cows
Raising a calf on pasture is a healthy and economical food choice for your family.
Sparse pasture may require feeding your cattle supplementary hay year round.
In the old days every homestead with a family to raise had at least one cow on pasture or in the barn. To the farmer who kept her she’d supply a source of milk for nine to ten months of the year and enough beef to feed the family throughout the next year by her offspring.
Her milk was fed fresh at the table or made into cheeses, yogurt, ice cream, and treats, plus any surplus helped to sustain pets or her barnyard companions. The beef of her young, raised nearly without cost on pasture until the snow fell, was higher in vitamins and nutrients than today’s grocery store beef, even with all of our modern-day advances in science and animal husbandry.
The reason modern beef pales in comparison is all in how it is raised. Beef that shows up in your grocery store is more often than not the product of cattle finished on a diet of grain in a feedlot. A lot of grain in fact. And for many months.
On the surface this doesn’t sound odd. After all, grain increases bulk and marbling within the muscle of cattle. With all that extra fat throughout, the beef is juicy and delicious. But the problem is that cattle digestive systems were not meant to survive solely, or even mostly, on grain. In fact, all that grain makes cattle sick, causes liver dysfunction, and stresses their immune systems.
Feedlots counteract cattle’s reluctance to consume so much grain by giving them hormone shots that increase their appetites. Now the cattle will eat almost anything. You can research precisely what “almost anything” is online or through recent documentaries. I promise you’ll never touch a grocery store steak or a fast-food burger again. The cattle, sickened by the feed they cannot help but eat, are then given medications to fight infections and override liver, organ, and system failures. Sicker still and loaded with chemicals, hormones, and antibiotics, the cattle’s discomfort becomes an acceptable norm. Acceptable to the feedlot owners, perhaps, but not to the cattle.
A Hereford mother and calf enjoy summer days together on pasture.
One day, this has to stop. This is why I applaud every person on a mission to raise his or her own food. Not to upset the balance of corporations profiting from pain—after all, not all feedlots are created equal—but to reinforce your ideals with one more reason to carry through.
Healthy milk and beef aside, the purest joy of raising your own cattle is that you do not need to cause suffering in the final days of an animal to feed your family. Pasture-raised beef is equally as tasty as the feedlot variety and, as an added benefit, is one-third to three times leaner than grain-fed beef.
Here’s more great news. Beef raised on pasture has two to four times more cancer-fighting omega-3 fatty acids, plus more vitamin E, beta carotene, and folic acids than grain-fed beef. Recent studies also show that CLA (conjugated linoleic acid) and TVA (trans-vaccenic acid) are present in grass-fed beef but may not be found in the grocer’s version. These two acids have been flying off the health food store shelves for the last ten years as supplements to fight cancer and cardiovascular disease—two illnesses that have plagued our nation since the industrial era.
Raising cows is to your benefit no matter how you look at it, which breed you choose, or what your preferred purpose might be. You’ll find a rich and rewarding experience plus far healthier food for everyone in your family.
Choosing a Breed to Raise
Cattle come in a wide variety of breeds and crossbreeds classified as purebred dairy breeds (registered or non-registered), meat breeds, crossbreeds, dual-purpose breeds, or miniatures.
Dairy and beef breeds are just that. They may have been developed over a few years or a few centuries and they have one specific purpose—either to produce milk at top quantities or to grow quickly with a high meat-to-bone ratio.
Crossbreeds are used most often as beef cattle. These cattle have been bred purposefully—either to thrive in their environment or as an attempt to create a new and better meat breed. Dependent on your objective a crossbreed might be the best animal for your money. Especially so if you aren’t interested in establishing a show-quality or registered herd.
Finally, and worthy of consideration, are the smaller dual-purpose cattle and miniatures. In every other section of this book I’ve avoided the novelty, the toy, and the fancy breeds, but in cattle the dual-purpose and miniature cattle cannot be ignored based on their service to the small family farmer.
Dairy Breeds
Before you run off to buy a family milker, consider this: the average dairy cow provides twenty to twenty-four quarts of milk every day, three hundred or more days of the year. Consistent yields are realized by keeping one of the top six milk breeds.
Standard dairy cows mature between 900 and 1,500 pounds; bulls and steers, between 1,500 and 2,000 pounds. The most popular dairy breeds are, listed from smallest to largest, Jersey, Guernsey, Ayrshire, Milking Shorthorn, Brown Swiss, and Holstein.
Your decision on which breed to raise might be made based on local availability, quality of pasture, and climate conditions. While all milk breeds are hardy enough to thrive in most North American climates, some may do better than others in your area. Discussions with local ranchers, veterinarians, or your feed supply store are highly beneficial.
The two smallest dairy breeds, the Jersey and the Guernsey, each have an interesting trait that you should know about before selecting them as your breed of choice. Jersey calves sold for beef will net low prices should you plan to sell them. Even though the beef is as tasty as any other, the fat of the meat is yellow, which the marketplace misjudges as “less than fresh.” Even a Jersey cross shows yellow-colored fat. The Guernsey, on the other hand, has milk that is a slightly yellow to cream color. This shouldn’t present a problem unless you have some real finicky eaters at your dining table.
Although any breed of cattle can be raised for beef, some breeds are widely recognized for their good mothering instincts, fast growth, having small calves (small calves equates to easier births), and climatic hardiness.
Hundreds of beef breeds and crossbreeds exist in North America and any purebred or crossbred calf will yield delicious, nutritious, and economical beef under your control within just a few months. If your plan is just to raise one or two calves for the freezer, check the sales of breeds readily available in your area and choose the healthiest calf you can find from the most knowledgeable or recommended seller.
