Three in Two

This year is the first year we have tried an idea that we have talked about for a while--milking three in two.  For those of you who think this is some sort of code, allow me to demystify this statement.  We are milking three milkings in two days (every 16 hours) instead of four milkings in two days (twice a day milking).  We have thought about starting it as our cows are winding down in their lactation for the past two years.  This was the year...and so far, my husband loves it.  We lost a little bit of milk when we first started it...at least we think we did.  It was raining then and we had just used up some nicer quality hay and switched the cows to some lower quality hay.

Our milking schedule has been DAY 1:  4 AM and 8 PM.  DAY 2:  12 noon.  So every other day is the same and every other day my husband gets to sleep in, for which he is VERY excited.  We read about it in an article from New Zealand and decided to give it a go.  We didn't try it earlier, because other models we have seen had a five or six day pattern instead of every other day and that didn't seem realistic to us.  It was a little bit difficult to adjust to the late night milking, but it made it much easier to adjust to sleeping in the following morning.  Some of the benefits that the article pointed out, were that it would benefit hoof health as the cows were not required to walk as much (since they are being milked one less time every other day), and that the cows gained body condition from not having to walk as much.  I have not seen either of these things necessarily, but the logical progression behind them makes sense.

I will ask my husband about the exact numbers as far as milk-drop goes.

Until then, God bless each of you as we walk through this Christmas season remembering the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

UPDATE:  I asked my husband about the milk-drop.  He said that we lost two pounds per cow when we switched to three milkings every two days.

Going for a Ride

My brother-in-law takes care of our heifers.  He sent my husband this with the comment,

"You'll notice that moose has developed superb balance."

 Apparently, Alaska, whom my brother-in-law calls "Moose" likes to climb in the feeder wagon, and is not the least bit compelled to exit said wagon whereupon it starts to move.  In fact, it looks as if she is enjoying herself quite thoroughly.

November 2012 Cows for Sale - SOLD (for the most part)

Here are the 39 cows that we have left to sell.  We have the most up-to-date DHI information (we tested this morning 11/16/2012).  There are two cows that I have pictured that will go for beef, because when the vet checked them he said they had heavy scarring due to difficult calvings and they would most likely not breed back.  I put their pictures up here anyway, so they too could have their 15 seconds of fame, but their numbers are 717 and 1040.  And if you please....ENJOY!!

We are asking $850 an animal.  We will not sell cows to those who have no experience milking and caring for cattle.  For the most up to date list of what cows are currently available please check here.

1

1 is a first lactation heifer.  She was born on 2/8/2010.  Her sire is a Finnish Ayrshire Piuha and her maternal grand sire is New Zealand Ayrshire Blaze.  She milks out of all four quarters.

5 ~ Pregnant ~ SOLD

5 is a first lactation heifer born on 2/13/2010.  Her sire is a New Zealand Ayrshire Phillip and her maternal grand sire is Finnish Ayrshire Passeli.  She milks out of all four quarters.  She is pregnant and due 7/28/2013.

 

 7 ~ Pregnant ~ SOLD

7 is a first lactation heifer born on 2/15/2010.  Her sire is the New Zealand Ayrshire Edberg and her maternal grand sire is a Normande 214NM16.  I only have his NAAB code and not his name.  She milks out of all four quarters.  She is pregnant and due 7/5/2013.

12 ~ Pregnant ~ SOLD

12 is a first lactation heifer born on 2/17/2010.  Her sire is New Zealand Ayrshire Nigel and her maternal grand sire is New Zealand Ayrshire Challenge.  She milks out of all four quarters.  She is pregnant and due 7/28/2013.

16 ~ Pregnant

16 is a first lactation heifer born on 2/22/2010.  Her sire is New Zealand Ayrshire Brody and her maternal grand sire is Normande 180NM4.  She milks out of all four quarters.  She has a swollen fetlock joint on her front right leg and she walks with a limp.  The vet has looked at it and it is not foot rot.  We believe she sprained it and that is how it healed.  She milks reasonably well, but we do not expect her limp to go away as she has had it for several months.  It is not getting any worse, however.  She is pregnant and due 6/28/2013.

