Moving calves! It's kind of like the first day of kindergarden!

What happens to calves AFTER the calf hutches?  Well.... they get moved to their new pen in the heifer barn.  As you can see, "Princess" has been eating her Wheaties and now is way tooo big for her hutch.  Her diet is a complete calf starter, cold water, and a little bit of soft hay.  Transitioning calves from the hutch to their "group pens" is somewhat of an art.  It is essential that the transition is very smooth or she will get sick.  At a few weeks of age, I dehorned "Princess" and a few weeks ago she got her vaccinations.  I like to break it up into sections so there is not too much "going on" at once for her.  The weather is great and I'm sure she will do just fine. :)

Today, I will be moving 9 calves from their hutches to the heifer barn.  The barn is split into groups of 10.  The calves will stay with their group of 10 until about a year and a half.  Why?  Calves and cows like to do things in groups.  Here is the pen that these 9 calves will go into.  There is clean bedding, fresh water, and a constant supply of hay.  They also get a little grain each morning to ensure a well balanced diet. 



Moving them is a two person job!  hahah.  We use a halter to guide them to where we want them to go.  Im sure its pretty funny to watch -- two people running after a calf in the driveway! :)  Some calves are more difficult than others.  It only took us 15 minutes and we had them all in their new spot.  Definately sweaty! 

Here is a video of the critters before after we moved them.  Its quite entertaining to watch. Its kind of like the first day of kindergarden.  "Mom.... This is fun!  Mom.. Im scared.  Mom... baaaaa! Mom.. he smells...." Oh I remember kindergarden.  I got yelled at my first day because I went in the wrong door. :(

I will keep close eye on them for a week or so to make sure they transition well. 

Thirsty Thursday: Milk a cow ONLINE!

I'm sure many of you have never milked a cow before.  Go online and play this game that walks through the steps of milking a cow.  How many gallons did you get in a minute?  I got 16! :)

Interactive Game - Milking a cow!

Then see how it goes from the cow to your grocery store!

PS - a little addicting! Yikes!

So... cows get pedicures?

TRUE!  Cows get pedicures!  Well.  Kind of.  They dont get to sit and look at Cosmopolitan magazine while a professional rubs their legs, trims their toenails, and paints a design on their toes.  :)  Not saying I do that... ok maybe I do.. dont tell....

But cows do get their toenails trimmed.  As you can imagine, you need a pretty big toenail clipper.  The trimmer doesnt use a supersized toenail clipper, he uses a grinder to slowly trim the toes.  We trim our cows twice a year.  If we didn't, their toes would be crazy long!  When a cow has long toes, she has problems walking and it is very painful for her.

First, the cow walks into the chute.  Then a door closes behind her and two rubber straps come up on her belly to keep her stable.  Next the chute is lifted about 3-4 feet into the air.  This minimizes bending for the trimmer.  The legs are stabalized so she doesn't kick and she's ready to be trimmed!  The trimmer will work on one side and then move to the next. 

Here are a few videos of hooftrimming day.  The chute they are in looks kind of scary but its really just a bunch of hydrolics and metal designed to keep the cow comfortable and the trimmer safe! 

Miss Olive gets a pedicure

#282 gets a pedicure

Its very important to really analyze and reshape the toes.  The trimmer is a trained professional and can tell how healthy a cow is by the bottom of her feet.  Here is what the toes look like after:

Those are some good lookin' toes!

Thanks Mr. Hooftrimmer for letting me stalk you today! :)  Olive especially appreciated it. :)

MythBuster MONDAY: Removing the babies from their mother shows that dairy farmers don't care about their animals.

Myth: Removing the babies from their mothers shows that dairy farmers don’t care about their animals. Fact: The future of any dairy herd depends on the health of newborn calves.

