Wolfemomma - Our Homestead Journey

[greybeard]

Deer flies are bad here occasionally. They are every bit as bad as horseflies about chasing you too. I've had to put a tractor into a higher gear just to get away from them.

 

[farmerjan]

I don't know about the you tube video. They could not successfully only milk once a week. A cow's system is designed to produce milk after calving, and the continued production is DEPENDENT on continued milking. Once a day has been done, and I only milk my nurse cows when I want milk for the house.... but in the meantime they are being nursed by the calves, so they are "being milked". If a cow goes for more than 48 hours, the hormones that are stimulated to produce the milk, namely oxytocin, will not be stimulated and they will start to slow down production. If done only once a week, after a couple of weeks they would be drying up. In real time in dairies, if a cow is producing alot of milk, they may go to once a day milking to get them to slow down the production, for a week, then just stop. Some will let them go for 3 days, then milk out completely and then dry them off.
Honestly, I would not drink milk from a cow that was only milked once a week unless she was being nursed in the interim. Mastitis would be more prevalent. It would also compromise the udder and basically ruin it. Ask any one on here about their goats. They are letting the kids nurse, or they are milking them, or a combination of the two. But I have never known anyone who could milk once a week and get healthy drinkable milk.

 

[RollingAcres]

It's more or less like breast feeding, you don't use it you lose it.

 

[WolfeMomma]

I don't know about the you tube video. They could not successfully only milk once a week. A cow's system is designed to produce milk after calving, and the continued production is DEPENDENT on continued milking. Once a day has been done, and I only milk my nurse cows when I want milk for the house.... but in the meantime they are being nursed by the calves, so they are "being milked". If a cow goes for more than 48 hours, the hormones that are stimulated to produce the milk, namely oxytocin, will not be stimulated and they will start to slow down production. If done only once a week, after a couple of weeks they would be drying up. In real time in dairies, if a cow is producing alot of milk, they may go to once a day milking to get them to slow down the production, for a week, then just stop. Some will let them go for 3 days, then milk out completely and then dry them off.
Honestly, I would not drink milk from a cow that was only milked once a week unless she was being nursed in the interim. Mastitis would be more prevalent. It would also compromise the udder and basically ruin it. Ask any one on here about their goats. They are letting the kids nurse, or they are milking them, or a combination of the two. But I have never known anyone who could milk once a week and get healthy drinkable milk.

I believe they kept the calf on her all the time, minus the night before they milked. So essentially she was being milked, but not by them...by the calf. I think for our family milking once a day and letting the calf have it the rest of the time would probably be the best bet.

 

[WolfeMomma]

Update time
I have been in contact with an organic Dairy that breeds jersey cows, they might have something that would fit our situation come july time frame. So excited and yet nervous. This will be a big step for us, but its one we very much want to take. Fingers crossed that it all works out for us.
In other news. We bought a new rooster for our hens, he is a Lemon Cuckoo Orpington. Hopefully he stays nice and is not an attack rooster lol. I don't have time to deal with the crazy ones, they will become chicken soup!
The garden seems to be growing well so far. The corn is slowly coming up! I can't wait! don't you just love fresh corn on the cob in the summer ? I know I do

 

[RollingAcres]

Yes, I love fresh corn on the cob in the summer! I have not plant my corn or garden yet, hopefully this weekend, but I think it's going to rain all weekend.
No rooster for me. The last one we had got mean and he was done. Hopefully your new addition will stay nice.
Good luck with your jersey cow!

 

[Bruce]

I love fresh corn on the cob in the summer!

We wait for it to show up at the farmer's market. They've been selling it at the grocery store lately. Can't imagine how many days old that stuff is, wouldn't buy it if it were free.

 

[RollingAcres]

We normally buy it from the farm down the road by us instead of planting them. But this year I wanted to plant some Painted Mountain corn. I saw them one day on Baker Creek Heirloom seeds site and I have to try it!
VT has some nice farmers' markets I heard. We went to one in Rutland one time and I didn't want to leave.

 

[Bruce]

Rutland isn't even all that far for you! Not necessarily something you want to do every Saturday like we do of course. Ours is in the city to the north, only about 5 miles.

 

[WolfeMomma]

Oh I love Farmers markets here! a little pricey, but they have some wonderful produce! 6$ for a bulb of garlic is a bit to much for me.