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Post by Guardian on Oct 7, 2014 5:21:57 GMT 10
How many people are milking their Dexters and how often?
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Post by Deleted on Oct 10, 2014 10:18:34 GMT 10
Hello
We have two Dexter cows who provide our household with milk, cheese and butter.
Yet to try icecream and yoghurt but hear it is good
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Post by Deleted on Oct 13, 2014 15:47:57 GMT 10
Milking is not easy. I have been guilty of not taking enough time to study the difficulties associated with milking. The main problem has been getting the cow prepared for the process. I had been able achieve very minor success using one hand on the bucket and one on the udder. I could get the milk flowing out of each of the teats but had to be ready to whip the bucket away before the back leg moved. The bucket was regularly decanted into another container and after more than 30 minutes I had collected about 600 ml.
After several of these half hearted sessions I resolved that all I had to do was organise a leg rope. I was assured by others that a cow cannot kick if it is standing on only three legs.
However, I can assure you that this not how things worked out when I made my first ill-fated attempt to leg rope the cow. Crumpet was enjoying the fresh hay we had on offer but she did not like the leg rope at all and we very quickly had an incontinent Cow that could jump on three legs. There was no prospect of this process being successful.
My subsequent research suggests that I need to go back at least ten steps. I need to start preparing a heifer before she is in calf by getting her settled with me interfering with her. I might then have some success if I try to get some milk from the Cow from as early as three weeks after she starts feeding her first calf. Then of cause I will have to be prepared to do it every day or twice a day after the calf has been weaned. It seems like a lot of work to get a pint of milk.
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dexteraddict
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Resides in:: Near Braidwood NSW
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Post by dexteraddict on Oct 18, 2014 7:26:38 GMT 10
Hi
We start training right from the word with patting and brushing etc.
About the 6-8 month mark we include touching and rubbing the udder.
This has worked well for us. But we don't try to milk the first time mum.
With the older mums we don't really try any milking until the calves are more than a couple months old.
but we don't really milk, Its more to show people that the girls are calm enough should we/they want to.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 20, 2014 8:56:16 GMT 10
I have milked my Dexter's since I became involved with them. I use a leg rope when I leg rope I gently pull the leg back just enough to expose the udder, if it is a heifer on her first calf in the months before she is due I gently massage her udder at least once a day. There will be some kicking and jumping when the leg rope is first applied but she will quickly get used to it. I have had some cow put their leg back as soon as the breech chain is put around their back end. I always clip the udders of my hairy Deters as this makes milking a lot easier. I have one Dexter that gives me 16 litres a day and feeds her calf, she is a bit difficult to milk when she come in as her udder is nearly on the ground, I bottle feed the calf until the swelling goes down. I have tried to milk without a leg rope but it does not matter how quiet the cow is they always seem to wait until your just about finished milking and then they put their foot in the bucket and the milk has to be thrown away. As with all things in life it is practice and more practice I started milking at 4 years of age on a Jersey dairy farm and had to milk all the very small teat cows that the adults could not do. All the best, Michael from Yenoor Beags. |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 22, 2014 8:52:40 GMT 10
Great advice Michael.
People seem to think that any quiet cow is ready for milking. They don't realise that it isn't instinctive to be milk cow but they have to be trained. There is much that a cow has to learn, to stand quietly for an extended time, not to poo or pee when being milked, not to stamp her feet or kick out, to learn the routine so that she will let down properly. Milking is much more than just playing around with an udder. Glendonbrook, if your cow is quiet, I am sure you can easily train her to be a milk cow. As you say, go back ten steps and start again with her. Don't try to milk her at first, teach her what you want of her and get her comfortable and confident with the process before you even attempt to milk. Another misunderstanding is also that the leg rope stops a cow from kicking, as you found out, that is far from it. The leg rope is there just to keep the leg away from the bucket if she does kick out. Old cows can learn to be milk cows. I recently trained a 10 yr old cow to be a very reliable milker, and she learnt the routine within half a dozen milkings. Dexters are very intelligent, and with the right training can learn what you want of them very quickly. Glendonbrook, can I suggest that you find yourself a mentor in your area, someone who already milks, and get them to show you how to go about it. I am sure they would be more than willing to share their knowledge with you. Yes, milking a cow isn't that easy, but it shouldn't be that hard either. |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 22, 2014 8:55:26 GMT 10
Michael, that is one fantastic Dexter that you have. What are her lines? I would be interested to know as I am breeding to increase milk production (along with better udder construction) in my cows for milking. Short teats are horrible, really are only suitable for a child's hands, and Jerseys are shockers for it. Though, there are a lot of Dexters out their with too short teats too. |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 22, 2014 8:58:27 GMT 10
Donna,
I was just wondering if you wouldn't mind sharing your rationale for not milking a first calving heifer, and why you would wait until calves are a couple of months old before milking. We find that with our cows they NEED to be milked straight up when a calf is born, as their udders are bursting with milk, and by the time the calves are several months old, they are able to take all that the cow is producing.
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dexteraddict
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Resides in:: Near Braidwood NSW
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Post by dexteraddict on Oct 22, 2014 11:57:03 GMT 10
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Post by Deleted on Oct 22, 2014 18:57:58 GMT 10
In answer to carragheendexters Mem I do not know her blood lines as I saved her at a fat cattle sale when she was calf, the buyer of her dam was going to hit her on the head as he did not want a calf as he had a calf at home to foster on the Dexter dam. I did try to find out all I could about the dam but the seller, she wanted me to pay her $250 for it as she did not get what she wanted for the cow and calf at the sale so she said, I refused to pay this. The calf could not of been registered as she has a complete white underneath. I have photos of her but I am not sure if I can attach them here. On her first calf I AI her to a Dexter bull and 9 months later it is a Sunday night she starts to calve six hours later still no calf only legs an nose and it would not move. So at 12.30 am I call the vet who spent another 3 hours pulling it out and it was a bull as were the next 3 calves all Dexter's and all needed help to be born so I AI her twice now to a Jersey and she had them with out any help and both are heifers. Let me know if you want to see the photos.
I agree that it is great to seek help with learning to milk from an old hand in the milking game, I feel it is best to start teaching a cow to milk when she first comes in to milk as by leaving her go two months she by then is only makes the amount of milk the calf id drinking at that time. By starting early you keep her milk supply up as she is making what she feels is needed. I do not use the milk for my self for the first 6 days as it to me is colostrum. But as you say each to there own.
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