Buying Family Milk Cow for the Homestead | Our First week with a Dairy Cow

Buying Family Milk Cow for the Homestead | Our First week with a Dairy Cow | Lessons Learned & Tips

Рет қаралды 10,771

3 жыл бұрын

We finally brought home our first family milk cow, Autumn, along with a sweet calf, Olive.
Watch to see how this first week went with all the crazy weather and a cow that was traumatized from her road trip to our farm.
To skip to advice part on what to look for when buying a first time family milk cow skip to the 25:22 minute mark. Learn from our mistakes and hopefully your first week will go a little smoother than ours.
Autumn is a pure bred Jersey and Olive is a Jersey Holstein mix.

Пікірлер: 66

@karenfleming1500 7 ай бұрын

Enjoyed this I’m 66 years old widow woman but I enjoyed this!!

@OurFruitfulFamily 7 ай бұрын

God bless you Karen!

@TheLittleHomesteadOnAHill Жыл бұрын

A small pen/stall for new animals is always a must! Unload straight from the trailer to the stall or pen. It saves so much trouble. I wish someone told you guys that. Nice work pushing through! 🙌

@OurFruitfulFamily Жыл бұрын

Would’ve definitely helped hahah

@sylviaduffey8781 Жыл бұрын

This is my first time seeing your story. I am presently looking for 5 or so acres to start my own homestead and I definitely want a milk cow. Your story has helped me more than you know. I appreciate your being honest about the reality of having your first milk cow. THANK YOU!

@OurFruitfulFamily Жыл бұрын

God bless you Ghostie! Good luck!

@johnfarmer1691 3 ай бұрын

great job your a credit to farming

@stormyrain2957 Жыл бұрын

Interesting video! My grandfather had a farm and over 20 cows. I don't remember feeding the cows with grains. The cows grazed on the grass and ate hay in winter. Besides, they ate green plants like clover, alfalfa, green corn stalks, etc. Winter cows ate silage from green plants. The cows drank plenty of clean water. The cows were not vaccinated and medicated. Everything was natural and healthy. My grandmother spoke to the cows and treated the cows with great love. My cousins and I drank milk straight from the cow. We waited with the dog and the cat while Grandma milked the cows. We were all healthy. Now my grandparents are dead and the farm is gone. I buy pasteurized/homogenized milk in a store and I don't feel well after drinking it. I gave up drinking milk.

@frankiethreenames5108 2 жыл бұрын

We bought our guernsey from a family dairy in norwood missouri. The weather was absolutely horrible during that two weeks. Glad everything turned out for you guys.

@OurFruitfulFamily 2 жыл бұрын

Really!? What was the name of the dairy!? I wonder if it was the same one!?

@yichalfassil6157 4 ай бұрын

The best video 😂😂😂😂😂

@OurFruitfulFamily 4 ай бұрын

haha It was quite the adventure! God bless you!

@TropicalHomestead 2 жыл бұрын

God Bless the Toup Family. Y'all are so awesome and it is nice to flash back. You are truly blessed with the courage to be REAL! Keep it up

@OurFruitfulFamily 2 жыл бұрын

I just love hearing from you Robert! Thank you so much for the never ending encouragement! God bless you and your family as well!!!!

@magen2271 6 ай бұрын

Just wanted to offer a few ideas for anyone in a similar situation. You could have worked on getting a halter on her where she was comfortable (where you picked her up from in Missouri) or requested the seller to halter the night before pickup then walked her to the cattle trailer. Once home you could have temporarily tied her to a post in the barn where feed and water was within reach and worked with her for several days to get a routine. Fit Farmer has a new dairy cow and they shared a video about this practice of tying to a post or tree; it is a common practice all over the world for people who are training a new cow or for those who don’t have lots of land. Thx for the info and for sharing your journey. It may have been difficult but you guys made did happen. Great job!

@OurFruitfulFamily 6 ай бұрын

She was not halter broken. She came from a large dairy. She didn't really like to be touched other than in the milking stanchion. As for tying her to the barn, something similar was the goal, but getting her to the barn was difficult being we were way less prepared than we originally thought. We didn't know what we were doing. It was a learning experience to say the least. We know better now... God bless you Magen.