Generally speaking, beef and crossbred calves are forty-five to fifty pounds at birth and kept on pasture with their mothers for the summer and most of the fall. They will have cost little to raise but will provide 320 to 380 pounds of beef for the freezer given that they have reached their seven-month potential of 600 to 650 pounds live weight.
Dual-Purpose and Miniature Breeds
Although there are many dual-purpose breeds in North America, the most popular is the Dexter breed. These smallish cattle reach maturity at 750 and 900 pounds, standing thirty-six and forty-two inches tall at the shoulder, for cows and bulls respectively.
A good Dexter cow will supply one to three gallons of milk per day (a manageable amount compared to her Holstein counterpart of five to six gallons daily). Her offspring at seven to eight months of age will grow to be 350 to 500 pounds, 55 to 60 percent of which will end up in your freezer.
Although the Dexter is a small breed, it isn’t considered a miniature by all breeders. In fact, the rules and boundaries between dual-purpose and miniatures are somewhat fuzzy across developers and registries.
Miniature cattle are not the latest fad. Documentation of smaller cattle has been noted since the late 1960s, and at present time there are nearly thirty registered breeds—ranging from the original Dexters and Zebu (from Ireland and Mexico respectively) to the American-made Lowline (a miniature version of the Angus).
These cattle are a viable, useful, and productive alternative for the small families who keep them. It is no longer necessary to be overwhelmed by the massive output of a full-sized breed or to be stuck trying to find friends to share the bounty of milk and split a side of beef with you.
Temperament and Training of Cattle
Dairy cows and beef cattle are herd animals. They settle into a new home most easily when they are with their own kind and have less tendency to be nervous. A lone calf will bond with you and consider you one of the herd if you are quick to understand its needs and its nature.
Calves and mature cattle can be timid if they’ve been raised on pasture and are not accustomed to human interaction. Even if they were, you as the new owner will not be “their” human until they have spent ample time with you. As long as they have been treated fairly in the past and you give them a little grace and space in the beginning, you’ll have them ambling over to greet you in the field or pen in no time.
All cattle have vivid, long-lasting memories that serve them to associate both painful and pleasurable situations with a person, place, or inanimate object. You can tap into that ability once you understand it. You can train youngsters to respect the electric fence or give you space, for instance, as well as teaching them a call word that will have them running back home for grain at top speeds.
The best manner to tame and raise cattle is with a gentle and steady temperament. Cow and steer alike can neither tolerate nor learn to trust the human who is flailing his arms, screeching and yelling, or rushing at them. You should not be so mild-mannered that you let them walk all over you either. Once you’ve gained their trust, the next step is to assert and establish yourself as a respect-worthy herd “boss.”
Every calf, heifer, steer, and cow also has his or her own self-defined comfort zone. By respecting you, they will understand and learn your own comfort zone and therefore will be less likely to crowd or push you, step on your feet, or trample you in a moment of panic. To teach them about your boundaries you’ll have to give them a sharp rap on the nose or the hindquarters with a small stick. This not only gets their attention but also lets them know that they have come too close or that their behavior is unacceptable.
If an intentional, well-placed smack doesn’t stop them in their tracks, you haven’t hit hard enough. These are heavily muscled animals with thick hides. At 1,000 pounds, they can certainly push you over or crush your entire foot if they are not taught to respect your space. I never condone abuse of an animal, but cattle can easily put you in the hospital, in a cast, or in a wheelchair. One sharp smack does not constitute abuse.
Stay calm and prepare to be the herd boss to ensure that your cow respects your space.
One final point about the temperament of cattle: their shyness can induce panic, and there is nothing safe about a half-ton animal in a panic. Calves panic if they cannot find their mothers and will run circles, risk their own lives, and cry for hours in frustration. Mature cattle will panic if cornered. In that situation and without being controlled they will mow down anything or anyone to get themselves out of the fearful situation.
Train a calf to lead by a halter and you can keep that panic at bay at any age. They will have learned that once in the halter their panic serves no purpose—the human on the other side of the rope is in control. Even with an animal of this size under control, you should never let your guard down. Keep a plan of escape and stay out of the kick zone whenever you’re working with one, on or off the halter.
Designing Your Small Farm Strategy
Milk and Meat Yields for Cows
Although widely ranging in size, approximate yields to be expected from raising cattle are as follows:
• Dairy—Average milk supply of 1,500 to 1,800 gallons per year.
• Beef—60 percent of live weight can be expected as dressed and packaged beef.
• Dairy Breeds Raised for Beef—A dairy heifer calf, raised just seven months, weighs between 350 and 450 pounds (netting 190 to 260 pounds of beef). If you raise her another year to 700 to 1,000 pounds, your freezer beef doubles. Add 30 percent if raising a dairy steer for beef.
• Beef Breeds Raised for Beef—A heifer calf at weaning will weigh between 450 and 600 pounds (netting 270 to 360 pounds of beef). Raised to maturity, the heifer weighs 900 to 1,000 pounds. Again, add 30 percent when raising steers.
A few options in raising cattle for a food source are listed below. Choose or alter one of the strategies below to suit your needs, space, and time. Keep in mind that the family milk cow is the animal that, once owned, must be tended to on a schedule. Twice daily milking, twelve hours apart, seven days a week. To put her off is to decrease her value and in some cases jeopardize her health.
