What They Don't Tell You About Dairy Cows
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- Опубліковано 30 вер 2023
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I'm Anne of All Trades. In NASHVILLE, I have a woodworking, blacksmithing and fabrication shop, a selection of furry friends, and an organic farm. Whether you've got the knowledge, tools, time or space to do the things you've always wanted to do, everything is "figureoutable."
I became "Anne of All Trades" out of necessity. With no background in farming or making things, I wanted to learn to raise my own food, fix things when they break and build the things I need.
8 years ago I got my first pet, planted my first seed and picked up my first tool.
My goal is to learn and share traditional techniques and skills while showing my peers how to get from where they are to where they want to go, how to do the things they are passionate about, and what can be done TODAY to engage their own community and grow deep roots.
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I don’t have cows. I will probably never have cows (never say never?). And yet here I am enjoying this entire episode. I’ve learned so much. I’m so grateful that experts like you are willing to share your experiences. Thank-you🙏🏻
we’re getting sheep, theyre smaller and easier to handle and the milk supposedly doesnt have that flavour goat milk has
@@ethernetgirl2001 goat milk shouldn’t have that flavor - if done right, 99% of people would choose goat over cow milk in a blind taste test. Fwiw I far prefer my goat milk to both cow and sheep milk. I keep both goats and cows because I use their milk for different purposes- goat for drinking and mozzarella cheese, cow for yogurt, sour cream, butter and hard cheeses
My Irish grandmother loved her cows. No trouble milking them in the early morning and no trouble getting them pregnant with her favorite bull. She was truly hands on Wonderful memories.
We had a small dairy farm in the 70s milking 50 to 60 mostly Holsteins. I've got to say it's was a daunting task trying to farm and go to school as a kid. It's even harder you trying to do it with one hand. Bravo to you Anne. 👏👏👏. Hang in there girl.
I share your experiences and walk one hour to get to school, and yes, don't forget to bring firewood for the stove to keep warm
Gold Shaw farm owner successfully used big fly sticky paper rolled onto buckets to drastically reduce the population of flies. (Get well soon. ❤)
We’ve got ‘em! Filled reams of the stuff with flies, It’s just been an especially bad year for them
@@AnneofAllTrades If there's still a lot of them at night, a bug zapper would probably help a lot.
@@NiHaoMike64 I’ve got a few of those around too 😅
@@AnneofAllTradesMaybe it would work to add a bit of meat scraps to them so they'll also be effective during the day?
I've done the bucket thing with meat scraps with the chickens, it works pretty well, but I tend to worry that I might be adding to the population by adding anything rotting to the equation if all the maggots hatch and don't get caught.
My dad grew up on a huge Jersey dairy farm, he started with dairy but after 8 years went to beef to have a social life, became a square dance caller.
I LOVE square dancing. We have one every quarter here.
I raised my grandchildren on fresh milk,they never got sick. Now going to great grandkids.
You are doing fantastic, especially with all the spilled milk. I get so easily discouraged and seeing you overcome so much and still keep going with care and love had me in tears. Thank you
I learned how to hand milk after my farmer husband died. I was over 50 years old at the time and did it like this: I would set up a clean bucket in a safe place, then go under the cow with a cup with a large handle, milk into the cup, then pour the cupfuls into the bucket. When my pet heifer had her first calf, I grafted two other baby calves onto her so she fed three calves and provided milk for me too. She would only let the other calves suck when her own calf was already sucking. Otherwise she would try to kick them. When I wanted milk for myself, if her calf was present and started the sucking herself, it was easier for me to milk my cow all I wanted. She never had mastitis. When my husband was alive, we used bulls for breeding the cows, as his family had always used bulls. I love cows.
My late father-in-law was a pioneer AI tech in the early 1950s before AI was widely available. The university that developed it sent graduates out as missionaries for the new technology. He moved his family from Wisconsin to Minnesota, Oregon, and Pennsylvania between 1951 and 1964. After that you no longer needed a MS in Science to fertilize cows. The history of AI really needs to be on the History Channel.
