chose. This is great.

Raw milk sales are legal here with no more that 3 milking cows and you can't advertise. NO WAY am I selling raw milk. I don't believe in the risk and if someone gets sick they can sue and you can loose the farm. Also don't want to deal with John Q Public. I was having to pour out milk on the ground which feels like a crime against God. So I went and bought 2 more baby heifers. If people want raw milk, that's fine, they can buy a home dairy Jersey from me and get their own.

 

[Travlr]

Thank you for the encouragement. I had an old retired Jersey I had and her brought from Texas in a trailer. She can not make milk anymore due to horrible mastitis in all 4 quarters she got when evacuated to an auction yard because of a fire. I love her for sweet gentle nature and her classic big eyed beauty. All her calves were sired by Angus and now she's old so I thought, well, thats it. So I wanted to have another milk cow and I raised one from a dairy. She makes so much milk what to do with all this milk?
And I had discovered it is possible to AI my old cow for a heifer calf sired by the bull I chose. This is great.

Raw milk sales are legal here with no more that 3 milking cows and you can't advertise. NO WAY am I selling raw milk. I don't believe in the risk and if someone gets sick they can sue and you can loose the farm. Also don't want to deal with John Q Public. I was having to pour out milk on the ground which feels like a crime against God. So I went and bought 2 more baby heifers. If people want raw milk, that's fine, they can buy a home dairy Jersey from me and get their own.

I'm kind of surprised no one sells pasteurized milk from small dairies. I'd be inclined to buy it if it was competitively priced. Is the process of heating milk to a specific temperature and cooling it afterwards cost prohibitive relative to what it can be sold for?

 

[farmerjan]

It's not just pasteurizing it... it is the equipment that is required. Raw milk follows one set of rules, where it is allowed... Once it is heated/pasteurized... you are talking processing, and then the requirements are totally different. Totally enclosed... you can't just "heat the milk"..... it has to go through all sorts of regs.... Most small dairies can't do it... it is a huge undertaking and investment.
Yes, the costs would make it totally cost prohibitive... the sale price would be 2 to 3 times what it would sell for at the local Walmart... That is why so many places will get licensed to make cheese and such... the rules are actually easier to that work for that... fluid milk markets are just something that the small time person does not want to deal with unless they are willing to get into it for the "long term"....

 

[farmerjan]

I plan on keep one of my jersey heifers for a replacement heifer in my own herd. Daphne is old and this will be her last calf. I would not want to add any eared Bos indicus to my bloodline, although they have great hybrid heterosis because 1. Its too cold here. 2. There aren't any because no one wants them. 3. IMO they are ugly. I'm going to look on facebook and see what dehorned, vaccinated halter broke home milk cows are selling for in this area, compare those to auction yard prices. Big commercial dairies are often buying their replacements from calf ranches so there is the economy of scale and they pay a lower price. Seems like the few cows in milk going through the sale barns often have something wrong with them.

For meat animals it looks like Brown Swiss dairy cows crossed with beef, people could get a good beef on dairy thing going. The dairies are using big Holstein cows for that.

Swiss crossed with beef are not near as efficient as Hol cross beef... the swiss grow slower, they grow alot of bone before they start to gain meat/muscle/beef on those frames. They might do good else where... they get docked here because they will mostly always have that tell tale muzzle color, and the bigger ears. The buyers will buy jersey/beef crosses or hol/beef crosses first, because they will finish faster and jerseys have less "bone" size. Swiss also do not marble as fast as jerseys, and holsteins.

 

[TexasJerseyMilker]

I have a free standing home pasteurizer device I bought on ebay. You pour in 2 gallons and throw the switch. It raises the temp to 164F I think it is then a ding goes off and it shuts down. Then you have to cool the milk back down to 42F on ice then refrigerate. I used it a couple of times but why?

The thing about store bought whole milk it seems so watery at 3.25% butterfat. I use Jersey milk in my coffee straight because it is just like half and half. If I mix it 1/2 her cream and half milk globs of butterfat rise to the top, something's not right.

