[Ag-eq] introducing Bonnie

[Tracy Carcione]

Hi Nella.
How exciting!  She sounds great.  And I imagine she's quite lovely, in a
cow way.  Is her bell an actual cow bell?  Will you keep the calf, or sell
it?
Tracy


> Hello to all:
>
> Well, I finally made my decision about dairy sheep and dairy cows and
> purchased
> a Jersey milk cow.  Her name is Bonnie and she is 7 years old.  She is
> currently in milk and will calve in the beginning of May.  I got to see 2
> of
> her off spring and they were big and healthy.  I just got her home
> yesterday,
> so she is settling in.
>
> She can be hand milked or by a machine.  She walks on a halter and lead
> and
> stands quietly while being milked.  I just tie her and she eats while I
> milk.
> Sometimes she walks away when I try to catch her, but she will always come
> for
> food.  I put a bell on her so I know where she is in the pasture.
>
> She was shown at the fair when young and has been a family milk cow since.
>  She
> is used to different people milking her, even children.  She likes to be
> scratched, especially around her horns.  She was never dehorned, so has
> long
> curving horns, which do not bother me.  Another woman was interested in
> her,
> but was afraid of her horns.
>
>   I'm going to save the cream and make butter.  I will also make some
> cheese.  I
> already have people that want to buy any extra, which is good since she
> has more
> than I can use.  I will stop milking her in the beginning of March.  Her
> body
> needs a couple of months to get ready for the new calf.  She is bred to a
> North
> Devon bull, they are red.  During the summer I will have both goat and cow
> milk
> to sell; it will keep me busy.
>
> I really thought about the dairy sheep, but they are so hard to find; it
> would
> be hard to find new animals to bring into the heard.  They just aren't
> common
> around here.  I also didn't want to deal with sheering.  Also compared to
> the
> goats the sheep produce a pretty small quantity of milk.  My other concern
> about the sheep were diseases.  There are some diseases that goats and
> sheep
> can share and I don't want my goats getting sick.  There are few diseases
> that
> goats and cattle can exchange.  It will be a lot easier to find bulls to
> breed
> Bonnie with, there are several very close.
>
> I will keep everyone posted on Bonnies progress.
>
> Nella
>
>
>
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