Calves grow up to become the cows that produce milk, so getting them off to a healthy start is really important. A farmer spends two years taking special care of each calf before she produces milk for the dairy.  All throughout the birthing process, the cow and calf are closely monitored.  After the new little critter is delivered safely, we take immediate care, just as you would a newborn human baby.  Within 6 hours, we feed the calf two bottles of colostrum, which is its mother's first milk and is rich in fat, protein and natural immunity-building antibodies.   It is extremely important that the calf receives this "colostrum" because it will help ensure the health of the calf throughout life.

Video of a cow giving birth

Video of a cow licking off her calf

Monitoring the "calving pen" is a very important task on any dairy.  Many nights my husband is up multiple times checking on the cows to make sure they are progressing well.  It seems like cows LOVE to calve between 2-4 am.  On larger dairies, where they have more employees, the barns are designed so that there is always someone walking by the maternity area so it is on a constant watch.  Other times, dairy farmers install video systems and link it to their office or home.  (jealous)

We separate the calf from the cow within 24 hours of birth, which eases the stress on both animals.  It also helps prevent disease in the vulnerable newborn calf by moving it to a nearby sterile environment, the calf hutch.  This is a very important step.  Why?  Here are some examples:    Yesterday, we left a calf with the cow longer than normal and almost had a huge disaster.  The cow had accidentally stepped on the newborn's umbilical cord.  When we found the calf, it was laying in a huge pool of blood and almost dead.  My husband immediately started an IV so it could get fluids, gave it Vitamin K to help clot the blood and then tied off the cord.  Whew!  Good save!  She is doing well today but it was definately a close call.  We have also had a mother cow accidentally step on the calf.  It breaks my heart to see a broken leg or broken ribs because we didnt remove the calf. :(

Salsa.... says "Hi!"

For the first three months, our calves live in a hutch, which is an individual housing unit designed for young calves to move around, lie down, eat and drink as needed, while protecting their health and controlling their environment.

Calf hutches

 

Do you have any questions? Please post on here or send me a personal message on fb. :)

Thirsty Thursday: Kids forget a serving of milk? What did they miss?

Did you know....


An 8-oz serving of milk, flavored or not, gives kids as much....

• Vitamin A as 2 hard boiled eggs

• Phosophorus as 1 cup of kidney beans

• Calcium as 10 cups of raw spinach

• Riboflavin as 1/3 cup of whole almonds

• Vitamin D as 3/4 ounce of cooked salmon

• Potassium as one small banana

Milk is powerpacked with nutrients!  Check out..... www.whymilk.com

Farmers are getting a slow start in fields......

This spring has been interesting.  Snow....85 degrees... frost..... only in Wisconsin.  I would be very happy with 75-80 degrees CONSISTENTLY by now. booooo mother nature.  You are cramping my style.  I had to cover up all my flowers last night because of frost .

So what does this mean to farmers?

Farmers are definately getting a late start getting crops in.  Where we live, there has only been a 2 or 3 day window to get crops planted.  We have most of our corn and alfalfa in and our neighbor across the road still has corn standing from last year! The deer and squirrels have been snacking all winter. :)

Check out this video of a dairy producer from Fox 6 News in Racine, WI:  Late Planting Season

According to the newscast, farmers in southeast Wisconsin are nearly two weeks behind in getting to the fields to plant their crops. Agriculture officials say only 16% of crops are in the ground. That compares to 66% at the same time in 2010.  Farmers are used to working from sun-up to sun-down. But Mother Nature has definitely thrown them a curveball this year. But the Racine County Farm Bureau is urging farmers not to panic.  2009 was considered a wet season by farmers, some were harvesting into the winter months.  In 2010, conditions were ideal. For now, farmers say it's too early to tell what projected yields will look like.

MythBuster MONDAY: "Does chocolate milk come from brown cows?"

Myth:  Chocolate milk comes from brown cows.

Fact: False. 


I WISH!  hahaha.  I love chocolate milk!  If chocolate milk came from brown cows I would have a brown cow right in my backyard!

