> Been there, done this! Yes it's nice to have the cow & the milk, but tied
> down is tied down. Miss too many days and the milk drops off. Here in
> Australia we have a man who breeds Jerseys who only need milking once per
> day and whose teats are shaped for hand milking, they are magnificent
cows,
> maybe some one in USA is doing something similar.
> David C
>
Me Too David
We share farmed (with the calf) for years. My dads system was to get the mob
in - shorthorn beef cattle with a smattering of dairy blood (AIS and Red
Poll) - and pick a likely looking suspect - (a fresh calved heifer ) to be
broken in to milk, after a bit of rodeo type activity they would usually
quieten down after a week or so but they always seemed to carry a grudge. I
never had a cow that would walk into an empty bail without strong
encouragement or bribery and never had one you could milk without a legrope.
It is an absolute miracle the quantity of fertiliser that a stroppy cow can
discharge in the immediate vicinity of a milking bucket and I was a slow
milker so I got the lot! These cows would hang around the place all day
watching for somebody to leave a gate open into the garden or the hay stack
yard and then at 4.30 would march with their calf to the fartherst corner of
their 100acre pasture ( we would get home from school at 4.30 and first
chore was to lock up the calf for the night)
I do not recommend sharing with the calf - the mother cow will always put
her calf's welfare and sustenance ahead of yours and do whatever she can to
protect that regardless of how nice her nature is
Imagine my amazement when at age 13, I went to a dairy and saw quiet cows
walking in for afternoon milking, no fuss in the yards, no kicking in the
bails, no yelling, and they just ambled peacefully back to graze afterwards.
Of course they had no choice in the matter but I didn't figure that out till
later. No calves but you milk twice a day whether or not you need to - tied
down is tied down!!!
I reckon buying a milk cow is like buying a horse, if you can't afford the
best one you can find then you certainly can't afford the trouble that a bad
one will bring
We buy nice BD milk and yoghurt in the local supermarket - sure its a
compromise but hey its easy
LCharles