• Keep and breed a dairy cow every year for up to six gallons of milk per day, plus one calf to either sell or raise until late fall for approximately 250 pounds of dressed beef in the freezer.
• Keep and breed a dairy cow every year and once she has calved, purchase up to three orphaned calves for her to raise with her own. Your cow will produce enough milk to nurse four calves. Once they are weaned, they can be sold or put to pasture until late fall and you’ll still have an ample milk supply for your family for another seven months. These four calves plus six months on pasture could yield 1,000 pounds of beef.
• Keep and breed a dairy cow every year with a beef breed bull. The resulting calf will be smaller at birth but quick to grow on pasture. His crossbred capability could net you 350 pounds or more of beef for the freezer, plus all the milk your family can drink for seven months or more.
• Keep one or more beef cattle on pasture and butcher when the season ends for a quick freezer full of beef (an average of four hundred pounds of dressed beef). Alternatively, winter the animal and raise him on to next fall to double your yield for less than the cost of a hundred square bales of hay.
• Raise dual-purpose or miniature cattle for realistic and manageable output of milk and/or beef, especially if available pasture is minimal.
Newborn calves should be kept in a warm and clean barn or shed for at least three weeks. This small calf has the potential for many stress-related sicknesses severe enough to take her life. Ensure that the calf cannot escape, cannot damage herself within her surroundings, has clean bedding in a draft-free enclosure, is treated gently and compassionately, and is receiving adequate nutrition.
The started or newly weaned calf would also have the best start on your farm when kept in a barn for a week or more with similar conditions. Although young dairy calves are at greater risk than beef, both will attempt to escape back to their dams.
Outdoor Pens
Should you choose to move or start an older calf in an outdoor pen, the fencing around the pen will need to be both tight and tall, especially if you are only raising one calf. You’ll also need to provide a shelter from cold winds and scorching suns, but the shelter can be moved onto pasture with the calf when you decide to do so.
Tucked away safe and sound, this young calf is living in perfect conditions.
The standard confinement pen built to take a weaned calf to seven months of age should be at least 1,000 square feet in size. The perimeter should be constructed of thinly spaced, well-supported wire or wood planks. If you plan eventually to pasture the calf, wait until she has settled into her new farm and owners before training her on the electric fence.
Additional Calves
Plan on raising more than one calf in an outdoor pen? You don’t need to double the space for every calf you add. One thousand square feet for the first calf plus 250 square feet for every additional calf is all that is required. Be sure to increase bedding and shade area for every calf added as well.
Inside the pen include a three-sided and roofed shed in one corner for bedding, a hay manger, and a salt/mineral block. The shed should be at least one hundred square feet in size and cleaned daily. The water bucket or tub can be set into an adjacent corner and blocked in at eighteen to twenty inches off the ground to ensure the calf doesn’t spill, step in, or soil the water.
The Pasture
The pasture requirement for growing cattle is one and a half to two and a half acres each. Miniatures only require one half acre each. In winter months or slow growing seasons you’ll need to supplement pasture with hay, and in some situations, a bit of grain.
All cattle require a shaded area. This could be a large stand of trees, but it is better if they have access to a roofed, three-sided shelter. The shaded area needs to be dry at all times and checked regularly for waste removal. Cows, steers, and calves should never be expected to stand or lie down in wet or filthy conditions.
If you have adequate acreage, employ rotational pasturing. Controlling which area of the land your cow pastures will ensure that new growth is eaten evenly.
Pasture fencing will need to be reinforced by electric wire. Cows are quite capable of mowing over any flimsy barrier in a panic. Even a herd that has been taught to respect a powerful electric fence will have heifers in heat eager to crash through in search of a mate. Woven wire cattle fence, forty-seven inches high with a strand above and below of electric fencing, has worked well on our farm.
Finding a Calf or Cow to Purchase
Some years are better than others for purchasing calves or a milking cow. The same can be said for seasons. You are most likely to find dairy calves for sale in the spring and beef breed calves selling in the fall. Before you make any purchase, read up a little on the breed (or breeds if you’re considering a crossbred) available for sale. Take some time to observe other herds in the field, in pictures on the Internet, or at country fairs and auctions. When the time comes to make your purchase, drag along a knowledgeable friend or ask a veterinarian for advice.
Disposition, if it can be sized up in a mere ten minutes of observation, should also be considered. Healthy calves are alert, energetic, and have bright shining eyes. High-strung calves are always to be avoided as are the dim-witted ones. If you have a few to choose from, select an alert and mellow calf. He will gain more weight and be easier to handle than his larger, wild, and snorty herdmate. Steer clear of calves showing any signs of illness such as runny stools, dripping noses, and crusty eyes.
Dairy Calves
Commercial dairies breed to freshen their cows for another year of milk production. As a result, every spring the dairies are faced with a glut of calves to dispose of. Some smaller dairies breed their calves with a meat bull known to throw small calves. This is beneficial. You could wind up with a crossbred, meatier calf to raise.
The hardship of raising excess dairy stock is that they’ll only be a few hours or days old when you purchase them. These calves will require bottle-feeding, scrupulous living conditions, and a watchful eye for any sign of stress or illness. Dairy bull calves sell the cheapest. The heifers, if turned out well, might make a nice dual-purpose crossbred that you decide to keep for the long term as a low-quantity milk source.
Should you decide to purchase spring calves, do so directly from the dairy and not from a livestock auction. Spring calves are more susceptible to picking up viruses—not to mention the stress of moving twice in one day. A direct-from-dairy purchase is a faster transport for a stressed calf and you can purchase enough colostrum for your calf’s first week. After the first week these young calves are fed milk replacer, purchased from your local feed store.
