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Author Topic: Milking Hereford or Welsh Black or White British  (Read 3283 times)

macgro7

  • Joined Feb 2016
  • Leicester
Milking Hereford or Welsh Black or White British
« on: July 26, 2019, 04:50:52 pm »
Has anyone cobsiderd milking what nowadays is regarded a beef breed? All of those old British breeds- Hereford, Welsh Black, White British, Red Poll, and some more used to be raised as dual purpose animals, giving good amount of milk and good beef at the same time.
Perhaps you know some older people who still remember That?
Even Hereford used to milked commercially before the war in 1930s
British white till 1960s
Welsh black and Red Poll in till 1970s
There is one farmer that I know of in Leicestershire who milked 50 Red Poll cows in till he retired last year (he's selling the milking red poll cows nowadays btw!)

I'm interesting in any of those (or other) breeds to be kept as smallholder family milk cows.
What do you think?

I know one guy in Sweden who milk a HIGHLAND cow! Obviously not commercially, but he's got enough milk for his family!
« Last Edit: July 26, 2019, 05:02:06 pm by macgro7 »
Growing loads of fruits and vegetables! Raising dairy goats, chickens, ducks, rabbits on 1/2 acre in the middle of the city of Leicester, using permaculture methods.

SallyintNorth

  • Joined Feb 2011
  • Cornwall
  • Rarely short of an opinion but I mean well
    • Trelay Cohousing Community
Re: Milking Hereford or Welsh Black or White British
« Reply #1 on: July 26, 2019, 08:44:31 pm »
I’ve seen the Swedish guy’s vids on YouTube. 

We’ve got a Red Devon x Jersey coming on.  Red (north) Devon used to be triple purpose - and not that long ago.  Flare doesn’t spare us any yet at she’s feeding Luther, but I’m hopeful she’ll keep us going through Hillie’s dry period after Luther gets speaned.  So I’ve no idea how much she’ll give yet.

If I had to pick one of the ones you’ve listed, it would be British White.  A place I WWOOFed had one in their small suckler herd and I was very taken with her.  She was very quiet, did her calf really well, and looked to have a larger bag than the others.  But it’s hardly enough info to make a decision on!  Lol.
 
Don't listen to the money men - they know the price of everything and the value of nothing

Live in a cohousing community with small farm for our own use.  Dairy cows (rearing their own calves for beef), pigs, sheep for meat and fleece, ducks and hens for eggs, veg and fruit growing

macgro7

  • Joined Feb 2016
  • Leicester
Re: Milking Hereford or Welsh Black or White British
« Reply #2 on: July 26, 2019, 11:10:58 pm »
You see, my problem is I fall in love with all the animals!
Geese, ducks, chickens, goats, sheep, cows, dogs! Never know what breeds I like the most lol
So usually end up having several varieties!

Traditional hereford is my long time favourite beef cow - but whether we will be able to have beef cattle depends on what kind of farm we get onto. Our last offer got declined...
British white are nice too - not too big. They are aesthetically pleasing, I.e. pretty to look at lol
Welsh black - boring to look at lol

Last week went to the Ashby show and I decided yellow Jersey was the most beautiful cow breed (colour wise at least). But I read somewhere that Jersey milk is actually not the best for cheese making!

Shorthorn are good i think as they give good amount of milk but are more beefy that most dairy cows and you can cross a dairy shorthorn cow with beef shorthorn bull to get even better quality meat.
Growing loads of fruits and vegetables! Raising dairy goats, chickens, ducks, rabbits on 1/2 acre in the middle of the city of Leicester, using permaculture methods.

SallyintNorth

  • Joined Feb 2011
  • Cornwall
  • Rarely short of an opinion but I mean well
    • Trelay Cohousing Community
Re: Milking Hereford or Welsh Black or White British
« Reply #3 on: July 27, 2019, 09:27:05 am »
Jersey milk is absolutely fine for cheesemaking.  I WWOOFed on several farms that made awesome cheeses with Jersey milk - including an incredible cheddar which had a fine following at the local farmers’ market, and had, I think, won awards.

Jersey meat is lean, dark and has unparalleled flavour.  She has the widest pelvis of any cow, so can take any bull breed and produce a beefier calf if that’s what you want from her.

And if you like to have animals you love, no cow has more personality than a Jersey.   :love:   You and the cow bond when you milk her, a very strong bond - like that between a horse and its owner/rider. 

The only downsides with Jerseys are :

- not very wet weather hardy, so you will need good shelter or barns for the winter
- horned, so you might want to dehorn calves (or use a polled breed for the bull)
- hugely productive - she will rear her calf and still have a gallon for you, and once he’s speaned, she will give you tens of litres every day when she’s on decent grass

But the upsides more than compensate, provided you can use all the milk!

And you don’t have to have two Jerseys.  If one Jersey is enough milk, get something less productive for the second cow.  (That’s why we kept our Red Devon cross on - we don’t want 2x Jersey levels of milk!). But it has to be a cow that can be kept the same way the Jersey needs kept, of course, so they can be together.
Don't listen to the money men - they know the price of everything and the value of nothing

Live in a cohousing community with small farm for our own use.  Dairy cows (rearing their own calves for beef), pigs, sheep for meat and fleece, ducks and hens for eggs, veg and fruit growing

SallyintNorth

  • Joined Feb 2011
  • Cornwall
  • Rarely short of an opinion but I mean well
    • Trelay Cohousing Community
Re: Milking Hereford or Welsh Black or White British
« Reply #4 on: July 27, 2019, 09:34:05 am »
Just had a thought.

