What do the owners of one cow do when your cow is dry?

greenspun.com : LUSENET : Countryside : One Thread

Hi, I had a question, in the cow vs goat dilemma :)

With two goats, you can make sure to always have fresh milk by breeding them at two different times of the year....but what about if you own one cow? You will be buying milk or drinking canned milk for around 2 months of the year, correct?

To me that seems a disadvantage to the cow, though I do prefer a cow to a goat.

-- D Kenyon (rkenyon@mediaone.net), November 06, 2001

Answers

I milked six goats this year, and ended up drying them all off at once, so that isn't any guarantee of having milk all the time, either. We buy milk either from a local dairy or the grocery store while the goats are dry.

You could can or freeze milk ahead for the dry spell, so as not to have to buy milk -- I plan to can some next year, when I should have eleven milkers.

-- Kathleen Sanderson (stonycft@worldpath.net), November 06, 2001.


Many people welcome the break during those two months; it can get burdensome being so tied down, and after having a vacation from milking may find themselves refreshed to begin again.

-- Earthmama (earthmama48@yahoo.com), November 06, 2001.

We have a neighbor who also does the cow thing... their cow will be coming fresh just before ours goes dry, so that solves the milk supply problem. (And the oversupply problem on the other side of the fence.) I have found that when their cow was not going to be cooperating in freshening when it suited our needs, we could freeze skimmed milk and also cream. Frozen cream will be very lumpy, as the fat globules will be altered when frozen. But I found that I could put frozen cream in the container it was frozen in, into very hot water, and when heated to a very warm temperature, that cream will become smooth again! I then can add it back to the skim milk, to make a nice product.

That 2 month break is when you want to schedule your yearly vacation. We aim for late winter, after the hotel rates are low, and the crowds are back home from their holidays. The traveling is much safer, too, when the interstates are not so crowded.

-- daffodyllady (daffodyllady@yahoo.com), November 06, 2001.


Well, you could get another cow. In a lot of cultures around the world large herds are a sign of wealth, so get that second cow and impress the neighbors! :>

-- Jennifer L. (Northern NYS) (jlance@nospammail.com), November 07, 2001.

Moderation questions? read the FAQ