Beef Calves
The second norm for calf sales is in the fall when beef cattle ranchers sell freshly weaned calves off the field. These calves will be well established and less susceptible to disease, will have naturally picked up antibodies from their mothers’ milk, and are already castrated and disbudded. Weaned calves should also have all orders of business taken care of including first vaccinations.
Although physically established, they may be a little more difficult to handle until they gain your trust. They are much larger than newborn dairy calves and will take a little extra time to train. There will be stress with the move to their new home, but it will not be as devastating or potentially life-threatening for this calf.
Mature Dairy Cows
On occasion throughout the year, you may luck upon an established and bred milking cow for sale. This may be a single sale or the result of a small dairy changing their business model. Local newspapers, the feed store, classified ad sites on the Internet, and your own network of friends are some of the avenues to explore. Good dairy cows are in their top production between four and nine years of age, and will continue to serve you for another three to eight years after.
Mature cows are more expensive but might be a great bargain from an honest seller. You’ll have access to barn records (or at the very least be able to ask questions about milking and calving history) and the option to “try before you buy.” Not all milking cows are suitable and comfortable for all hands and skill level, after all.
Cows and sheep will keep each other company when they don’t have one of their own kind nearby.
Finally, don’t be shy. There isn’t one farmer I know of that takes offense to a stranger knocking on his or her door or leaving a note in the mailbox saying, “I’d like to buy one of your heifers or steers.” Even if he doesn’t have one for sale, he probably knows another farmer who is eager to lighten his herd by one or two.
Feed Requirements
Cattle do well on good pasture with a mineral salt block. Seldom is anything more required. Calves, dairy cows, and cattle en route to market are the exceptions.
Hay that is suitable for cows and cattle is a combination of legume (alfalfa and clover) and grass hay. If the legume quantity in hay is inadequate you can add a little cottonseed, soybean, or linseed meal to their diets until you find a better hay provider. Talk to your local feed supply store or veterinarian for recommendations or advice if you’re unsure about the quality of your pasture or hay.
A salt block intended for cattle or a mineral salt block combination ensures your cattle are getting the required amounts of trace elements and vitamins. If your region or pasture is known to be deficient in iodine and selenium it may be added in the local salt blocks you purchase.
Grain and sweet feed (grain mixed with molasses) are used only for weight gain or to supplement a very poor-quality hay. Corn, milo, oats, wheat, and barley are all acceptable grains for cows when used in moderation.
A producing dairy cow is given one half to one pound of 16 percent protein grain for every quart of milk that she produces, after the first week of calving. The quantity of grain required to keep her producing to her maximum will change throughout the year. Keep barn records to monitor and adjust grain ration accordingly.
Hay fed to dairy calves should be fine-stemmed and leafy. Almost any other good quality hay is fine for the rest of the herd. By the time a dairy calf is three months old she should be eating two to four pounds of growing ration containing 15 to 18 percent protein and three pounds of hay per day for every one hundred pounds she weighs.
Beef calves are usually on the field and following their mother’s example of grazing. Until they are weaned they are not likely to have ever eaten grain. Grain is usually reserved for beef steers and heifers to help them achieve their top weight before going to market. Changes to their feed should be gradual and never should they be fed a diet consisting only of grain.
Water
All cattle should have access to fresh, clean water at all times. There is never an exception to this rule. One beef breed steer or heifer will drink twenty-five to fifty gallons of water a day; a dairy cow, from fifteen to twenty gallons. This changes with the seasons, the freshness of pasture, and whether or not the cow is in production.
You’ll save money and the last-minute scurry of trying to find hay for sale if you buy freshly baled hay off the field. You can pick it up yourself, one pickup load at a time, or pay someone to collect and deliver it to your farm.
Check hay before storing to ensure it has dried and is not wet or moldy. Moldy hay is of no use to livestock. Hay should be stored off the ground and protected from sun, rain, and snow. Stack it as high as you can on skids and only uncover what you’ll need for each day. If the hay is dusty from the field, give it a good fluff and shake before feeding to your cattle.
A mature cow will eat twenty-five to thirty pounds of hay per day during the winter months. The average square bale of hay weighs forty-five pounds. Therefore one dairy cow from November 1 to March 1 will consume 3,600 pounds of hay, or 80 bales (120 days times 30 pounds divided by 45-pound bales). These are assumptive and general guidelines; adjust your winter hay needs to suit your cow and climate.
While you’re at the chore of purchasing hay for the winter, you might also prepare for bedding material before the weather turns cold. One cow’s bedding matter often accounts for another five pounds of matter per day whether in the form of straw or wood shavings.
Cattle Health
Buying healthy animals, keeping their bedding clean, feeding quality hay, providing clean water, and adhering to a veterinary-approved vaccination schedule will go a long way in keeping your cattle healthy.
Keeping herd, dairy, or barn notes can also be beneficial should any of your animals fall ill. Quick access to vaccination records, changes in feed, and first signs of behavioral changes all help to assess and treat any illness or disease. Also, should you one day plan to sell your cow, calf, or cattle, you’ll have records of progress, production, and maintenance readily accessible for the new buyer. (A sample health record for cattle can be found in the forms section at the end of this book.)
All cattle should be vaccinated by a veterinarian to address nationwide and region-specific diseases. This is not just to protect the animal, but to protect your investment and your own health if you are raising livestock to provide food for the table.