17

17 is a first lactation heifer born on 2/22/2010.  Her sire is Finnish Ayrshire Osander.  Her maternal grand sire was a Normande cross herd bull.  She milks out of all four quarters.

20 ~ Open

20 is a first lactation heifer born on 3/5/2010.  Her sire is a PomPon son (Normande/Ayrshire cross).  Her maternal grand sire is New Zealand Ayrshire Edberg.  She milks out of all four quarters.

403 ~ SOLD

403 is a seventh lactation cow born on 2/17/2004.  She is a full blooded Ayrshire.  Her sire is Peggy (17AY10) and her maternal grand sire is Rigil (150075).  She milks out of all four quarters.  She is pregnant and due 8/9/2013

 521 ~ Pregnant ~ SOLD

521 is a sixth lactation cow born on 3/5/2005.  Her sire is Dutch Belt 138DL396.  She milks out of all four quarters.  She is pregnant and due 6/29/2013.

530 ~ Pregnant ~ SOLD

We do not have any genetic or identity information on 530 as she is an animal we purchased three years ago.  I suspect she is a Jersey/Milking Shorthorn cross and we believe she is on her 5th lactation, but we do not know for certain.  She milks out of all four quarters.  She is pregnant and due 7/28/2013.

604 ~ Open

604 is a full blooded Ayrshire born on 2/16/2006.  She is a 5th lactation cow.  Her sire was New Zealand Ayrshire Challenge.  She milks out of all four quarters.

618 ~ SOLD

618 is a fourth lactation cow born on 2/22/2006.  She is an Ayrshire cross (with holstein?).  Her sire is New Zealand Ayrshire Challenge.  She milks out of all four quarters.  She is pregnant and due 7/15/2013.

620 ~ SOLD

620 is fourth lactation cow born on 11/27/2006.  She is a Holstein cross.  She has a very nice udder and is one of our better production cows.  She milks out of all four quarters.  She is pregnant and due 8/2/2013.

621 ~ SOLD

621 is a fourth lactation cow born on 11/29/2006.  I believe she is a Holstein/Jersey cross.  She milks out of all four quarters.  She is pregnant and due 7/29/2013.

644 ~ SOLD

644 is a fifth lactation cow born on 2/24/2006.  She is an Ayrshire x Normande x Dutch Belt cross.  She is a THREE quartered cow, but is a pretty heavy producer (by our standards).  She is pregnant and due 8/4/2013.

717 ~ Open ~ SOLD (for beef)

717 is a fourth lactation cow born on 3/26/2007.  She is a Jersey x Milking Shorthorn? I believe.  I am certain about the Jersey part.  She is a THREE quartered cow.  She will be sold for beef due to extensive scarring in her reproductive tract due to a difficult calving, but I thought she deserved to have her picture up with all of the other cows for sale.

 720 ~ Pregnant ~ SOLD

720 is a fourth lactation cow born on 2/22/2007.  Her sire is Normande 213NM4.  I believe that is PomPon.  She milks out of all four quarters.  She is pregnant and due 7/11/2013.

725 ~ Pregnant ~ SOLD

725 is a fourth lactation cow born on 3/2/2007.  She sire was a herd bull (most likely an Ayrshire cross) and her dam is a Dutch Belt.  She milks out of all four quarters.  She is pregnant and due 7/7/2013.

753 ~ Pregnant ~ SOLD

753 is a third lactation cow.  We bought her as a springing heifer.  We do know that she was born in November of 2007, and she is a Holstein cross.  She milks out of all four quarters.  She is pregnant and due 7/8/2013.

773 ~ Open

773 is a third lactation cow.  She was born on 2/19/2007.  I don't know which breeds she has in her.  My guess would be an Ayrshire x Dutch Belt cross.  She milks out of all four quarters.

 

803 ~ Open

803 is a pet.  She enjoys her head being scratched and will follow you around the field to give you ample opportunity to do so.  She is a third lactation cow born on 2/7/2008.  Her sire is New Zealand Ayrshire Mika.  Her dam is a Normande x Dutch Belt cross.  She milks out of all four quarters.

