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Post by laughingllama75 on Apr 7, 2011 10:55:28 GMT -5
I like the look of the short legged better (i attribute that to my beef background) but am wanting dual purpose animals. Can a Chondro carrier also be milked? I know that they should not be bred to a chonrdo bull, but just curious? Not looking to start a debate, just good info. thanks!  |
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lsg
member
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Post by lsg on Apr 7, 2011 11:24:44 GMT -5
I see no reason why they can't be milked. It would depend on the temperment and the milking background of the cow. Even with the so-called dairy lines, there is no guarantee of getting a good milker, it just increases the odds.
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Post by Star Creek Dexters on Apr 7, 2011 11:45:41 GMT -5
I have heard of several people that milk short leg cows. A couple of things to consider would be:
If the cow is very short, you probly will not be able to fit a regular milk bucket under her, instead you would have to milk into a smaller container and dump into a larger one as you go.
You will want to have a good raised stanchion so that you don't have to hunch over to milk. Even some of my long legged girls are hard on the back at ground level!
Other than that, as long as you are breeding responsibly, there is no reason not to milk a short legged Dexter that meets milking requirements of temperment, udder, and production.
=)
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Post by rezzfullacres on Apr 7, 2011 13:00:48 GMT -5
We milk a short leg. No problems except we needed to raise the platform a bit to save our backs. One thing that is a little concerning is when there is deep snow as the short legged cows walk they tend to drag thier udders quite a bit, has never caused us a problem but you never know. We also breed back to a non-carrier to avoid genetic problems.
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Post by kansasdexters on Apr 7, 2011 16:13:34 GMT -5
We have milked four of our short-legged (Chondro-carrier) cows during the initial period of their freshening because they are such heavy milk producers that the calf can't even begin to keep up. You can look up their pedigrees on the ADCA Online Pedigree: Fina Muirstead Gracious Muirstead River Bend Fancy Wakarusa Nutmeg Cluny Fina Muirstead is one of our most outstanding producers. In her first lactation, this little cow weighed a mere 600 pounds when she calved a 45 pound bull calf (Wakarusa OB Finagan). She gained 40 pounds while she nursed him and weighed 640 pounds when he was weaned off of her at 8 months old. He was a chondro-free bull calf and he weaned at 520 pounds. Fina has consistently bred back each year, birthed unassisted, weaned a hefty calf, and maintained her body condition year round on grass pasture, hay, and a loose mineral/salt supplement. She is built like a tank, is super friendly, and a wonderful mama cow. She tested as A1/A2 for beta casein. PHA-free. Fina's half sister, Gracious Muirstead (they had the same sire, different dams) is our grand champion show cow. She has a beautiful udder, even better looking than Fina's. Like her sister, she has also bred back each year, weaned a hefty calf, maintained body condition year round, and is another great example of a true to type, dual-purpose, small Dexter cow. My husband wishes that we had a whole herd of cows like Fina and Gracious -- they are his two favorites. She tested as A2/A2 for beta casein. PHA-free. River Bend Fancy is 10 years old, she has calved and bred back year after year unassisted, and produced some very nice offspring. So far, her steer calves have been on the small side, but she is also one of our smallest cows. She maintains body condition year round. Though she is not especially friendly, she will stand well to be milked. She tested as A2/A2 for beta casein. PHA-free. Wakarusa Nutmeg Cluny is River Bend Fancy's daughter by Trillium Cluny. She is also a heavy milker, maintains body condition, and she has produced some nice calves. She tested as A1/A2 for beta casein. PHA-free. These cows were all very easy to train to milk, even at 4 and 5 years old. We always breed them to a chondro-free bull, so there is no concern of producing a bulldog calf. About half the time, they have chondro-free offspring, and half the time they produce a short-legged chondro-carrier. Patti Adams WAKARUSA RIDGE RANCH www.kansasdexters.com |
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Post by laughingllama75 on Apr 7, 2011 20:26:13 GMT -5
Wow you guys....thanks for all the info. I never thought about the snow being an issue... We are at a little higher elevation here in NH, so we get more snow than 5 miles south of us. I think we got 68" this winter.  We do have a backhoe and loader, so snow removal is not an issue around the barnyard, I dont imagine the would be wanting to wade through deep snow to go play but you never know. My beef steers sure do play a lot in it. We are looking at many different platforms and patterns for them, there is NO WAY I am milking that low. LOL. I was raised milking 20+ head of dairy goats, and I have had my fun. I do plan on getting a portable milker, so between that and a stand I should be able to keep my back. How tall are your milking stands? We were thinking 12" but more? Less? Thanks for all the good info, and I am going to look up those bloodlines, kansasdexters. thanks. Sounds like you got yourself some keepers! |
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Post by Star Creek Dexters on Apr 8, 2011 6:56:13 GMT -5
I would go more than 12 inches....probly closer to 18 to 24. See if you can built a ramp up into it.
I wish we had pics of the one we recently build for some friends. It had a ramp and was built up off the ground. I'll see if I can get one to post for you.
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Post by laughingllama75 on Apr 8, 2011 10:45:02 GMT -5
Cool, thanks. I saw a nice one on another forum, but they didn't say how tall (I don't think, but it was for a larger cow). I liked the ramp up and down, I wouldn't ask the Nice Lady to jump up so I could milk her. that wouldn NOT be polite. I used to work at a dairy, when I was a teen. My job was to wash the udders and feed the calves. Not a real thrilling job, but I enjoyed it (as only a 4-Her or FFA kid could!). Sometimes, I wish I paid more attention to stuff back then, but it was obviously a totally different kind of set up anyway. |
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Post by cddexter on Apr 17, 2011 21:59:12 GMT -5
The biggest English post-war Dexter dairy milked around 30-35 head/day and had 15" stands, no ramps. The dwarfs jumped up no problem, the cups were cut down so they hung properly, and the owner kept rocks handy to rest on the claw to keep the weight in the right place. The dairy was set up so the front of the stanchion was a swing wall with a feeder in it, hinged on the left, and when the milking was over, the cow pushed the wall in, stepped through and to the right, and came out in a pen, ready to be let out to pasture again. c.
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Post by Star Creek Dexters on Apr 18, 2011 8:11:08 GMT -5
c, that sounds like such a great set up. Sure wish there where some pictures to see it. I love seeing the way others set up there milking, on all scales. It's so inspiring!
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