What Kind and how much?

Help Support CattleToday:

blackcowz

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 13, 2008
Messages
487
Reaction score
0
Location
Eastern Plains of Colorado
Hi all,
I've probably not been missed and there have probably been far fewer breed debates and arguments since I left. :D However, I'm back, like it or not, with more questions. Here though, it's not about beef cattle. My family has been looking at getting a milk cow. Not only is producing your own milk fairly cost effective, but farm fresh milk is quite marketable. However, when it comes to dairy, I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed. I wanted to know about how many gallons you can get from a cow. I'd like you to also suggest breed and/or lineage of cows that have high butterfat and rich milk. We'd like to have at least a ballpark within 10 gallons per cow per year so we could figure out how many cows we'd like to have. The cow would most likely be run on native pasture with heavy high quality alfalfa supplement. We'd also like to get an idea on breeds or lines well known not so much for quantity but quality and richness of their milk. Well, thanks for any info. All ideas are welcome. :cboy:
 
Jersey, and production depends how much you feed them.

Mine (Jerseys and Holstein-FriesianxJersey) are on rotationally grazed pasture and do about 4% protein, 5 - 6% butterfat and maybe 3000 - 3500 litres/cow in an 8 - 9 month lactation (divide by 4.5 = 720 gallons). Fully-fed overseas cows commonly do double the production of the NZ version.
I don't know much about the other breeds. Brown Swiss are known for high protein, Ayrshire for slightly higher protein and fat percentages with lower volume than the Holstein-Friesian.
But the right management/strain of Holstein-Friesian can get significantly higher fat and protein percentages than average.
Depends what you want the milk for. The stuff my herd produces is almost too rich to drink.
 
Crossing Jerseys with some dairy Fleckvieh might get you some animals that are a litte hardier, convert native grasses better, and still give you some saleable cull animals at the end. Don't use the beef Flecks, there are lots of them selected for dairy just not in the US. You would have to talk to some people who have done it to find out production. PM me if you want a contact address for them.
 
For the person looking for a home cow that does well on grass, might I suggest Ayrshire or Milking Shorthorn with grass-based genetics? Mine do well on grass alone most of the year (except during extreme winter conditions when I supplement with soybean meal/salt mixed 50\50 ratio.
The calves grow well and don't appear as "dairy" as other breeds and they cut really well if raised for slaughter. Most people that I sell a heifer will raise them as a family milker and then breed them to a black bull for an outstanding beef/dairy cross calve that sells comparitively well to straight beef calves at the sale barn if they choose not to butcher.
 
blackcowz":2o88z1nu said:
We'd like to have at least a ballpark within 10 gallons per cow per year so we could figure out how many cows we'd like to have.

I'm still trying to figure out this part. Must be one of my obtuse days.
 
dun i think he is trying to bend our brains on that 1 :lol: a jersey cow will produce tween 9000 an 12000 pounds of milk a year.4 to 5 gal a day more or less.depending on how they are breed an what an how much they are fed.i have a friend that fires his milk barn up 2x a day an milks his 2 cows.an he feeds the fire out of them.an at peak they give 80 to 100lbs a day.he drinks 4 gal of milk a day.an he uses the cream to make homemade icecream.
 
Wow, thanks to all. Dun, I was trying to get a very close approximation on how much a cow produce per year gallons wise. I know there are infinite variables, but I just wanted an idea. Welp, it looks like the Jersey would be a good choice. Shoot, we might even try some X-breds. I like the Ayrshire and Milking SH idea. I think they'd be pretty good on native pasture. Thanks to all. This will help us out a lot.
 
redcowsrule - do you mind my asking where you can source the dairy Fleckvieh?

he drinks 4 gal of milk a day

I'm trying to get a picture in my head of just how big this guy is :?

Back to crossing... I'm moving to a steeper area in a few months, cold winters. A couple of days ago we had a heavy rainfall, bit of a cold wind picked up, a few of my younger Jerseys started shivering and one was trembling so much I put the cow coat on her. I'm guessing that pretty much any cross to a heavier breed would increase cold tolerance? (Jerseys are good for hot areas, they don't get heat stress much in our climate)
 
regolith":8n99plae said:
redcowsrule - do you mind my asking where you can source the dairy Fleckvieh?

he drinks 4 gal of milk a day

I'm trying to get a picture in my head of just how big this guy is :?