813 ~ Sold

813 is an Ayrshire.  Her sire is New Zealand Ayrshire Challenge.  She was born on 2/13/2008 and she is on her third lactation.  She milks out of all four quarters.  She is pregnant and due on 8/1/2013.

815 ~ Pregnant ~ SOLD

815 is a third lactation cow born on 2/16/2008.  Her sire is New Zealand Ayrshire Blaze.  She is an Ayrshire x Dutch Belt cross.  She milks out of all four quarters.  She is pregnant and due on 7/4/2013.

818 ~ Pregnant
(Dad thinks he wants to keep her)

818 is a third lactation cow born on 2/20/2008.  Her sire is Normande 214NM16.  She milks out of all four quarters.  I think she is a Normande x Ayrshire cross.  She is pregnant and due on 6/18/2013.

908 ~ SOLD

908 is a second lactation cow born on 2/12/2009.  Her sire is Finnish Ayrshire Passeli.  Her dam is a Normade x Ayrshire cross.  She milks out of all four quarters.  She is pregnant and due on 7/30/2013.

920 ~ SOLD

920 is a second lactation cow born on 2/25/2009.  Her sire is Finnish Ayrshire Octav.  She milks out of all four quarters.  She is pregnant and due on 8/4/2013.

924 ~ Shadow ~ Pregnant ~ SOLD

924 is a second lactation cow born on 3/1/2009.  She is a Normande x Ayrshire x Dutch Belt cross.  She milks out of all four quarters.  She is pregnant and due on 7/28/2013.

933 ~ Oreo ~ SOLD

Oreo is a second lactation cow born on 4/1/2009.  Her sire  is Normande 180NM4 and her dam was an Ayrshire x Dutch Belt cross.  She milks out of all four quarters.  She is pregnant and due on 7/2/2013.

935 ~ Pepper ~ SOLD

Pepper is a second lactation cow born on 4/16/2009.  Her sire is American Holstein Sosa 1HO5588 from Genex.  Her dam was a Normande cross.  She is a THREE quartered cow.  She is pregnant and due on 7/5/2013.

972 ~ Pregnant ~ SOLD

972 is a second lactation cow born on 3/13/2009.  She is a Holstein x Jersey cross.  She milks out of all four quarters.  She is pregnant and due on 7/3/2013.

1004 ~ Alpha ~ Pregnant ~ SOLD

Alpha is a first lactation heifer born on 2/22/2010.  Her sire is New Zealand Kiwi Cross 190XD2 Northsea.  Her dam is a Milking Shorthorn x Holstein cross.  She milks out of all four quarters.  She is pregnant and due on 8/4/2013.

 1008 ~ Waffle ~ Pregnant ~ SOLD

Waffle is a first lactation heifer born on 3/2/2010.  Her sire is a New Zealand Kiwi Cross 190XD2 Northsea.  Her dam was a Jersey x Holstein cross.  This is a THREE quartered cow.  She is pregnant and due on 7/14/2013.

1014 ~ Tango ~ Pregnant ~ SOLD

Tango is a first lactation cow born on 3/10/2010.  She is a Swedish Red x Jersey cross.  She milks out of all four quarters.  She is pregnant and due 7/13/2013.

1016 ~ Ziggy ~ Pregnant ~ SOLD

Ziggy was born on 3/13/2010.  She is a first lactation heifer.  Her dam is a Lineback and her sire is a Holstein cross.  She milks out of all four quarters.  She is pregnant and due 7/30/2013.

1029 ~ Quasi ~ Pregnant ~ SOLD

Quasi was born 3/22/2010.  She is a first lactation heifer.  Her sire was a Swedish Red bull and her dam is a Jersey/Holstein cross who is also pictured on this page (622).  She milks out of all four quarters.  She is pregnant and due on 7/14/2013.

 

1040 ~ Irish

Irish was born on 4/3/2010.  She is a first lactation heifer.  She is a Holstein cross.  She milks out of all four quarters.  She will be sold for beef as she also had heavy scarring in her uterus due to a very difficult calving.