Hahah this is me! :)

Chocolate milk is made when cocoa beans, grounded up and mixed with plenty of sugar and other additives, is mixed with normal whole white cow's milk.  Did I mention chocolate milk... yummmm...
Brown cows give the same kind of milk as your average black-and-white Holsteins. All cows of most any colour give the same kind and colour of milk. The only differences may be quality and quantity depending on the breeds that are being milked.  Check out my post last week to learn about the slight differences between each breeds' milk: Katie's Cow Tails - Six Different Breeds of Dairy Cows

There has been a lot of discussion about chocolate milk being removed from schools.  I will always remember the school "breaks" and having an ice cold chocolate milk.  My favorite was the cartons towards the back of the fridge that were half frozen! :)  Oh the memories....

Here are some fun facts about chocolate milk: 

• Today, the majority of milk in schools is low-fat or fat-free, and the majority of flavored milk is at or below 150 calories.
• The newer formulas have 2 to 3 teaspoons of added sugar compared to 3 to 4 teaspoons of added sugar in traditional formulas.
• Low-fat chocolate milk strikes the perfect balance between good nutrition and good fun!
• Milk – whether it’s white, chocolate or even strawberry -- is power-packed with nine essential nutrients that are important for kids’ health.
• Flavored milk contains the same 9 essential nutrients found in white milk.  This nutrient package is difficult to find in other foods that are as affordable or appealing.
• Calcium, potassium, phosphorus, protein, vitamins A, D, B12, riboflavin and niacin (niacin equivalents)
•  Studies show that children who drink flavored milk…drink more milk overall, have better quality diets, do not have higher intakes of added sugar or fat, and are just as likely to be at a healthy weight compared to kids who do not consume flavored milk.

For more information, visit Why Milk? to get the facts about flavored milk.  You can read the science behind flavored milk and its mportant role in helping children get the nutrients they need during crucial growing years.

Thirsty Thursday: Where is my milk from?

Yes for Thirsty Thursdays!!  There are two parts to today's blog:

1.  New website launched so you can lookup where your dairy products are from
2.  How you can use this!  Tips!

Check out this cool website I found:  Where is My Milk From?

According to a dairy magazine, Dairy Herd Management this new website,  http://whereismymilkfrom.com, was launched in January.  It lets consumers find out where their dairy products are from.  The site was created by Trevor Fitzgerald, a senior at Brigham Young University, who is studying information systems. Fitzgerald did not grow up on a dairy farm, but says he was interested finding out where his food comes from.

The information on the site originated from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, but Fitzgerald says it was being made available in a several-hundred page PDF document that was difficult to navigate. Hoping to make the information more accessible and easier to navigate for consumers, Fitzgerald built the Web site.  Consumers can now enter the code found on their dairy products, and the Web site lists where the product originated from.  Dairy products from milk and cheese to yogurt, sour cream and cottage cheese are included.

Here is a gallon of milk from my fridge: 

I typed in:  55-96 and found out that gallon of milk was processed in Sheboygan, WI.  Pretty neat!


So now what?  How can I use this? 

Cowtail Tip:  If you are concerned about buying local or transportation costs, you can use these plant codes to see how far your dairy products have traveled.  Get to know your local state codes.  Its amazing to see just how far some products have been transported.

Cowtail Tip:  When you are buying milk at the store, most of the time the "off brand" and "name brand" milk has the same plant code.  Usually the "off brand" is about $0.50 cheaper per gallon.  Milk is milk.  It's the same milk with a different sticker.  Great way to save a few bucks at the store! 

Surprised?!!

6 Different Breeds... All the same to moooooooo?

Ever wonder where your milk comes from? Yes, the store... Yes a farm... but which kind of cow!!???

