Owning a Family Milk Cow Basics | Family Milk Cow on 5 Acre Homestead | Self Sufficient Homestead
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- Опубліковано 19 лют 2022
- We break down the basics of everything you need to know about having a family milk cow and the simple methods we use on our 5-acre homestead. If you are new to the idea of owning a family milk cow, you are not alone. But if our once suburban family can do it, so can you!!
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Hoof trimming, re-seeding/fertilizing of pastures as needed, emergency vet fund. All things that should be considered in a cow budget❤
Yes! Those are good things to include in a cow budget! Thanks for sharing!
This was great information. I can only imagine what it's like to have access to so much fresh milk all to yourself. Thanks for the video!
So glad this was helpful! You’re welcome!
Happy to hear only 5 acres is working for a family milk cow , because that’s exactly what I am planning. Thanks
Yes! Definitely doable depending on what the land and pasture is like! All the best on your journey!
This video is done so well! Thank you so much for sharing your wisdom! We are getting a milking cow and your video has really helped us!
Yay for getting a family milk cow! So exciting!! Glad this was helpful for you!
Great video! My hubby is almost home with our first milk cow and we have no idea what we’re doing! We got chickens on a whim almost 2 years ago and have learned quite a bit in the process. Mainly that things are easier than what google acts like 😅. I enjoyed my fresh egg this morning at breakfast but more than that chickens are so relaxing to watch. I’m totally getting that milking the cow could be a beautiful way to start the day!
Yes!! I love everything about this! Best of luck with your milk cow, you got this!!
Thought a little research before diving in might be smart
Any updates? How's it going? 😊
Such good info! Love your cows name! 😊 here in Canada for a jersey milk cow, we are paying at least 3000, sometimes closer to 4000.
Love your no fuse set up/routine! Its exactly what I was looking for with wanting to get a milk cow for our family of 5.
Oh, that's so exciting!! I hope you find just the right girl for your family!
You guys are living my dream life. Grew up on an alpaca farm-can’t wait to get a farm and build a family like you guys!
Thanks so much for watching and all the best in your journey! We say go for it!!
That was the most informative video I've watched on this subject. Getting our first milk cow and we are trying to be prepared. Thank you for sharing your experience!!
Really appreciate the kind words and glad it was helpful! You got this! Good luck with everything!!
You have a fan here watching from the Philippines! More power to you and God richly bless you!
You too!! And thanks for watching! ❤️
Absolutely love these videos . About to start our homestead and looking forward to getting our family milk cow!
Yay, that’s so exciting!! It really is such an awesome way of life and contrary to what you might hear, we think a family milk cow is great place to start 🙂. All the best!
Really great video guys! I learned a lot. I’ve always been a bit nervous about milking or the commitment. You really laid it all out well. It was very thorough! I would seriously consider it now.
Thank you! So glad it was helpful! It totally wasn’t in the cards for us but now we can’t imagine life without her. Good luck with whatever decision you make and thanks for watching!!
Thanks for sharing!! I’m interested in adding a dairy cow to our farmstead eventually and this was a lot of helpful info. Much appreciated! Keep up the great content
You bet! Milk cows are so much fun to have and it’s amazing how much food you can get one animal! So worth it 🐄🙂. Thanks for watching!!
Thanks for making this video. We are about to bring home a milk cow. It just helpful seeing how other people do it.
So glad it was helpful! And how exciting to be getting a milk cow! Hope it all goes well!
Thank you! So encouraging. I’ve been planning for a couple years but have been a bit apprehensive. Your spirit and attitude really shows that’s what it takes. Your passion for life and simplicity is inspiring too! Praying for Yah to bring the opportunity forth now.
So glad this was helpful!! You’ll have to keep us posted when the right opportunity comes your way!!
This is awesome. Thanks. I will check out more of your videos
Thanks so much for watching!! 😊
Thank you so much for this! We are in the same position, a jersey cow has presented itself but we have no experience with cows or milking. The only thing we do have is the land for one. So this video and your experience is so greatly appreciated! 🙏🏻 Thank you from England ☺️
Oh, I’m so glad it was helpful!! Good luck on your journey!! Sounds very exciting!!
