8/26/2023 0 Comments Personally i prefer the dair![]() Yes–in order for a cow to produce milk, it needs to have a baby first. This enables me to only have to milk once per day (during most of the year), and I can leave for the weekend when I need to. You don’t have to be! We practice a share-milking program on our homestead and leave the calf with the cow for a portion of the day. Will I be chained to my homestead forever and ever if I get a milk cow? If you are interested in choosing your breed based on their milk componets and nutrition this article: Milk Components: Understanding Milk Fat and Protein Variation in Your Dairy Herd will be a big help. ![]() Other good family milk cow options would be Guernseys or Dexters–a smaller breed that is making a comeback. However, many homesteaders favor the smaller Jersey, which produces an impressive quantity of rich milk for its smaller size. The Brown Swiss is one of the oldest dairy breeds, and they are known for being kind and gentle. Our Oakley is a Brown Swiss, so I’m rather partial to them. However, while they produce a very large quantity of milk, it has a lower butterfat content, and the milk may not be quite as nutritious as some of the other dairy breeds. Holsteins are the primary breed of cattle used by the commercial dairy industry. She produces more milk than we need on just a diet of quality hay. However, since we aren’t a commercial dairy, I’m not really interested in pushing our cow to maximum capacity. Many dairy cow owners feed their cows grain to boost production. That means they graze during the summer/fall, and eat hay (usually a grass/alfalfa mix) during the winter. Since we personally are believers in the benefits of grass-fed milk and meat, we feed our cattle a grass-based diet. In our area (depending on the year) hay goes for around $150-$200 per ton (2000 pounds). (And again, that number can vary greatly). This is a tough question to answer… The cost of feeding a cow depends on:Ī general rule is 30-40 pounds of hay per day, per cow. How much does it cost to feed a milk cow? ![]() Another alternative is to start with a bottle calf, but the turn around time is longer. ![]() The proven family cows cost more, while a first-calf heifer will cost less. It depends on the cow and location, but dairy cows generally sell for $900-$3000 in our part of the country. If you plan on feeding hay year around, you can have a much smaller pen. And even though we have 60+ acres of pasture for our small herd of cattle and horses, we still end up feeding hay during the winter when the grass is dormant. Generally, it’s recommended you have 2-5 acres per cow. It depends on where you live and what type of pasture you have available. Goat post will help you to weigh out the pros and cons of each home dairy animal. This is a hotly debated topic, and honestly? I think it very much depends on the person and the homestead. Common Family Milk Cow Questions Should I get a cow or a goat? Hopefully this will answer any questions you might have on the topic, and prepare you for a dairy animal of your own in the near future. I’ve decided to collect all of my most-common reader questions related to milk cows and home dairying in one big ol’ post. And that’s not surprising, since most of us (including myself) grew up with the white stuff from the store. However, since it’s been several generations since the family milk cow was commonplace, most folks have a bunch of questions on the topic. Regardless of what species you choose, home dairying has got to be one of the most satisfying aspects of homesteading–even if you aren’t as prejudiced as I am. □ And heck, if you don’t have room for a cow, there’s no shame in a dairy goat (or sheep) instead. I firmly believe the family milk cow is going to be the next status symbol. That’s not to say that I don’t enjoy the gardening aspect of my homestead, but animal husbandry is just more of my thing I suppose… And did I mention that I have a pretty severe brown thumb? Yeah… that might have something to do with it. Try as I might to get all excited over green beans and squash, I’d much rather talk about milk cows and home dairying.
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