Today I am making strawberry ice cream. I've got a freezer full of cream and strawberries.

 

[Travlr]

I have a free standing home pasteurizer device I bought on ebay. You pour in 2 gallons and throw the switch. It raises the temp to 164F I think it is then a ding goes off and it shuts down. Then you have to cool the milk back down to 42F on ice then refrigerate. I used it a couple of times but why?

I wouldn't buy raw milk from a small dairy... but I'd buy it if it was pasteurized.

 

[Hereford2]

View attachment 47792

View attachment 47793These the ones you were referring too?

Those are Amazing looking!!

 

[Double R Ranch]

Looks like I got this cow bred after a whopper heat streak. She hasn't come back into heat. I'll run blood on her in another week. If bred the plan is to get a new set of calves for the rest of her lactation again. I've been putting it off but it's coming time to wean her current calf and with the temps finally dropping a bit calves might actually stand a chance. I had no intention of keeping her jersey calf but she's really turning into a nice one so far. I guess I'm going to be turning into @MurraysMutts with multiple nurse cows. Darn these jerseys.

 

[Double R Ranch]

Another update: We had another sudden heat spike and she came back into heat less than 48 hours after. Bred her back again and now we've had another heat spike. The 14 day shows no more excessive heat. Hoping she can hold this one but will be watching close.
Picked up two little 1/2 holstein 1/2 Angus bull calves today. Not as cheap as I was hoping but definitely not as bad as it could have been. They are smaller than the buyers want which works perfect for my needs in this case. Already have a buyer for them at weaning pending they make it. So far so good. They've had two little meals since their arrival. She's not letting cream down for them which actually is a good thing. Let them get on their feet without all the cream. This cow is a cream machine. Looking forward to less milking for a while.

 

[MurraysMutts]

Shes a working girl!

Is this the first time you've AI her? I forget if she was bull bred when u got her.

We gotta see pics ya know! I bet her heifer calf has gotten BIG!

Here's a pic. I'll keep posting pics like this until we see some pics from you @Double R Ranch !!

 

[Double R Ranch]

Shes a working girl!

Is this the first time you've AI her? I forget if she was bull bred when u got her.

We gotta see pics ya know! I bet her heifer calf has gotten BIG!

Here's a pic. I'll keep posting pics like this until we see some pics from you @Double R Ranch !!

View attachment 49070

Well now how am I gunna compete with that?! So if I DON'T post pics this fun will continue? I mean how am I to compete with that?!?

I believe she was AI'd as a heifer. The breeder wasn't quite sure for some reason. She was a show heifer for a set of twin girls before I bought her. She was bred when she came. I breed everything AI here. She took quick last season as a 2 year old once she started cycling. This season we are later in the year so we're fighting the heat. She's a whopper milker. It's been a struggle keeping her cool enough through the heat waves. In turn getting her bred back. She didn't have a great heat on the first one post calving. Second one it look like we had her bred then the heat spiked again and she cycled right after. We'll see. Her daughter is bred for a jersey heifer so we'll have her to work with anyways. I'll probably just have this cow be a nurse cow next season since she's used to it all now and milk the heifer.
Here's the two little bull calves on her. Her heifer is on the other side for now.
I'll have to get some new pictures. The little bulls look so different already. Just trying to keep them from overeating. This cow gives a ton of milk and a crazy amount of cream.

This years heifer. She's slightly wet in this picture from the sprinkler. She's coming 6 months old. Carbon copy of her mother so far temperament wise.

