One-cow Family Meets the One-family Cow
(Page 10 of 14)
May/June 1972
By Hank Rate
Wean the baby at the end of six or seven months when his mother's milk production begins to fall off. It's expensive to keep a large calf on dry feed and I've found it darn near impossible to turn one out to pasture with a lactating cow (despite the impressive array of junk "weaners" that decorate my milkhouse wall). Because of this weaning problem and a thing I've got about eating my own kids, I sell my calves when they're seven months old (an age that is highly merchantable) . . . and buy half a beef with the income.
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THE NEW MOTHER
A fresh cow's bag and teats are usually distended, swollen, red and hard. When you begin milking your new mama, then, she's probably going to find the operation painful and she may be tempted to kick or stick her foot in the bucket. Be prepared. You won't be able to extract much milk and relieve Bossy's discomfort the first couple of milkings but do the best you can. By the third or fourth session your cow's flow and quantity should be within reason.
If Bossy's teats tend to dry and crack or get sunburned (as commonly occurs shortly after calving), treat her with a good salve such as Corona or Bag Balm. Even long after calving or when dry, a cow can cut and scratch her bag on brush or wire fences. Get used to the way yours stands in stanchion and anytime she holds herself differently, lashes her tail, jumps or kicks during milking, inspect her teats and bag immediately. Use your salve liberally at the first sign of cuts, scratches, drying or cracking.
Bossy's milk production will increase steadily, probably peak after she's been fresh for about two months and then continue at a high level through the seventh month of lactation. Lush pasture will strengthen her flow noticeably (the first green grass in spring and wild onions almost any time of the year will also noticeably change the taste of her milk . . . for the worse) and extreme heat or cold will cut your cow's production.
FEEDING THE COW
Commercial dairymen generally "challenge feed" grain to their cows. That is, they keep increasing each animal's ration until her production stops increasing. Me . . . I just feed Ole Yeller a three-pound coffee can of grain (I use rolled barley but oats are good too . . . as are mixtures which include ground corn, wheat, etc.). I feed the same three-pound canful (with a little extra thrown in during below-zero weather) until I'm ready to start drying Yeller up.
A dairy cow needs all the feed she'll eat but, then again, cattle can waste a great deal when they're overfed. I used to worry a lot about just how much was enough and the extension bulletins only confused me. Gradually, though, Ole Yeller and her predecessors have taught me that an average milk cow will take care of herself on good pasture and still scoff up that three pounds of grain at each milking. If the pasture's short or snowed under, she needs 35 pounds of high-legume hay a day. When my hay is short on legumes and long on grass, I buy a sack of 33% protein dairy concentrate and mix one part with every 8 or 10 parts of the grain I feed while milking.
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