We would like to introduce you to Dairy Queen, our family milk cow. We purchased her last year and she has been one of the best investments on our farm/homestead. I know what you are thinking, “I would love a dairy cow but they are just too much work!” That is what I thought too, but hopefully by the end of this post you will come to the same conclusion that my family did: a homestead without a family milk cow is not quite complete.
The credit for getting a milk cow has to go to my oldest son. He loves milk and all he wanted for his birthday was a dairy cow of his very own. How can you say no to such a request when you are a full-time farmer? We looked on craigslist and found a family that was selling their milk cow, so we bought it for my son’s 9th birthday. He was ecstatic! As soon as she walked off the trailer he said, “I am going to call her Dairy Queen”, and that is the beginning of one of the best decisions we have made here on the farm.
Dairy Queen is one of the hardest working assets on our farm. Not only does she provide our family with delicious milk and milk products but she raises orphan calves for us, and she is amazing at it. She can handle up to two at a time and still have milk to spare.
We have found that orphan calves thrive on her. The calf she is currently raising for us has gone from a 70lb new born calf to over 400lbs in just alittle over 4 months. Her milk is rich and creamy which means added pounds for baby calves.
But raising calves is just a side benefit to having a milk cow. The main reason we bought her was so our family could have fresh milk that we know where it comes from and what went into making it. There is nothing better than drinking an ice cold glass of fresh milk whenever you want and not worrying for one second where it came from, if it has hormones in it, or if the cow was fed GMO grains its whole life.
Many farmers/homesteaders would love their very own dairy cow but think they do not have the time or the space. Well let me share with you how easy it really is to have a family milk cow and how it only takes about 10 minutes a day to have all the fresh milk your family needs.
Housing- Our cow has access to a small three sided shed that she can get out of the wind and rain. Nothing fancy just room enough for her to lay down and get out of the elements.
Pasture- Dairy Queen has access to about 2 acres of pasture we rotate her around the 2 acres with a single strand of hotwire so she gets access to fresh grass every day.
Feeding- During the spring, summer, and fall Dairy Queen gets pasture for her main course and about 3 lbs of non GMO grain as a special treat after milking. In the winter, when the pasture is all eaten up she gets hay and then the non GMO grain after milking.
Milking- This by far is what worried me the most when thinking about getting a dairy cow. Having to milk her twice a day in the rain, sleet, or snow seemed like a daunting task for a busy family. To solve this time consuming problem we allow Dairy Queen to work for us. A major problem for any cattle farmer is orphan baby calves. They need to be fed 3 times a day and the formula can be very expensive. We let Dairy Queen do all the work for us. We put one or two orphan calves on her and let her be their new mommy. Then we separate her from the calves usually after lunch, and before dinner one of us will go out and hand milk her. We only take about ½ gallon a day as that is all our family needs. Then we put her back in with the calves and they finish off the milk.
This is our daily routine with our family milk cow. All in all it takes about 10 minutes, and we get to enjoy fresh milk, amazing cream for our morning coffee, butter, yogurt and anything else we dream up to make with her milk.
I hope this will encourage anyone thinking about getting a family milk cow. We are so glad we did!