The Whitebred Shorthorn could be your answer.

Very rare, and geographically concentrated in the NW of England.  It’s a breed that is very vulnerable, and one of the very few bigger breeders up there has just sold his farm, I think retired, so the breed will be under even more pressure.

The Whitebred Shorthorn is a quiet, milky, chunky animal.  She’s the mother of the Blue Grey - a Whitebred Shorthorn bull on a Galloway cow.  The Blue Grey is a tremendous suckler cow for the northern moorlands and uplands, inheriting the Whitebred Shorthorn‘s biddable temperament and milkiness and the Galloway‘s hardiness. 

If I hadn’t had Jerseys myself, I think I’d have had Whitebred Shorthorns.  But back then, I was right next to two of the main breeders, and it’s pockets of breeders elsewhere they really need.
Don't listen to the money men - they know the price of everything and the value of nothing

Live in a cohousing community with small farm for our own use.  Dairy cows (rearing their own calves for beef), pigs, sheep for meat and fleece, ducks and hens for eggs, veg and fruit growing

macgro7

  • Joined Feb 2016
  • Leicester
Re: Milking Hereford or Welsh Black or White British
« Reply #5 on: July 27, 2019, 10:50:59 am »
There's a lady down south I think around Dartmoor who has a "microdairy", milking several whitebred shorthorns.

I have an idea - let's move to Snowdonia and make cheese from sheep milk - proper cheese - not cheddar  ;D (bit that there's anything wrong with it!) Lol

Have you seen the "ancient cattle of wales"? Welsh white - same colour as the British white but with horns. It's basically a colour variety of Welsh black.
« Last Edit: July 27, 2019, 06:37:40 pm by macgro7 »
Growing loads of fruits and vegetables! Raising dairy goats, chickens, ducks, rabbits on 1/2 acre in the middle of the city of Leicester, using permaculture methods.

macgro7

  • Joined Feb 2016
  • Leicester
Re: Milking Hereford or Welsh Black or White British
« Reply #6 on: July 27, 2019, 11:14:28 am »
She’s the mother of the Blue Grey - a Whitebred Shorthorn bull on a Galloway cow. 
So Whitbread shorthorn is the father rather than mother of the Blue GREY lol ;D
Growing loads of fruits and vegetables! Raising dairy goats, chickens, ducks, rabbits on 1/2 acre in the middle of the city of Leicester, using permaculture methods.

Rosemary

  • Joined Oct 2007
  • Barry, Angus, Scotland
    • The Accidental Smallholder

SallyintNorth

  • Joined Feb 2011
  • Cornwall
  • Rarely short of an opinion but I mean well
    • Trelay Cohousing Community
Re: Milking Hereford or Welsh Black or White British
« Reply #8 on: July 27, 2019, 08:38:56 pm »
She’s the mother of the Blue Grey - a Whitebred Shorthorn bull on a Galloway cow. 
So Whitbread shorthorn is the father rather than mother of the Blue GREY lol ;D

Lol, do you know, I knew something wasn’t quite right but I couldn’t put my finger on it!  Lol
Don't listen to the money men - they know the price of everything and the value of nothing

Live in a cohousing community with small farm for our own use.  Dairy cows (rearing their own calves for beef), pigs, sheep for meat and fleece, ducks and hens for eggs, veg and fruit growing

macgro7

  • Joined Feb 2016
  • Leicester
Re: Milking Hereford or Welsh Black or White British
« Reply #9 on: July 27, 2019, 10:54:07 pm »
Growing loads of fruits and vegetables! Raising dairy goats, chickens, ducks, rabbits on 1/2 acre in the middle of the city of Leicester, using permaculture methods.

macgro7

  • Joined Feb 2016
  • Leicester
Re: Milking Hereford or Welsh Black or White British
« Reply #10 on: July 28, 2019, 09:28:32 am »
http://www.whitebredshorthorn.com/features/cornwall/index.html
An article about the lady who milks whitebred shorthorns in Cornwall.
Growing loads of fruits and vegetables! Raising dairy goats, chickens, ducks, rabbits on 1/2 acre in the middle of the city of Leicester, using permaculture methods.

SallyintNorth

  • Joined Feb 2011
  • Cornwall
  • Rarely short of an opinion but I mean well
    • Trelay Cohousing Community
Re: Milking Hereford or Welsh Black or White British
« Reply #11 on: July 28, 2019, 10:46:28 am »
How wonderful that there are two herds so near to me now!  (And so funny it took TAS to tell me about them,  :roflanim:)

I shall have to have an explore of Tresnow and Pendeen on one of my weekends away!

BTW, the WBS bull that’s for sale, Spoutbank Major, was bred about 5 miles from where I used to live in Cumbria :).
Don't listen to the money men - they know the price of everything and the value of nothing

Live in a cohousing community with small farm for our own use.  Dairy cows (rearing their own calves for beef), pigs, sheep for meat and fleece, ducks and hens for eggs, veg and fruit growing

 

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