Lol I thought you meant artificial intelligence. I was like bruh wtf you on about 😂
yeah proper history that will tell the truth that it was the Russians who pioneered AI
I am a retired dairy farmer turned builder, I got the training and did the AI for our farm, CiDR’s where only used, in our case on problematic animals, and I never had a “clean up” bull for safety reasons, most larger farms in the north have eliminated them. The problem is reduction in small farms. My dad was company technician for many years when we had 80-90 small 30-40 cow dairies nearby now there are only 4
Yep, agree 100%! My family has always done our own AI going back to when I was a kid. Just keep the dewar full of liquid nitrogen and good semen from a reputable genetics company and then keep a close eye on your cows and when they come into standing heat do the AI when they are in the milk parlor before you let them out after milking. We never used CiDRs or hormone shots etc. just watched their natural heat cycles and have never had an issue. We got rid of our last bull when I was probably five or six years old. Same for our beef cattle, but we did them in the squeeze chute not the milk parlor. We never had issues getting it done and there is no way I would pay a vet to come do this, or preg testing for that matter. You can AI a LOT of cattle at $15 a straw for what it would cost to have a vet come up who would probably just end up missing anyway. I think the liquid nitrogen runs me about 45 - 50 dollars every 3 - 6 months. If a vet misses twice that is 40 head you could have done yourself at $15 a straw. It's even cheaper if you order many canes at once. I'm in Montana, where was your dairy at?
I can sympathize with you. I have a very small dairy farm as well. I milk 2 to 3 milking shorthorns at a time. I took a class and learned to do the AI myself. I also brred for other small farms as well. The only thing I had to work at was sourcing the liquid nitrogen to keep my tank charged. Total investment was aroung $1000, which payed back pretty quickly. I usually get them settled on one or two tries. Good luck and keep up the good work.
This really explains a lot about my childhood time on Vashon Island, Washington. It wasn't until adulthood that I learned about what was going on that caused my Dad to give up on the farm. We had one cow, Gumdrop. What you explain here is most certainly part of the reason, I realize now. Thank you. This actually has helped me in a way you probably didn't anticipate.
😂I forgot how much fun it was to milk dairy cows! Thanks for sharing!
Hard working Anne ❤ I am sad for your hand.. take care 👋🍓🍇
I milked a lot of cows by hand when I was growing up . The first thing my father tought me and brothers was to place your head right in the flank just above the udder so you can feel when the cow was about to kick . I started when I was 7 years old , and milked my last cow when I was 19 ,on the day I went into the Navy . On that day driving out of the drivway the cattle buyer drove in , My father sold all the dairy cows becuse my little brother Precise couldn't milk cows . I still have the hand crank IHC cream separator.
I love milking. That little nook is my favorite place in the world to be when I'm not trying to milk and film one handed.
So here is what I do over here in NZ. I keep one of my bull calves in tact. He lives one yearish to service all my cows. They are fertile at about eight or nine months. As bulls are dangerous I only keep him that first season while they are sweet little guys. Then he is freezer bound.
Smart! That's what we did the first year but even that little guy got scary at 8 months and he had to go to camp early :(
😬
You are still one of my heroes!
We have only had heifer calves so far. Our four mums have taught each other to jump every fence. So when they decided they wanted to get pregnant they just jumped a few fences. Two appear to be pregnant to one Bull on a stud farm. The other two visited the Bull at the other neighbours .
Anne, I, hand milked cows growing up with my brothers in Iowa. I know it doesn’t work when you are videoing, but to control the cow better, we would lean our heads into the hollow above the udder and it discourages them from kicking. Plus it kept our heads warm in the winter.
Oh yea my head in the nook is my favorite place in the world. It’s tough to maneuver in there while filming and with my injured paw though.
Yea, you had about the most awkward situation to do all that you were doing. Good job. I milked with 2 hands but had only one leg to use while balancing on a one legged milking stool. Lost a leg at 9 to bone cancer but I’m 69 now so I must have beat it.
Keep going. Hope your hand heals quickly and well.
Thanks for explaining that all that makes a lot of sense. Thank you.
Heal well and thank you for sharing while you are healing.😊 Great info!
Great video,hope the hand heals well,keep the videos coming
If you have a vet college within in reasonable distance they AI for a very reasonable cost. It’s been a blessing for us😊
I don't think I've ever commented before, but I've been watching your videos for several years now, and I really admire your endurance and unwillingness (or should I say stubbornness? 🙃) to give up.
