5 acre small holding

Headscratcher

My self and my wife have just bought a beautiful farm in west cork. We have experience in keeping pigs to slaughter(about four a year) and laying hens. But we want to get some cattle for our new place. Nothing major just a small herd to do our selves for milk and meat. Making cheese and the like and maybe sell on some produce once we figure out all the regs.
Question is We don't know where to start. Do we start with one cow in calf
then raise that calf to slaughter. Or one Cow in calf with another Calf at foot. Also we are thinking of Dexters just because i love the fact of an Irish Rare Breed and they meant to good food converters.
Any other suggestions of breeds or any general advice would be great
We move in, in Sept. Cheers

Aghoney

First of all, congratulation on your new farm. We have two dexter cows, and their two calves. Based on my experience, I would not recommend cows in calf or with calf at foot to begin with. Get a couple of yearling steer of any good meat breed and get them to slaughter age, and take that time to learn about raising cattle. Milking is a big time commitment for you, and it adds the issue of getting the cows pregnant every year to keep them in milk. A cow from a small breed like the dexter will need to be put to a small dexter bull or AI to a dexter. Either one is not an easy thing to do, for a beginner. Rather than a cow from a specific breed, I would recommend finding one or two of any milk breed that are used to being handled, that are halter trained and trained to be hand milked. Also, make sure that you also have animals that can eat any excess dairy that you milk (pigs, for example). We are milking two goats at this time, and the gallon of milk we get every day is a lot, and requires work to turn it into cheese or other products. Not enough to sell, but too much for us to consume. We don't have pigs at this time, or we would be able to feed them the excess milk.

Let us know how your farming adventure goes!

marizpan

Congrats, very exciting!

Meat will be a byproduct of your milking. So if it is only for the house you wouldn't need to buy a beef herd.
While five acres seems like loads of land. It will need to be will managed, so better under than over stocked in the beginning.

I can't really give you advice other than share our experiences.

We have a jersey cow for the house. She is very quiet and easy and is milked once a day. She will also take on foster calves if we want to go away for a few days on holidays. As she is so quiet, we have loads of neighbours willing to milk her for us as many of these get milk if they are stuck or are health concise. We also get offers of free grazing!
She rears a calf to six months and 2-3 pigs a year for us for the freezer. So we are never short of meat. We trade half one pig for a whole lamb.
Her milk also feeds the chickens with clabber and her milk keeps our family healthy and veg garden for all her manure.

Our neighbours also milk a jersey cow for the house and last year bought a small herd of dexter. This is want they found. he couldn't milk a dexter as not friendly at all with their udder. Has difficulty selling them etc as they can't go to the factory, therefore they must be sold privately or at the mart. As they are rare, he has been bidded low/ stupid money for them and brought them home again. They are too small for factory to take them. They don't fit into the factory system.
When getting them killed in the butchers, the fees are high, nearly the same price as a large bullock therefore making the price per kg expensive.
We have a blog, your find more info on it. Best of luck!
www.oursmallfamilyholding.blogspot.ie

iverjohnston

Can't link to your Blog, any ideas? Iver.

kupus

I cant link either

marizpan

kupus wrote: »

I cant link either

Oops!
www.oursmallfamilyholding.blogspot.ie

Hope that works...

kupus

Thanks Maripan, I like reading these type of blogs and also best of luck in your venture OP, there is nothing really to add from Maripans earlier post. I think they covered most things

OldRio

Hi everyone.
We were also thinking about getting a house cow.
Have the land but not to sure what to do with all the milk.
You can only make so much butter, ice cream and yogurt.
Great read Marzipan that blog of yours.

Good luck with your new venture headscratcher.

marizpan

OldRio wrote: »

Hi everyone.
We were also thinking about getting a house cow.
Have the land but not to sure what to do with all the milk.
You can only make so much butter, ice cream and yogurt.

You would have no bother using it up. A calf or some pigs and you'll find yourself short of milk.
We'd get another cow if we had the grazing

La Gun

Aghoney wrote: »

First of all, congratulation on your new farm. We have two dexter cows, and their two calves. Based on my experience, I would not recommend cows in calf or with calf at foot to begin with. Get a couple of yearling steer of any good meat breed and get them to slaughter age, and take that time to learn about raising cattle. Milking is a big time commitment for you, and it adds the issue of getting the cows pregnant every year to keep them in milk. A cow from a small breed like the dexter will need to be put to a small dexter bull or AI to a dexter. Either one is not an easy thing to do, for a beginner. Rather than a cow from a specific breed, I would recommend finding one or two of any milk breed that are used to being handled, that are halter trained and trained to be hand milked. Also, make sure that you also have animals that can eat any excess dairy that you milk (pigs, for example). We are milking two goats at this time, and the gallon of milk we get every day is a lot, and requires work to turn it into cheese or other products. Not enough to sell, but too much for us to consume. We don't have pigs at this time, or we would be able to feed them the excess milk.

Let us know how your farming adventure goes!

would you mind asking you a question about goats please ill do it by pm as to be not going off topic in tread, if you would not mind,

Askim

If its general questions about Goats, just start a new thread, then we all a can add & learn

If personal info, then pm

A