my new cud chewing beauty queen

[ducks4you]

@thistlebloom, My fences are 2 strands of electric wire.. so smaller goat = walk under or between.
@ninnymary, I currently have about 4 acres of pasture. I've been looking at all that empty, usused space since I lost my last horse. A cow just seemed to be a good replacement - use the land, and provide something for me (besides something 'close' to that horse smell)

My property is 5 acres bc owner #2 retired from farming, sold off the 50 acres to the west, fenced in the 5 acres, bought 5 young steers and grazed them all summer, butchered in the Fall. I can keep 3 horses grazing 1/2 the year on my 4 fenced in acres. YOU could keep 6-7 adult cows or steers on the same 4 acres bc they only graze about 1/2 the volume of a horse. It's that regurgitating and cud chewing. Horses "waste" their food, seemingly, but they are the Best reseeders of any domestic herbivore.
I guess if your calf is a pet, then, never mind. But, if you are filling a freezer, you could make good use of all of the grass AND you won't have to mow it, except to knock down any weeds.

 

[canesisters]

Well Eva was a year old in September and it's PAST time that I get going on the process of getting her bred.
Last night I had the oddest phone conversation of my life...
WAY back when she first arrived, I called a near-by dairy and got lots of names and phone numbers that I thought would be helpful. But, since I had planned to actually USE the info the very next day and make some calls, I didn't write down what each of these names & numbers were for. So last night's oddness started off with me picking one and leaving a message that went something like this "Hi. I REALLY hope that I haven't mixed up your number with someone else's - but, my heifer needs to be bred and I need to get information about artificial insemination."
He called back just a few minutes later and laughed saying that he actually gets a lot of messages like that.
Then I spent the next 20 mins having a conversation with a stranger about Eva's 'discharge' colors and amounts, about what I need to be doing over the next few days to help pinpoint exactly where she is in her cycle and exactly what he's going to do when he comes out.

 

[Nyboy]

Been there LOL but with dogs

 

[thistlebloom]

View attachment 11380

Well Eva was a year old in September and it's PAST time that I get going on the process of getting her bred.
Last night I had the oddest phone conversation of my life...
WAY back when she first arrived, I called a near-by dairy and got lots of names and phone numbers that I thought would be helpful. But, since I had planned to actually USE the info the very next day and make some calls, I didn't write down what each of these names & numbers were for. So last night's oddness started off with me picking one and leaving a message that went something like this "Hi. I REALLY hope that I haven't mixed up your number with someone else's - but, my heifer needs to be bred and I need to get information about artificial insemination."
He called back just a few minutes later and laughed saying that he actually gets a lot of messages like that.
Then I spent the next 20 mins having a conversation with a stranger about Eva's 'discharge' colors and amounts, about what I need to be doing over the next few days to help pinpoint exactly where she is in her cycle and exactly what he's going to do when he comes out.

Well at least Eva wasn't in the room. She would have died of embarrassment.

 

[Beekissed]

I make calls like that too...you know, the ones that start with , "I'm sorry if I have the wrong number, but....." because I tend to not write down good info with my numbers jotted on post its and stabbed to my cork board.

So, your baby is going to be bred! Awwwwwww!!!!! I hope you have a great outcome and she takes the first time, has a healthy little calf and gives tons of creamy milk. You know that pics of the whole process, with details, are necessary....I've always wanted to learn how to AI livestock.

 

[Nyboy]

Are you going to keep the calf ?

 

[canesisters]

My INTENTION is to either send this calf off for beef (if its a boy) or sell it (if it's a girl). I don't have pasture space to keep one JUST because of attachment. Since Eva is 1/2beef (angus) and 1/2dairy (jersey) this calf will be 3/4 beef (angus bull)
Once I've gone through a season of having an actual producing milk cow, I can decide if I want to breed her next time to a dairy bull and hope for a 3/4 dairy heifer to keep - or give up the whole milking thing and just let her raise up a beef calf or two each year.

At least... that's my plan....

 

[bobm]

After waking up and dressing in farm work clothes, rounding up Eva , give grain to her, then milking in the early morning, feeding her, cleaning the equipment,take a shower, get dressed , make and eat breakfast BEFORE going to work. Then, AFTER coming home from work, change into farm work clothes, rounding up Eva, give her some grain, evening milking followed by feeding and cleaning the milking equipment, seperating the cream, churning butter, change clothes , prepare dinner then eat dinner, change into jammies and fall into bed, Zzzzzz . After 2 weeks of blurry eyes and yawning while having strong coffee transfusions at work , the choice will be easy to go the beef route.

 

[Beekissed]

Oh, how we can count on that viewpoint...it's like clockwork, really.

Or, you could keep the calf separate at night, milk in the morning, let the calf have her the rest of the day and repeat. Morning milk for you, the rest of the day for the calf. If at any time you find it impossible to do the morning milking, you can turn her calf into her and let the calf have all the milk that day.

And, of course, you can always enlist the aid of other people in the household to keep up with all the milking chores and processing, while also giving whole milk to family to do with what they will if they wish to make their own butter, cheese, etc.

Folks used to do it all the time and it wasn't the big drag folks make it out to be, especially when you just have one cow.

 

[canesisters]

Yup, @Beekissed , I'm planning to 'milk share' with the calf. The fact that I would have a built in 'relief milker' was what finally tipped me into going for the idea. Since Eva is only 1/2 dairy - there really is no guarantee that she will produce enough to be an abundance for both of us. But then again - if the dairy 1/2 is dominant, I could be swimming in milk even with a fat, sassy calf helping.
So, either way, we're at the beginning of an adventure. Whatever it turns out to be, it will be pasture raised with Eva until it's 6months old or so.

As far as getting help with the chores ... lol - not likely. I am my 'household'. My renter isn't interested in all the farm stuff and my close family would rather buy at the store. Friends, though, are already lined up to get any extra milk.