1046 ~ Kilowatt ~ Open

Kilowatt was born on 4/17/2010.  She is a first lactation heifer.  Her dam was a Milking Shorthorn/Holstein cross and her sire was a herd bull.  She is a THREE quartered heifer.  She likes her head to be scratched too.

4207 ~ Pregnant ~ SOLD

This is another cow that we bought as a springing heifer.  She is on her second lactation and she has Dutch Belt in her.  She milks out of all four quarters.  She is pregnant and due 8/6/2013.

4217 ~ Tame Cluck ~ SOLD

This is a cow that we bought as a springing heifer, so we don't have much information about her.  We do know that she is on her second lactation.  She milks out of all four quarters.  She is part Jersey, and she is very tame and likes her head scratched, but she does not like dogs...at least she kept trying to go after my dog when he was in the field with me.  She is pregnant and due on 7/10/2013.

October 2012 Cows For Sale - SOLD!

Well, I was planning on putting these pictures up earlier, but the cows were sold literally within three days of having them pregnancy checked.  That was a HUGE blessing!  But, I thought I would put pictures of them up anyway, just because they are so pretty (grin).  Don't worry, for those of you looking for cows for sale, we have 40 more that didn't get pregnant in our window.  We are simply waiting to pregnancy check them before we start aggressively trying to sell them.  They are for sale any time, but mostly people are looking for an animal that is already confirmed pregnant (especially when they are mid to late lactation).

So, just to be clear, these cows are SOLD!  (still so excited about that :))

Fuzzy 13

She is a Normande x Aryshire x Normande cross.  Her sire is 183NM61 and her dam is 634 (who is also pictured on this page) Date of birth is 2/19/2010

24

We have no genetic information on her, but she appears to be a Milking Shorthorn/Holstein cross and she was born on 1/23/2005.  She is a three-quartered cow.

35

We don't have much genetic information on this cow either, but we do know that she is a Holstein x Jersey x Jersey cross at least.  Her date of birth is 2/17/2005

143

143 is a Jersey.  She was born 8/15/2003.

175

175 is a Holstein cross.  DOB is 8/27/2005

214

This is one of my favorite cows in our herd.  She has a nice udder, she milks out quickly and she is  easy to work with.  She is a Holstein x Jersey cross.  DOB:  10/5/2004

622

622 is a Holstein x Jersey cross.  DOB: 12/2/2006

634

634 is an Ayrshire x Normande cross.  DOB:  3/16/2006

640

640 is a Holstein cross.  She was born in 2006

708

708 is a Jersey.  DOB:  3/1/2007

715

715 is a Jersey x Holstein cross.  DOB 3/22/2007.

832

832 is a Normande cross.  Her sire is 20NM11.  I do not know what breeds her dam was.  DOB:  3/10/2008

905

905 is an Ayrshire x Holstein cross.  Her sire is Finnish Ayrshire Passeli  263AY2516.  DOB  2/7/2009.  She is a three-quartered cow.

907

907 is an Ayrshire x Normande x Dutch Belt cross.  Her sire is New Zealand Ayrshire Phillip 190AY8.  Her MGS is 180NM4.  DOB:  2/11/2009

912

912 is an Ayrshire x Dutch Belt cross.  Her sire is Fininsh Ayrshire Bigmaker 263AY1788.  DOB 2/16/2009

923

923 is an Ayrshire.  Her MGS is New Zealand Ayrshire Challenge 190AY4.  Her DOB is 2/28/2009.

967

967 is a Milking Shorthorn x Jersey cross.  Her sire is 138MS3636.  Her DOB is 3/6/2009.

1007 - Lava

1007 is a Milking Shorthorn x Jersey x Angus cross.  Her sire is 138MS3635.  Her DOB is 2/28/2010.

1012 - Fawn

Fawn is a Jersey x Holstein x Jersey x Holstein cross.  Her sire is a New Zealand Kiwi Cross Royal Bell 190XD8.  Her DOB is 3/6/2010.

1018 - Nectar

Nectar is a Swedish Red x Jersey x Holstein Cross.  Her DOB is 3/18/2010.