I might finally be getting a milk cow!!!!

[WindyIndy]

Hi everyone! I haven't been on here for SO long, life is crazy!

Anyway, I may finally be getting my milk cow! I have wanted one for as long as I can remember, but haven't been able to get one yet. One reason being they have been WAY to pricey for me. Well, I found one on CL for $600 and only 45 minutes away!! The lady is also willing to deliver it for me! I'm so excited!

She is a Dexter and was born in May.

I always do a TON of research before I ever get another animal to make sure I can properly care for them. I was just wondering if anyone had any tips for me? I want to hand milk her. Does anyone find that just being tide up or in a headlock works better? Do you feed them while milking (I was thinking maybe a little hay?)?

I may come up with more as I continue my research, but I do have a couple years before I need to worry about calving/milking

 

[WindyIndy]

Oh, and this is her ad picture

 

[Goatgirl47]

Welcome (in advance) to the wonderful world of cows!

She's beautiful! I've always wanted a Dexter.
You might want to look into testing her dam for BLV, Johnes, and TB. They are the cattle diseases we test our cows for annually.

We currently have nine cows, all of them except for one are mix breeds (we have found that crosses are hardier then most purebreds). If all goes well we'll be adding two more beef heifers to our herd soon.

 

[WindyIndy]

Thank you!!

We used to raise beef cattle, but haven't for a few years now. I miss the cows

She is isn't she?! I was originally going to go with a Jersey for their high butter fat, but then decided I wanted something smaller and less milk (too much for our family ). I then thought about a mini Jersey, and in researching them I found the Dexters. I really liked them and they love the fact that they have the same butter fat content as the Jersey! They also don't give more then 1.5-2 gallons a day of milk, plenty for us!

I know the lady said she likes to keep a closed herd, but can ask about that testing. She's away until next Saturday. I'll probably go down the following Sunday.

 

[Latestarter]

Congrats! I hope all works out for you As a young Dexter, you should be able to just put it in the back seat of your car to take it home with you Hope you'll share more stories/pictures when you get her. She's a beauty!

 

[WindyIndy]

Thank you!!! Or in the back of my Expedition!

I will definitely try, I haven't been very good about keeping everyone updated about my sheep. I'm sorry.

 

[Green Acres Farm]

I know the lady said she likes to keep a closed herd, but can ask about that testing.

She is really cute!

We have bought from "closed" goat herds and come to find out they had CAE. Testing beforehand can save you a LOT of money and stress. It's fairly inexpensive, especially compared to the cost of dealing with it.

 

[Green Acres Farm]

I was originally going to go with a Jersey for their high butter fat, but then decided I wanted something smaller and less milk (too much for our family ). I then thought about a mini Jersey, and in researching them I found the Dexters. I really liked them and they love the fact that they have the same butter fat content as the Jersey! They also don't give more then 1.5-2 gallons a day of milk, plenty for us!

Have you looked into Nubian or Nigerian Dwarf goats? Both have very high butterfat content, and are small, easy to handle, and also make great pets!

Nubians can give a gallon + a day and little ND's can give 1-1.5 quarts a day.

Maybe I am a little biased.

 

[WindyIndy]

Thanks for the heads up!

I actually wanted milk goats too, but didn't have the right fence, and a job that didn't pay enough. I do have better a better job now and better fencing since I have sheep. But the goats would have to be with the sheep and I don't want my ram to breed them. Not sure how goat sheep crosses would be I do have a little weather fainting goat that I love! Nubians were the ones I wanted too.

 

[Goatgirl47]

To answer your question in your original post, it doesn't really matter what you feed cows when you milk them.
As a purebred Dexter she shouldn't need any grain. You could train her to stand perfectly still in the stanchion without any food while you milk, or you could just feed her hay, or what we do is give a mixture of alfalfa pellets (or alfalfa hay), BOSS (black oil sunflower seeds), kelp, and - usually in the winter to fatten them up - beet pulp.
Our cows are milked just in a headlock stanchion which restrains them better than a rope would.

What breed of beef cows did you have?