There are six major breeds of dairy cows:

1. Holstein
2. Jersey
3. Guernsey
4. Ayrshire
5. Brown Swiss
6. Milking Shorthorn

Black and white Holstein cows make up over 90% of the U.S. dairy herd. Some Holsteins are red and white, but, aside from color, indistinguishable from black and white Holsteins. The U.S. Holstein is well known around the world for her ability to produce large volumes of milk, butterfat and protein. She is a very profitable cow for farmers.  The U.S. Holstein is relatively new to North America, with the first imports of registered Holsteins arriving in the 1880s. However, the breed has dominated production in the U.S. since the end of World War II, and advances in artificial insemination have increased her popularity in breeding programs around the world largely owing to her advantage in production over all other breeds.

Ruby Tuesday                                                                     Caramel

The Jersey is the second most popular cow in the U.S. and makes up about 7% of the U.S. dairy herd. She is known for her smaller size (1000 lbs. for a mature Jersey cow versus 1500 lbs. for a mature Holstein cow), higher percentages of fat and protein in her milk, early maturity, and efficiency of milk production. Payment by milk processors to dairy producers based on the content of butterfat and protein in milk has increased the popularity of the Jersey, especially in markets where milk is manufactured into cheese.

Jersey cow getting ready to go into the parlor

We have two breeds on our farm:  Holstein and Jersey cows!

Other dairy breeds make up only around 2% of the dairy cattle population. These include:

• Ayrshires - moderately large cows that are red and white to mahogany and white and are known for producing milk that is quite rich in butterfat and for the conformation of their udders;

• Brown Swiss - large brown cattle that are known for their docile manner, high milk protein to milk fat ratio, sound feet and legs, and purported resistance to heat stress in hot and humid regions;

• Guernseys - red and white to mostly red and are somewhat larger than Jerseys and are known for the yellow color of the butterfat in their milk, which is rich in Beta-Carotene.

• Milking Shorthorns - a rugged breed of cattle that are red and white to mostly red, mostly white, or roan (speckled) and are known for milk that is well suited for cheese production and for their grazing ability.

Which is your favorite??

MythBuster MONDAY!: Cows are just treated as units of production and are often treated inhumanely by those who work with them.

Myth: As farms have become more industrialized, dairy cows are considered mere units of production, and are often treated inhumanely by those who work with them. Fact: Dairy farmers, regardless of their farms’ size, depend on healthy cows for their livelihood. Here is a video from Dairy Farming Today regarding this myth. Many dairy farmers, like other business owners, continuously improve their on-farm management practices, including animal care, to support their families and to provide the public with high-quality and affordable dairy products.  A dairy farmer ALWAYS has in their mind how to improve his or her operation.  As you drive by a dairy farm and see some construction going on... think to yourself: "I wonder what they are doing?"  They might be expanding their business.  More than likely, that dairy farmer is making an improvement.  They could be building a calf barn (my wish list) to keep calves out of the elements or making stalls bigger in the free stall barn so cows can lay more comfortably.  Many dairy farmers are using technology to recycle bedding, such as sand, or turn manure into electricity.  Yes! Electricity!!  I heard a great quote once, "If a dairy farmer wins a million dollars, do they quit farming?  No, that farmer puts that money towards his cows and his farm."   The passion for cows runs that deep.  According to the USDA, of the nearly 55,000 dairy farms in America today, most are smaller farms with less than 200 cows.  The vast majority (98%) of dairy farms – big and small – are family owned and operated.  Cow comfort is important to dairy farmers because a comfortable cow will give more milk.  Dairy farmers provide clean, dry bedding to their cows and access to food and water 24 hours a day.  Nutritious diets, healthy living conditions and good medical care are among the many animal welfare practices routinely used by dairy farmers.  Cows have a very important job! Making milk!! Here are a few pictures of the cows right after milking time:

Cow HOT TUB! Cow #118 has a bad morning... gets rehabilitation.

