I have a jersey heifer that will be dropping a calf in the next 30 days. She is the gentle type. I've been handling her bag while she is at the bunk. She will step back once in a while but is pretty tolerant of being handled. I'm thinking of robbing her of part of the milk for butter and fresh milk. She is already filling out in the bag. Looks like she is going to be loaded. Will she produce enough milk to harm the bag if not milked down or will the calf be able to handle it. I was thinking of training her as a nurse cow for calves I would normally put on the bucket. How many with her calf will she be able to handle? I figure she will produce at least 4 gallon or better a day. If she is like her mama probably more. What do ya'll think. :?:
Nurse cow question
- Thread starter ctlbaron
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Jeanne - Simme Valley
Well-known member
Milkmaid has 4 calves on her nurse cow (well, did have up til yesterday).
A young calf needs at least 1 gal/hd/day.
I would guess she will have TOO much for one newborn. But, I'm into beef cows not dairy.
A young calf needs at least 1 gal/hd/day.
I would guess she will have TOO much for one newborn. But, I'm into beef cows not dairy.
ctlbaron
Well-known member
Thanks Jeanne, We just have the one jersey cow. My daughter raised her on the bottle. The rest are beef. I just need to know if too much milk will do damage to her. I've had plenty of offers to sell her but the kid won't let her go. I had a fellow who wanted to trade 2 buffalo heifer and an unrelated buffalo bull for her. But that would require a massive fencing project. No market for them here anyway.
I generally go by the rule of thumb 1 gallon/day/calf. When the calves are little any more than that will make them scour; as they get older they can handle a lot more milk.
One of my nurse cows (#162) was milking ~3 gallons/day at the dairy before I brought her home. I put two calves on her - not three, mind you. My logic is that if by putting one less calf than I could on her, then if one calf gets more than his share the other(s) don't get shorted.
My other nurse cow (#311) milks ~6 gallons/day. I only have (had) four calves on her. She only has four quarters so I don't like to exceed that. :lol:
The other thing is that some cows let any of the calves nurse at any time. One or all, it doesn't matter. Other cows, it's an all-or-none deal. That's what 311 is like - which is another reason for not putting more than four calves on her. Someone wouldn't get to drink.
And yes...if she's not getting milked out that is bad news. I think you've got about a week after calving where it doesn't matter too much, but after that she'd need to be milked dry once they start nursing. If they drink half of what's in one quarter, a little out of another, and then one completely dry...that's asking for trouble. Usually you can get away with that once, but not on a regular basis.
That's why with young calves I like to pen them away from the cow, and then let them all together twice a day. That way I can make sure the cow gets completely milked out. Given a week or two I've been able to let cow and calves together and after that they run together 24/7. Some folks like to keep them penned separate -always- but that's a little too much work in my book. LOL. Put 'em out to pasture, grain the cow, and she'll care for them.
One of my nurse cows (#162) was milking ~3 gallons/day at the dairy before I brought her home. I put two calves on her - not three, mind you. My logic is that if by putting one less calf than I could on her, then if one calf gets more than his share the other(s) don't get shorted.
My other nurse cow (#311) milks ~6 gallons/day. I only have (had) four calves on her. She only has four quarters so I don't like to exceed that. :lol:
The other thing is that some cows let any of the calves nurse at any time. One or all, it doesn't matter. Other cows, it's an all-or-none deal. That's what 311 is like - which is another reason for not putting more than four calves on her. Someone wouldn't get to drink.
And yes...if she's not getting milked out that is bad news. I think you've got about a week after calving where it doesn't matter too much, but after that she'd need to be milked dry once they start nursing. If they drink half of what's in one quarter, a little out of another, and then one completely dry...that's asking for trouble. Usually you can get away with that once, but not on a regular basis.
That's why with young calves I like to pen them away from the cow, and then let them all together twice a day. That way I can make sure the cow gets completely milked out. Given a week or two I've been able to let cow and calves together and after that they run together 24/7. Some folks like to keep them penned separate -always- but that's a little too much work in my book. LOL. Put 'em out to pasture, grain the cow, and she'll care for them.
While I'm thinking of it...I do know folks that have a lot of time on their hands (LOL) and they keep cow and calves penned separate all the time except for feeding. One fellow had a cow he was raising ten calves on at a time - yes, TEN. :shock: You let a few calves out to drink, when they start to get full put them back, let the next ones out. Obviously you have to have a good (heavy-milking) cow for that.
Most folks that do it that way only have six calves on a cow. But really, if you wanted to raise a lot and had the time to mess with them twice a day it could be done. I prefer to stick with less calves so I don't have quite as much work to do. ;-)
Most folks that do it that way only have six calves on a cow. But really, if you wanted to raise a lot and had the time to mess with them twice a day it could be done. I prefer to stick with less calves so I don't have quite as much work to do. ;-)