This is an amazing video you put together. Thank you.
I always learn so much from these videos, but I admit I laughed out loud at "clean up bull" Thanks for sharing.
I did notice a difference in the udder size between Morgan's Highland beef cows and your Jersey dairy cows 12:00 which was very impressive.
May your energy and vitality be extreme!
Really nice video and love the way you presented this video even with injured arm. Really appreciated and you are inspiration for many woman around the world. Stay blessed and keep sharing. Stay blessed 😊😊😊
If you can handle all your cattle, there is another option for flies.
I found out (quite by accident) that smearing coconut oil on your cows backs gets rid of flies for about a month.
Oh wow! I use coconut oil all the time, but it only lasts for a day or two.
Thanks!
Great to see tiy. I hope that your had heals quickly.
I love your videos. Thank you for helping me do more & do better. Last spring was my 1st garden. I have already started preparing a much larger area for next time.
Yes. I had all the same challenges in Western NC. We don't have the cows anymore and I miss them so much. If I was rich I would have kept my last 2 cows as pets, I loved their company so much.
Lies by omission makes the world go round🙄.
I'm enjoying injured Anne, so much more relaxed and rested looking too. GWS❤
Thank you so much. We have a small farm homestead in arkansas and appreciate you very much🎉
Thank you. You brought my attention to some things that I've never even thought of or took into consideration.
We are a beef ranch with a couple of milk cows. Jersey mix and Holstein mix. Jersey is a sweetheart. She likes to give "hugs". Holstein is a little bit temperamental.
Would like to comment more but guess what; I'm running little bit late to go milk.
Will have to watch more of you.
The clean-up crew... Lol! What a job! And what a title! 😂
As always, I thoroughly enjoyed this video. 😁
I deeply respect that injury explanation! Hahahaha. An injury definitely needs a good back story.
I admire your enthusiasm for the cows! Jersey cows are great! how ever the Jersey Bulls have the Little man syndrom, they go nuts, i would recomend either Milking Shorthorn Bulls or Guernsey Bulls, i raise and sell MilkingShorthorn Bulls they have great disposition, heifers are great to break in too, cross them with your jerseys, just some tips here, keep her going!
Such a moooving story. 😁
Actually I was very impressed with how you milked a cow with one hand while producing a video and doing a live voice explanation. Just watch out for those midnight nachos!
Thank you so much 😀 I was pretty proud of that feat myself.
Remember that a farmer thinks that short term is 5 to 7yrs, and get to know what the life cycle is of those flies, you might find a way to reduce the numbers. Good luck and keep up the hard work 😊
Wow that was way more informative than I expected. I hate summer and those cows would agree.
Arm wasn’t in a sling last video. Wishing you a speedy recovery
Edit: You got injured making nachos 🤦🏾♂️
I’ve worked in kitchens most of my life. Too many 18 hour days in a row paired with waking up in the middle of the night needing a snack after an especially long day led to some less than ideal choices: aka using the wrong tools in the wrong location at the wrong time of day in the wrong frame of mind = disaster
@@AnneofAllTrades Glad you’re okay and it wasn’t worse. 😊
My grandparents homesteaded and had a mixed farm. When a farmer had a cow that was in heat and he needed to find a bull, he would walk down the road and ask at farms if they had an "animal". My grandparents had a bull so they would get visitors with cows to get pregnant.
You're better at that with one hand than I am with two. That's why I bought a milker lol.
I have heard that a lavender castille soap mixed with some water in a spray bottle can help get rid of flies, if you spray it on them. I haven't tried this, so I don't know for sure. But I heard it from another farmer. Good luck!
Get better soon. Si, se puede!!
Ill never think of the acronym for A. I. the same again. We got a excess of biting flies, gnats or "noseeums" this year. Must have been from the wet monsoon season or some kind of pestilence scourge. Love all your clever animal names. Sorry about your Nacho accident, I hope you weren't permanently injured. Thank You for sharing your farm stories, and Thank You Adam for your camera and editing work.
haha Adam talks about AI all the time but... he'ds not talking about the same thing I am :D Thanks for the well wishes on the hand, I'm hoping to be able to get in to see the surgeon today. And I'm proud to tell you I filmed this whole video myself, one handed, while Adam was out of town, but he turned it into a real masterpiece with his editing!