There are some really good days on the farm... when a new heifer calf is born, the smell of freshly cut hay, and seeing the crops pop out of the ground in spring, just to name a few.  The bad days come right along with the good ones.  The bad days also seem to come in streaks.  The hay gets rained on... the tractor gets STUCK... and the list goes on.. and on.....

This morning, something went wrong with one of our really good cows, 118.   Some cows have names, some have numbers.  Each cow has some sort of identification so we can keep good health records.  As the rest of the cows walked to get milked this morning, 118 just layed in her stall.  She couldn't get up.  Somehow, she had injured her back leg.  She could get up but could not stay standing for any period of time.  After we looked at her closer, we realized that nothing was broken (thank you lord!) but there was some nerve damage in the leg.  This is a terrible injury for a cow because the majority of her weight is carried on her back legs.  Its also very difficult to rehabiliate an animal of this size.  Imagine if you had a pet elephant, crazy analogy.. I know, and it was injured.  Animals of this size present quite the challenge. 

So what now?  What happens to 118?  Well.  118 goes into the "float tank."  Cows float and can swim, and some intelligent person decided to use this to help cows like this.  In the "float tank," warm water is used to float the cow and help with rehabilitation.  We own a float tank, but you can have someone come to your farm with the warm water and tank.  It usually costs $300 - $500 a "float", depending on traveling distance. 

Here is a video of 118 in her hot tub:

The rest of the cows are of course, checking out the situation.

118 will stay in the float tank until tomorrow.  We will then let her out and see how she is doing.  If necessary, she will have to be "floated" again.  Until then... 118 gets to sit in the hot tub.  Im jealous!  I have to do chores tonight! :)

Word of the day: "Bull" and STUCK happened again!

....what a bunch of BULL!

Bull:  An adult male dairy animal. Young male dairy animals are known as bull calves.

We do not keep bulls on the farm -- they are extremely dangerous!  Because of their hostile nature, most dairy farmers use artificial insemination to breed the cows.  Using A.I. is much safter for the farm family, employees, and the cows! If you ever see a bull, NEVER go into a pen with it.  Usually they have a ring in their nose.

Our bull calves leave the farm at about 2 days of age.  They are sold to another farmer that raises them.  He is the "man-cow" specialist.  hahah.

On another note, STUCK happened again today!   .... when is spring going to come!!?????????

MythBuster MONDAY: Cows are kept in cramped, dirty quarters without access to the outdoors.

Myth:  Cows are kept in cramped, dirty quarters without access to the outdoors.


True or false?  What do you think?  You deserve to hear the real story about dairy production from someone who knows it best. 

Here is a video I found about overall cow comfort:

Fact:  Cow comfort is a top priority to dairy farmers. This includes making sure that clean, dry bedding is available to cows at all time, in addition to providing healthy living conditions.

Dairy farmers provide clean, dry bedding to their cows and access to food and water 24 hours a day.  The cows rest in stalls filled with soft sand, dry compost, or mattresses filled with rubber and water. Other recycled products like paper pulp, sawdust and straw also are used to create dry and comfortable beds for the animals.  "Mattresses??", you ask?? Yes! Some dairy farms have rubber filled mattresses OR waterbeds for the cows!  We use sand on the dairy because whats more comfortable than laying on the beach.. right?  The "beds" are maintained and refurbished each day to keep them clean. 

Clean + Comfortable  = healthy & happy cows = milk!

Many farmers house their animals in freestall barns, which means the cows are able to move about to eat, drink and rest whenever they like. [Pretty ingenious name... "free" "stall" - get to move around "freely"]These barns provide easy access to feed and clean water, as well as shade and protection from bad weather. Looking at a building like this in the winter, when curtains are up to keep cows protected from the elements, you might not know whats it there. Some free-stall barns actually look like a big warehouse. Its all the same inside. Cows are usually in a designated group where they can move around, eat, and sleep whenever they choose!

Check out this video on Dairy Farming Today:  Dairy Farming Today - Video - Vet Talking about Cow Comfort