Common vaccinations include infectious bovine rhinotracheitis, bovine virus diarrhea, parainfluenza, blackleg, malignant edema, brucellosis, and leptospirosis. Vaccination schedules may start as early as a few months of age.
Signs of Trouble
If you have spent any time with your cattle you will be the first to notice subtle changes in their health and behavior. Lying down for longer periods, being off feed, kicking at his own belly, lack of interest in surroundings, and restlessness are all subtle signs that the animal is not feeling well.
Cow, Steer, and Calf Vital Signs
• Rectal temperature: 101.5 degrees Fahrenheit
• Pulse rate: Forty to seventy beats per minute
• Breathing rate: Beef, ten to thirty breaths per minute; dairy, eighteen to twenty-eight
• Heifer puberty: Ten to twelve months of age, dependent on breed
• Average birth weight: Thirty-five to forty-five pounds
• Average gestation period: 276 to 294 days
• Heat cycle: Every nineteen to twenty-three days
• Heat period: Twelve to eighteen hours
It makes good sense to keep a record of important facts about every calf or cattle on your farm. This assists you during sale of any animal as well as keeping track of health issues, vaccinations, expected calving dates, and milk production. A sample form with an ample margin for notes is available at the back of this book to photocopy and use. Alternatively, download blank 9 x 11-inch forms from www.KeepingFarmAnimals.com
Common Diseases and Illnesses
Some of the most common illnesses that affect cattle are listed below. While some are preventable through vaccination, others listed here are just part and parcel of raising cattle. If no cure is listed below, then none has been found to date. Always consult with a veterinarian before treating, self-diagnosing, or culling an animal.
Common Illnesses
Abscess
Also known as lumpy jaw as this oral bacterial infection results in large abscesses on the side of the face or jaw.
Treatment: A veterinarian must puncture and drain the abscess and may prescribe antibiotics.
Acidosis
Brought on by too much grain resulting in overproduction of lactic acid. A calf may show fever, diarrhea, and founder (see below).
Prevention: A managed feed schedule and accessibility to clean water at all times.
Treatment: Call the veterinarian if you think your calf has acidosis for immediate treatment.
Blackleg
A bacterial disease that causes a sudden sickness leading to death.
Prevention: Vaccination at two months of age and a follow-up vaccination at weaning. The vaccine is preventative against other clostridial diseases (brought on by organisms in the soil) including red water, tetanus, malignant edema, and enterotoxemia. Your veterinarian will have the correct and updated clostridial vaccination for your region.
Bloat
A digestive problem most often brought on by feed fermen-tation in the gut. Frothy gas builds up in the stomach and puts so much pressure on the animal’s lungs it cannot breathe. Swelling can be seen on the left side of an animal with bloat.
Prevention: Potentially fermenting feeds such as alfalfa pasture, alfalfa hay, and grain should be given in moderation.
Treatment: Immediate veterinarian assistance will be required to save the animal’s life.
Brucellosis
Also known as Bang’s disease. Only heifers and cows are affected. Infection causes the abortion of calves, most often between five to eight months of pregnancy. Milk from a carrier or infected cow causes undulant fever in humans.
Prevention: Vaccination between two and ten months of age. Vaccinated heifers receive a tag and a tattoo as proof of vaccination.
Cancer Eye
Starts as a small sore on the eye or surrounding skin. Most often seen in white-faced cattle lacking pigment in the skin around the eyes.
Treatment: The only treatment is surgical removal by a qualified veterinarian.
Coccidiosis
An intestinal disease picked up through contaminated water or dirty living conditions.
Treatment: Progressive symptoms of severe and bloody diarrhea can only be treated by a veterinarian. Some animals may be carriers and never show signs of the disease.
Diarrhea (Scours)
Calf scours can be viral, bacterial, or parasitic and can affect calves from two days up to a year of age. Newborn calves suffer the worst and often cannot be treated quickly enough to be saved.
Treatment: Call the veterinarian. The cause must first be discovered before the calf can be treated. Electrolyte fluids and antibiotics are often prescribed as well as forced feeding through an esophageal feeder. It is best if the calf can nurse regularly, but if it will not, the esophageal feeder must be used. Chances of cure without a veterinarian’s assistance are minimal.
Diphtheria
A throat infection brought on by the same organisms that cause foot rot (below), diphtheria causes difficulty in breathing and eating, a fever, cough, and drool. The swelling inside the mouth will obstruct air and feed intake if not treated quickly.
Treatment: Veterinarian-prescribed antibiotics.
Foot Rot
Foot rot is a bacterial infection brought on through entry of a wound in the foot.
Prevention: Keep calves and cattle off of wet, muddy land.
Treatment: Veterinarian-prescribed antibiotics.
A painful and serious affliction that causes the hoof wall to separate from the foot causing malformation and lameness.
Treatment: Immediate veterinary attention is required.
Hardware Disease
Also known as traumatic reticulopericarditis. The consumption of metal objects including sharp wires and nails that eventually puncture the reticulum and vital organs.
Prevention: Keep stalls and pastures free of debris. Some farmers feed their cattle small magnets to bind any metal objects to the reticulum before causing any further distress.
Treatment: In case of infection caused by a reticulum puncture, antibiotics may be effective.
Leptospirosis
A bacterial disease spread by contaminated feed or water. The disease is usually spread by mice or other wildlife and even by infected domestic livestock and pets.
Prevention: Part of annual or biannual vaccinations for heifers and cows.
