murphysranch
True BYH Addict
The idiocy about indicting T is to divert our attention from other matters. Its alllllll sssssooooooo irritating....
Farmerjan's journal - Weather
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Mini Horses
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We had sun here -- coastal VA -- this morning, nice breeze. Hung clothes, even a load of various jackets. Dried well, then holy cow, the wind gusts came!! Rushed to get clothes in before they were miles away! 😵💫
Made it a poor choice to do outside work...but, got things handled this morn and I'm ok with that. Feeding chores tonight may be dicey.🤔
Read some articles on the Tyson plant closing in Glen Allen. That's a sad and hard situation there! Financial ruin for many of those farmers who are growers! Workers will re-job, use unemployment until, etc. Farmers and loans 😖🥴🤷👎
Made it a poor choice to do outside work...but, got things handled this morn and I'm ok with that. Feeding chores tonight may be dicey.🤔
Read some articles on the Tyson plant closing in Glen Allen. That's a sad and hard situation there! Financial ruin for many of those farmers who are growers! Workers will re-job, use unemployment until, etc. Farmers and loans 😖🥴🤷👎
Ridgetop
Herd Master
Go ahead and get the entire new greenhouse for that price. By spending the same thing for a full greenhouse set up, you will now have 2 and can always order a replacement cover later.
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farmerjan
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That's what I am thinking too....
murphysranch
True BYH Addict
Hi FJ. I was watching some reels on FB and noted several farriers there. Many are working on dairy cattle hooves. Is this a standard practice to take care of dairy cattle feet (if so, how often?), or only if there is lameness?
I've watched stones being removed; a 3" screw, two nails; a tooth; and so on. Thanks.
I've watched stones being removed; a 3" screw, two nails; a tooth; and so on. Thanks.
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Baymule
Herd Master
I don’t know how often cattle need a pedicure, but my vet has a tilt table for cattle for that reason. That thing is HUGE and operates by hydraulic cylinders.
Margali
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@murphysranch Hoof GP in Scotland does scheduled trimming. He goes every 2 weeks and does a group. I think he said an individual cow gets trimmed about every 3 months.
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farmerjan
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Most dairies that I test on, and others that I know, will have the hoof trimmer once or twice a year. It depends on several things.... if they are in a confinement dairy, no or little pasture with their outside time being on concrete lots or small dirt lots, and they are milking heavily, the concentrated feed will cause the hooves to grow faster and they will also get corns and sore feet from other things... So they get trimmed more often... YEP cows get pedicures !!!!!
On smaller dairies they go out to pasture more often so it seems to help keep the foot softer which allows for it to wear more evenly.... which seems counterintuitive to the concrete ought to wear it down more... but then they are more likely to pick up "trash" in the pasture... just like I seem to find every single piece of wire or nails or something in my tires....
. Cows get corns between their toes, they will get something called a strawberry wart, they get foot rot....not to mention getting a rock between the toes or some "foreign object"; most farmers can treat the simple things in a chute and using a rope to hold the cow's leg up... we do it when trying to find out why a cow limps... the big farms often have their own method of trimming and do some of the ones that seem to have a toe that goes unusually fast...
But for the sake of time and expertise, most will get a hoof trimmer to come. Yes, most have a tilt table... and they can sun a good sized dairy through in 1-2 days of steady work... they are in great demand here and usually twice a year is about all one can fit into his regular rotation schedule for an average dairy.
Cows that have some sort of issue can have a wood block, shaped and made specifically for cow "toes", glued on the good side so it raises the hoof off the sore side... yeah they walk a little funny sometimes... but it is basically a "lift" so the sore side gets a chance to heal from whatever... usually having to dig out some foot rot or something... the glue holds for a few weeks, most blocks fall off with no notice... they are only like 1-2 inches thick so not like they are on a stilt on one toe... sometimes the hoof is treated for something... wrapped in a foot wrap and it will either be cut off, or will start to unravel in a few days... mostly for any medicine they use to have a chance to get into the foot tissues, hole where they cut out foot rot, or treated a strawberry wart with an oxytet and want it to get soaked in good for a few days... can't leave it on too long as it will cut down the circulation and will cause issues once it is wet... but it is like wearing a bandaid with some neosporin and keeping it dry for a day or 2... then it gets wet and you change it or leave it off... keeps it clean for the initial treatment to take effect....
To do say a herd of 50 out of the 100 milking cows... costs are say maybe $10 per cow with the travel and set up etc. Most farmers will call to schedule a hoof trimmer when they see a few with long toes and some lameness... and they will single out the cows needing trimming... It is usually in the 1/3 to 1/2 of the herd going through the barn to make it worthwhile. Some also will take a problem cow to their large animal vet where they usually have better facilities... but some will have the vet look at or work on them when at the farm... many times they will be able to do it in the chute... we had the vet use Rompum, and put the bull down (drugged) to work on one of his feet because he was too big to get through the chute.... it was safer for all and it was easy to deal with him while in LA-LA land laying on the ground... It works FAST... and they come out of it fast so very safe in most cases....it is also used in small quantities to calm an animal that has gone off it's rocker from pain or to calm and get to where you can catch or load an animal... like something that is a total nutcase out in the field and you can't get near... have had the vet talk about having to tranq a few over the years......