Thank you so much for this video! Please post more. I’m buying our first family milk cow to try, I think we’re going to love it. Now I just need to figure out what I’m doing 😆 I come from zero farming background, in fact I lived in Manhattan 6 years ago lol. Now I have chickens and goats and a garden. Please post more!
That is so exciting!! We had no farming background either and you kind of just figure it out as you go. You got this!! Definitely network with other farmers/homesteaders in your area can be a great place to learn.
Thank you for this very complete and informative video. Enjoyed it.
You’re welcome!! Glad it was helpful!
We have a very similar story in attaining our cows! I"m also in that FB group. I got my jersey 2 months ago. She gets grain at milkings. How did you get her back to just grass? So many people on that group act like it's bad for their condition if they don't have specific grass genetics.
We moved about 10 months into having her and that's when we stopped adding grain at milking time. She's on the thinner side (with or without a little grain) but seems so much healthier to us without it. I was afraid she would move more when milking but she calmed down so much. Thanks for watching!
GUYS!! Do yourselves a favor… zoom in on the baby and watch this video. You can almost hear his inner monologue 😂😂😂
🤣 Thanks for watching!
This was such a blessing to me! Just bought a bred jersey heifer. The sweet young family we bought her from made it seem reasonable. Then I started reading on these fb pages and thought Joly cow what have I gotten into. Today I watched your video. You made it all reasonable again! I had some questions, but after I read through all your comments, they were all answered! Thank you so much! I hope I can send you more questions!
Congratulations! We are happy to answer questions! :)
Very informative - thank you!
So glad this was helpful! Thanks for watching!
answered lots of questions. Thanks.
Glad it was helpful! Thanks for watching!
Great video!
Thanks!
Great video my wife wants to get one now!
We support that! :) Thanks for watching!!
Thank you for sharing.
You’re welcome! Thanks for watching!
Really really excellent video
Appreciate it 😊. Thanks for watching!
Im in northern Illinois too, hello!👋🏻 It would be a dream to find land like this up here and move my family. Thanks for teaching us about having a dairy cow. ❤
Hi! So glad this was helpful for you and hope you can find the perfect thing for your family! Thanks for watching!!
Great video
Thanks for watching! 😊
God bless you sir and your family and friends
Thank you! 🙏
Great Info 🐮👍
Thanks so much for watching!!
Living my dream. Just waiting to get land so I can get my cow!
The best life! Hoping you find the perfect thing!
Hook me up with a milk cow and I can make the entire dairy case (even the baking goods). People underestimate the power of knowledge…
Love it!
Great video thanks!!! We have similar acreage 5 acres. As for water in winter do you just use the large water basins as your video showed or do you use a different watering system in winter. Thanks!!
Good question! We actually have a jug waterer that we use for winter and we've loved it. Here's a link to a post we did on it to explain how it works. Hope this is helpful. Let us know if you have any questions. fromscratchfarmstead.com/jug-waterer-review/
l love your simple no frills process, just what l'm looking for and now a new subscriber. 😊 l'm curious how long you need to separate the calf for morning milking. Does it need to be a certain number of hours? What time do you separate the night before for a 6am milking? Thank you!
Thanks so much for watching and for your kind comment! So I think seasonally our answer would be different for this. In the summer when we have a lot of day light, we won't separate them until 8 or 8:30 in the evening (dusk) but in the winter we'll separate also around dusk which can sometimes be as early as 4:30-5. Honestly, I haven't found that it's made that much of a difference in how much milk we get. We just try to be as routine as we can (cows like that) but some days things are thrown off and that's ok too.
great, thanks so much!!
Love the video... What do you do about trimming hooves?
We'll be honest, we don't do any hoof trimming. We've kept an eye on things and she's always seemed healthy and normal. Because she's on pasture pretty much all year we don't have many concerns with bacteria. It's something we want to look into more. Thanks for watching!
Thanks for the great video. Do you disinfect the teats before milking or anything?
You’re welcome ❤️. We just use warm soapy water and that does the trick. Since she’s on pasture most of the time she’s very rarely that dirty. Thanks for watching!
Sorry if this question has already been asked. What do you do for milk the two months she is dried up before having her next calf?
Hi! This is a good question! We try to freeze enough for at least basic use to get us through those couple of months! Thanks for watching!
