This is the last in a series of posts about how to run a small dairy herd without separating the calves from their mothers. This final article is about preparing the cows and calves for a stress-free weaning. Working towards weaning As the calves age, you can move from long-duration suckling time to a shorter duration. My rule of thumb is to star ....

When a lamb or calf suckles, they bunt their mum's udder with their heads to stimulate release of more milk. If you are share-milking, as a calf grows this bunting can quickly become so strong that it can easily knock the cluster off the other three teats. So it's a good idea to progress to milking without the calf suckling before this point. In th ....

I have found that the first few days after a heifer has calved are critical when it comes to creating a positive association with feeding her calf and being milked by machine.  In the previous post, we covered steps one and two - creating a bond and calving / first milking. In this post we look at laying the foundation so that each morning can ....

This is where we get to the nitty-gritty of cow-calf dairying, looking at creating a bond and the first milking; but it’s important that you have understood the whole series so far (see right or click here) before reading on, as much of what is covered here relates to points made before. BEFORE PROCEEDING: Please note that there are no hard ....

Welcome to part 4 of this series on cow-calf dairying, focusing on udder development. By now you will be starting to understand that keeping calves on dairy cows is a fine art; that it is a case of balancing the emotional and physical needs of both cow and calf; and why there are no set rules, just guidelines. In this post, we will look at udder ....

Here, in part 3 of our series on dairying without removing calves from their mothers, we look at the importance of managing a calf’s nutrition in order to support the effective calf rumen development, essential to her long-term health and productivity. Cows are metabolic marvels Have you ever stopped to consider just how amazing cows are? They ....

In this second post in the series from the Smiling Tree cow-calf dairy we focus on how milk is synthesised and, importantly for cow-calf dairying, what triggers the release or ‘let down’ process. Making milk Milk is synthesised in microscopic alveoli - small goblet-shaped structures - within the udder tissue. There is a rich blood supply to ....

This is the first in a series of articles looking at the practicalities of producing ethical, cruelty-free milk by allowing dairy cows to keep their calves. In this post we cover why conventional dairy cows don’t keep their calves and why humanely-produced milk using cow-calf dairying is rare and costs much more to produce. Over to Christine: ....

“There is a handful of pioneers now producing more ethical milk and, in one form or another, raising calves on their mothers. It’s a start, and hopefully a trend, that will lead to many more cow-calf dairies popping up around the country in response to demand from a small but growing number of compassionate consumers.” - Christine Page, Smili ....