On smaller dairies they go out to pasture more often so it seems to help keep the foot softer which allows for it to wear more evenly.... which seems counterintuitive to the concrete ought to wear it down more... but then they are more likely to pick up "trash" in the pasture... just like I seem to find every single piece of wire or nails or something in my tires....
. Cows get corns between their toes, they will get something called a strawberry wart, they get foot rot....not to mention getting a rock between the toes or some "foreign object"; most farmers can treat the simple things in a chute and using a rope to hold the cow's leg up... we do it when trying to find out why a cow limps... the big farms often have their own method of trimming and do some of the ones that seem to have a toe that goes unusually fast...But for the sake of time and expertise, most will get a hoof trimmer to come. Yes, most have a tilt table... and they can sun a good sized dairy through in 1-2 days of steady work... they are in great demand here and usually twice a year is about all one can fit into his regular rotation schedule for an average dairy.
Cows that have some sort of issue can have a wood block, shaped and made specifically for cow "toes", glued on the good side so it raises the hoof off the sore side... yeah they walk a little funny sometimes... but it is basically a "lift" so the sore side gets a chance to heal from whatever... usually having to dig out some foot rot or something... the glue holds for a few weeks, most blocks fall off with no notice... they are only like 1-2 inches thick so not like they are on a stilt on one toe... sometimes the hoof is treated for something... wrapped in a foot wrap and it will either be cut off, or will start to unravel in a few days... mostly for any medicine they use to have a chance to get into the foot tissues, hole where they cut out foot rot, or treated a strawberry wart with an oxytet and want it to get soaked in good for a few days... can't leave it on too long as it will cut down the circulation and will cause issues once it is wet... but it is like wearing a bandaid with some neosporin and keeping it dry for a day or 2... then it gets wet and you change it or leave it off... keeps it clean for the initial treatment to take effect....
To do say a herd of 50 out of the 100 milking cows... costs are say maybe $10 per cow with the travel and set up etc. Most farmers will call to schedule a hoof trimmer when they see a few with long toes and some lameness... and they will single out the cows needing trimming... It is usually in the 1/3 to 1/2 of the herd going through the barn to make it worthwhile. Some also will take a problem cow to their large animal vet where they usually have better facilities... but some will have the vet look at or work on them when at the farm... many times they will be able to do it in the chute... we had the vet use Rompum, and put the bull down (drugged) to work on one of his feet because he was too big to get through the chute.... it was safer for all and it was easy to deal with him while in LA-LA land laying on the ground... It works FAST... and they come out of it fast so very safe in most cases....it is also used in small quantities to calm an animal that has gone off it's rocker from pain or to calm and get to where you can catch or load an animal... like something that is a total nutcase out in the field and you can't get near... have had the vet talk about having to tranq a few over the years......
murphysranch
True BYH Addict
WOW. Only $10. Its a lot of work per the vids. Thank you for educating me again.
Edited to add: Just watched one of Hoof GP's vids. The dairyman, he said, takes meticulous care of his herd. He knows every animal and every bit of how they feel. Hence, hoof maintenance to keep his investment healthy.
Very cool.
Edited to add: Just watched one of Hoof GP's vids. The dairyman, he said, takes meticulous care of his herd. He knows every animal and every bit of how they feel. Hence, hoof maintenance to keep his investment healthy.
Very cool.
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farmerjan
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OOPS... reread it... and said $10 but it should have been $20. per cow.......
If you are talking doing 50+... that is over $1,000 for one day's work. If there is extra work, like blocks and digging out abcesses or something like that... it is extra... Most farmers I know have a hoof trimming bill of $1-2,000 each trip out... I said $10 but .... MEANT to say $20.... and that might be the "before covid" price... I will ask one of my farmers next time what it costs now to do it. You also have to figure that they can do 2-5 per hour if there is no big problem... It is alot of work... but with the table and all, they can put them through there pretty fast... remember, that on top of everything else...
Now you have me wondering just what the price is......
If you are talking doing 50+... that is over $1,000 for one day's work. If there is extra work, like blocks and digging out abcesses or something like that... it is extra... Most farmers I know have a hoof trimming bill of $1-2,000 each trip out... I said $10 but .... MEANT to say $20.... and that might be the "before covid" price... I will ask one of my farmers next time what it costs now to do it. You also have to figure that they can do 2-5 per hour if there is no big problem... It is alot of work... but with the table and all, they can put them through there pretty fast... remember, that on top of everything else...
Now you have me wondering just what the price is......
