Herd sharing, I can't stand it

Now I got your attention, I can't stand that I can't get fresh cow's milk. It has been over 30 years since I have had the blessed life of that cow's milk that graced our tables, from our Jersey cow, Candy....this is an old subject and has been spoken of many times, not sure if it has here, but I got a few things on my mind that are bothering me this morning. I could get a goat. You can even buy goats' milk. I could get a cow, but on three acres, only about 1 acre grass, the rest horsey and chickeny stuff, not enough room to graze a cow. So, I can't have a cow. If I did, I would share my milk, somehow, probably do a herd share thing, I know there is massive controversy about this, but I know others yearn to have fresh cow's milk too, smiling. Doubt if I will ever get a cow, maybe one day when we have our own little place, but for now, gotta keep my hands in my jean pockets, as I can't have a milker here. Those of you that have bovine to obtain milk and the wonderful products from, thank your lucky stars. You probably take it for granted, that fresh cow's, but really, consider yourself very fortunate. There are herd shares around my area I have heard of, and I have looked into it, and I think the price of the milk per litre is so out there, that I don't think I could engage in that, sigh. Oh well. I have a very vivid imagination and I can imagine the milk I buy from the store to be that of a nice chilled glass of milk, drawn from the very udder of that cow that morning . My raw milk rant for this morning, as I still here looking at a glass of milk from the store . Have a most wonderful day, CynthiaM.

If I was closer than 25 minutes to Farmchiq, I would force her to buy a cow and keep it at her place and I would milk her and look after her for her, but just a little too far to go each day (Farmchiq and stickin' my tongue out at ya!!).

Maybe there is a way, I found one. I dont know about regulations in your province but here in AB its legal to sell unpasturized milk for animal consumption. I had to sign a waiver saying so. The way I found the source was through an ad looking for bottle lambs and goats. They had too much milk and needed more babies to feed. I bought lots of gallons and froze it since I really did buy it for the chickens. I wont lie to you though, I did dip a finger in and lick it but I didnt swallow so I think Ill be ok and no one has to worry about my health lol.

Isn't it a shame how our choice in food is controlled in Canada? I have lived my 47 years having never tasted fresh milk. I know if there was a way to be able to get some, I would love to try it.

I remember as a kid drinking it. We lived in town but i think mom and dads friends had dairy cows. It came in a big jar and the cream sat on the top, we would have to shake it before putting it in our cereal....yummmmmmmmy!

Prairie Chick wrote:I remember as a kid drinking it. We lived in town but i think mom and dads friends had dairy cows. It came in a big jar and the cream sat on the top, we would have to shake it before putting it in our cereal....yummmmmmmmy!

ah, stop that, that is not nice, kidding, yes, Candy was jersey, and they are known for very high fat, the things that we enjoyed, our two families living together, a whole lotta kids and adults, smiling. We are alive to this very day , no aftermath of anything that we could have "got" from that cow, smiling that big smile. Ya, I know about purchasing the milk for feed for livestock, things like that, but I could not do it, as it would not be the truth. One day I will find a friend that will let me milk the cow, and no one will ever know that I snuck some milk, smiling again, whooda thunk eh? I know it is legal to have a cow and milk it and drink the milk, but why can't it even legally be GIVEN away, unless for feeding other livestock -- sucks and I really don't like how things are, yes....for surely. Have that great day, CynthiaM.

It's become a running joke with my Dad. Whenever he meet a farmer of similar age he says something like, "Oh you must have survived that dangerous fresh milk when you were a kid."

toybarons wrote:Isn't it a shame how our choice in food is controlled in Canada? I have lived my 47 years having never tasted fresh milk. I know if there was a way to be able to get some, I would love to try it.

Same and me too!

CynthiaM, I think you SHOULD force FarmChiq to get a milk cow! I have a butter churn (more than one) and a milk separator sitting in my basement gathering dust!

Mom used to milk a cow, a Candienne Cow, small, black. It was mom's only moment out of the house sometimes, her only quiet time, with her head pressed against the cow and that ttszing, ttszing as the frothy milk filled the metal pail. Wild barncats that you never saw any other time would sift out of the dark corners.

BUt milkcows are a HUGE committment! And since I remember the ghastly chore of washing the separator in boiling hot water, all 795 of it's ridicuous internal pieces, the romance is off the bloom for me. But I sure think we should force FarmChiq!

