After 3 days of "practice" milking and giving it to the pigs, chickens, and cats; we are finally ready to bring the milk to the table! We have decided to keep the calf on Beatrice and milk her once per day (in the evening).
Tonight she gave us 1.5 gallons of milk - probably closer to 2 if you count the rations for the cats and dog. I'm sure she could produce a lot more milk than this, but it is already more than we would normally use in one day. Tomorrow we will attempt to make butter :O)
Yay! Too cool! I was raised on a dairy farm...we had a big ole jar in the fridge at all times...freaked my school friends out b/c it wasn't in the plastic jug from the grocery store and didn't say 2% on the front LOL!
ReplyDeleteWhat breed is she? I believe your standard Jersey on a little grain (3-5# daily)produces 3 1/2-4 gallons a day. So happy you have some good milk, right at home, and another step to self sufficiency. You will soon be finding that you have more than you really need, so you will need to get creative. Yogurt, cheese, kefir, you will find many uses, and of course sharing with the other critters....
ReplyDeleteThis is very interesting to me! : )
ReplyDeleteLeanne