Wonderful informative! So you seem to have a lot going on with dairy, so do you just go dairy free during the two months she's weened? Or what do you do during that time? :)
We usually freeze several gallons to use in that in between time! Thanks for watching!!
Is the hay you’re feeding organic/spray free? My biggest concern is sourcing hay in the winter because I don’t know of any organic hay farms near Northeast Alabama.
Our hay is not certified organic but it is spray free. Certified organic hay can be hard to come by. But talk to some of the farmers that sell hay near you and ask about their practices. Many don’t spray and often times they just spread manure from animals for fertilizer. But definitely try and stay away from sprayed hay. The lifeless soils of sprayed fields will offer very little nutrition in what they grow. Thanks for watching!!
awesome video and great info and insights, just one question, do you consume the milk raw or do you have to boil it? I want to get a milking cow to start drinking raw milk, but i don't know if its safe
Thanks for the feedback and for watching! And yay for wanting to get a milk cow!! We do drink the milk raw after straining it. There are so many AMAZING benefits to the natural bacteria within the milk that are lost in pasteurization. We feel completely safe drinking it but you should definitely do your own homework to determine the methods you feel comfortable with. All the best in your milk cow journey!
buy a hay roll. either 800 0r 1,300 roll size. Put in barn. pull from it as needed 40 to 80 a roll.
Good point! We did get a big round bale at the end of last winter when our neighbors ran out of small ones. It definitely lasted a long time. A little less convenient to pull hay from and portion it out but it wasn’t bad.
@@FromScratchFarmstead droop the roll into the back of the milking eating trough area. Then cow can just get head thru to eat. As eat up roll push it closer. Works well on other animals. So much less work.
Do you feel like you are justified in the cost aspect by how much you save on meat and dairy? I would like a milk cow, but would have to feed it a lot of hay due to not having much space. I can’t decide if I think it would just be fun, or I if it would actually make sense for our family. We try to do organic, grass fed everything. We currently have chickens. We have 1 acre of land, but only about half of that would be pasture. My neighbors have more land and might let me use some of it too though for milk bartering.
For us, I’d say yes, it’s been absolutely worth it! We would not be able to afford nearly as high of quality of dairy/meat that we are currently getting if we weren’t raising it ourselves. We barter hay for milk with neighbors which is awesome! If you can work out some sort of arrangement where you can barter for hay or more pasture for your cows to graze and can spare some time each day and have a bit of flexibility in your world, we’d highly recommend it! All the best to you and your family!
@@FromScratchFarmstead thank you! I watched some of your other videos about it and they were very insightful. It’s nice to see someone do it without all the expensive equipment.
What is the process of preserving the milk, separating cream/buttermilk/ butter/ etc?
We strain the milk with a dish towel laid inside the basket of a mesh strainer into an 8 cup pyrex liquid measuring cup. We pour from there into 1/2 gallon wide mouth mason jars. After then milk has been refrigerated for about 24 hours we go ahead and scoop off some cream for making butter etc. I don't take all the cream but maybe 1/2 (it's usually around 4-6 oz of cream per 1/2 gallon of milk). A 1/4 cup measuring cup works well for scooping the cream out of a wide mouth jar. I hope this helps! Let us know if you have any other questions!!
cute baby!
Thank you! naps can be hit or miss so sometimes we get a tag along 😊
Thanks for all the information, I am on my first milk cow too. When she's getting close to the 10 month old mark can you see milk supply diminish and do you keep milking through pregnancy?
We haven't noticed a dip in supply. We keep milking through pregnancy and wean about 60 days prior to her due date! All the best on your adventure!
Hello! I didn't watch the video, so i am not sure if the video answers this question already but I was hoping someone could help me...
I was buying raw milk from a smaller farm store that sells several gallons a day in a plastic jug with a label and even though I don't know them personally, I felt pretty confident buying from them. However, they are a little far and I did find a local family farm that has raw milk but she gives it to me in half gallon mason jars and it doesn't seem like she filters it. There is usually dirt and other debris settled at the bottom. I have been trying to filter it with a nut bag, but I am kind of weary about this, would it be consider unclean/unsafe practices and maybe I should stop going there?? Thanks!
