You just got a cow.
You’ve never had one before, but you have land and figured in todays day and age, owning
a cow may be a valuable, and maybe the most valuable resource for your family and farm.
You can get milk and dairy products, including ice cream.
You can from that cow have a source of beef for your table.
Hamburger, steaks, ribs, brisket, roasts and did I mention steaks.
In addition, she is going to create compost, an amazing additive to your garden soil.
Shes gonna help manage your pastures and she can even provide income, as you can sell beef,
milk and even calves.
But what are some of the things you need to know about our bovine friends first, besides
how to speak cow?
{Moo!}
Hi there and welcome back to Our Wyoming Life.
I love episodes like this because they always remind me of where we came from.
Not the collective we, but me.
Myself.
I wasn’t raised on a ranch or a farm.
I am a 5th generation nothing.
My family came over from Scotland or England or Wales and settled in Michigan.
Eventually we ended up in the west and after marrying Erin, a ranchers step daughter and
her step dad needing help on the ranch, I landed here.
Erin wasn’t a rancher either.
Her mom married Gilbert while she was in college, so by when we came here to the ranch we were
both as green as green can be.
We knew nothing.
I knew the difference between a cow and a bull, but I doubt I could have told you what
exactly a steer was, or even a heifer, let alone a freemartin, or a stag bull, a yearling,
a springer.
Polled, bummer or Slick it was all Greek to me but somewhere along the line I had to learn
it.
After being here on the ranch for about a year, both Erin and I decided that this is
where we wanted to be.
We gave up on our corporate jobs entirely and settled in to what we hoped we could build
into a life for our family for generations to come.
When Gilbert passed away, that learning curve was greatly accelerated.
This book and one that I recommend for any beef cattle producer, while the title may
make you chuckle is what kept me on the ranch for years.
I knew I could always go back to it, and I still do today but this episode isn’t about
this book.
While it’s the idiots guide, today we are looking at the newbies guide and a 10 things
that will put you on the path to be a successful cattleman, or woman, or cattle person.
{how do you identify} 10.
All cows produce milk, but not all cows are milk cows.
While a study showed that 7% of American adults think chocolate milk come from brown cows,
by the way, that’s 17.3 million people and most of them are allowed to drive cars and
vote.
Not all cows are milk cows.
Beef cattle and dairy cattle are both cows, but they are different breeds of cows and
farmers care for them differently.
Dairy cattle produce milk.
They are bred, have their calf then they make milk.
That milk, instead of going to their calves, goes to us.
Their calves are separated, and the girls sometimes go on to become diary cattle themselves
and the boys, well they have a different fate and are normally sold, raised and slaughter
for beef.
Then we have beef cattle.
Cows, the breeding herd are much like dairy cattle.
Their job is to have a calf.
Instead of taking that calf and harvesting her milk, she can raise that calf for up to
8 months.
When its big enough, its weaned and taken from its mom.
Girls may be sold to replace older cows in the breeding herds and males can be sold,
raised, or slaughtered for beef.
While similar approaches, the product is extremely different as are the methods.
9.
If you want to keep doing this, you are going to need a Bull or a way to get what he has
to offer.
You’d be surprised how many times I am asked if you need a bull.
Technically you don’t.
You can buy bull semen online and a vet can impregnate your cow with it.
Its not always successful, and it can take a few tries.
In fact, if you have a decent sized herd, most ranchers will have a clean up bull, whos
job is to take care of any cows the vet may not have been successful with.
For me, I like the natural method.
They bulls do the work for me, and its exactly what they were meant to do, who knows, maybe
they even have fun doing it.
So the answer is yes, you need a bull, or a straw.
8.
Cows eat – A lot A Cow can weigh over 1500 lbs, a bull almost
twice that and a cow needs to eat about 2-3% of their bodyweight per day.
A 1500 lb cow will eat between 30 to 45 lbs per day.
A bull up to 60 lbs.
Be prepared to make sure they have enough to eat every day of the year.
This includes knowing exactly how much feed your pastures can produce.
If they can’t produce enough then you need to supplement.
In the winter, you may have to feed all of what they need everyday.
You may have to put in the time making that hay in the summer or you may just have to
buy it, either way you end up paying for it.
Its ok, the cows will thank you everyday, or they won’t.
7.
Cows also drink – A lot Every animal needs water, cows are no exception.
Water requirements are going to differ based on the weight of you cow, her stage of production
and the temperature.
Daily water intake will vary from 2 to 60 gallons per day.
A rule of thumb is 1 gallon per 100 lbs during cold weather and 2 gallons per hundred during
hot weather.
If she is lactating, double it.
So a 1500lb cow could need 60 gallons of water per day, or enough to fill one and a half
standard household bathtubs.
You also need to make sure that water is clean, so bath in it after they get a drink.
6.
Where should a cow live?
Buffalo grazed on the prairie for thousands of years.
I have never heard one complain, but leave a cow out in the cold and she might just let
you know.
A cows living conditions differ greatly depending on where you are.
Dairy cattle might have a more posh lifestyle then beef cattle but its not like either one
has youtube, or even Netflix.
The big thing for cattle is that they have access to some sort of shelter, and it doesn’t
have to be a building.
