Yup, I'm new too . . .

[lilfarmangel]

My husband & I are building a small farm. He's lactose intolerant to pasteurized milk - fine with raw cow's milk and goat's milk but not with any store bought milk products. Having learned this we decided to own a couple of dairy goats and dairy cows. We know that's a lot of milk but then consider that we have to make everything from cheese to ice-cream if he is to enjoy any dairy products. I was never raised on a farm – both my parents were and mom swore her kids would never have to. Isn’t that funny, I don’t have to but I really, really want to! The same is true with my husband, but his family owned a large dairy in southern Colorado. At this time we have 2 Nubian does, who are 2 1/2 months old; one Nubian wether,3 1/2 months old; One 4 month old ¾ jersey-1/4 Holstein heifer; and, one 2 month old ½ jersey-1/2 angus bum steer, as well as chickens & turkeys. We both agree this was the greatest decision we’ve ever made!

 

[dun]

You're still at the fun stage. Wait till you have to start milking!

 

[slick4591]

:welcome:

 

[lilfarmangel]

I had a reg. jersey - the bum calf's mom, so I'm well aware of what's coming! I posted a question on the "Got Milk" forum. Check it out please, I'm really scratching my head on this one - thx

 

[Isomade]

:welcome:

 

[CottageFarm]

:welcome: Neighbor!

 

[kerley]

:welcome: Send pictures.

 

[3waycross]

Welcome to Cattle Today. If you don't mind me asking what town in Southern Colo?

 

[djinwa]

Welcome!

The steer and the wether will be very poor milkers

So it looks like you're set up to get 5 to ten gallons of milk a day. Hubbie should get enough milk.

Hopefully you can use that much. If not, you might consider a beef/dairy cross cow, or breed this heifer to a beef bull to make a heifer with less production. Some guys actually milk beef cows - I am stealing milk from a beef heifer every few days to get real milk for my cereal.

 

[Keren]

Welcome! I'm glad to hear you have goats as well bp cattle - I have goats myself

 

[lilfarmangel]

Welcome to Cattle Today. If you don't mind me asking what town in Southern Colo?

Canon City area. He has family that still lives in that area but the dairy was sold many, many decades ago.

 

[3waycross]

Welcome to Cattle Today. If you don't mind me asking what town in Southern Colo?

Canon City area. He has family that still lives in that area but the dairy was sold many, many decades ago.

That's 60 miles from me!

 

[lilfarmangel]

Welcome! I'm glad to hear you have goats as well bp cattle - I have goats myself

I had pigmy goats once before and enjoyed them very much. This is the first time with dairy goats. Though they are fun, I really anticipate a challenge with them. They are almost 3 months old and have had very little human interaction. I may end up selling them and getting kids that are better adjusted to people. If I crouch down, these girls will come up to me. One is really good at letting me scratch her, but if I stand up or move too much they both run away. I was able to put collars on them. I’ll grab the collar, giving a little restriction, while I’m crouching down-They are not at all agreeable to that idea! I'm going to keep working with them, but I'm not so confident in the outcome. Any pointers to what I should do or try to help them become the wonderful does I know they can be?

 

[dun]

Welcome! I'm glad to hear you have goats as well bp cattle - I have goats myself

I had pigmy goats once before and enjoyed them very much. This is the first time with dairy goats. Though they are fun, I really anticipate a challenge with them. They are almost 3 months old and have had very little human interaction. I may end up selling them and getting kids that are better adjusted to people. If I crouch down, these girls will come up to me. One is really good at letting me scratch her, but if I stand up or move too much they both run away. I was able to put collars on them. I’ll grab the collar, giving a little restriction, while I’m crouching down-They are not at all agreeable to that idea! I'm going to keep working with them, but I'm not so confident in the outcome. Any pointers to what I should do or try to help them become the wonderful does I know they can be?

You're doing what you need to. Grabbing the collars at this point may be a little previous though. When they come up to you hold out a little treat. You'ld be surprised how fast treats can make them come around. I used to buy the cheapest wafer type cookies I could find and used them for treats broken into multiple pieces. I even used them to help train calves as oxen.

 

[lilfarmangel]

Welcome!

The steer and the wether will be very poor milkers

So it looks like you're set up to get 5 to ten gallons of milk a day. Hubbie should get enough milk.

Hopefully you can use that much. If not, you might consider a beef/dairy cross cow, or breed this heifer to a beef bull to make a heifer with less production. Some guys actually milk beef cows - I am stealing milk from a beef heifer every few days to get real milk for my cereal.

Yup, the steer and wether won't give much, but the steer will fit well in the freezer and the wether will be great company for the buck we plan on buying next year! We only took the wether because he was part of a "buy 2 get 1 free" deal-he was the free one.
It would be a lot of milk if we planned to keep all the animals in milk all the time. Plus, I'm hoping to take on bum calves or freemartins to consume what we don't. Once we reach the point of making all our own dairy products and caring for calves, I'll be on the farm full time - no more "working for the man" so to speak! :clap:

 

[lilfarmangel]

Welcome to Cattle Today. If you don't mind me asking what town in Southern Colo?

Canon City area. He has family that still lives in that area but the dairy was sold many, many decades ago.

That's 60 miles from me!

Right on!

 

[lilfarmangel]

Welcome! I'm glad to hear you have goats as well bp cattle - I have goats myself

I had pigmy goats once before and enjoyed them very much. This is the first time with dairy goats. Though they are fun, I really anticipate a challenge with them. They are almost 3 months old and have had very little human interaction. I may end up selling them and getting kids that are better adjusted to people. If I crouch down, these girls will come up to me. One is really good at letting me scratch her, but if I stand up or move too much they both run away. I was able to put collars on them. I’ll grab the collar, giving a little restriction, while I’m crouching down-They are not at all agreeable to that idea! I'm going to keep working with them, but I'm not so confident in the outcome. Any pointers to what I should do or try to help them become the wonderful does I know they can be?

You're doing what you need to. Grabbing the collars at this point may be a little previous though. When they come up to you hold out a little treat. You'ld be surprised how fast treats can make them come around. I used to buy the cheapest wafer type cookies I could find and used them for treats broken into multiple pieces. I even used them to help train calves as oxen.

Cool. I'll look for something next time I go to town. . . well, time to start the day . . Have a good day!

 

[lilfarmangel]

:welcome: Send pictures.

Gunner, our bum calf

 

[lilfarmangel]

:welcome: Send pictures.

Lilyana (Lily)

 

[lilfarmangel]

:welcome: Send pictures.

Twix, Taffy & Jack