That's a very personal decision. I'd maybe ask what she does? You definitely want to make sure you feel comfortable. We always strain ours after milking and this is a necessary step for us!
Were you ever nervous about the size of the cow? I’m super nervous about that only and it’s causing me to be really discouraged
I was intimated by that at first, especially knowing that we have young kids. But that wore off pretty quickly once we got to know our cows. They are so sweet and gentle.
Great! Does the gallon include the milk you give away for her hay?
I forget exactly what we said in this video but with once-a-day milking we typically get around 1.5-2 gallons per day. Hope this helps!
Have you thought of grass nuggets mixed with chaff while you milk
We haven’t but sounds interesting! Never heard of it. Is it something you’ve tried?
Beautiful heifer.
What kind of livestock building do you have to house her?
Thank you! We have about a 50’ x 25’ pole barn with a stall that she has access to when it’s really cold in the winter. Otherwise she is outside and has done great with it.
After calving, how long is it until you start milking? Also, do you dip the cows teats after milking? Do you ever have to deal with mastitis in your dairy cows? Thank you for your wonderful videos!
We wait about a week give or take before we start milking. We just wash with soap and water. Our cow has never had mastitis so we don’t have experience dealing with it. I think like women, some cows just seem more prone to it than others. Thanks for watching!
@@FromScratchFarmstead thank you!
As your calf gets older like 6,7,8 months old do you still contain them at night? Do you just put Hay in with them?
We still separate the calf from mama at those ages since the calf if still nursing, they are just in their own fenced in paddock. They get hay in the colder months, Nov-May and are on pasture in the summer. Hope that makes sense!
Was your cow always trained to milking standing in the field or did that take some training? I thought you mentioned that you tie her to a post before but the photo you posted that she’s just standing in the pasture. Is this typical? Most things I’ve seen say stanchion is easiest especially for young cows and heifers, tying to a post is doable with an experienced cow but I don’t think I’ve seen anyone who chooses nothing full time.
I wouldn't say it took much training, but she was 3 or so years old when we got her. There was a breaking-in period when we first got her where she moved around much more while milking. We just had to be ready for it. She's just mellowed out more and gotten more used to us as time's gone on. Plus, cutting grain out of her diet really helped her stay calm. She'd be a lot more fidgety with grain. But yes, we do just tie her to a fence post now and she stays in one place most of the time while milking. I don't know that that is typical, but it's worked for us and helped keep us from needing extra infrastructure. Hope that helps! Thanks for watching!
How much do you guys spend on hay for a year (cold season) ? I tried to get some estimates and it was looking like $1200-$1400 for the small bales for half a year….is that in line with your numbers.
Hey! Yes, that is right in line with what we would estimate for hay for the winter. We actually have a post where we break down costs for a milk cow more: fromscratchfarmstead.com/breaking-down-the-cost-of-a-family-milk-cow/. It can really depend too on if you have a calf with her and how much the calf is eating. And we figure $5 per small square bale, but you'll want to research what you'll be paying in your area because hay can cost significantly higher in some locations. All the best to you!
We are starting a farm and plan to get a family dairy cow pretty early on. Our dairy cow will feel like family, I’m sure - so Im concerned about what we will do with the calves. It makes sense to use the calves for meat when they grow up, but do you notice this effecting the mama? Does she mourn the loss of her offspring?
Hey! Yay for starting a farm and wanting a milk cow! That's a great question. I wouldn't say we've noticed any extended "mourning" once we take a calf in to be processed. The day of things feel a bit out of whack and you'll hear lots of mooing. But they seem to move on pretty quickly. Every time we've brought in an older calf, there's always been a younger calf too that remains with mama, which I think helps. You'll definitely grow attached too. That's normal. I cried the first time we took a calf in to be processed because she was really sweet. It makes you extremely grateful for their life and the food they provide. Hope that makes sense and good luck with everything! Thanks for watching!
What do you do when she is not milking? Do you just not have milk for those months or do you source it from somewhere else?
We freeze enough that we'll need for drinking, butter, cheese, and ice cream :) If we need anything else for those 2 months like yogurt, we'll pick it up at the store. Frozen milk has not worked well for making other dairy things like yogurt.