Yep. The editing is remarkable. Adam👍🏻
Another Great Video 👍 Great content, keep up the great work!
We keep dairy/beef crosses so we AI to beef and get great beefies for the freezer and lots of milk. Our cows are very hardy too. To get a cow inseminated costs me $30 NZD and we are very lucky to have an excellent tech who doesn't mind coming out to do one cow, and he does home kill so can process our freezer beasts too. We milk by machine (our original girl hates being hand milked). Her daughter is just about to have her first calf next month so very excited about that. She's the sweetest, most docile heifer, but she's huge (she's 3/4 beef, half Salers so should be a good milker - her mother who is a Charolais/Jersey cross gives us enough milk to raise 2 calves, feed us and our large flock of chickens, and still have extra to share with friends and family). ❤ Cows are awesome.
Another myth I laugh at is that you can force a cow to give up her milk. 😂 Nope - they can hold it up to the point of giving themselves mastitis, even against a machine. We had a power cut that lasted 3 days and our girl who only likes to be machine milked would not let me get much out via hand milking. I could maybe milk out 1 litre (she was producing 14 litres twice a day when using the machine). Her udder started to feel warmer than it should but thankfully we got hold of a generator after struggling through 3 unsuccessful hand milkings. She did not have a calf on her so I was starting to panic. When she's in heat she holds up too, even with the machine. Seriously, cows can be so stubborn (though I think it's being half Charolais in her case)! She's quite the character but an excellent herd matriarch and very smart (which usually works in our favour).
Although I'm on your woodworking side of the world it is interesting and informative to hear what you've learned,
Awe congratulations! Have fun miss the country life ♥ Great info 🕯
I’m not a AI fan .. 😉
Tener algunas gallinas con las vacas te ayuda con las moscas!!!... bendiciones...desde Colombia...
Have you thought of using one hand for holding a wide mouth glass bottle and with the other hand you press to get the milk ? I know its difficult to do with one hand, but it'd be easier for you because you can control the bottle easily.
I don’t have the ability to grip anything with my injured hand, I lost full mobility and feeling in both my pointer and thumb and have no strength or balance in the rest of my hand. This is hopefully temporary, but the bucket will have to do.
We AI our jerseys, we use patches on their backs to tell when they are in standing heat, so it’s a natural AI. We only have 6 jerseys, but a tank and straws are still cheaper then having a bull on the property. Our vet doesn’t charge near that much to do it though.
I like to call those “breed rite” strips and we use them too. So glad your vet works with you!! I learned to AI Pigs last year and hope to learn to do cows this year. Always something ;)
We plan on taking a cattle AI course next month, so hopefully we can just do it ourselves. Just finding the time is the hard part 😂
My whole family were Portuguese dairy farmers. Which I really enjoyed but I grew up and we had dairy goats instead. Which I tremendously miss. We had always a buck to breed the goats, but my sister also took a class and became proficient today. I so we were covered by taking care of that step ourselves. We even had our own nitrogen tank and semen bank. so I understand that the joy and frustration can be mixed. Thanks for your wonderful videos.
I really hope to get to the point I can AI my goats and cows myself, along with our pigs. The issue I’ve run into with the goats is getting the kinds of semen we’d need to improve genetics over time. But oh boy I’d love to not have to have the stench of a Buck around half the year.
When I was 10 and 11 years with grandparents in Knoxville off Chapman highway on their 5 acre farm. I know exactly what you're talking about with weather, flies, heat/humidity, etc. Mom said after she got married she would only visit her folks. Grandparents were entrepreneurs and "collected" farms and tried numerous times to encourage us "to come home" to a free farm. WE did not , and are still in California. In 2000, grandmother passed on, it took mom, my brother and sister and I two months to clean out all the homes, barns, sheds, properties, sell them.
Been watching you for years but never commented. Just wanted to say I think you’re an amazing woman. The Lord built you one of a kind and perfectly in his eyes! Keep doing what you’re doing and don’t forget to rest! Thanks for being a positive example for everyone who sees your work. We need so much more of that these days! Jim..NW Minnesota.😊
Thanks so much for sticking around, Jim.
Reba Milkentire - awesome and well played ma'am.🤣
Hi Anne !
