Can anyone recommend a good book(s) on keeping a family dairy cow? I'm looking for one with all the how to's, taking care of, what breed is best, etc., in it.
I looked at the "Storey's Guide to..." books on Amazon.com and they don't show any Storey books on having a family dairy cow. Storey has "Beef Cattle" and "Milk Goats", but no dairy cow. :(
I have posted my question on Farm Life and the Poultry & Livestock but no book recommendations yet.
Does anyone on here keep a dairy cow for their own family's consumption? Is a milk cow easy to keep?
Thanks for any insight you can give!! :)
Glenda
Know of a book on keeping a family dairy cow? Help please!
FYI.... I'm all set!!
I got great help from another forum. I ordered 3 books from Amazon and I am good to go! :)
Hi, Glenda! So what were the titles you came up with? I'm kicking around the idea too.
Here's a find... out of print but you can download the PDF from Google Books.
"Keeping One Cow: Being the Experience of a Number of Practical Writers, in a Clear and Condensed Form, Upon the Management of a Single Milch Cow"
Google the title, and once on the book page in the upper right corner you will see where to download the book.
I found that, and many other cool suggestions from this 64 page free download, "the small dairy resource book" you have to google it for the URL
I also downloaded a book on butter from the 'small daily resource'
It's Willard's Practical Butter Book, 1875 and although I have not read much of it, he does give insights into breeds and butter production in the beginning of the book. He also covers practical things like utensils and pails...
msrobin, I got.....
"The Family Cow"
Dirk Van Loon; Paperback
"Keeping A Family Cow"
Joann S. Grohman; Paperback
"The Jersey, Alderney, And Guernsey Cow: Their History, Nature And Management (1872)"
Willis Pope Hazard; Hardcover
But I haven't had a chance to go through them yet. Too busy working on my garden!
......If I ever get a milk cow, I'll spoil her! (No pun intended) ;) lol
Thanks, Glenda. I didn't have any desire to get a cow before, but I keep seeing ads for bottle calves starting at $100.
Darius, cool. I'll have to check that out. Free, huh?
Yep, Free. If you want a hard copy you can print the PDF. GoogleBooks actually has lots of out of print books that work that way; I just need to learn how to find them easily.
"Keeping A Family Cow"
Joann S. Grohman; Paperback is excellent. There is a website forum as well, that is a wealth of information from choosing your cow, to emergency care, to making cheese. Lots of knowledgeble folks there. its the familycow.proboards.com
Good luck!
oh...btw, yes we have dairy cows. I have a Jersey and I keep a couple of calves on her all the time, so we can just milk when we need it. Its much more convenient than needing to be out there 2ce a day! And she makes us money raising foster calves. I make our own butter, yogurt, whipping cream, mozzarella, ricotta, and sour cream but haven't got started on hard cheeses yet. Beware tho...there is a danger, CALPC (cows are like potato chips, you can't stop at just one)
LOL, I guess that's true about a milking animal... I have become addicted to all the milk products I now make (my list is like yours) and that addiction is dragging me into owning something to milk!
The more I study cheesemaking, and visit local Cheesers (is that a word? LOL) and their 'caves', the more I am determined I can do it too. But that means having more than one milking cow and/or goat to justify the investment in time and equipment to make cheese.