# How I got my Cow on.



## Audreyvgs (Jul 20, 2008)

I was at an animal auction in the middle of Florida, selling a few extra chickens and ducks, my free range population had been a tad too well fed and the raccoons at that time were somewhere else. I had way too many. I think the county says 25.  HA!

In the melange of animals to be sold, some were dropped off and the owners ran, and there were others that dropped their animals off an stayed,(us), giving water to animals who didn't even have a container in their cages (thats another story) but we spied a group of shaky newborn cows in a pen there.   Oh, man, how does a newborn cow, still wet looking get there?  I was mad at first but then realized that the dairy industry sells off males (no milk) and COULD do worse things than bring them to auction.  I at least knew they needed colostrum and I've heard of other people buying them that were going to put them in the back yard to eat grass! (at 12 hrs old???)  Well, long story short, we came home with one, an auction where the guy who bid on the entire group only wanted a few, and when all the other cows became availlable at a whopping $25 apiece, my husband said, RUN!  I claimed the last one, and oh, man, it was the only one i'd seen laying down, not flat, up, but still.  I was a little worried.  

We knew a man from our home town, he volunteered to take it home for us, and we stopped at the SuperWalmart and got calf starter milk. Colostrum came the next day when I got to the real feed store.   The cow probably weighed 90 lbs.  He felt wet.  He'd been born the day before, the tags on their ears had the dates they were born majic markered on.  He was happy to hit dirt, as we set him down, he'd been on slippery cement up til that time, and in a cage an hour to my house was'nt much more comfy.





We then got some bad advice, on feeding.  It was a half gallon bottle in the am and pm, but we did too much.  we did more than that.  I am not advising how much here, cause no matter what, I could be wrong still, but i do know that the hole we cut in the nipple on the bottle was way too big, and he would down a half gallon of milk in no time flat.  It should take more time, their little stomachs are in transition, and it caused him, in two weeks to become gravely ill. 

He had progressed from a wobbly calf to a stable calf, his eyes were all whites on top, like he was scared, when he came, but as time went by, he had normal whites, like us, but better eyelashes. He was happy and bouncy and energetic.    But he soon got the raging diareahh. (sp)  Too much food, too fast.  

He got whats called the scours.  I went to site after site trying to figure out what to do, I did find a lovely forum of cattle ranchers, who took me step by step with many stories of failure to reach calves in time, and warnings of like a 30% chance I'd be able to help him. (my computer crashed that had that site marked, I lost the link, sorry ) I'll put it up when i hack that old computer.

 He's a steer, isnt he.  sorry.
No, he is NOW.  Then he was a , O HECK.  i don't know. He got banded the second day I had him, it was painless and he never noticed.   He sure was one sorry thing, tho, he got the kind of diarrhea that squirts out the back, not falls... and finally he just got tired, he coudlnt stand up. Too weak to stand.

  I revved into action, electrolytes in the bottle, cut off the milk, he was like 2 or 3 weeks old, and had been starting to fill out nicely!!!  I was determined to do everything i could to save him.  My husband brought him outside the pen with all the other animals (goats, horse, burro,pig) and he built an impromtu tent over him, to keep the sun off.   In that 2 or 3 weeks, he'd gained a lot of weight!  We just kept replacing the hay i put under his butt, and i would drag him away just a bit, clean up and sit back down with him.   

We did electrolytes, antibiotic shots, probiotics and meanwhile I'm running back and forth between him and the computer, I'd left so many messages on so many sites, one time I had a sick goat at 2 am, and only one person emailed me, and she's still my friend 3 yrs later, I knew there HAD to be advice out there. I made concoctions I probably shouldnt have, but as I watched him sink away from me, I got desparate. 

 Tea.  I made LaPacho? tea, I had read that antifungal oral drugs were being considered as a means to retain water, a electrolyte enhancer, and as i  had no access to oral antifungals, i considered wholistic.  Thats where i got that idea.  I was to give him Pepto Bismol.  ak, and here's where I tell you not to listen to me, do not do this, i say, as its probably not legal.  I gave the cow a lomotil.  I am lactose intolerant, and if I didn't have a perscription of those in my purse, i'd of died myself, as milk is even in the hamburger buns at McD's and you don't know that til you are sick about an hour later.  I put one in  his electolye drink twice a day, til the 5 I had left ran out.  I don't think you're supposed to give this to cows that might end up in the food supply, and altho i had seen dollar signs at first, now I was seeing a truly gentle soul, laying there sick with his head on my knee.  I'm thinking, o, hell. I could have made such a quick buck on this.