Can you advise what is required re deworming, vaccination, etc?
This is really an individual decision based on your animals, setup, and philosophy. We do management intensive grazing which has been proven to greatly reduce or eliminate the need for any treatment with pretty much any type of livestock. Our cows have been healthy and we’ve never had to call a vet for them. Here’s a really fantastic resource that focuses on sheep and goats but applies to cows also. ua-cam.com/video/scT_mg-gx4s/v-deo.html
What's your processing for cleaning the udder before milking?
We just washed lightly with soap and water. Usually she is clean and it’s no problem. On days where she happens to be super dirty, I feel like I’m giving her a full on bath and can go through several rags and buckets of water.
Did you notice a difference in the flavor of the milk after you took the grain away?
We didn’t really notice a difference in the taste. But she really was only getting grain during milking so it wasn’t that much. Thanks for watching!!
Are you going to make videos on all the different things you make with the milk?
We’ve done dulce de leche, yogurt, and pudding. And we’re hoping to add more as we go. Anything in particular you’re interested in? Thanks for watching!
@@FromScratchFarmstead The different types of cheeses you make.
yes, l would love to see your 2.5 gallon cheeses. so many videos l've seen make 8 gallon cheeses & l think thats just too much for my needs. l would love to see how you make the smaller ones. thank you!
I have a question… so my jersey threw her calf on April 12th. So we’re in week three. I’m calf sharing. I separate them and milk her and reunite them. She is being fed alfalfa flakes, alfalfa pellets, grains and a mineral supplement. I am able to strip her out and her bag looks empty. She yields about 6 gallons a day. I’m getting barely any cream at all. Like, I get that calf sharing decreases the quantity of cream but I’m getting like a quarter of an inch of thick cream and an inch of light cream. Barely anything, and the milk tastes like skim milk. Is it because she’s early in her lactation cycle? Show I throw some regular hay into her ration? I don’t know what I’m doing wrong. This is her first lactation cycle ever too maybe that has something to do with it?
Hmm...that’s interesting. We’ve never experienced this exactly but it really sounds like you are doing great and my gut response is to trust your cow and the process. She’s learning too and her body knows what it is doing and is doing a lot of figuring out in terms of her calf’s need and milking with you. If it were me I’d just continue to show her a lot of love and affection and give it some time and I’m guessing as you bond more and everyone gets accustomed to the new routine you’ll get more cream.
It sounds to me that she is holding back her cream for her calf. You could try bringing the calf to suck on her for a couple minutes while she is still tied up to milk, then take the calf off and milk out the cream she has let down for the calf.
I’ve heard several people say that cows can hold back their milk but I’m not sure that would explain the cream issue…?
I was wondering if you provide salt or mineral blocks.
We do always have a salt and mineral block in with the cows. Our ideal would be to have a free choice system with individual minerals for the cows to choose since they’re so good at knowing what they need, but we’re just not there yet. The blocks really seem to help to meet some of the needs they don’t get from straight up pasture.
"look in their eye" keep me rolling 😅
Thanks for watching!
Do you pasteurize your milk before drinking it? Thank you.
We don't. It get's strained and we drink it raw. We're comfortable with how she's raised and the cleanliness of everything but it's a call everyone needs to make for themselves. Thanks for watching!
Also how about salt and minerals? Thank you so much
We've done some experimenting here but landed on using the 10 fine minerals from Redmond agriculture! The cows have done great on them and there is much less was than the blocks we've found. Here's the site and we reached out to them and you can use code FROMSCRATCH for 15% off if you do end up going that route. shop.redmondagriculture.com/?rfsn=7816719.fe9e8f9
We got a weighted rubber feed bucket and give them one small scoop each day.
What mineral supplements do you give?
We do a standard mineral block from the local farm supply store that has extra selenium in it. Ideally we’d love to do a free choice mineral system but haven’t gotten there yet and it’s challenging to do on a small scale. You can also talk to other farmers and homesteaders in your area and learn what the common mineral differences are where you’re at. Thanks for watching!
called flagging. Hold tail to side when in heat.
Good to know!
Curious what kind of fridge you have?