Back to crossing... I'm moving to a steeper area in a few months, cold winters. A couple of days ago we had a heavy rainfall, bit of a cold wind picked up, a few of my younger Jerseys started shivering and one was trembling so much I put the cow coat on her. I'm guessing that pretty much any cross to a heavier breed would increase cold tolerance? (Jerseys are good for hot areas, they don't get heat stress much in our climate)
Oh, gee whiz, I wonder what'd happen if you took a real heavy milking Angus bull and put him on a Jersey. The calf should be pretty cold tolerant and fairly hardy. Should have milk, too.
 
I milked an Angusx in a Friesian herd before - she had milk, but probably a poor average for the herd, and it took about a week before she stopped tantruming about being handled.
I bet you that calf would be pretty.

Anyways, I popped back in to thank redcowsrule for already having provided the link I wanted in another thread: http://www.fleckvieh.de/Englisch/E_0_0.htm
They're exporting semen to NZ, so it shouldn't be too hard to find which company.
 
If you have pasture and don't need a lot of milk why not look into getting a dual purpose breed? They are not as common but can be used for both milk and meat, most are pretty good on pasture. They come in all sizes too.
The amount of milk you get from any breed is going to depend on the breed, genetics, feed, how often and how you milk, etc.
 
blackcowz":4jxfhjd6 said:
Hi all,
..... Not only is producing your own milk fairly cost effective, but farm fresh milk is quite marketable...... :cboy:

Are you planning on selling your extra milk? If so, check the laws in your area. Many places selling raw milk is illegal unless you are a certified raw milk dairy.

You can't even sell it for pet use.

We have Jersey cows.
 
LoveMoo11":3tdiz9fa said:
If you have pasture and don't need a lot of milk why not look into getting a dual purpose breed? They are not as common but can be used for both milk and meat, most are pretty good on pasture. They come in all sizes too.
The amount of milk you get from any breed is going to depend on the breed, genetics, feed, how often and how you milk, etc.

Just what I was thinking. Why not buy a Red Poll as they do well on grass and will give enough milk for one family.
 
Jovid":2yoaq3u6 said:
LoveMoo11":2yoaq3u6 said:
If you have pasture and don't need a lot of milk why not look into getting a dual purpose breed? They are not as common but can be used for both milk and meat, most are pretty good on pasture. They come in all sizes too.
The amount of milk you get from any breed is going to depend on the breed, genetics, feed, how often and how you milk, etc.

Just what I was thinking. Why not buy a Red Poll as they do well on grass and will give enough milk for one family.

Hmmmm....... Dual purpose does sound pretty good. Be nice to get decent milker AND beef cow at the same time. Red poll. Huh, I'll look them up in my breed book. Jovid, I know you mentioned you raise Red Polls and that the bull in your avatar is not one you raised. Could you post a pic of one you did raise? Either that or PM me with some information on the breed and some pics please. :mrgreen:
 
blackcowz":2hydp4an said:
Jovid":2hydp4an said:
LoveMoo11":2hydp4an said:
If you have pasture and don't need a lot of milk why not look into getting a dual purpose breed? They are not as common but can be used for both milk and meat, most are pretty good on pasture. They come in all sizes too.
The amount of milk you get from any breed is going to depend on the breed, genetics, feed, how often and how you milk, etc.

Just what I was thinking. Why not buy a Red Poll as they do well on grass and will give enough milk for one family.

Hmmmm....... Dual purpose does sound pretty good. Be nice to get decent milker AND beef cow at the same time. Red poll. Huh, I'll look them up in my breed book. Jovid, I know you mentioned you raise Red Polls and that the bull in your avatar is not one you raised. Could you post a pic of one you did raise? Either that or PM me with some information on the breed and some pics please. :mrgreen:

Below is a pic of a bull we raised and one of our cows. You can also check out our website at: http://ninewestoakcanyon.com/

Stevie_Wonder_705.jpg


0094.JPG
 
Real nice bull! BTW, nice cows and it looks like they'd have about the right amount of milk, too. Well, I am not sure we'll be buying a cow this winter, but if things start to straighten out this spring, I think we'll be seriously considering it. Thanks again.
 
I'd say go for a dual purpose breed like what has been mentioned before. Angus x Jersey milk really well ours look more angus than Jersey. I'd watch their udders & if you were going to breed your own look at udder attachment, teat length centre ligaments ect.
 

Latest posts

Top