Looking after my Jersey

[Greenbeast]

I have a jersey who has calved last week, she's now on a 23% protein hard food.
I will be starting to milk her in the next couple of days, i feel like she's going to finish her ration long before i'm done and will start fidgeting to get out and back to the calf. Is there something i should be giving her while she's being milked?
Also any other supplements or minerals i need to get for her?

Thanks

 

[Beef farmer]

23% protien cake. Is she grazing grass too?

 

[Greenbeast]

23% protien cake. Is she grazing grass too?

yes she's grazing although running low in the paddock that has access to a shelter and the crush where i'll milk her. She has constant access to hay also

 

[Tim G]

Do you have her calf with her when milking?

 

[Greenbeast]

Do you have her calf with her when milking?

I have not tried yet, I just picked up strainer filter papers and udder wipes and disinfectant today. I need to cut open some of the crush tomorrow for access.
When she comes in for feeding in the crush he goes next door to the shelter.

 

[Cows 'n grass]

My jerseys are doing 20 litres from grazed grass and 2.5 kg of 14% cake.

 

[Greenbeast]

The calf will be on, don't know whether I'll be separating them much or at all yet.
But then it's just for personal consumption, the greatest quantity needed at any one time for cream and butter

 

[Greenbeast]

Looking at milking in the crush as it's the only place i can keep her 'still'.
I'm looking to cut some of it away where the red marks are in this shot and maybe replace that area with a hinged ply sheet to block the gap for normal use and give me something flat to sit on when she's being milked

Thoughts?

 

[milkloss]

Looks a good job to me. Be careful when feeding the grub to milk her as some can be arses when they finish and soon learn to belt you one so they get some more grub. Some options could be to feed her after milking and just let her have a salt lick or maybe make it awkward to eat the grub somehow such as lumps of rock salt in with with the grub.

Have you had a go and did she put up with it?

 

[Greenbeast]

Yeah that's why i was asking about something that'll take her a while to eat.
I was thinking of the chopped up material i see being fed up to cows on the telly programs, is this silage?
Excuse the ignorance of this lowly pig farmer.

I did strip some off of one quarter as a test the other day, she didn't complain but it was a quick go, hopefully going to start tonight

 

[milkloss]

Most likely a mixed ration with silage etc but you won’t get through enough before it goes off.

Hopefully you’ll be fine, don’t forget to be ‘boss’, it’s surprising how they’ll learn what they can get away with!

 

[Greenbeast]

Can i call myself a dairyman now?

 

[jerseycowsman]

Yeah that's why i was asking about something that'll take her a while to eat.
I was thinking of the chopped up material i see being fed up to cows on the telly programs, is this silage?
Excuse the ignorance of this lowly pig farmer.

I did strip some off of one quarter as a test the other day, she didn't complain but it was a quick go, hopefully going to start tonight

Put a bit of dried alfalfa in with her nuts, that'll slow her down!

 

[Dead Rabbits]

My mom just ties hers to the porch for milking. Never been fed grain.

 

[CaliMo]

I use a leather collar around her neck and clip her to a lead rope tied to the wall to milk. I give her some alfalfa pellets mixed with a 14% grain while I milk. If she gets super impatient, I tie her back legs together just above the knee with a fat rope. I don't really need to tie her much anymore, but we've been milking for several seasons now. One thing I found is that if I let the calf in with her after I've milked all I can, she'll let down a bunch more and I milk one side while the calf takes the other. I separate them overnight and just milk in the morning and let them out together during the day. I find this gives me a little more flexibility. If for some reason I have to be gone overnight I can just leave them together without too much problem. Good luck! It's super fun. I love having my own milk.

 

[CaliMo]

the greatest quantity needed at any one time for cream and butter

You'll find it takes a lot of milk to make a little butter. But you have pigs, right? Great use for too much milk that's a little off..

 

[Greenbeast]

You'll find it takes a lot of milk to make a little butter. But you have pigs, right? Great use for too much milk that's a little off..

Indeed, I'm guessing about 20 times the weight of butter is needed in milk.

 

[Tim G]

Indeed, I'm guessing about 20 times the weight of butter is needed in milk.

I don't think you far off.

 

[Greenbeast]

I don't think you far off.

Just a guesstimate based on fat content, given that jersey milk is 5-6% fat and butter is mostly fat

 

[Tim G]

Just a guesstimate based on fat content, given that jersey milk is 5-6% fat and butter is mostly fat

We work on 1 litre of cream from 10 litres of whole milk, which then makes around 500g butter, maybe a touch more, but we have very thick cream.
Be warned though, I fancied a house cow, now milk 5 and getting about 110 litres a day, number 6 calves in a month!