rachels.haven's Journal

[farmerjan]

Hate to say it, but this is the WORST time to think about a cow/cattle/calves.... prices are through the roof, supply in the country in general is at a 70 year low, so prices go faster/higher through the roof...
There is NO PRACTICALITY in milking a cow right now... and you can NOT afford to buy even a 2nd calf to graft on the cow ...... not at $500 for a half dead one... to $800-1500 for a healthy 3 DAY OLD calf....
You would be better off with a cow/calf pair to raise the calf for beef.... 18 months minimum for calf to be big enough to butcher.... and then it is a FAVORITE PET...... so then WHAT?????
A dairy cow HAS to be milked .... minimum of once a day but needs 2 x a day for several months from the start til tapering off... even sharing with her own calf it is once a day minimum. You know all about mastitis and consequences... times xxxx with a cow....
Lots of other things, but you have dairy animals.... you know all the basics.... QUANTITY..... as in GALLONS a day per cow when fresh..... BUCKETS AND BUCKETS.... even the worst milking jersey will make 1-2 gallons PER MILKING, WHILE sharing with her own calf.... and she will eat 3 X what that milk is worth in feed costs... You think you had trouble finding hay for the goats.... you haven't begun to understand the cost.... a decent cow, with decent nutritional needs, will eat 30-50 lbs hay a day... that is at least 1 "small" square bale a day... and that is conservative...
You will have to either have some pigs to use the surplus milk, or feed another calf..... most families cannot use 2 gallons of milk a day, 7 days a week for months on end... you run out of things to use it for.... unless you are feeding it to something.... or you have 6-8 kids.... who eat cereal with milk and have 2 glasses each, for at least 2 meals a day...

I love dairy cows.... but honestly..... you do not have the time to put into a cow and all that goes into it, with all you already have, the stresses of having to be the "primary" person around there due to DH's work.... ON TOP OF 3, VERY overactive kids..... remember, we have seen some of the "creative things" your cute and imaginative darlings get into.....
We want you to stick around here for awhile... adding a cow, will mean we will wonder if you just went off the deep end when you disappear ......or ran away from home or even worse... sold the kids into bondage and took a one way space ride to another planet for permanent R & R....

 

[rachels.haven]

No worries @farmerjan , they're probably going to have to be 18+ and in a farm of their own first. Hopefully the market will rebound by then (the market is actually concerning right now, especially when you take into consideration the cow's reproduction rate isn't quick but that's another can of worms). The chance of getting killed by a goat is next to none. People got killed by their cows where I lived as a teen in IA all the time (that and their pythons for some reason, I'll never understand that). Cow psychology disagrees with me. Their hierarchy is very pushy when they are comfortable with you. Goats leave you out of that for the most part and act more like dogs (although I have met a few angus I actually like, but they're a lot more curious and timid and very, very different than the saucy, spicy, moody, and opinionated jerseys I've interacted with). We're not cowing right now.

 

[fuzzi]

All I can think about is this kind of situation, which I know WILL happen.

That's a LOT of work!

 

[Baymule]

And that’s why I have sheep. I’ve had cows, worked in laws cows, chased cows, etc. I can handle sheep by myself, cattle-not so much. I had a longhorn bull that jumped fences like a deer, had a death wish for me and tried to run me down daily. He went to live somewhere else.

 

[Ridgetop]

Lots of stuff (that probably shouldn't) hits the trash bin.

I used to clean all the chidren's rooms once a month each one on a different day since it was a big chore. Emptied out the closets (they like to stuff junk in and pretend they cleaned their rooms), pulled everything out from under the bed (like dredging a lake), and picked up everything on the floor. Stripped the beds, then while sheets and clothes were washing I would pile up everything on the bed and sort it. Most stuff disappeared. (OH NO! I wonder where you lost it. I guess you should have put it away safely.) After the kids were a certain age I would announce that everyone had to clean up their messes around the house. There was a cutoff for them to clean up their belongings then I would go through the house with a large cardboard box and gather up everything. The children had to ransom their stuff with allowance money. Sometimes they ended up in debt. Had to work it off. Nothing cheered me up better.

My spouse is a man and doesn't care about inviting people over without giving me a chance to clean (or pitch a fit for some help if I can) so I feel a lot of pressure to just keep it clean all the time.

They are all like that. It is part of their Testosterone Poisoning Syndrome that they never notice mess, especially their own. Until they step on a Lego, stub their toe, or fall over something (usually one of their many pairs of shoes discarded in the living room) then there is a federal inquiry into why the house is messy.) LOL

18 months minimum for calf to be big enough to butcher.... and then it is a FAVORITE PET...... so then WHAT?????

We mde ur kids name all animals destined for the freezer with names like Lamb Chop, Rib Roast, Bacon, etc. They would usually ask "WHO are we having for dinner?" instad of "what".

 

[fuzzi]

And that’s why I have sheep. I’ve had cows, worked in laws cows, chased cows, etc. I can handle sheep by myself, cattle-not so much. I had a longhorn bull that jumped fences like a deer, had a death wish for me and tried to run me down daily. He went to live somewhere else.

In the freezer?

 

[Baymule]

In the freezer?

Nope. I sold him to a cowboy, the bull jumped his fence, went down the road and jumped another fence. That fence was around a pasture of registered Angus cows and he bred everyone of them. There was almost a range war over that!

 

[Ridgetop]

Might have ended up in the freezer after that episode but he would have died happy!