27 August 2008

How to Make Your Own Milk Even If You're a Man

No, I'm not suggesting taking hormones. I'm suggesting you look into buying a pet animal the size of a German Shepherd dog, that can give you 16 pints of milk a day and will also crop your lawn without costing a cent for gasoline. How? What? No need to stay in suspense, my friends. The answer is the mini-cow, a family pet that will provide milk, companionship, and free lawn care for many years--then when it dies you can put it in your freezer as fresh beef.
For between £200 and £2,000, people can buy a cow that stands no taller than a large German shepherd dog, gives 16 pints of milk a day that can be drunk unpasteurised, keeps the grass “mown” and will be a family pet for years before ending up in the freezer.

The Dexter, a mountain breed from Ireland, is perfect for cattle-keeping on a small scale, but other breeds are being artificially created to compete with it, including the Mini-Hereford and the Lowline Angus, which has been developed by the Australian government to stand no more than 39in high but produce 70% of the steak of a cow twice its size.....

“With high food prices, they are actually quite an attractive option if you like producing your own food,” said Sue Farrant. “Both my husband and I have full-time jobs so we’re keeping them on the side as an interest. They do largely look after themselves and they’ve been hugely popular with the children.” Her husband said: “They have a phenomenal reputation for the quality of the beef. I think they are proving very attractive to families who have a bit of land and are interested in organic produce. From an economic point of view, we get to eat as much meat as we want and we roughly break-even, but you can sell what you don’t eat.

“As long as you’ve got plenty of grass they will be fine. You don’t really have to feed them.” _TimesOnline
By considering all the aspects of keeping a mini-cow, the economics can be quite favourable. This is what Swamp Woman was trying to tell me a few weeks ago, but I was too busy to listen. I suspect that a person would need a couple of acres of grass to provide feed for the critter. You'd best tell the kids not to give it treats without clearing them with the Vet first.

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2 Comments:

Blogger Snake Oil Baron said...

Are they sure the Irish have not just painted their goats black and white to look like tiny Holsteins?

Wednesday, 27 August, 2008  
Blogger Richard Morchoe said...

Been there, still doing that. Sounds nice, but even with a little cow, there is a lot of clean up. Nice touch, having them mow the lawn in Summer. Oh, what do they eat in Winter? Do you buy hay or cut? Buy it, haying is an art and dependent on the weather and burbans will do the scythe thing once and then hope there is a hayman in the near suburbs. Good luck.

An electric fence is easy, but if you just have that mini bossy, you don't want to invest in hi tensile. It takes a while to get used to those calls from the neighbors.

The Dexter costs a lot and ai is not readily available for ai. Better to get a mixed breed calf at the auction of $25 and when the ai guy comes have Charolai semen used.

There is nothing like your own grass fed beef and if you make a pizza with your own mozzarella, you'll know what pizza should be.

I've been offered a lot of animals that people gave up on. I'm careful about what I take, but if I do, they go right in the freezer.

Saturday, 30 August, 2008  

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