I could hear the "well, what did you expect for 25 bucks?" in my head, and deep in my heart I was sure that the dairy had done the right thing by letting people have actual cows for cheap, in lieu of worse, and that dairy cows had HAD to be healthy, had to be in top shape to reproduce, and give milk with any consistency, so no matter what, i had this feeling that basically this had been a healthy, albeit too young cow at that market.  I was not going to let anyone say that to me, if i could help it.

Finally, finally, a whole night of waiting up with him on like his second or third day of his illness, every 2 hrs giving him something in his bottle like clockwork,  I have him covered up cause he was shaking....I knew the sun was almost up, he was shaking, I figured it was at that point the decision was going to be made by him whether the shaking was it, or it was the start of his shaking off the hold that the scours had on him.  I patted his head, put straw under him where i 'd been, and went to catch an hour or so of sleep.  I parked myself on the sofa, i was too dirty to even take my clothes off to get in bed, and my husband woke me up in an hour and said that the cow was up.  UP! YAY!

That was the beginning of his recovery, his from the scours and mine from the thought that he was something to sell.  I knew that everyone else knew that's how it would end up, and tell you the truth, if it got too hard to keep him in this economy, I'd be forced probably to sell, but as long as I can, I will hold on to him, Cow.   They said never name anything you're going to sell, but I figure if I changed it now, i'd jinx it and besides, he knows it.  All of it.

Here's a pic of my son playing on his dirtpile, and the cow thinking that he could just waltz up there and play too.  He never figured on there being a downside, just the up.  He hung himself up like a teeter totter.  I think its blurry from me laughing the whole time I was taking pics.


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## allenacres (Jul 20, 2008)

You had me glued to my screen reading your story. Im so glad it had a happy ending!


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## Farmer Kitty (Jul 20, 2008)

I agree that the calf was to young to be sold. Hopefully, the farmer had given him some colostrum before he took him to the barn as those were the optimum hours for him to get it. I'm glad you were able to get him through it. There is a neat product called Deliver that I use for the calves with runny scours. It gels them up so they don't dehydrate as easily. Then you use the antibiotics, etc. to treat.

Good luck with him.


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## wynedot55 (Jul 20, 2008)

bottle calves are hard to raise even when things go right.if he was 12 to 24hrs old or older when you got him.im pretty sure he got clostrum milk.because if they dont get it within 24hrs or less 99% will die in the first 5 days.


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## Audreyvgs (Jul 20, 2008)

We insisted to anyone that followed our lead to wait and keep it at least 2 weeks, so that if it had a problem, it might show up before they re-sell it.

Oh, man, and thank you for the suggestion of the Deliver stuff, I felt like that Dutch Boy standing at the dyke.  It was definitely something that needed to be plugged up, by any means, and as fast as possible!


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## FriesianMilk (Jul 21, 2008)

> bottle calves are hard to raise even when things go right


I have to disagree.  I think they are very easy to raise when things go right.  Things do go wrong, even for the experienced calf raiser, but with experience you learn how to deal with the problems and even prevent them.

I can agree that bottle calves can be difficult to raise for the beginner.  My advise for someone thinking they might bottle raise a calf is to spend some time at a dairy, or with someone who raises dairy bull calves before getting a calf.  That way you can be educated as to what could go wrong and not wind up in the same place as the original poster.  And then you would also have someone to contact should you encounter something you are unsure of.


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## Farmer Kitty (Jul 21, 2008)

FriesianMilk said:
			
		

> > bottle calves are hard to raise even when things go right
> 
> 
> I have to disagree.  I think they are very easy to raise when things go right.  Things do go wrong, even for the experienced calf raiser, but with experience you learn how to deal with the problems and even prevent them.
> ...


I've been raising calves for 20+ years and I can attest to the fact that in raising calves things seldom go right all the way through. Either the weather goofs things up or some bug does. 

I would also advise *get them off the bottle ASAP*! Mine are 3-4 days old when we pail train them. It not only makes it easier for you but, there is less chance of them sucking on each other as they get older. So many have trouble with "suckers" and a lot of it is due to bottle feeding to long!


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## Katy (Jul 21, 2008)

I agree it's easier in the long run if you get them off the bottle sooner rather than later.  I think they start eating other stuff better when they aren't on the bottle.  That bottle is just like a pacifier to a baby.......it can be a hard habit to break!!


