Wanting to find a Heritage Cattle

[Cricket]

but will run out and get a few gallons to make sure my family will drink it before trying to train our cows. Always a new adventure.

When you skim the cream off high fat milk, it is still really rich (in a good way). Rather than mixing the milk and cream, I'd skim it and make ice cream and whipped cream--go for the hard sell with the kids, at least to begin with!

Chickens love their grain soaked in milk. And then, of course, you will need pigs.

 

[smoothmule]

Braunvieh is not listed as a Heritage breed if you're wanting Heritage. Here is a listing of breeds, maybe you could go through each and do some reading and choose the breed that fits your needs best.

http://www.albc-usa.org/cpl/wtchlist.html#cattle

Some breeds have temperaments that are great for small herds with a lot of human interaction. There are a lot of Dexter cattle here and they are "insane" and difficult, fence jumpers and generally wild and I know a lot of different breeders that have gotten out of breeding them for this reason. The Belted and Highlands are adorable and very suited to small herds. There are a lot of those here as well and the breeders love them.

You may find that choosing a breed will be as simple as what is available in your area unless you're willing and able to pay for shipping. It's fun to read about the breeds and dream about a herd but realistically, some of these are expensive and difficult to locate unless you're lucky enough to find a breeder in your area.

Not a lot of purebreds are exceptional milkers "plus" beefy. Heritage breeds are probably the better chances for both. Most current breeds were bred for one or the other but those milkers are the best and the beef breeds are the best at what they do too, selective breeding makes sense for larger operations.

The Red Poll seems to fit your needs best, here is the breed club site http://www.redpollusa.org/
They're a bit pricey but start with a bred cow and move up

 

[Royd Wood]

Not to steal this thread, but along a similiar line. I have seen a bunch about raw milk & it got me thinking about adding a dairy cow. What would a good breed be to mix in with our Highlands ? From quick research milk numbers seem way high is 4+ gallons/day really normal ? Thanks

Hey Mike
You can milk Highland and I have milked Galloway - trouble is a big strapping Galloway calf is knocking me off the stool
3 galls of milk a day is no probs from a freshly calved Galloway, and some can give more milk than that.
Highland and Galloway have a fantastic butterfat content
I was brought up on raw milk from the churn then we progressed to the tank - still here and still breathing

Great info as always Royd, thank you.
We (my brothers. & sister) had it (raw milk) as kids occasionally at a farm we visited. Still remember the seperated milk, seemed weird to us.
I'd have to work with our cows a whole lot more first, currently as beef cows we handle them very little. I was told they all were halter trained as calves though, so far everything he has told me was true. There is a place probably 45 minutes away that sells it (almost 3x supermarket milk prices), but will run out and get a few gallons to make sure my family will drink it before trying to train our cows. Always a new adventure.

Lucky you Mike - your not allowed to buy it here in Ontario and if your caught selling it then its goodby to your farm - crazy

 

[Symphony]

Milking Shorthorns would be great. They do well on just pasture with out much grain. They can be used as dual purpose for beef and dairy. Plus you don't confuse them for a Bear in your pasture.