Post by DanMa on Feb 27, 2005 21:52:55 GMT -5
Hello everyone, my name is Dan and I have not only gone 'MooMad' but "land-mad" and "farm mad" as well. I have just about finished reading the entire board--took me a while. I have a pair of Miniature Jerseys since August, and if I'm lucky I should have a calf in about 8.5 months. I have "zero" experience raising cows. So, I'm not sure how much I can contribute to the board, but I will try. The last time we had cows I was 3 years old...my great-grand aunt's. Always wanted one tho'. My parents said no. My (then) wife said No. Recently, the town put a pipeline through my property and opened up quite a bit of grown up fields. They agreed to plant it in hayseed and I decided now that I'm divorced and don't have to ask anybody permission for anything (it took long enough to get to that stage, huh?) I'm getting my cows. My daughter drove my new heiffer all the way from the SouthWest to the MA/NH border in the back of her van. The good news is that my son who was so young when the divorce happened decided that I needed help with the cows and he and I have re-connected.
Y'all should've seen my cows jumping in and out of tall snowbanks a couple weeks ago when it finally warmed up enough to let them out. They were like kids playing in the surf.
There was a thread about bedding a while back. I prefer to use leaves--especially pine needles which I rake up in the fall. No seeds from straw to add weeds to my garden.
To the member who just moved to FL, my Jake loves over-ripe bananas and mango peels. Maybe yours will too. Fiolka, on the other hand, won't eat them. Is this gender-related? Do y'all find that a bull will eat more varied items than a heifer? Jake also loves his kelp (Thank you Joann). Fiolka, however, will not eat hers unless I lace it in with her hay wherein she either doesn't notice it or decides that hay laced with kelp is better than no hay at all. She won't eat apples either.
To the member who asked about keeping a bull. I was panic-stricken when mine arrived, he had just been separated from his mother and herd and wasn't a happy camper. However, he has worked out quite well and I'm very glad to have him. I just hope he doesn't "turn" with age, as seems to be the trend, although I do try to spend quite a bit of time with them both.
MooMad: While Sally was interested in land prices in Florida, what can you tell me about farm prices in your area of New Zealand?
Joann: You mentioned in Heiffer Diary recently making a pie from a heritage pumpkin. May I ask what variety and how you stored it? I have never been able to keep my pumpkins that long! And the cows would love them.
I'm hoping to try to grow some Mangel Beets this coming season...both the red and yellow ones. Also maybe a few sugar beets. You also mentioned soft/leathery egg shells. I like to save my egg shells, dry them, and crumble them up and feed back to the chickens when their shells start showing signs of softness instead of feeding them ground oyster shells.
Wow, a dairy with 5000 cows. I would be in heaven. Well, maybe not during a Florida summer. ;D Only thing, I wouldn't want to force them the way commercial dairies have to do. I would love to see that place and may actually be going to the Orlando, Cocoa Beach area in the near future. I just learned about the Canadian system yesterday and while it is very expensive to get into dairying, it does have it's pluses.
Has anyone ever heard about the benefits of ruminants eating pine needles? I went to see some goats last week and the owners said their goats eat lots of pine needles and never had to use de-wormer. Is this OK for cows? Especially newly settled ones?
Those of you who can get a vet to come out are lucky. I'm told no vet will come out here and was given a very nasty [and unethical in my opinion] scolding for having mini-cattle by a vet who flat out refused to take them on as patients, so I'll be pretty much on my own at calving time...although my "ex" who was raised on a farm may possibly help. The one and only local dairy farmer here partnered with a school of Vet medicine in order to get vet help. We are so industrialized and suburbanized here.
I envy the member who has such helpful neighbors and the one who gets to interact with the Amish. I could almost live that lifestyle.
Probiotics: does this mean that if I give my cows probiotics such as the Nutreena feed Sally uses in the early Spring it may help avoid the early spring pasture "bloat"?
Cow Central: Do I understand correctly that they sometimes have Mini-Jerseys? Also, do they ever get Scottish Highlanders, Dexters, or Milking Devons?
Well, that's all for now. If I figure out how to post a picture of Jake & Fiolka, I'll do so.
Dan
Y'all should've seen my cows jumping in and out of tall snowbanks a couple weeks ago when it finally warmed up enough to let them out. They were like kids playing in the surf.
There was a thread about bedding a while back. I prefer to use leaves--especially pine needles which I rake up in the fall. No seeds from straw to add weeds to my garden.
To the member who just moved to FL, my Jake loves over-ripe bananas and mango peels. Maybe yours will too. Fiolka, on the other hand, won't eat them. Is this gender-related? Do y'all find that a bull will eat more varied items than a heifer? Jake also loves his kelp (Thank you Joann). Fiolka, however, will not eat hers unless I lace it in with her hay wherein she either doesn't notice it or decides that hay laced with kelp is better than no hay at all. She won't eat apples either.
To the member who asked about keeping a bull. I was panic-stricken when mine arrived, he had just been separated from his mother and herd and wasn't a happy camper. However, he has worked out quite well and I'm very glad to have him. I just hope he doesn't "turn" with age, as seems to be the trend, although I do try to spend quite a bit of time with them both.
MooMad: While Sally was interested in land prices in Florida, what can you tell me about farm prices in your area of New Zealand?
Joann: You mentioned in Heiffer Diary recently making a pie from a heritage pumpkin. May I ask what variety and how you stored it? I have never been able to keep my pumpkins that long! And the cows would love them.
I'm hoping to try to grow some Mangel Beets this coming season...both the red and yellow ones. Also maybe a few sugar beets. You also mentioned soft/leathery egg shells. I like to save my egg shells, dry them, and crumble them up and feed back to the chickens when their shells start showing signs of softness instead of feeding them ground oyster shells.
Wow, a dairy with 5000 cows. I would be in heaven. Well, maybe not during a Florida summer. ;D Only thing, I wouldn't want to force them the way commercial dairies have to do. I would love to see that place and may actually be going to the Orlando, Cocoa Beach area in the near future. I just learned about the Canadian system yesterday and while it is very expensive to get into dairying, it does have it's pluses.
Has anyone ever heard about the benefits of ruminants eating pine needles? I went to see some goats last week and the owners said their goats eat lots of pine needles and never had to use de-wormer. Is this OK for cows? Especially newly settled ones?
Those of you who can get a vet to come out are lucky. I'm told no vet will come out here and was given a very nasty [and unethical in my opinion] scolding for having mini-cattle by a vet who flat out refused to take them on as patients, so I'll be pretty much on my own at calving time...although my "ex" who was raised on a farm may possibly help. The one and only local dairy farmer here partnered with a school of Vet medicine in order to get vet help. We are so industrialized and suburbanized here.
I envy the member who has such helpful neighbors and the one who gets to interact with the Amish. I could almost live that lifestyle.
Probiotics: does this mean that if I give my cows probiotics such as the Nutreena feed Sally uses in the early Spring it may help avoid the early spring pasture "bloat"?
Cow Central: Do I understand correctly that they sometimes have Mini-Jerseys? Also, do they ever get Scottish Highlanders, Dexters, or Milking Devons?
Well, that's all for now. If I figure out how to post a picture of Jake & Fiolka, I'll do so.
Dan