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## wynedot55 (Jul 21, 2008)

you dont need to wean a calf till it is eat between 3 an 5lbs of feed a day for a week.once they are eating that much grain you can feed them 1 bottle/bucket of milk a day for a wk then wean emm.


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## Audreyvgs (Jul 21, 2008)

It was a longsite better and easier for me raising the calf than my dwarf goat babies, due to frequency of feeding, and the cow is not a screamer, nor did it have to be on the back porch (yes, for my convenience)  Lucky i had 2 baby goats at once, omg my ears.

I have no inclination to bottle feed or hand feed anything that takes any more time.... yet.

Even tho i lost a couple days of sleep, the cow was by FAR easier, and still is, he isn't trying to squeak out the gate to be up by the house or eat my flowers, like the brats.  

Somehow, the older I get, the more the words "emotionally needy" grate at me.  The steer is not. Moos upon presence of hunger.  that's it!


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## Cara (Jul 23, 2008)

Great save.  I just have one point to make though  HE cannot be a COW!!


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## birdlover (Jul 24, 2008)

What a wonderful story!!  I'm so happy he made it (thanks to YOU!!!).  I love the picture of him and your son on the sand pile.  Soooo adorable!!


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## Audreyvgs (Jul 26, 2008)

This is Better, Click Here.
I made a movie that same day, then i found this wacky music.


I fixed the link! Thanks! (measure once, cut twice)


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## Farmer Kitty (Jul 26, 2008)

"The URL contained a malformed video ID."
I think you need to fix the link.


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## treehouse (Oct 30, 2008)

So how should one go about getting a calf and at what point are they able to go straight to grain so you do not have to deal with a bottle.  
I am new to this cow thing and ony have 2 acres for grazing is that enough for one milk type cow?


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## Farmer Kitty (Oct 30, 2008)

In order to find a calf, I would check your local paper, Craigslist, feedmill (they may know of someone selling) or place a wanted ad.

I am a dairy farmer. My calves are on the bottle for roughly 3 days and then I train them to a calf pail. They have a calf pail with grain placed in front of them too. When they start eating 3/4 to 1 full pail a day we take them off milkreplacer. This usually occurs at about 2 months of age. I believe they say it's one bag of milkreplacer per calf-remember as they get older you decrease the amount of milkreplacer you mix with the water. 

Generally, the recommendation is 1.5 acres of pature land per cow. It does depend on your amount of rainfall, soil, and type of grasses on pasture though.

Here is a general feeding thread that may help you.
http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=36

What breed are you considering?


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## treehouse (Oct 30, 2008)

I am not sure of ra breed yet but I have been reading about 
minature size herefords? wha tdo you think?
Thank you for the info


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## Farmer Kitty (Oct 30, 2008)

Are you looking for a beef cow or a milk cow? I ask because you said "milk type cow" a hereford is beef. We have a breed page that separates them-look for the link in my signature.


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## treehouse (Oct 30, 2008)

I had thought they were but I guess I have alot to learn I am looking for a Milking cow.


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## treehouse (Oct 30, 2008)

I was confused, love your breed pictures !


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## treehouse (Oct 30, 2008)

jersey!


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## Farmer Kitty (Oct 30, 2008)

Study the breed page and then when you have it narrowed down ask questions. 

Make sure to check each category. We have some good info stickied within some of them that will help you be prepared. And don't be afraid to ask questions.


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## Farmer Kitty (Oct 30, 2008)

treehouse said:
			
		

> jersey!


Nice gentle (for the most part) breed! Good butterfat producer if your looking to make cheese, butter, etc. We had some jerseys years ago and I really like them. Unfortunately they kept having to many bull calves and we don't have any purebreds left.


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## wynedot55 (Oct 30, 2008)

kitty you need to buy you some more jersey cows.


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## treehouse (Oct 30, 2008)

CHEESE AND BUTTER tha is exactly what we are looking for 
What did you feed them and are they ok with the heat down here, I know I am not and I just can not believe that anyone can actually survive out of doors down here.  I am originally form Michigan and spend alot of time outdoors I am sure water is a factor and shade for a cow ?


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## Farmer Kitty (Oct 30, 2008)

Where are you at? There is a place in your profile to enter it and then we would know without asking you each time.

They eat the same as any other cow, hay, grass, corn silage, hayledge, grain.

For heat-shade, breeze (fans), water to drink and some have ponds the cattle can go in.


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## Farmer Kitty (Oct 30, 2008)

wynedot55 said:
			
		

> kitty you need to buy you some more jersey cows.