@magen2271 6 ай бұрын

@@OurFruitfulFamily at the end of the day you guys got the job done and shared a new perspective you don’t always see. We live in central Mississippi and we have several dairy’s within 10 minutes of our home. My husband and I are considering buying from one but we’re hesitant because of how different a dairy operation is compared to a family milk cow but you guys give us hope. It was difficult but she transitioned nicely. bless you and your family in Jesus name.

@OurFruitfulFamily 6 ай бұрын

It can certainly be done sister!

@benburns5995 Жыл бұрын

Great video of your challenges of having Milking cows. I'm surprised the people that you brought them off of, didn't offer more help and advice, as it was all new to you. If Autumn was as calm and sweet as Olive, at first, I think your start in milking would have been a lot better experience. It is good to see that things improved pretty quickly with some help from your friend.

@jetueee Жыл бұрын

Hey Cody and Jess! This is Justin from Louisiana, I hope y'all are doing well. I like y'alls videos they are more interesting than most TV shows. I really like the one when y'all built your own house. Keep up the good work and God bless!

@OurFruitfulFamily Жыл бұрын

Hey Justin! Any chance you are the Justin Etue from Walker? If so, welcome to the channel! Haha! God bless you brother!

@kaykringle8241 3 жыл бұрын

We all started out as newbies Noone came programed with all the right ways to do things. Y'all did a fine job, jersey cows are a stubborn lot

@OurFruitfulFamily 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much Kay! You are so sweet and encouraging! God bless you!!!!

@dorisdonnelly9669 Жыл бұрын

After all that now your a pro . Love your hat.

@maddievandorn1136 2 жыл бұрын

We are picking up our first dairy cow Saturday from that same farm I bet! In that same town at least!

@OurFruitfulFamily 2 жыл бұрын

That are now called Hill Top Jerseys! Congratulations on your new cow! We just got another one from them a couple weeks ago!

@kaykringle8241 3 жыл бұрын

Just a hopefully helpful note The hose that runs from claw to the vacuum for milking machine should go from udder to belly & out the side not udder out the side. That way the hose & machine arnt in the way of kicking

@OurFruitfulFamily 2 жыл бұрын

I am just now seeing this comment haha! Thank you for the advice Kay! I’ll have to try that one! God bless you!

@wisconsinhomesteader7482 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for this! We are bringing home our first cow in a few days! We're quite nervous....I appreciate your video!

@OurFruitfulFamily 3 жыл бұрын

Yay! So excited for y’all! Hope it all goes well!!! It’s a great experience!

@mommyandmegardening9076 2 жыл бұрын

Great info ! Thank you guys ❤️

@OurFruitfulFamily 2 жыл бұрын

You are very welcome Danielle! God bless you!

@kevinanderson89 2 жыл бұрын

If you are buying a family milk cow try a bred cow for you do not have to get her bred. If you have to much milk or only want to milk once a day get a nurse calf or 2 to help out. Good luck

@OurFruitfulFamily 2 жыл бұрын

That’s exactly what we did! We bought a bred cow so we would have to worry about breeding her for a while. She gave birth in May 2021 and we have been calf sharing ever since! You should check out those videos as well! Thank you so much for watching! God bless you!

@titanart6225 2 жыл бұрын

Do you have a build video on the Stanton? I love the videos on Cody’s Wood working skills. Plz consider creating a playlist on his carpentry skills! And keep up there great work with the “Back to Eden” gardening method!

@OurFruitfulFamily 2 жыл бұрын

I don’t have one on building the Stanchion because i built it in to my barn so it’s completely custom. I could definitely explain the basics of how I built it

@titanart6225 2 жыл бұрын

@@OurFruitfulFamily do you have a saw mill go rip the boards for the building? Also, big fan of your carpentry work, plz consider a playlist dedicated to your Wood work!

@OurFruitfulFamily 2 жыл бұрын

@@titanart6225 for the barn? I buy huge bundles of that siding for 25 bucks a bundle. It’s so cheap.

@titanart6225 2 жыл бұрын

@@OurFruitfulFamily outstanding

@missyandromeda 2 жыл бұрын

You two are so inspiring!! I just got my first two cows and will be milking the first time come April! I love the loafing shed you have. Did you guys build it? Are there plans if so?

@OurFruitfulFamily 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you missandromeda! You are going to love this journey! I design and build everything myself! I didn’t write plans for it. It was a fairly simple build though. Just post and beam style. Of course, I build a lot so maybe it just seems simple to me 😐.

