Lots of dairy cow questions *Update*

[Hound]

I'm going to look at the young lady in question along with another on Monday

 

[Cowgirl71]

Good luck!!!

 

[Hound]

Thanks, i'm just hoping she isn't too sad looking. That and i'm wondering if she'll turn spunky on me if I get her fed up.

 

[arabianequine]

Quote:
Whatever cow/calf you get make sure when you bring it home it can be by itself for at least a month. Not able to touch the other cows if you have any. I learned the hard way....all my cattle lived but barley and not fun nursing them all back to good health.

 

[Cowgirl71]

I agree with Arabianequine, and keep her separate for at least a month, and I'd do six months if it were me. Animals from dairies are notorious for secretly carrying diseases.

I wouldn't worry about her temperament changing once she's plump again. If anything, I find skinny cows to be more ornery because they're hungry, and well fed cows to be more placid.

Good luck!!!

 

[Hound]

It's ok she will not be around any other cattle. I'll keep her up in our horse pens over the winter so I can feed her, and then in the spring we can fix the fencing in the trap by the barn so she can graze. We don't have any beef cattle within half a mile or so. She has to be TB tested to bring her into the state, and her milk has been tested for bacteria. If she's what I want i'll ask my vet to run tests for, Johne's, Brucellosis and Bovine Leukemia.

The barn should be a good place to milk her, it is fully enclosed with a concrete floor and electricity. It has two separate sides so she can calve in there too or come in on cold nights. I'm really excited, I just hope she turns out to be suitable tomorrow. It would be nice to pamper her a bit, I do feel for dairy cows.

 

[Hound]

Good news, cow #2 is coming home on Saturday, so long as her TB test is negative tomorrow. I am so ridiculously excited it's not true! Yesterday my faithful dog and I checked the fence line as nothing has been in the trap in years. It took all afternoon, but we both had fun exploring. I'll have to do a little fixing up tomorrow but nothing major, and put a water trough in there. I think she'll love it, she'll have eight acres of native pasture to explore with a nice creek and a warm barn every night. It will make a change from living on a dairy farm.

The first cow seemed to have been abused pretty badly. She would look away whenever I went near her like she was trying to pretend I wasn't there

She has quite a few minor health issues, sores from where the glue on her sale stickers had burned her, a knot on her neck, bad feet, underweight and a scabby coat. She was a good girl and just stood and let me milk her without being tied or fed, but I felt like it was stressful to her to be handled a lot which wouldn't be good for a family milk cow.

The other cow the lady had was quite different. She's 2 years old, I don't know when she freshened but she is in milk. She's a registered Jersey and the AJCA have said they can most likely get me her papers; she has her tags but didn't sell with her paperwork. She is a small cow, around 600lbs but she also needs a fair bit of weight. She is very friendly and gentle, and allowed me to check out her feet and milk her while she was loose and didn't threaten to kick or swat me. She has one injured quarter that i'll get checked out, but it produces milk and does not appear to be mastitis. It doesn't hurt her. She is just precious.

 

[Rusty Hills Farm]

Congratulations! I have always wanted a milk cow. Unfortunately there's only the 2 of us so I could never use all that milk. but I always wanted a Jersey or a Guernsey. Enjoy her and post all about her so I can enjoy her too!

Best of luck!


Rusty

 

[Hound]

Thanks. Not to be an enabler or anything, but you don't have to consume everything that they make. You can 'milk share' with a calf or two and just take what you need

 

[welsummerchicks]

They look away to let you know they accept you as their leader. Other things may indicate past rough handling, but not necessarily that.