A windbreak can work, even contours in the land can protect them from the elements but
the best protection is a caregiver that can move them where they need to be.
In addition, a facility to work on your cattle is a must.
You will have sick cattle, or a cow that needs your help.
Even if it’s a gate that swings against a fence, it will be needed at some point to
help her and a headgate is ideal for treating a cow that cant treat herself.
Remember more people are killed by cows than sharks every year, always build for your safety
first.
5.
Cows are hot headed A cows normal temperature is 101.7 degrees.
This is very important because the first thing you should do when you have a sick cow is
take her temperature.
Yes that way.
And to do so you will need a big thermometer.
Actually you can use a human sized one, but tie a string to it.
You are better off getting something a little bigger.
As for calves, their temps can vary between 101 to 103 and a thermometer is needed for
them too, just not as big.
In fact, if you only have one tool in your medical kit, this is what you want and need.
4.
Find a good Vet buy them candy While finding a vet that makes farm calls
is becoming harder and harder you need to make contact with a vet that you can get ahold
of in the case of an emergency.
The same vet you take you dog or cat to might not be the solution.
There are certain vets who specialize in large animals.
Cows, horses, hippopotami . Even if you can’t get them to your farm and you have to take
animals to them, having a relationship with them will show them that you are serious about
your animals health.
They will be more likely to offer you advice if you show to them you are willing to learn
how to do things yourself, and trust me, you will end up on your own in an emergency.
3.
Here Cow, lets go If you have one cow you can probably teach
her to follow you around with a bucket.
If you have dairy cows they will come right in for milking as I can imagine it offers
them some relief.
But if you have cows on pasture that you don’t interact with a lot, you are going to have
stubborn cows.
You will have to work with cattle and learn how their flight zones work, where you stand
to move them forward, how to get them to stop.
It will take you a lot of time to get good at it but its well worth the time.
Don’t expect a cow to follow you for cake or grain.
She weighs a lot more than you, and if she doesn’t want to go, for whatever reason.
Shes not.
Cows are definitely push, don’t pull.
2.
Fence me in Ever heard the term, good fences make good
neighbors?
It is so true, infact, most could use a wall.
If you have an animal in a fence, at some point its gonna figure out how to get through
it, under it, or over it.
Don’t count on your neighbor to take care of fences.
Head out and check them each time you move in new animals or rotate through.
Hopefully your neighbor is checking too and you are doubling up.
You might even meet them on the fenceline and have a good chat but keep that fence up,
for everyones sake.
Always remember fences are merely suggestions for cows.
1.
Big Round Cows and their calves A cow is pregnant for 285 days, give or take
up to 2 weeks.
When you are getting close to that time you have to go and start looking at your cows
more often.
Yes, that end again.
You spend a lot of time at this end of a cow.
You are looking for the udder to begin to fill, although its not a given.
You are also looking for slime.
Before calving, cows will lose the mucus plug, hours or days before calving.
Also look for your cow to start separating herself off, either in a corral or pasture.
She wants some privacy.
You aren’t going to let her have much.
First thing you will see is a bag.
That bag is going to be full of liquid.
It will break, now you have a limited amount of time for her to have that calf, and it
should only take her about 30 minutes.
A little longer if this is her first calf.
You are going to want to wait and see, don’t.
If its taking longer, its better to do something.
Get her in and help her.
Give her too much time on her own, and you may end up with a dead calf.
One way or another that calf has to come out.
It’s your job to be prepared for all possibilities that can arise during the birthing process.
After the calf is born you will want to identify that calf.
If you have one cow, that’s easy, here is your calf.
But more than that and you may want to think about tagging your calf, and documenting who
belongs to who because cows will lose their calves and you will be in charge of reuniting
them.
Not all cows are good moms, but if you can keep them together you are better off, if
you can’t you are gonna have a bottle calf.
Now you have a calf and your herd is growing.
In a normal situation the calf will get up and eat from mom.
If the calf is unable to get up in a reasonable amount of time you will need to intervene.
The first drink from mom is called Colostrum.
Moms first milk is full of nutrients and bacteria its going to need to survive.
The calf will die if they do not receive colostrum.
It is essential that you make sure the calf can suck or is bottle fed colostrum.
Once it is up and moving and has eaten from mom you can leave them to bond for awhile.
Calves are going to sleep, but its your job to annoy them.
Get them up occasionally and feel free to stick your fingers in their mouths.
If its warm they are good, cool or cold and you have a hypothermic calf.
Better bring it in and warm it up before taking it back out to mom.
Calves will stay on their moms in a beef herd for up to 8 months.
They are deliquents, you will have to monitor them.
Don’t trust their mom to pay attention or know where they are at.
You are now a part of that calfs family and you have babysitting duty.
Those are ten things you need to know about having a cow right off the bat.
There are tons more things to worry about.
Mineral, Salt, Electrolytes, Ringworm, Lice, Fighting, auctions, runny noses, diahrea,
and all kinds of other wonderful things.
But now you have a better start than I did, and I know you will keep reading and learning.
Remember, if you don’t know the answer, its just as important to know where to find
it.
Even if you look like an idiot.
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That’s it for me today, have a great weekend and I’ll see you next time on our Wyoming
life.