@elxicoxuxe 2 жыл бұрын

Love you guys KZfaq

@OurFruitfulFamily 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much! Do you do any farming?

@ChristinasHome 3 жыл бұрын

☺️💖

@missysmessage722 Жыл бұрын

Where are yall located? I heard you talking about Greg Judy and he's in Missouri and so am I

@OurFruitfulFamily Жыл бұрын

We are in north west Arkansas

@missysmessage722 Жыл бұрын

@Toups Time oh cool your probably not too far from me I'm in southern Missouri! That's cool. Love yall channel and your Faith in Good God Almighty, really drew me in. JESUS IS LIFE!

@ripdinecola4755 2 жыл бұрын

Where did yall purchase a cow halter from? Having trouble finding one

@OurFruitfulFamily 2 жыл бұрын

We purchased ours online at Amazon before we realized that Local farm stores here sell lots of different ones as well!

@moondogartcamp 3 жыл бұрын

We are contemplating a milk cow for our homestead. My husband and I are nervous. How was the commitment to milking twice a day? What do you do with the extra milk? Thank you for the information.

@OurFruitfulFamily 3 жыл бұрын

Hi Janine! How exciting! I’m sure y’all are nervous! We were so nervous and some days we still are about anything new that comes up with our girl. We actually did not commit to milking twice a day we just had to do that for a little while to eventually get her to once a day milking. To be honest if we had to do twice a day milking every day, we just wouldn’t of gotten a milk cow for our family. We can’t be that tied down to our property at the moment since much of our family is out of state and we go see them at least once a year. Twice a day milking is a huge commitment, however if you never leave your property already or already have animals that you have to tend to once in the morning and once in the evening then it might be what is right for you and your family! We sell a lot of our extra milk 😀 we also have started trying to venture into some cheese making which uses a lot of milk as well! We try to sell enough milk to at least pay for any feed or hay we are having to purchase. We will do an update video very soon!

@titanart6225 2 жыл бұрын

What’s the average cost monthly to feed and care for a milk cow?

@titanart6225 2 жыл бұрын

@@OurFruitfulFamily how do you process the milk for drinking? Is it ready to go as soon as the cow is milked or is there a process before ready for human consumption?

@OurFruitfulFamily 2 жыл бұрын

@@titanart6225 we milk the cow. Bring it into the kitchen, and strain it into our jars through a milk strainer. This takes out all of the impurities and just leaves the wonderful raw milk. Then we drink it and use it to make things like butter and cheese for instance. Also makes amazing ice cream.

@titanart6225 2 жыл бұрын

@@OurFruitfulFamily excellent, I wound up watching your milking video after I posted the question and saw the entire process. I apologize for not watching first! Again, excellent videos, God bless you all.

@thefarmingbritts7045 2 жыл бұрын

Hi! My husband and I also homestead and I just stumbled upon your video. We’re about to get a family milk cow from the same place! Do you recommend from buying from this family dairy?

@OurFruitfulFamily 2 жыл бұрын

Congrats on your milk cow purchase! Did you find out about them from our video!? We absolutely love these people and how they run their dairy! We are actually getting another one from them in about a week! My two favorite cows came from their dairy!!!

@thefarmingbritts7045 2 жыл бұрын

@@OurFruitfulFamily no, we found them independently but we’re so excited! I’m so glad you’ve loved the cows you’ve gotten from them! Makes me feel more confident. You just never know! Haha

@OurFruitfulFamily 2 жыл бұрын

@@thefarmingbritts7045 There are several qualities I love about them! One, they are already used to a milking machine. Two, they feed them really well and high-quality food so they are always very healthy looking. Three, they are around a bunch of cows from birth so they are not spoiled when they come to my property and are usually friendly with the other cows.

@thefarmingbritts7045 2 жыл бұрын

@@OurFruitfulFamily that’s great to hear! Makes me even more excited to go get her!

@kl1958 2 жыл бұрын

Is your Jesey standard size or mid size?

@OurFruitfulFamily 2 жыл бұрын

Autumn would be standard to midsized. She’s right on that line. She’s on the small side of a standard Jersey. Missy towers over her. We just bred her with mini jersey semen however! We would really like to breed down to minis.

@kl1958 2 жыл бұрын

@@OurFruitfulFamily Ok Thanks.

@OurFruitfulFamily 2 жыл бұрын

You are very welcome! God bless you! Thank you for watching and joining the fam!