New farm adventure!

[Hockeydudde]

We have new milk and beef makers!
Over the weekend we happened into a jersey cow and her heifer calf.

We are going to start milking her this year, but her supply is pretty low since she wasn't being milked. In a few months the plan is to breed her to a beef breed, and next year she will be our primary milk source and we will sell all but our favorite goats.

Once we know she is a proven calver, I'd like to try crossing her with a waygu and hope for some WELL marbled steers.

 

[crazymoon]

HD, Nice score on the critters !

 

[Newglide]

Good luck in the adventure

 

[gmc2003]

Limber up those fingers for the waygu. That's a whole lot of body to massage. Good looking cows.

Chris

 

[JLeonard]

Nice!

Jim

 

[Brokenhandle]

Got milk?

Ryan

 

[HalfSmoked]

Hope your plans work out as planned.

Warren

 

[Hockeydudde]

Thanks all. We are real excited! We are pretty sure she had never been milked (for more than a week) but will let us walk right up and stay milking her.

Hope your plans work out as planned.

Warren

They won't, lol. But that's okay. If owning animals wasn't an adventure, I wouldn't do it.

Limber up those fingers for the waygu. That's a whole lot of body to massage. Good looking cows.

Chris

Thanks! I've been reading about the different waygu varieties. The mythic Kobe are the ones legend has it drink beer and get massaged. They also are sissies that don't do well on outside of confinement and rich diet.
There are others, like red waygu, that are raised in pasture and are hardier. Less marbled than Kobe, but still much more than American breeds.
But for now, we will enjoy her milk and try to tame the firecracker calf.

 

[pineywoods]

Congratulations hope it goes fairly smooth for you

 

[pc farmer]

If the calf was nursing, she was being milked. Should have been bred back already by the size of that calf.

 

[indaswamp]

Nice adventure. Great for kids to get involved when they are young....teach the about animals. Keep us updates on how the waygu cross turns out...

 

[Hockeydudde]

Nice adventure. Great for kids to get involved when they are young....teach the about animals. Keep us updates on how the waygu cross turns out...

Will do. We have a friend that has a beef breed that calves small, so we are going to bed get to their bill first. Probably in about 2 months.

Our 7 year old is convinced she is ready to halter break the calf, lol.

 

[Hockeydudde]

Putting Daisy to good work.
Since she wasn't being milked, her yield is low, but still manage to get enough for us.
3 days worth of milk. 2.5 gallons of skim milk. 6 cups of cream.

Made butter with the cream. Started Guido's cheese with the skim milk. Butter and cheese yield TBD.

 

[Hockeydudde]

Well butter technique needs some work, but yielded 10.7 ounces.

Don't know why the color came out so different. Actual color is half way in-between.

 

[Hockeydudde]

It won't be ready for 3 weeks, but finished brining and Guido's cheese yesterday.
1,75 lbs.

Thanks for the recipe LoydB . I did find it in my book, but that one was written for veg rennet.

 

[flatbroke]

That’s impressive. I’m not sure i could make it. Nice work

 

[smokin peachey]

Looks great!

 

[Hockeydudde]

Thanks! Can't wait to taste it.

 

[pineywoods]

Very cool glad to see it's working out for you hopefully you can get her bred and have another and get more milk from her. What you going to do with the calf when it comes?

 

[Hockeydudde]

Very cool glad to see it's working out for you hopefully you can get her bred and have another and get more milk from her. What you going to do with the calf when it comes?

Thanks! Yeah, we are staying to track great cycles now. Hey current calf we call "Maybe" short for Maybelle. Because maybe we will do this, maybe we will do that, lol.
But future calf s will be a beef breed cross, kept nursing until 10 months then raised at a friend's house until about 2 y.o. then butchered. That's the plan anyways...