There is a very efficient trick to get rid of flies on the animals : use olive oil with vinaigre. The olive oil helps the vinaigre to stay on the fur and the vinaigre is the repellent. Anoint them with this oil and vinaigre everyday, the animals will appreciate !
Thanks for all the things you do and for you love of ... everything ! Animals, woodworking, plants, people, etc ... THANKS ! it helps a lot
Vinegar.
@@doloresreynolds8145 right, sorry
I used 1 part water 1 part vinegar (plain white pickling vinegar) as fly spray for horses. Stuff works for some time and mainly because it is a scent neutralizer, so the animal doesn't smell like food anymore to the flies. Way happier with this mix then the expensive storebought sprays that stink and work about as good.
But identify what flies are pestering your animals before you spray anything, not all hunt by scent, some biting ones hunt by heat or co2 exhaled by the animal. Spray doesn't work for that, you'd need rugs/masks or a spot in a dark well ventilated barn. Although you can trap those with a dark ball/bucket/whatever with sticky stuff on it.
The one sure thing on a farm is that things won't go according to plan.
I just learned about lamb cidr IUDs to sync heat and theyre like $7 and look just like a mirena but bigger. Ive learned so much about Livestock from UA-cam its awesome. Thank you for the educational video!
I like your style and content in video and you had covered up.
You had also talked about day to day upcoming problems in small dairy cows farms.
U make good videos. Entertaining, educational and u are enjoyable to watch. I won’t push down or jump fences, but I certainly did when I was younger 🙂.
We got our 1st milking cow (she was pregnant, had a baby bull last yr) 2 yrs ago + it IS hard to figure out when she's fertile + get her pregnant. A friend came over and did the AI for us. Hopefully all works out for a June calf!
Thankyou for sharing your experience and therefore wisdom! My background is from Western Australia, and in Merino sheep, so a world away.
I hope your nacho related injury heals clean.
Anne, A cow is my favorite animal, Anne. well done anne, best ot luck for the future in Farming
I hand milked a Jersey cow I used to have several years ago for 9 months. I wished I had gotten a milking machine and probably would have if I had to milk with one hand. We plan to get some milk cows soon, but after watching your video I'm going to have to figure out how to do this since 3 sides of our pastures join three other farms with cows and they have bulls in there.
Love your channel. You have an incredible amount of energy.
You need a dexter bull! The calves that come from the jersey dexter mix would be Belfair and they are WAY less intimidating.
Trust me, I’ve been looking for a Dexter or Normande bull for a WHILE. The other thing we didn’t have time to get into here was the issue we’ve faced with local folks being willing to disease test test before selling it to us.
I should mention we have a couple dexters and Belfairs and they are my favorite. Both from a beef and dairy standpoint, to me, that is a really ideal combo. Fantastic efficiency when it comes to calorie conversion between grass and dairy or milk. The last Belfair steer we processed was the best beef I’ve ever had.
In this regard, your location REALLY makes a difference. In western WA I was able to get an AI tech very easily. I never did a seeder shot. I just watched for natural heat. That also gives a higher success rate. Also not using sexed semen will give you a higher success rate.
Once I moved, there were no AI techs around for the first 12 years. Now, we are SO BLESSED to have an AI tech in the area, and I have gotten my cow bred using sexed semen due next spring. YAY!
Your so right about getting them in calf. We tried AI and eventually got a bull which is better for getting them in calf but has some serious facility and handling issues. I love the milking but in the end we sold our cows to a local Amish Dairy and we bought a cow share.
This gets us fresh, raw jersey milk.
Thank you! I’ve been asking about this and no body really knows.
YOU ARE INCREDIBLE ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤ LOVE YOUR CONTENT!!!
Thank you so much!!
that's why I bought a CLOSED CIRCUIT MILK MACHINE
J'adore ce courage avec une seule mains elle est déterminer à travailler
Glad this popped up in my feed, as a dairy cow is/was in the future plans! I will be looking into it more again, as part of that plan was to get and keep a bull (we strive to follow nature's model with everything we're doing here), and the breed we're leaning towards would be the dexter. We'll see how it goes with my sheep next lambing season, lol - I might stick with just the sheep for our dairy ;)
Would love to know how long you are able to keep the calves with the mothers, and what happens after they are weaned ? Im so glad you dont seperate them like big farms do - the concept of veal and how big dairy treats cows is horrific 😢
We usually let the calves stay with moms until 6 months old, then separate for a month, then they can go back in with the rest of the herd when they're not gonna try nursing on mom again. I left one of my heifers with her mom and she nursed all the way up till she herself got pregnant hahaha
@@AnneofAllTradesthat's too funny
Love the Devon Bull. I’m crossing herford with Devon
Great cross! We’ve had a few of those!