Lymphoma
Also known as lymphosarcoma. A viral infection caused by BLV (bovine leukemia virus). Although hard to spot by the untrained eye, enlarged lymph nodes, infertility, loss of health, and bulging eyes are common signals.
Mastitis
A painful bacterial infection in the udder. The udder will feel hot and milk may have signs of lumps or streaks of blood.
Prevention: Keep all milking equipment, including your hands, clean. Apply a teat dip after every milking session. Once a month check your cow with a mastitis test.
Treatment: Antibiotics might be in order. Milk your cow every two to three hours if the case is mild, watching carefully that the infection doesn’t worsen. Your cow’s immune system may clear up the infection. Dispose of any milk. If antibiotics are used, consult with your veterinarian for a clear date.
Paratuberculosis
Also known as Johne’s disease. A bacterial infection that causes chronic diarrhea and a slow and methodical wasting of the animal.
Prevention: No vaccine exists and no treatment of the animal is possible. The only option is to cull the animal and have every other animal on your property tested.
Pinkeye
A contagious bacterial infection caused by face flies. The affected animal develops watery eyes and will hold the affected eye shut. A growing white spot will be seen on the cornea of the infected eye.
Treatment: An antibiotic powder or spray that must be administered at least twice per day. Although pinkeye may clear up on its own, it is recommended to treat the condition promptly.
Pneumonia
Although cattle of any age can contract pneumonia, it is the number two killer of young calves. Various bacteria and viruses attack a calf that is either stressed or has a low immune system. Signs of illness are runny nose, coughing, lack of interest in feed and surroundings, lying down or standing hunched, and fast respiration.
Prevention: Lessen stress factors of a newborn or young calf by any means necessary. Older cattle should not be overcrowded, subjected to long periods of wet and coldness, poor ventilation, or less than clean living conditions.
Treatment: Call your veterinarian for immediate antibiotic treatment if fever is over 102.5 degrees Fahrenheit.
A fungal infection most often spread to the entire herd. Passed on through repeated rubbing against the same post and recognized by one- to two-inch circles of missing hair with patchy dry skin underneath.
Prevention: Contagious to humans. Wash thoroughly after contact with infected animals.
Treatment: Veterinarian assistance may be utilized, but it generally clears up on its own by spring. Discuss milk safety with your veterinarian if treating dairy cattle, as a topical fungicide may be effective.
Selenium Deficiency
Also known as white muscle disease and nutritional myopathy. Affected calves may be too weak to move after birth or die from heart failure after exercise, and heifers may abort during pregnancy.
Prevention: Know if there is a selenium deficiency in your region. Heifers and cows should receive a selenium shot in their seventh month of pregnancy, as well as newborn calves in extreme cases.
Internal and External Parasites
Lice and flies can cause a decrease in the health of your cow or cattle. Lice are most common in the cooler winter months and make an animal itchy to the point of hair loss. To rid your herd of lice you’ll need a powder or liquid safe for dairy or beef cattle and available from the feed store or veterinarian. Follow the directions on the package and be sure to reapply in time to catch lice eggs unaffected by the treatment that hatch over the next ten days.
Heel flies can also cause serious troubles in your cattle as they lay eggs on the lower portion of your cow’s legs, and when the grub hatches it travels through the body, under the skin of the animal. An insecticidal product for heel flies (also known as cattle grubs or warbles) is also available from the veterinarian or feed supply store.
Horn flies and face flies bite cattle, infect their eyes with pinkeye, and are an annoyance. Insecticidal ear tags are now available for cattle, which lessens the problem considerably.
As with any animal on pasture, cattle are susceptible to intestinal worms and parasites. You can tell if an animal is infested by its dull, rough coat, poor appetite, and diarrhea, or through a stool sample tested by your veterinarian. Medication will be required.
Breeding for Milk Flow or Beef Calves
Many heifers will reach puberty by their first birthday, but shouldn’t be bred until they are fifteen months old. This ensures they don’t calve until they are two years old. If breeding a beef heifer, her weight is as important as her age. She should reach 65 percent of the expected mature weight for her breed.
Before breeding, ensure vaccinations are up to date—many of the antibodies in her system will be passed to her calf in the uterus and through first milk consumption. Talk to your veterinarian as soon as you know your animal has been bred to discuss her vaccination schedule, including the newer anti-scour vaccinations.
As long as you aren’t planning on raising or selling purebred, registered calves you can breed your heifer or cow with any available bull. The best bull is one that is historically known for throwing small birth-weight calves—especially so if this will be her first calf. The second-best bull is one that lives in the field next door and whose owner doesn’t mind a free rendezvous between the two. Taking the time to find an appropriate bull for first breeding is a worthy pursuit. A calf that grows too large in an immature uterus may die at birth or cause physical damage to your heifer.
Most heifers and mature cows have no trouble letting you know they are in heat. They will pace at the fence line, bawl to ensure any bull within five miles knows she is ready to breed, and, if other cattle are in the field, either attempt to mount them or allow them to mount her. If your heifer or cow does not display these outward signs, check her regularly for mucus on her back end—a sure sign she is in heat. A heat will only last twelve to eighteen hours. The most opportune time to breed her is in the later half of those hours. Non-bred heifers and cows will return to heat every twenty-one days.
The Pregnancy
Cattle carry their young for nine months (285 days, give or take 9 days on either side). Watch your heifer closely during a first pregnancy for correct weight gain and nutrition. Not only will she be supplying nutrition to the growing fetus, but she’ll also still be growing herself. This first pregnancy could affect the remainder of her life and every future pregnancy. Ensuring that she is in top physical health almost guarantees a safe delivery, ample milk for the newborn, and successful breeding in later years.
