Promised Land Homestead

Chloe's New Home

Here are a couple of pictures of Chloe at her new home in New Mexico.  I know what you're thinking.  Where in New Mexico is it that green?  They are lucky to have their farm in the Rio Grande Valley where the water from the river can be used for irrigation.  It's a beautiful homestead and I know Chloe is in "fresh grass heaven".

Here she is with her new herd.  The lady who purchased her owns a Hereford cow and calf, a Holstein/Jersey steer, a Mini-Jersey bull, a Jersey heifer, and now Chloe. I'm guessing Chloe and the heifer will be the family milk cows.  I'm glad we were able to sell to these people.  They are into sustainable farming like ourselves, and want to hand milk.  It's not easy to find a cow that's used to hand milking, so I'm glad we were able to provide one to them.  I think she'll be very happy there.

The bovine next to Chloe here is not a calf, it is a Mini-Jersey bull.  Never heard of a Mini-Jersey?  I have known about them for a while.  I don't know how they're miniturized, but it probably includes something like that shrinking ray from "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids".  The owner was hoping that this bull would be able to breed Chloe.  Hmmm.  I'm not seeing it.  Can bulls be trained to use step ladders?  Actually, the owner mentioned that a neigbor of her's has an Angus bull, so Chloe will probably get to be friends with him.

Doesn't it look in this picture that Chloe's giving him the "I don't think so pal", look?  Ha!  She is a big girl.

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6:51 PM, Thursday, July 24, 2008 .. Posted by CitySteader

I have given so much thought to buying a cow (not possible now, but I want to be as prepared as possible when the time comes) and I thought of another question for you. How long does the calf generally nurse before the cow naturally weans it? I only ask because the mares I know have all weaned their foals after just a few months, which brings me to my next and more important question. Do you then have to start milking twice a day?

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7:42 AM, Friday, July 25, 2008 .. Posted by dsw3131

I love answering cow questions! The answer on the weaning question is that it depends. Some cows will wean their calf at 6 months, some will never wean it. The ones that never wean their calves either have to have them forcibly weaned or the calf will just wean itself eventually. I've heard of calves a year old that still try to sneak the occasional drink. Our calf is still nursing, although grass and hay are his main diet. He is about 9 months old and we'll be butchering him in September. Also, if you're wondering how early they can be forcibly weaned, I've heard 4 months.

You do not have to start milking twice a day. As long as you're still milking once per day the cow should remain mastitis-free. However, there's a drawback. You will get less milk at your once-a-day milking than you did when the calf was nursing. The demands on her milk production have decreased, so her body produces less. If you don't want to put up with less milk, then you will have to milk twice a day until she dries up.

We haven't decided yet, but we will probably still only milk once per day when the calf is slaughtered in September. Pumpkin calves in mid-December, so we'd like to dry her off in mid October. That means less milk for about a month. As our family gets bigger we'll probably need the extra milk, but not right now.

Derek