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Family Cow Milking Schedule

I am posting my milking schedule for those who might be interested in getting their own family cow. My schedule is not for everyone, but it has worked well for us, to balance calf health, convenience and the amount of milk we get.

I begin milking the day after the cow freshens (she has a calf), freezing the colostrum that is present the first 2-4 days so I have some on hand if needed. The colostrum can be very thick and usually will not go through a milk filter. I start using the milk when I don't see much sign of colostrum in the filter anymore. I will milk 2x per day for the 1st 2 weeks, until the calf can start keeping up with the milk production. Beginning the 3rd week, I seperate the cow and calf overnite, milk the cow in the morning, then let the cow and calf together the rest of the day. I don't milk in the evening. When the calf is 4-5 months old, I wean the calf and begin milking 2x per day again. I milk 2x per day until milk production consistently drops to less than half (of what I was getting when I started milking 2x per day), then I milk 1x per day until 60 days prior to calving. Our cream production goes up significantly when I go to 1x per day milkings. For about 1 week I will increase the time between milkings to dry off the cow slowly, 1x every other day, 1x every 3rd day, etc.

One problem with not weaning the calf until 4 months is the calf will occasionally bite the teat and leave small cuts on it, more so as it gets older. I sometimes use Bag Balm on the teats, especially in the evening when I seperate the cow/calf, this will soften them up and help them heal overnite. The upside is I have always had healthy calves with this method.

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