Nutrition of the Bred Heifer
When pasture growth slows, add a nutrient-rich protein source to her diet. Alfalfa hay is the easiest, most affordable way to add protein, calcium, and Vitamin A to her diet. Throughout the duration of the pregnancy, continue to feed both alfalfa and grass hay.
You only need to supplement her feed with grain if she is losing weight or if the hay you’re feeding her is insufficient. Grain will not make up for a shortcoming in nutrients, nor will it keep her warm during cold spells. The digestion of extra hay, not grain, adds warmth to cattle. Your feed store may carry a nutrition-packed feed designed with bred heifers in mind, which may be better than straight grain from the bag.
Cows that have already calved should be dried off two months before a new calf is due. Heifers might benefit from some practice time on the stanchions. Feed her a little grain, restrain and brush her, then wash her udder and teats. By the time she calves the milking routine will be old hat to her.
While her due date approaches, prepare a place for her to safely calve and gather the supplies you might need on delivery. If this will be your first calving experience, your veterinarian’s emergency phone number is a must, as well as a few experienced and local friends’ numbers.
Calves can be born on the field or in a barn stall as long as the area is clean and dry. Pasture births should only be allowed if the weather is warm and the cow can be safely alone in a grass-covered, shady spot. Stall births require ample room for the cow to move around comfortably, a non-slippery floor, and clean bedding.
Supplies you might need include:
• Strong iodine solution for the calf’s navel
• Clean towels to dry the calf off
• A baby bottle with a lamb nipple in case you need to feed the calf
• Long, disposable gloves in case you need to right the calf in the birth canal
• Fitted halter and rope to restrain or lead your cow or heifer
• Half-inch nylon rope in case you need to pull the calf out of the birth canal
All heifers and cows are different, but any time between a few weeks and a few hours before labor, she may show a full udder with dripping teats, an enlarged vulva, an active tail, and restless behavior. As the moment draws near you may see signs of contractions and her noticeable desire for seclusion. When birth is imminent (twenty minutes to two hours away), a flush of yellow water, the unbroken water sac, or tiny hooves will appear. Most deliveries are trouble-free without human intervention, but if an hour has passed without progress, call the veterinarian for help.
As cows are inquisitive, not much time passes after a new birth before other cows in the herd pay their respects and meet the new addition.
Heifers and cows often lie down for the remainder of the delivery. You can leave her where she lies as long as the calf won’t be obstructed during delivery. Once the calf has fully arrived it should either be breathing or your cow should be attentive to the lack of breath. Give her ample time to attend to the task herself, but by all means step in if she doesn’t seem to notice the calf. Remove the sac from the calf’s face and tickle his nostril to get a sneeze out of him. The sneeze alone should alert your cow enough to take over the remainder of care, but if not, the next step in newborn care is to dry him off completely and gently rub him all over to get his circulation pumping.
If you have time between all this and the moment the calf stands to nurse, wash your cow’s udder and teats with warm water only. A calf should be nursing by thirty minutes or, as might be the case with a difficult birth, up to two hours later. You can step in and help cow and calf by standing him up, nose to a teat, and supporting him until he has drunk as much as he will take. If he doesn’t appear interested or your cow is being difficult, milk her and feed him by baby bottle.
At some point during the next hour you’ll need to treat the umbilical cord and navel stump. The optimum length for a navel stump is three inches, but longer is fine as long as it isn’t dragging on the ground. Do not touch the stump, as germs and bacteria are easily passed into the calf’s system this way. Dip the stump completely into a small cup filled with iodine. Bull calves will need to have an iodine dip repeated numerous times throughout the first day as they will sully the stump every time they urinate.
Your cow may take a few hours to shed the afterbirth. Once expelled, remove and dispose of it. If it has not expelled completely or at all, do not intervene without veterinary assistance.
First Milk
The first five to six milking sessions after delivery are colostrum, a rich and heavy milk loaded with fats and antibodies intended to increase disease resistance and assist calves with their first bowel movements. One to two good feeds of colostrum will provide all a newborn calf needs to get started on the right foot. By the seventh to eighth day, colostrum is completely replaced by milk suitable for human consumption.
Storing Colostrum
Colostrum can be milked and frozen for many years with minimal loss of nutrients and benefits. Store a gallon or two, clearly marked, and you’ll have some on hand to start orphan calves in later years.
If you’re raising a dairy cow, the first nurse is your chance to make some dairy management decisions.
Dairy cows generate enough milk to support up to four calves—or at the very least enough for your entire family plus the calf. Consider these options:
• Remove the calf from the cow, milk the cow to feed to the calf by bottle, and commit to bottle-feeding for the next three months.
• Separate cow and calf after first feeding, then allow the calf to nurse from the front teats twice per day while you simultaneously collect milk in a bucket off the rear teats.
• Quickly purchase newborn orphaned calves (from a dairy farm eager to sell freshening calves) and raise them all on your cow’s milk by bottle or train the cow to accept each one as her own.
Should you decide to take a more natural route—allowing calf to stay with cow—consider that one of the primary reasons a farmer separates the two is to protect the cow’s udder. A cow’s udder may be swollen or caked inside after calving. Repeated bunting from a boisterous calf during the first few days of milk flow can cause irreparable damage. Manual milking protects the cow’s sensitive udder until her milk flows easily.
