It is a dairyman’s luck to have a cow go into labor in the middle of the night, on the coldest  and wettest night possible.   Around midnight last night, Dale was helping one of the ladies deliver her calf when it became apparent that she was going to need more help than what he could give her.  She was trying to push her calf out, but the calf had not brought it’s head forward and was crammed inside.  Usually, in this type of situation, Dale could reach in help rearrange the calf inside the womb.  But the cow was pushing so hard that there was no chance the calf could have the room to be lined up.   So, Tyler had to call and wake up the vet in the middle of the night and get that cow to the clinic.

A little over an hour later and much work on the mens’ and the cows’ part, the little calf was born and she was alive!  In previous experiences, a calf in this type of stressful situation usually didn’t make it.

 As she got acquainted with her feet, her mom was having a hard time recovering and was suffering from Hypocalcemia(also called “Milk Fever”).  Milk Fever happens when a cow gives birth and her body gives too much calcium to making milk for her calf and doesn’t have enough for her own body’s functions.

Here, Dale and his grandson are helping her stay in a sitting position after she had received some calcium through an IV.  She stopped breathing a few times and we were afraid we had lost her.  But, thanks to Dale’s quick “Cow CPR”, she stayed with us to fight another day.

Though she looks pretty ragged in this picture, it was a big relief when she finally got up and could go home.

 

Just one of those nights with dairy cows, thankfully this one had a great outcome.

Due to the changing season, our new winter hours will be 4 pm to 7:30 pm. Keep in mind we still do appointments outside our hours so please contact us ahead of time. We deeply appreciate getting to know everyone who enjoys milk fresh off the farm.

We encourage everyone this Thanksgiving and Christmas season to buy local! So when you are feeding family and thinking of gifts, be sure to support your local community and visit your friends/neighbors local businesses first! Blessing their business, blesses their family and in turn blesses you and your family.

With the recent increase in butter prices at the grocery store (Approximately $2.50 per lb!) we feel we need to help educate people how to make their own butter. One gallon of our raw Jersey milk($4.24 on the farm) yields around one quart of rich cream. Each quart of cream yeilds about one cup of butter, that’s over a dollars worth of butter! The benefits of making your own butter go beyond the financial aspects, but even more important is yours and your family’s health.
Come to the preparedness fair Saturday, September 13th, from 10am-4pm where Doris Mortimer is teaching how to make butter from our fresh raw cream! She will be teaching a few different methods, and will be teaching a “class” starting new every hour.

There will be plenty of things to see and learn at this fair. Doris will also be teaching about keifer and some of the benefits of cooking with raw milk products.

We at Daloris Dairy drink real, raw milk for a number of reasons. It has splendid taste, and is a great source of essential nutrients such as calcium, protein and wholesome milk fats, to name a few. Raw milk is not fortified with Vitamin D, so it is especially great when paired with lots of time in the sunshine on these summer days. Come celebrate national dairy month and visit our dairy!

Some fun facts:
“National Dairy Month is a great way to start the summer with nutrient-rich dairy foods. From calcium to potassium, dairy products like milk contain nine essential nutrients which may help to better manage your weight, reduce your risk for high blood pressure, osteoporosis and certain cancers. Whether it’s protein to help build and repair the muscle tissue of active bodies or vitamin A to help maintain healthy skin, dairy products are a natural nutrient powerhouse. Those are just a few of the reasons that you should celebrate dairy not just in June, but all year long.”
– International Dairy Foods Association. .

Mortimers’ have been dairying with Jerseys for generations. Dale’s mother, Wanda Mortimer, was the real advocate for the breed back in the mid 1900’s when Dale’s father, Don Mortimer, expressed a desire to milk cows. Wanda, being a descendant from the Isle of Jersey, loved the size and temperament of the Jersey, as well as the abundance of cream they produced. Don listened to his wife’s wishes and they were able to raise their children milking and showing registered Jerseys, along with bottling and selling their own raw milk. Don was an avid showman. He loved the atmosphere of showing cows, and developed a great knowledge of the breed which he passed onto Dale.

That in turn, has been passed along to each of Dale and Doris’s children. As every fall begins to roll around, the family gets together to participate in the fairs. No one is left out, and none of the work is hired out. They each get to help clip, bed and feed cows, scoop manure, run water, haul tack, and scoop more manure. Once show day arrives, their excitement flairs as they fit the cows to be shown. Though winning is very enjoyable, the real fulfillment from the day comes from the family being together with their beautiful, home grown Jerseys. The genetics of these cows are unique to Daloris Dairy, with lines going back from the very first cows Dale started out with. This is the Mortimer legacy. Beautiful, well bred, registered Jerseys that have resulted from generations growing and learning together. It now continues on with the fourth line of Mortimer’s as the grandchildren are starting to join. Today, Daloris Dairy bottles and retails real, raw milk, and continues to breed and pamper excellent Jersey cows.

We have a problem… a GOOD problem, but still a problem.  The demand for raw milk has exceeded our expectations. We are currently in need of our empty bottles so we can continue to fill the demand. We have ordered more bottles, but in the mean time, please come visit us and switch out your empty bottles. Please Share so we can get the word out.

A nutrition expert, Alan Aragon, said, “Cow’s milk has among the most biologically available protein fractions in the known food supply. It’s a particularly potent dietary source of nutrients for the growth and maintenance of lean tissue in humans. Isolated whey and milk protein are among the highest-rating proteins across the various protein quality indexes.” – “Girth Control – The Science of Fat Loss and Muscle Gain”, Alan Aragon.

We at Daloris Dairy milk Jersey cows so you can have the best milk possible. Jersey milk is more rich, and contains 15-20% more protein, 15-18% more calcium, 10-12% more phosphorus than the average milk sold in grocery stores.  Along with these great nutrients, Jersey milk also contains plentiful amounts of vitamin B12. Come out to Rigby today to pick up some freshly bottled milk, and enjoy the sunshine while it lasts!