*The lactation cycle of a cow* On most Australian dairy farms, cows have their first calf at 2 ½ years of age. Cows have the same gestation (pregnancy) time as humans: 9 months.
After the calf is born, the cow will continue to produce milk for about 300 days - this is called the lactation period. During the total lactation period, each cow will make an average of about 4,800 litres of milk. The amount of milk a cow produces will differ each day. During the lactation, period milk production peaks and after approximately 300 days it drops to about 15-25% of peak milk volume. * *Image courtesy of Australian Dairy Corporation* * At this stage milking is discontinued to give the cow a non-lactating period of up to 2 months prior to calving again. With the birth of the new calf, a new lactation cycle begins. Milk production is usually greater during the second and subsequent lactation cycles than in the first lactation cycle. A cow is normally productive for five years. On 11/3/06, Jeff Zedic <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
I would guess it depends on how many years a cow will produce milk to feed her young...how many years do they nurse a calf for? (in nature I mean) Jeff Zedic