If or when you return the calf to cow, begin milking her twice daily, twelve hours apart, to ease udder pressure (one calf will not be able to drink all the milk she’s producing) and ensure that every quarter has been emptied.
Dairy Calf Milestones and Management
By one week of age you can add a small piece of starter ration into your calf’s mouth after each feeding to help him acquire a taste for it. At three weeks of age he can nibble on fine-leafed hay but he won’t eat much of it until he is about eight weeks of age. Sometime between the eighth and twelfth week he can be fully weaned from teat or bottle.
As long as the calf is doing nicely by three weeks of age you can attend to horn buds, scrotal sacs, and extra teats.
Bull calves, once castrated, become steers that are easier to manage and provide tastier beef. Castration is a simple task, causing only minimal discomfort to the calf as long as it is attended to early in life. Using an Elastrator, a tightening ring is attached over the scrotum, which causes the testicles inside to die. No bleeding, just a small tender area that disappears within a month’s time. Staff at the feed store—or wherever you purchase your Elastrator—can instruct you on precise use, but instructions also come with the device.
Unless the calf you are raising is a horned-breed purebred, it is best to remove horns when the calf is young. Up to three months of age an electric disbudding iron may be used and takes just a few minutes per calf to perform. Caustic paste can be used on newborn calves (up to three days) but this method isn’t without tragedies and is far less popular than the electric disbudding irons of today.
Just a little more than eight weeks after calving, this cow is in heat and ready to be bred again. Standard re-breeding practice is your best bet to have a calf on the field every spring.
Some heifer calves are born with five or six teats instead of four. The extras serve no use and might even cause her trouble as she ages. Between two and four weeks of age you should be able to easily tell which are the main teats and which are extras. Extra teats are most often found close to one of the main four teats. To remove one, disinfect your hands, scissors, and the teat, then snip from front to back (lengthwise with the body frame) at the point where teat meets udder. Nothing more than a swab of iodine is required after removal. (Do not perform this task if you are unsure or if the heifer calf is any older than four weeks. Call a veterinarian.)
Vaccinations
Within your calf’s first month, schedule an appointment with your veterinarian for first vaccinations. Some are given as early as two months of age and may include selenium injections to ensure your calf’s nutritional needs are met.
To Breed Again
Your cow will soon come into heat again. You’ll know when she’s ready to be bred by her usual signs. She may also give a lot less milk on the day she’s in heat. Cows are rebred on their first or second heat sixty days past calving. This breeding practice ensures she has a full year between calves and the milk keeps flowing for most of the year.
How to Milk a Cow
A dairy cow, like a milk goat, thrives on routine. They need to see you at the same times every day, preferably twelve hours apart.
The major difference between the cow and doe however, is that a cow can refuse you—even when her milk is overflowing and the udder pressure unbearable. She may have a reason to refuse to let down her milk, but you can work around her reasoning even if she doesn’t cooperate. The solution is in finding the trigger that counteracts her stubbornness—a natural hormone, oxytocin.
A good-natured dairy cow will arrive back to the barn, twice daily, and will stand without stanchions while anyone milks her.
Milk flow will commence within a minute of an oxytocin release, often stimulated by any act that she associates with giving milk. Triggers might be a feed of grain at the stanchions, being brushed, seeing a milking stool or pail, or an udder wash. In fact the very act of washing her udder and teats with warm water will bring on a flow of milk that even the smartest cow cannot stop. The trouble with this flow is that you only have eight to ten minutes before she’s back in control of her own body again.
Cleanliness of your cow and all equipment (including hers) should be your top concern. Sanitize all equipment before and after milking, including udder and teats.
The practice and treatment of obtaining and storing cow milk is similar to that of a dairy goat. Take time to read those sections starting with “Equipment” on page 99. The exceptions and differences are provided below.
• Cows can be milked in the field, in stanchions, in the barn, tied or untied, in open weather or under the protection of a milking shed. The preference is both hers and yours, but some cows are more particular about the ceremony than others.
• A cow does not need a gentle bump at the end of milking each teat. You will know when no more milk exists in her udder as her teats will lay flat.
• To dry up a cow—two months before calving—stop milking her altogether. Do not attempt to wean her off the process or slow down production over a period of days. Her body will stop producing milk the day you stop milking her and after a few days of discomfort she’ll absorb the milk left in the udder right back into her body.
Preparing Cattle for the Butcher
Take extra care in the final week of a cow, heifer, steer, or calf’s time with you by moving the animal into a pen or stall. Some farmers elect to contain the animal for two weeks and may dramatically increase grain or corn ration during this time. Others prefer to maintain a grass-fed animal and confine the animal for only a few days on the best hay.
Grass-fed cattle—as you’ll remember in the introduction to this section—produce beef that is lower in fat and calories and is as tender as the age of the animal affords. Beef finished off on a diet that is largely corn and grain—as many of the old-timers will attest to—is wonderfully marbled and decidedly tender. Whichever route you choose, do not feed cattle for twenty-four hours before butchering, but continue to provide water.
Although throughout this entire book I have touted the farmer’s creed, “If you grew it to eat it, you’d better be man enough to kill it,” I believe that this job is best left to the professionals. Although countless farmers for hundreds of years have managed the task themselves, the chore is intense. You only need to do it once in your life, just so you can tell others never to attempt it. More importantly however, government regulations throughout the United States and Canada are rigid on the slaughter and butchering of beef at home. Check with officials in your state, region, province, or county to determine your options. Better still, call a local meat processing plant or butcher to arrange for pickup and packaging.
