It isn’t my fault! Eric sent me a link to a tractor on Craigslist that was listed (incorrectly) at a crazy-low price. While researching said tractor, I just happened to see an ad for a Jersey cow located near me. I got the go-ahead from Eric to call the guy, and she sounded like a great addition to our farm. I went to see her and the kids and I fell in love. We had a family meeting that night and it was settled. We were going to buy a cow! (You see that it wasn’t my fault this time, right??)
We had to wait a couple of days, because we don’t have a trailer to haul her, but our wonderful neighbor agreed to go with us Saturday morning and pick her up.
It has basically been raining since we got her, but my neighbor snapped this picture right after we got home…
She milks like a champ and is currently giving just under 4 gallons of milk per day! We are drowning in milk, but having a ton of fun learning about keeping and milking a cow.
And the cream!!! Oh the cream! Never in my wildest dreams did I envision such a cream line on milk. It is a lovely buttery yellow color, so it is easy to see and skim off, and the butter and whipped cream we have made so far are out of this world!!
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| Can you see the yellow cream at the top? |
All in all, I’m glad I had the goats to ease me into this milking thing, or else the cow might be very overwhelming. For the record, I have NO idea what I’ll do when the goats kid and I have 3 goats in milk as well as Beulah, but I’ll cross that bridge when I get there. It will just be another part of the adventure, or, as my dear friend Kate says, the resplendent spiral!
What about you, have you ever kept a milk cow?
Jersey’s are my favorite A dear friend had one years ago It was part of the family good choice!
Thanks! She has a very sweet personality. She’s kind of like an enormous dog!
I want one sooo badly! However, I think I’ll start with goats 🙂
Goats were a great place to start! Good luck! Let me know if I can be of any help!
No, I haven’t kept a cow, but I am thinking about it! Our goats haven’t kidded yet so maybe I need to work my way into it 🙂 She is beautiful!
Resplident spiral-love it!
She is just delightful, but we sure love our goat milk too, I think they both have their uses! Chevre is SO EASY to make!
Great picture. She has the loveliest eyes.
I think you should definitely start making you some cheese! 🙂
I’ve made 2 batches of mozzarelly, one batch of ricotta, and I have some cream cheese setting up! I need to decide what to cook up today!
Congrats on getting a cow! She’s beautiful.
Thank you!
She’s lovely! All that cream looks lovely too!;)
Thank you! It’s delightful!
Awww how cute! That is a lot of milk! Wow. I agree with Sonja – make some cheese!
I’m making cheese and I still can’t keep up with her, LOL!
Oh I would love to have a cow 🙂 I would love to have you join The HomeAcre Hop at:
http://www.theselfsufficienthomeacre.com/2013/01/1213.html
Thanks for the invite!
Congrats to the entire family, especially Beulah Belle!
Are you going to get a pig to feed all the extra milk to or sell milk shares to friends ? Kefir, cheese, sour cream, cottage cheese and CHEESECAKE are all delicious products you could make and sell as well.
I have had a milk cow in the past and it was wonderful. Not only did she give me 5 gallons a day but also gifted me with a calf every year, mountains of fertile manure for the garden and was a wonderful companion. I sold raw milk for $4/gallon ( its now $5/gal at my neighbors) Come visit my Vermont herd when you have a chance: http://www.tailgait.blogspot.com
We have definitely thought of getting a pig! Right now I am making cheese like crazy and setting some milk aside for friends. I would love to sell shares at some point, but I have no idea how to start that and I haven’t had a spare minute to research it! I have some cream cheese setting right now. Cheesecake is a wonderful idea!! We went to Vermont a few years ago and loved it. I’m checking out your site now!
I haven’t milked a cow since I was a kid 🙂 But I would love to!
Congrats on the new addition and thanks for sharing on The HomeAcre Hop!
Wow luck you! I have been wanting a milk cow for some time now but we’re just not there yet.
See what we’re up to at A New (England) Life: http://www.kshippee.blogspot.com
I just joined your site! It looks like a good one! Thanks for stopping by!
I just came over from the homeacre hop, I can’t resist a good looking jersey cow, and she is gorgeous. We have two at home, one in milk and one soon to calf. Its a lot of fun using up all the milk. We are lucky to be able to keep the calf too, so he takes most of the milk and we just milk once a week at the moment.
Congrats on your new milk cow! We have a Jersey as well, her name is Georgia, and we love her so much! I know what you mean, it’s hard to get used to having all that milk around! Good luck, happy cheese-making. (Not link-dropping here, but I was a very very naive milk maid when we got Georgia, so I’ve shared a few things on my site acownamedgeorgia.com I hope some things I learned can help you out!)