 

[Double R Ranch]

So far so good. One calf got a foot stomped or kicked a little the first night when the cow was saying no way but seems to have recovered already. I was struggling with all 3 calves at the same time and keeping everyone from getting kicked. These calves had never been on a cow so they thought I had the milk. Get one on the cow and the other would look for milk on me. Get that one on and the other would come off in excitement and look for milk from me. Then her calf was being a pushy pig. It was a bit chaotic but went ok other than the 1 foot getting stomped or kicked. They've been getting smaller meals often for the first 2 days/nights. So far stools are looking great but they are 1/2 Angus so they are usually hardier than full dairy. Part of why I snatch them up when I can get them "cheap". Cow is doing so much better than last years complete swap out of calves. More like what I was expecting last year that didn't happen. We're doing what was advised last season and it's working well. She only gets her natural calf when the new calves are nursing. This afternoon her natural calf wasn't interested in nursing yet (let her have a big breakfast so I didn't need to milk) and just went around and cleaned the new calves. She really wants them as her own. Hope that's a good sign for a nurse cow in training. Calves are filling out well already. Getting nice and lively. So far so good even in the heat. Hopefully just a few more days and they can start being together. Taking it a little slow since the cow is doing well on her own so far. She doesn't yet claim them on her own but hopefully soon she will.

 

[MurraysMutts]

I love it!!

 

[Double R Ranch]

Update:
Calves are still growing a bit. I won't say completely thriving yet but doing ok. No real issues yet with scours although one of the two suddenly acted neurological a few days ago. Was fine at feeding then by the next feeding couldn't stay upright when he moved. Treated him and he's doing a bit better. He does try and run around a little now but falls over. Both are eating well. The cow on the other hand is testing my patience again. I removed her natural calf and weaned her. She was only creating more problems than good. It did help the cow a bit. She tolerates the new calves to a point but still wants to kick them and definitely won't let them nurse unless I am standing there telling her she will. I had really hoped this would be faster than last year but it looks like we are in for the long haul. She's refusing to touch them. Refusing to clean the calf calm off of them which did help last season. Keeping at it and will be glad when she finally gets on board with them.

 

[MurraysMutts]

Very good! Keep on trucking!

I've wanted to used hobbles before!!

I've found if I keep her own calf close, but separate, it helps a bunch!

Very odd about the wobbly calf. Hope it comes along

 

[Double R Ranch]

Very good! Keep on trucking!

I've wanted to used hobbles before!!

I've found if I keep her own calf close, but separate, it helps a bunch!

Very odd about the wobbly calf. Hope it comes along

She was threatened with hobbles at feeding earlier.
Her calf has been moved away which actually seems to be helping her. I had kept her close and it was making it worse I felt like. The dairy I work at some says I treat the cow too much like a princess. Told them that was funny because I told her earlier that if she didn't shape up and do her job she'd go live on the dairy and see what real cows were treated like. I now have the calves with her full time as of tonight. They seem to duck and dive a bit better today. She's not being mean but not letting them nurse which is still a step in the right direction. All in the last few hours. A few minutes ago I was telling my dairy friend the progress we were and weren't making and I look out and the cow is standing over one of the babies and even sniffed him. What a brat. It's like she is saying "I don't know what you are talking about. I'm taking them on." Just to prove me wrong.
It is quite odd about the wobbly calf. I'm wondering if a kick landed in a bad spot and it took a little for swelling to cause it. He did a pretty quick noticeable turn around once I gave him some anti inflammatories.

 

[Double R Ranch]

Boy I wish this cow was bred. I truly believe that's why she's being so naughty. Sheesh.
She got the hobbles last night and that appears to be a game changer for her so far. She can still kick a little as I left them quite loose/longer length so she can freely move but it keeps her from kicking out hard and high. I think it also wore her out a bit. Today she did a bit better with the calves. They were able to duck and dive avoiding the blows or just being shoved while still getting the hints she was sending. Eventually they latched on while she was eating and she gave up for a bit. Long enough for them to eat what they needed although maybe a tad too much. They showed up with scours this morning so I'm treating that now. What's interesting is so is the other younger calf we have right now who is in a completely different area and different cow. The older calves are just fine. We've had some pretty dramatic temperature swings and I suspect that's the cause on the youngins. All in all we seem to have made progress. We'll see how she does over the next 24 hours and hopefully remove them. I'm just trying to keep the calves from receiving all out blows until the light bulb comes on in her head.