At Maranatha Farm we milk dairy cows. We have two breeds or kinds of cows: Jerseys and Ayrshires. Jerseys are small brown cows that give lots of rich creamy milk that is high in protein and good for making cheese. Ayrshires are red and white spotted cows. Cows are ruminants, that means that they have special stomachs that have four parts to help them digest all the grass and hay that they eat. Cows like to eat grain too. People keep cows on farms for their milk and meat. In some places people also use cows to pull carts and plows.
Mother Cows:
Mother cows are called cows. They give lots of milk. Our Jerseys can give 50lbs/day or 6 gallons/day. That s a lot of milk. Cows usually have only one baby at a time. Like people they carry their baby for 9 months. Mother cows have their first baby by the time they are two years old. When a mother cow has her baby she will make special milk that helps protect the baby from germs and gives it lots of nutrition to help get it going. This special milk is called colostrum. After a few days the milk changes to the kind that is good for people to drink too.
Father Cows:
Father cows are called bulls. They are big and strong and can be very mean. You should never go in a pen or field where there is a bull. You cold get hurt. Cows and bulls can both grow horns, but people usually have a veterinarian ( animal doctor) remove them when they are babies.
Baby Cows:
A baby cow is called a calf. If you have more than one you call them calves. A girl calf is called a heifer and a boy a bull. Baby calves need a gallon of milk a day. They usually get two bottles/day. The bottles are very big and hold 1/2 gallon. They need clean fresh water and special grain just for calves that is sweet and has molasses in it so they will want to eat it. Baby calves are usually weaned when they are two months old. Then they also start to eat some hay and grass. We raise our calves in special houses called hutches until they are weaned. The hutches keep them safe and warm and dry when it rains.
Milking Time:
Here at Maranatha Farm we milk our cows twice a day. We get up very early in the morning before the sun comes up. The cows are milked in a place called a milking parlor. They get to eat grain while they are milking and they like that. We use milking machines to milk our cows. Here are some pictures of what goes on in the milking parlor.