The Family Cow

Today I wanted to showcase some information about our family milk cow Zoey and all the reasons a milk cow may or may not be right for you and your family!

I want preface by explaining my background as well as our homestead goals to help you to better understand why we chose to add a cow to the mix. I started off on our farm with goats as I raise ADGA Nigerian Dwarves. I have a love for the breed outside of milk production, but I have found if you invest in good quality stock, you are able produce a decent amount of milk! This was very helpful for me as I got to enhance my knowledge for milking, sanitation, and schedule with something that doesn’t take long to milk out and was cheaper to feed and easy to handle (well…aside from first fresheners ;) My goal for the homestead has to always been to provide for my family by supplying milk, butter, cream, ice-cream and more, and also having some to share with close family and friends! Although I still milk my goats for the milk, whether it’s to use for milk replacer for orphaned animals, for us to drink, or crafting, I wanted even more milk to be able to truly sustain our family, and a family cow was the answer! If it was milk alone I was thinking about, I may not have swayed that way, but you can’t beat the cream/butter of a cow, especially a Jersey cow which is what we invested in.

Zoey, our 4 year old Jersey cow is extremely easy to handle. We not only are able to use her for milk, but we breed her to a Beef bull yearly so that we may also have her raise beef cross calves that can provide additional food for our family. Each cow is different, but for Zoey, I can calf share and choose to milk once a day or twice a day. This depends on the cows production, feed, and calf management program. For us, calf sharing is ideal as we are able to have the calf help milk the mom out so that if we chose to take a day trip with our family of 4, depending on production we won’t have to find a farm sitter.

Time is definitely something to account for when debating on getting a family milk cow, and you absolutely cannot have lazy days where you don’t milk. Cows require structure and schedule. However, while calf sharing, learn your cow and watch how long it takes her to fill. You will learn your can and can-nots to better evaluate what she needs from you to remain happy and healthy. In the end, we love having both goats and a family milk cow here on the farm for different reasons. Both are unique and appreciated for what they give us. Do your research and consider all factors when considering getting a dairy cow. If you still want to take the plunge after that, I guarantee it’s one you won’t regret! Especially if you find one as special as our Zoey!