You can try mint to repel flies on the cows. We used to grow it around our rabbit cages and outside our chicken coops. It is very invasive if you don't stay on top of it. Just having it around those areas provided a subtle fragrance but we would also make a strong tea which we sprayed on our metal urine and poo retrieval system after emptying/cleaning 2 times per week in summer, as well as cages when we would clean. This not only kept smells down but we never had issues with flies or maggots.
I would think it might be beneficial during the summer whenever you are going out to interact with the cows you could take a spray bottle and just give each of them a few spritz around the back and backside. If you were going to apply to parts of the head you would probably apply with a damp rag. Or you could just grab a couple handfuls of theint plants on your way to the cows and briskly run the raw plants on the cows.
I'm sure there are other herbs flies don't like but mint is perrenial so once you have established it could be a no cost way to keep flies under control in the summer.
I use mint, acv, citronella, lemongrass, coconut oil, garlic, all the things in rotation, but unfortunately most organic solutions are only extremely temporary- the mint doesn’t even last through milking time in the parlor 🥴 I raise soldier fly larvae, have the tape at the water troughs and keep the lights off in the barn, keep the fans on, keep the lights off in the barn, keep chickens and geese to eat the larvae… the flies just absolutely get out of control. I’ve never seen it like this year and most of my farmer friends who have been at it way longer than me feel the same.
Here in the north central America I calve mid August lots of flies but I'm a big fan of fall calves
I use a supplement that I add to the cows salt and mineral called clarifly it goes thru the manure and doesn't let the flies molt and grow to full size
Greg Judy has a few videos on handling flies.
Mike Bison lol, I low key giggled.
We found the same - in the too-hard basket. Now we buy week-old dairy beef calves (bobby calves) and rear them for 12 months before selling. Forget the milking ....buy it at the supermarket !
Smart!
This is the main reason I picked goats over cows for our homestead. I watched so many homesteaders on UA-cam try AI for it to only fail them. Seamed like the only way to get a cow bred was to have a bull and that was not an option for me. Yes goats have there cons, but getting them bred has thus far not been an issue at all.
This is why I have dwarf Nigerian goats. It is way easier than cows in some ways.other ways it's the same.
I have two beautiful Nigerian Dwarf Does, then I got a Buck and Wether
Now I have 4 goats and no babies ( kids) go figure :(
I saw some people use “face masks” on cows and horses to protect their faces from flies, can’t remember what they’re called.
I was considering a cow for dairy but after some research and me being about 5 feet tall, I’m leaning more to having dairy goats.
Great topic!
I do AI on my small dairy. Definitely worth learning how to do it.
Learning how and buying the equipment is WAY cheaper.
In NZ we don't use BGH (Bovine Growth Hormone) as it harms cows. The USA and other countries do.
BST is what bovine growth hormone is called in the US of A. Lutalyse is a hormone that will dump a pregnancy. They are VERY different hormones. Lutalyse can throw off a woman's cycle and cause breakthrough bleeding, if it is absorbed through the skin AND if one is asthmatic it can cause major breathing trouble. Handle all pharmacueticals with care and know your risks with whatever you handle. Some bovine treatments can kill a human, if it touches the human (the one our vet sometimes used was for calf pneumonia, if i recall correctly).
Outstanding video
Thank you so much 😀
Sidebar: i just heard that dairy beef tastes better then regular beef breeds. Was listening to a podcast where a guy crossed jersey with i think hereford to get better tasting beef. Milking Devons are supposedly favored by british royalty in the past for beef.
As a dairy farmer from New Zealand, my advice would be to milk them past the time of year you would normally stop, and to breed them (either AI or with the bull for the following season. It's what we often do with cows that don't get pregnant that we want to keep. Hopefully this makes a much sense reading it as it does in my head! 😂
Watching this with my 10yo daughter….lots of questions….awkward questions. I told her to ask her grandpa, who had the first AI’d ewe back in the 80’s.