We just have a very standard Amana fridge. It has a fridge on top and pull out freezer below. Nothing special. I can't remember if we mentioned this in the video or not but we do generally put the milk in the freezer for about an hour (we have a separate stand up freezer) so it chills rapidly and then move it to the fridge. You just have to remember to take it out of the freezer before too long! We do make sure to keep the milk then in the back of the fridge where it's the coldest so it keeps as long as possible. Thanks for watching!
yay
Thanks for watching!
What do you do with all the poop?
Good question! I always say poop is our most valuable resource on the farm! When we rotationally graze them we just leave the poop and it breaks down over time and adds fertility and organic matter back to our fields. In winter I do a daily poop scooping in the barn and little pen area where we separate our milk cow. I just scoop it into a pile just on the other side of the fence. After maybe 6-12 months it composts down and then I use in our gardens or spread it out over the fields to provide nutrients. Thankfully it’s pretty manageable to stay on top of with only a couple cows. Thanks for watching!
First time watching your channel. Valuable info, thanks! Advice from the perspective of a new viewer: let your husband speak too. You overtalk him constantly, don't allow him to complete his thoughts & advice, and it's off-putting to watch.
Thanks for watching and the advice! We are learning and I’ve been trying to work on this :)
Does fresh milk do well in the freezer?
It does pretty well in the freezer. When we know our cow is going to dry up before she calves we always freeze as much as possible to get us through those couple months. It’s still good for fresh drinking or to use in cooking. But we don’t really use frozen milk for things like making yogurt or cheesemaking. Hope that helps! Thanks for watching!
@@FromScratchFarmstead thanks!
Do cows need company? Do you need to keep more than 1?
From our experience they do so much better when they have at least one more cow with them. They’re highly social animals. You wouldn’t have to have more than one technically but it’s recommended. Other animals like goats go crazy when they’re alone. Don’t think you’d have that with a cow. But that’s the beauty of a family milk cow is that they’ll generally always have a calf with them.
Upload full video of cow milking
We plan on doing a separate video in the future about how to milk a cow. But let us know if you have a specific question. Thanks for watching!
Is your cow a mini jersey? Or standard size?
She's a standard size but she's definitely on the smaller side!
Do you have to have the milk pasteurized?
You don’t have to, we prefer it raw for the nutritional benefits!
Can’t you get boils from drinking unpasteurized or homogenized milk or is that a myth?
@@Flormansgal3 hmm, never heard of that one. We've been drinking it for years without any issues. Thanks for watching!
How much land should you have for one milk cow?
Unfortunately there's no one-size-fits-all answer for that. Milk cows can vary in size quite a bit which will impact how much they eat. It also depends a lot on your climate and pasture quality. Generally they say 1 cow per acre but a lactating mama that will probably have a calf with her most of the time will need more. And that's just a bare minimum. Either way on small acreage you'll want to have a good source of hay on hand throughout the winter, and even during the growing season to give the pastures a break. This post breaks things down a bit more: fromscratchfarmstead.com/how-many-cows-per-acre/. Thanks for watching!
milking stool?
We just use a small bucket 🤣 it’s actually the bucket we use for washing her teets and then just dump out and flip it over as a stool. One less thing to bring with.
check out Dexter Cows. minature cows. good milkers.
Yes! A farmer friend of ours actually raises Dexter and I’m pretty interested in learning more about them.
@@FromScratchFarmstead They are an old breed and used as milk cows, oxen, and beef. Hardy. Small farm cow. Cows used to be small. Good starter cow. Low food bill. dexter meat conversion rate at 60 percent. hang at 400lbs. So just right for a family. Live long and breed long. Easy births.
@@jackfrosty4674 sounds right up our alley! Thanks for the info.
So cheap for my area!!!!
Prices can definitely vary widely and keep in mind we made this a couple years ago. Thanks for watching!
22:06 , i could have been a billionaire by now.....
👍
Poor dude can’t talk without getting cut off once
Thanks for the constructive feedback. Something I've definitely been trying to work on.
The Mrs. kept interrupting while the Mr. is about to breakdown the cost. Whoah gotta find another channel, you guys...
Thanks for the feedback! We're always looking to improve.
not a good video ,we want to see cows
Thanks for the feedback!
Wow, crying fussing kid makes for good content in an about video. Thanks for nothing
Thanks for watching!