CynthiaM--- our Jersey is having her baby in June.. I will be back and forth every other week to kamloops... you are just a blink off the route... we could meet for a coffee and 'share'... send me [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Uno, what size is your butter churn and would you ever think of selling it to me? I am looking for a smaller one (smaller than 3 gallons) that is in good, clean (dust? I can wash that) working order. They are next to impossible to find.

CynthiaM. we have 2.7 acres, chickens, jersey cow and calf, one horse, soon to be gracing our place, 2 alpacas, ducks...If you really want it you can figure things out. We are fortunate that a neighbor who farms the land around us lets us use some bush area, which the cattle are cleaning out. Do you know of anyone close by who has a bit of pasture that you can use? It might be worth asking around for.

Those of you who haven't tasted raw milk...go make a friend with someone who has a cow! If you come as a guest, what can the govt. say? We don't have bought milk in our fridge and when someone comes here and wants to drink milk, guess what they get? It is not legal to sell milk here either, or give it away for any purpose, but I have never run across anything that says that your guests can't drink it while on the premises. I tell people, come and fill up when they visit. Drink up the milk and drown things in cream. Enjoy!

A good dishwasher can clean those disks no problem. It saves a lot of time. Actually, what saves more is just skimming the cream off the top. Voila! No seperator to wash!

A milk cow a commitment? Yes, Huge? It doesn't have to be. When they are going to calve, it takes more effort, and for about a month afterward, but after that, you can keep the calf on half time & milk in the mornings, or you can scale it all down to once a day milking. Pretty simple. If you are out doing chores anyway, checking a small fence, feeding and shovelling manure isn't hard. Care is pretty easy, really. It really isn't all that bad when you have one. Most Jerseys are efficient food conversion wise. I would go with those or a Guernsey. The Jersey will give you a slightly higher fat content, though. If you want to search, I have heard of miniature Jerseys in the US. I am not sure if they have any issues, being miniatures, but I am assuming that they might take less space and feed and you would still get some milk.

reneggaide wrote:Maybe there is a way, I found one. I dont know about regulations in your province but here in AB its legal to sell unpasturized milk for animal consumption. I had to sign a waiver saying so.

However, be careful. In AB it is still illegal to TRANSPORT said raw dairy without a permit. Just FYI.

As a farmer, having Jerseys, we have been working on becoming licensed without quota. It is doable, but very expensive. I have had many ask me why I refuse to sell the milk or to do the cow share. It is because ultimately, I am responsible. I am not willing to put my whole livelihood and farm and heritage here on the line for a few dollars. The fines alone are $50k each count. Once I am licensed we have been able to work it out that we can almost meet store prices. It is something we want to do.

I truly do feel for those that do not have the opportunity to have a cow or receive milk. We went for almost a year without any recently and it so happened that my youngest would get very ill every time she drank store bought milk. CynthiaM, if you lived closer, I would be sure you were one of the first to get some after we were licensed!

niglefritz wrote:
Those of you who haven't tasted raw milk...go make a friend with someone who has a cow! If you come as a guest, what can the govt. say? We don't have bought milk in our fridge and when someone comes here and wants to drink milk, guess what they get? It is not legal to sell milk here either, or give it away for any purpose, but I have never run across anything that says that your guests can't drink it while on the premises. I tell people, come and fill up when they visit. Drink up the milk and drown things in cream. Enjoy!

Actually, the inspectors and enforcers still consider that falling under the giving it away part. You are giving it to a guest. At least in AB it is that way. Granted, that means that someone has to know about it!

I have a very nice Canadienne heifer for sale - she is not quite one and could be bred at 15 months. Almost black and as sweet as candy!

Niglefritz, the butter churn is a one gallon size. A top mounted motor unit with blade screws onto a gallon jar. Nothing too fancy. I also have an antique kicking around, hand crank with paddles inside, but that is only for the truly dedicated! I don't know if I have all the parts, but some of the parts.

SOrry but when mom bequeathed them intomy care I was told only to part with these items upon my deaht OR moving to live in an apartment in a city, so sorry to say I'm not able to part with the churn or separater.(separater?)

Fowler wrote:It's become a running joke with my Dad. Whenever he meet a farmer of similar age he says something like, "Oh you must have survived that dangerous fresh milk when you were a kid."

