Post by mommyto6 on Dec 10, 2013 8:56:07 GMT -5
Hi, I have ran across this forum several times while searching for information and finally made an account
I have a 7 or 8 month old Holstein heifer calf which I have been raising in hopes of being a milk cow for our family. I don't know her original origin or anything about her other than she was vaccinated and tagged at birth by the dairy she came from, but for some reason she was rejected. So now I have her. So to keep it short, assuming she can get pregnant and be our milk cow, I need some help. What diseases and such do I need to test her for and where do you go for that, what is important and what is optional and when does it all need to be done? If I'm going to give her milk to my family I want to make sure she's healthy, as well as her milk, but I'm having a hard time finding the information I need to get going. My husbands family raised beef cattle when he was a kid, but this is a new ball game and I'm kind of on my own.
Also, my husband thinks she's a little too skittsh for being a hand milked cow (though he doesn't really support this idea so I don't know how much to invest in his opinion)... she runs when you start the tractor, she gets jumpy around the dogs and you can't sneak up on her... those kind of things. Will she outgrow any of this? Anyone else have a less than a 100% calm cow? Should I consider another option, or do you think it will be ok? I can pet her from head to hoof and she won't kick me, but if the dog is sniffing around her hooves she will kick. Some creep will keep her contently occupied.
So please help... I feel lost and she's already half way to breeding.
Thanks, Christina
I have a 7 or 8 month old Holstein heifer calf which I have been raising in hopes of being a milk cow for our family. I don't know her original origin or anything about her other than she was vaccinated and tagged at birth by the dairy she came from, but for some reason she was rejected. So now I have her. So to keep it short, assuming she can get pregnant and be our milk cow, I need some help. What diseases and such do I need to test her for and where do you go for that, what is important and what is optional and when does it all need to be done? If I'm going to give her milk to my family I want to make sure she's healthy, as well as her milk, but I'm having a hard time finding the information I need to get going. My husbands family raised beef cattle when he was a kid, but this is a new ball game and I'm kind of on my own.
Also, my husband thinks she's a little too skittsh for being a hand milked cow (though he doesn't really support this idea so I don't know how much to invest in his opinion)... she runs when you start the tractor, she gets jumpy around the dogs and you can't sneak up on her... those kind of things. Will she outgrow any of this? Anyone else have a less than a 100% calm cow? Should I consider another option, or do you think it will be ok? I can pet her from head to hoof and she won't kick me, but if the dog is sniffing around her hooves she will kick. Some creep will keep her contently occupied.
So please help... I feel lost and she's already half way to breeding.
Thanks, Christina