Haha my apologies about the awkwardness, but it sounds like she’s got a super rad grandpa
Dairy goats and a billy or two are way more economical. The goats eat weeds and are cheaper to keep. Granted the cream for butter can be an issue, but cheese shouldn't be a problem. Check it out!
And goats are better for ecology cause they produce less gasses
She actually has made a course on keeping dairy goats at The School for Traditional Skills! Very cool
Nigerian dwarfs have higher butterfat than cows do. They are also very easy to have around, the small size makes them easy. You do have to have more of them, but you can’t beat the milk. Sweet and super creamy. 😊
I’ve been keeping dairy goats for 8 years. I raise Nigerian dwarves for their butterfat and have stellar genetics within my herd. I keep both dairy goats and dairy cows because each excels at certain things. Because goat milk is naturally homogenized, it doesn’t make great cream products because separating the cream requires the use of a specialized, extremely finicky machine, which I have, but isn’t super accessible to most folks, and honestly, is a pain in the butt to use. For every day drinking milk and lots of cheeses, goat milk is far superior. But for making butter, ice cream, and other similar things, being able to easily skim the cream from atop the cow milk is 👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻
@@AnneofAllTrades been following you for a while, didn't realise that you keep both. From past experience I know the difficulty. Appreciate your channel.
When I was about 7 years old I kept walking behind my neighbors milk cows. I got kicked and thrown against the feed box, before I wised up. Mess with the bull get the horn.
They don't tell you, when they are in heat they sometimes try to mount you.
Dear Anne, let a few chickens run around the fields where your cows are grazing. They will eat the larvae, eggs out of the cow poop and you'll have no issues. And you'll have happy chickens too.
Call me a contrarian, but while many homesteaders (myself formerly included) will tell you that in a regenerative farming model, running chickens behind livestock a few days after livestock has been concentrated in one particular area, will have the chickens scratching and pecking fly and parasite larvae out of the manure left behind, disturbing the soil and distributing the manure more evenly throughout the pasture.
It’s a sound theory I myself initially bought hook line and sinker initially,
But having run my flock of ~100 birds behind my livestock for a couple years with a huge extra time and labor cost in including birds, (they have their own fencing and chargers that need to be re-situated with every move, they need localized water, feed, ground and areal predator protection…)
I ultimately realized I would need 2000-3000 chickens for that model to be even remotely effective, because the birds need to be extremely concentrated, and also be able to cover every square inch of pasture the livestock was formerly on, at just the right time, to actually get to all the patties and be motivated enough to sort through them for larvae. If running a flock of several thousand birds behind livestock, I will cede it is probably extremely effective for both fly control and speeding up the process of pasture regeneration, but I have no desire for 2000 birds or the chores associated.
My reality trying to integrate a small flock (~100 birds) into a rotational system with my livestock was that I had several more hours of work per week moving birds and putting up extra fencing for them, while the fly population was *possibly,* *imperceptibly* diminished at best.
I’m sure many homesteaders will gasp reading that I kind of hate chickens, but I can already barely tolerate the egg/meat exchange for the labor of keeping the birds I’ve got, even now that I’ve reduced chore time significantly by rotating them less frequently and instead using them to stir my commercial scale composting project much closer to the barn.
We’ve been totally taking the availability of AI techs in our area for granted. We use CIDR this year after it took 5 attempts to get our heifer in calf last year. We’re back on track for late summer birth here (great time for SW Aus)
Im in central (northern ish) michigan. Dr Pol is our vet and has an AI tech that charges $35 a heifer for 2 or more and that includes gas. Its awesome to be in a huge farming community and have access to MSU students and of course Dr Pol!!!!!
That is indeed a HUGE benefit! Make sure you thank Dr. Pol every time you see him!
@AnneofAllTrades yes mam! We have 2 jersey cross calves who will be AI'd next year. I'm super stoked to try my hand at this! We've only had goats and chickens in our time 😱 in the meantime I'm trying to figure out how to get them off these daggum bottles 😂
My grandfather used to breed 9 mo heifers. Not sure how old yours was, but at 9 mo they can begin breeding.
That’s about when we start too depending on body condition