Ha! That made me laugh Fowler. I am also a survivor of that dangerous fresh milk...

I remember it in the big jars with the thick layer of cream on the top. I was one of the few in my age group to have it still. We had the butter churns like uno has too (the hand crank kind). What fun that was!!

My Mom wasn't able to breast feed so I grew up on raw milk from the dairy across the street from my grandparents. I remember until I moved out of that town when I was 7 or so, the farmer who owned the dairy would come drop off 4 or 5 bottles for the week. One would always be un-capped and warm just for me.

I'm still here:)

Tell you what, when I get a cow, everyone can come over for a shindig. Of course, this would be completely unrelated to this conversation BYOM!

Well the one thing you will find is that once you have tried real milk you will not want shop purchased milk again.
I found out 2 or my 4 boys could not drink cow milk. Eldest is nasty agressive on cows milk nice on goats milk . My 3rd son has ADD and we cleaned up the diet and changed to goat milk. Last year in grade 11 he got a merrit at school. I was so pleased to see him up on the stage getting his award.
Goat milk 8 years ago was hard to find in the shops, now well way easyier for sure.
First I got one then another , see a pattern .. .oh right of course if you do milk them you do not want to keep working them and they do need a break so after 4 years I was up to 10 does and 1 buck and 2 castrated male goat pets.
Well I love fresh goat milk, I make cheese , butter, ice cream , and just love the cream it gives. Mind goat milk you will need a cream seperater to get the cream but worth it 100%.
Just a shame that the goverment have to stop people that do not live where they can not keep animals to be able to get fresh milk. My kids can pick out fresh goat milk or shop goat milk in a waffle same as a fresh farm egg or a shop egg in a waffle as well pin pointing it to the milk /egg does not taste good in the waffle mom. Now that tells you something there.
Little did I know that my dad was brought up on goat milk as a kid. He lived on a farm and his mom milked a goat just for the family he only told me about the goat after I told him I had gotten mine and was milking.

Oh I love to hear all these comments and the stories about the goats and cows, smiling. Beautiful. I was raised on cow's milk too. My Grandmother had a Jersey too, her name was Daisy. Clearly remember that gal. I still clearly remember the smell of her breath when she was grazing on the grass, well over 50 years ago -- I liken this smell to as nice as the smell of puppies' breath . I am very scent-oriented and love certain scents, those two really stand out in my mind. I am a survivor of drinking cow's milk too . Pretty healthy yet . Great idea to leave the calf to drink in morning, milk in evening, or vice versa I guess, cooooool. Thanks for bringing your thoughts to this thread, I am listening deeply to each and every one, thank you for taking me for a walk by your side as you describe you life experience with milk..have a beautiful day, CynthiaM.

Uno, well, I don't wish death on you. If you do move into an apartment in the city, let me know. I have to say that I am a bit sad that you have to keep them, but I totally understand. I think that in our family it will be a similar thing. We are fortunate to own a separator that is from 1926. It is a small one, and from what we understand from the appraiser, very rare. Our oldest will get it, as she has a special connection with it through her penpal and the fact that in a freak accident she had it fall on her head. That was not good at all. It is heavy. At least it was a small one. So, as I said, there is a connection there, so she gets it.

There are just some things you just don't part with.

Gotta ask. Exactly HOW does a milk separator fall on someone's head? I mean, I've heard of many odd things cracking people on the nob, but admit this is the first time I've ever heard of anyone getting hit on the head with a milk separator.

I know a guy who got shot between the eyes with a .22 at point blank range and lived. Cool scar.

Well here is the story...it was sitting on the top of our milk fridge and our daughter hung her cap up on the handle. Somehow in how she hung it up, she pulled it down and it bounced off her head. She has two tiny scars from it. One is actually a cute dimple beside her eye, and the other is hidden under her hair. She was very lucky, having 30 lb of cast iron bounce off the head right in between her temple and her eye. It was an awful scream and there was what seemed to be a lot of blood, but there was no concussion or anything. We didn't even need to go the the hospital, just had to watch her for a while. She hates it when I tell the story, but it was an honest accident. It just connects her to something special and very old in a unique way. The handle broke when it hit the floor, unfortunately, but that is minor compared to what could have happened.