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<blockquote data-quote="Nesikep" data-source="post: 1310446" data-attributes="member: 9096"><p>Welcome.. </p><p></p><p>I'll try and be of some use... While most of us here are 'commercial' producers, not all of us are 'big time'.. I have 25 pet cows, they're crossbred beef cows, All sorts of breeds in the woodpile.. Started off with Hereford, bred them to Salers, then Shorthorns, then Gelbvieh, and now Limousins.</p><p>I have a couple cows I can hand milk.. "Mega" is from a long line of pets that were all milkable, she's just an ordinary beef cow, and gives plenty of milk.</p><p></p><p>For the feed requirements.. I really can't say much about your pasture, I don't know how it produces, but if you feed hay, I found (depending on the quality of hay, if the cow is milking, late gestation, etc) 30-40 lbs of hay a day for a moderate size cow.. if she's milking a little more, if she's dry a little less... I feed them as much as they'll clean up properly.</p><p>For the size of a place you have and your goals, I'd recommend just buying hay, you won't need the equipment, and you won't get a sore neck from looking to see if it'll rain.. A tractor with a loader is *always* handy though.</p><p></p><p>For the breed of cow.. there's a lot of Dexters that are very temperamental cows, and what I always tell people with your goals, is "Don't get a small cow because they're easier to handle, get a cow that's easy to handle, whatever her size"... "Mega" is on the larger side of medium, is completely docile and leads with 1 finger.. if you have a bucket with goodies, the race is on! I only milk her for about a month after calving (when the calf can't keep up with her milk production) and after I wean the calf for about a month.. She behaves perfectly.. A flake of hay on the ground for her to keep busy, I plop the bucket under her and milk, don't need a stanchion or anything else. At the end of the season when she naturally produces less milk I get a gallon a milking, milking once a day.. She doesn't get any grain either as much as she loves it.</p><p>Separating the calf overnight (just 8 hours or so) is probably the easiest... I'd think if they are still close it should keep bawling to a minimum, they ought to get used to the routine after a while. Depending on how much milk she produces, and how long it's been since the calf has nursed, you can be milking from one side while the calf nurses from the other.</p><p></p><p>As for when to butcher the calf, I'd recommend growing it out a bit more, even if you don't need the extra meat, they will be more flavorful if they get to 16-20 months of age and be much heavier... </p><p></p><p>A second argument for a larger, more conventional breed of cow is that you won't have as hard a time finding a bull for her, as she'll be big enough you won't be limited to the 'small' breeds for bulls, which means your neighbor's bull will probably do just fine (be warned, he might even volunteer). Also, be careful when choosing a cow to make sure she has teats that lend themselves to hand milking... I have big mitts and it's of particular importance to me, and of course she should have been milked before.. it is possible to teach an old cow new tricks, but she has to be comfortable with people fiddling around 'back there' or the deal is off.</p><p></p><p>Predators.. well.. every place is different.. we have coyotes here too, and they have made off with a chicken on occasion, but we've never had an ounce of problem with them bothering the cattle.. The cows pretty much ignore them, as well as black bears, but will raise a big stink if they spot a cougar or grizzly bear.. they seem to know the difference. We also have a pair of resident ravens, I think the cows bother them more than vice versa, when the calves are young, the ravens want to pick up afterbirth, and the calves just love chasing them.. I've had golden and bald eagles around.. last year at calving time there was a big one circling, and just to give him the message I gave him a warning shot.. they've never caused any problem either, but I'm not about to let them start.. Calves are most susceptible to predators in their first week, and Momma will probably raise a serious fuss too.. just keep them close to the house for a while.</p><p></p><p>There's a Facebook group called Cow Talk that might be a little more geared toward what you're into doing</p><p></p><p>Cheers</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Nesikep, post: 1310446, member: 9096"] Welcome.. I'll try and be of some use... While most of us here are 'commercial' producers, not all of us are 'big time'.. I have 25 pet cows, they're crossbred beef cows, All sorts of breeds in the woodpile.. Started off with Hereford, bred them to Salers, then Shorthorns, then Gelbvieh, and now Limousins. I have a couple cows I can hand milk.. "Mega" is from a long line of pets that were all milkable, she's just an ordinary beef cow, and gives plenty of milk. For the feed requirements.. I really can't say much about your pasture, I don't know how it produces, but if you feed hay, I found (depending on the quality of hay, if the cow is milking, late gestation, etc) 30-40 lbs of hay a day for a moderate size cow.. if she's milking a little more, if she's dry a little less... I feed them as much as they'll clean up properly. For the size of a place you have and your goals, I'd recommend just buying hay, you won't need the equipment, and you won't get a sore neck from looking to see if it'll rain.. A tractor with a loader is *always* handy though. For the breed of cow.. there's a lot of Dexters that are very temperamental cows, and what I always tell people with your goals, is "Don't get a small cow because they're easier to handle, get a cow that's easy to handle, whatever her size"... "Mega" is on the larger side of medium, is completely docile and leads with 1 finger.. if you have a bucket with goodies, the race is on! I only milk her for about a month after calving (when the calf can't keep up with her milk production) and after I wean the calf for about a month.. She behaves perfectly.. A flake of hay on the ground for her to keep busy, I plop the bucket under her and milk, don't need a stanchion or anything else. At the end of the season when she naturally produces less milk I get a gallon a milking, milking once a day.. She doesn't get any grain either as much as she loves it. Separating the calf overnight (just 8 hours or so) is probably the easiest... I'd think if they are still close it should keep bawling to a minimum, they ought to get used to the routine after a while. Depending on how much milk she produces, and how long it's been since the calf has nursed, you can be milking from one side while the calf nurses from the other. As for when to butcher the calf, I'd recommend growing it out a bit more, even if you don't need the extra meat, they will be more flavorful if they get to 16-20 months of age and be much heavier... A second argument for a larger, more conventional breed of cow is that you won't have as hard a time finding a bull for her, as she'll be big enough you won't be limited to the 'small' breeds for bulls, which means your neighbor's bull will probably do just fine (be warned, he might even volunteer). Also, be careful when choosing a cow to make sure she has teats that lend themselves to hand milking... I have big mitts and it's of particular importance to me, and of course she should have been milked before.. it is possible to teach an old cow new tricks, but she has to be comfortable with people fiddling around 'back there' or the deal is off. Predators.. well.. every place is different.. we have coyotes here too, and they have made off with a chicken on occasion, but we've never had an ounce of problem with them bothering the cattle.. The cows pretty much ignore them, as well as black bears, but will raise a big stink if they spot a cougar or grizzly bear.. they seem to know the difference. We also have a pair of resident ravens, I think the cows bother them more than vice versa, when the calves are young, the ravens want to pick up afterbirth, and the calves just love chasing them.. I've had golden and bald eagles around.. last year at calving time there was a big one circling, and just to give him the message I gave him a warning shot.. they've never caused any problem either, but I'm not about to let them start.. Calves are most susceptible to predators in their first week, and Momma will probably raise a serious fuss too.. just keep them close to the house for a while. There's a Facebook group called Cow Talk that might be a little more geared toward what you're into doing Cheers [/QUOTE]
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