Post by tuppyandjess on Apr 3, 2011 13:04:49 GMT -5
Help please ... not sure what to do here.
I had a very nice young family come today to look at one of my jersey cows. They have a registered biodynamic farm & raise 1500 layer chooks. They have several dairy cows they milk & feed the milk to the chooks. My concern is this: they mentioned that they've lost a cow that was about to calve & have 2 down at the moment (& lost a pregnant dorper ewe in the past) with red lantana poisoning.
They told me about loosing the cows before they told me about being registered biodynamic & it didn't occur to me to ask if/how they treat sick animals. I've googled it & can't find any info on the policy of the biodynamic society on using drugs on food producing animals. The eggs go to a specialty niche restaurant market in the city for milk fed biodynamic eggs. They seemed fairly keen on the cow & were talking about collecting her & her calf next weekend if they decide to buy her.
So now I'm still up at 3.00 am worrying about selling my cow to a property that has red lantana & to a couple who may not believe in using commercial drugs to treat their animals. I'm kinda thinking I want to say "Sorry, but no".
The background to how I got to here is this:
I bought 4 cows & 6 calves back in November & thought I'd have enough pasture for them all. Things have been good until now, when the army grubs ate out all the kikuyu. I panicked a bit because the cows are a hobby, not a financially viable concern, & it's not sensible to pay for feed over winter. I rang the couple I bought them from & asked if they'd like first refusal of the littlest jersey. My partner still believes she won't raise a foster calf along with her own because she has a small udder & therefore was the best one to sell. They contacted another couple (the family who came out to see the cow today) who had wanted to buy the cows when I bought them. I was never comfortable with the decision to sell the cow & wanted to consider other options first (like wean all the calves for starters/ check out silage prices/find possible agistment etc) however the prospect of a big feed bill unnerved me.
After thinking about it all evening I'm wondering if I'm doing the right thing. I was so delighted to find & buy stud jersey cows (I don't have their papers) that were totally grass fed & now I'm wondering if I really want to let one go to a home where she might die in the not too distant future. The practical part of my brain is saying "well you're not actually doing much with them yourself & she could get bitten by a snake & die tomorrow anyway & then you'll wish you had the money in your pocket & it's going to cost a fortune to buy supplement feed over winter & this is all very impractical & a very emotionally based reaction."
Do I have the right to refuse to sell her to someone because I'm worried they might not care for her as I would wish? Will I wish in the future when the feed bills get higher that I'd just sold her when I had the chance? I asked $1200.00 for her & her 5 month old bull calf & I doubt I could replace her for that. She is a lovely, quiet little 2 & 1/2 year old cow (first calf, not back in calf) with a perfect little udder ... if she was in America she'd probably be seen as worth more, rather than less, for being small ... & awareness of the value of smaller cows that can raise a calf on pasture is growing herein Australia also I think.
Any advice appreciated
I had a very nice young family come today to look at one of my jersey cows. They have a registered biodynamic farm & raise 1500 layer chooks. They have several dairy cows they milk & feed the milk to the chooks. My concern is this: they mentioned that they've lost a cow that was about to calve & have 2 down at the moment (& lost a pregnant dorper ewe in the past) with red lantana poisoning.
They told me about loosing the cows before they told me about being registered biodynamic & it didn't occur to me to ask if/how they treat sick animals. I've googled it & can't find any info on the policy of the biodynamic society on using drugs on food producing animals. The eggs go to a specialty niche restaurant market in the city for milk fed biodynamic eggs. They seemed fairly keen on the cow & were talking about collecting her & her calf next weekend if they decide to buy her.
So now I'm still up at 3.00 am worrying about selling my cow to a property that has red lantana & to a couple who may not believe in using commercial drugs to treat their animals. I'm kinda thinking I want to say "Sorry, but no".
The background to how I got to here is this:
I bought 4 cows & 6 calves back in November & thought I'd have enough pasture for them all. Things have been good until now, when the army grubs ate out all the kikuyu. I panicked a bit because the cows are a hobby, not a financially viable concern, & it's not sensible to pay for feed over winter. I rang the couple I bought them from & asked if they'd like first refusal of the littlest jersey. My partner still believes she won't raise a foster calf along with her own because she has a small udder & therefore was the best one to sell. They contacted another couple (the family who came out to see the cow today) who had wanted to buy the cows when I bought them. I was never comfortable with the decision to sell the cow & wanted to consider other options first (like wean all the calves for starters/ check out silage prices/find possible agistment etc) however the prospect of a big feed bill unnerved me.
After thinking about it all evening I'm wondering if I'm doing the right thing. I was so delighted to find & buy stud jersey cows (I don't have their papers) that were totally grass fed & now I'm wondering if I really want to let one go to a home where she might die in the not too distant future. The practical part of my brain is saying "well you're not actually doing much with them yourself & she could get bitten by a snake & die tomorrow anyway & then you'll wish you had the money in your pocket & it's going to cost a fortune to buy supplement feed over winter & this is all very impractical & a very emotionally based reaction."
Do I have the right to refuse to sell her to someone because I'm worried they might not care for her as I would wish? Will I wish in the future when the feed bills get higher that I'd just sold her when I had the chance? I asked $1200.00 for her & her 5 month old bull calf & I doubt I could replace her for that. She is a lovely, quiet little 2 & 1/2 year old cow (first calf, not back in calf) with a perfect little udder ... if she was in America she'd probably be seen as worth more, rather than less, for being small ... & awareness of the value of smaller cows that can raise a calf on pasture is growing herein Australia also I think.
Any advice appreciated