More and more talk about them here and I am really missing them! We do have a few holstein/jersey crosses from when we bred our trouble breeding cows back to them. But, now someone thinks she wants blue & white cows so we have been using milking shorthorns. I have trouble getting them though. If they are blue they tend to be bulls.  My avaitor is the only blue heifer we have right now.


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## wynedot55 (Oct 30, 2008)

well your the boss.an if you aint happy aint nobody happy.so breed for blue roans.


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## Farmer Kitty (Oct 30, 2008)

wynedot55 said:
			
		

> well your the boss.an if you aint happy aint nobody happy.so breed for blue roans.


Would you please tell the cows that? They just don't seem to want to throw blues.


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## wynedot55 (Oct 30, 2008)

cows have minds of their own.an you cant change it


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## Audreyvgs (Oct 31, 2008)

Are any of those miniature versions good for cheese, milk and butter?

My cow has doubled+, is 6 mo old now.  Luckily for us the neighbor had an extra acre and gave it to us, she even paid for the fence because she liked seeing the goats and the cow over there.  (and that damned kudzu-like stuff called Air Potatoes was taking over her fruit trees)  They're doing a pretty good job.  Now I am thinking about how to reclaim my yard from beauty spot to pasture.  I have several felled cypress from the hurricane(s) and can make fence posts, and god knows, anybody with land usually has fence lying around.  I'll patchwork it cause im cheap, and maybe do some fancy joins to make an art fence with the cypress logs.
Cow needs way more grass.  I really need to consider selling him, as he's a tad scary, loves to play and if he hops next to you, your heart stops.  He doesn't make any noise, just runs up behind you, and you immediately think, where's a tree I can run up?  He is kind-hearted, but is very scary when he wants to play.  I have a 10 yr old son who is terrified of him. His brain says RUN, which is the wrong thing.  I told him if he has to go out there, stay near a tree, and learn to shinny,  !!!!

Mini breeds are looking a lot easier on my heart.


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## Farmer Kitty (Oct 31, 2008)

I'm not sure on the minature versions. I would recommend a jersey-smaller breed.

It sounds to me like you need to carry a big stick. Do not let that steer come up like that. He needs to be taught to respect you. That goes for any cattle you get. You can be kind and spoil but, they need to have limits set just like a child. 

Depending on how big you want him and how fast he is growing he has roughly 6 months left before butcher time.


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## Audreyvgs (Mar 29, 2009)

Ok, its been almost a year.   A very cute good year.  It was actually a better first 6 mo.  Thats when I should have sold him. Should have sold him when the stick didn't work.  I wish I'd had a different breed.  He was a Holstein.  From what I'm hearing, around here, male holsteins are fond of horning people.  My son knows, having gotten those nubby new horns forced into his nether regions, it was just a thing the cow (Steer, i know) did.  I ended up calling him Cow, you don't name something you know you aren't going to be able to afford when its big.      Nether regions aside, my friend Jane has a relative who is a vet, a HE knows a vet that was killed by a holstein, it shoved its head into his chest up against the wall of a barn and no amount of cajoling could get the thing to release the guy, and he died.  a vet!

Holsteins get cantankerous, for no reason atall.  The yippee skippee dance of joy was one thing when he was tiny, but still, he did it regularly and he was 4' hi at his back.  He got real long legs all of a sudden.  Well, he recently took my sisters toenail off, while it was still inside her shoe for about the 3rd time, and in one of his races around the pasture, he jumped on a baby goat who was about 2 weeks old, and smashed his leg to bits., I know he didn't know what he was doing, but given the aforementioned details, all of us were almost terrified of him.  Nobody played with him.  We did love on him alot, reinforcing the calm sane moments.... but it didn't work.

I worked all day to reinforce my trailer for the 60 mile trip to the auction, there was no one would answer any ad I had for him, and certainly in this economy nobody wanted a pet.  I had to.    He did get both of his legs over the front of the trailer at one point, but a quick off the road maneuver with a slight uphill swerve cured that.  He was photographed all the way to the town with the auction, but once we got there, he moo'd at the Sonic, and the girl on skates serving drinks to cars never even looked around, they  were blas about it, having seen cows more than once.

He was fine, altho fidgety, but I wasn't ok.  I couldn't go in, i didnt even want to see who bought him.  They called me at the front where the auctioneer was to get my ok on what the final bid was, it didnt matter what the bid was, it wasn't important to me.  I ok'd whatever.  I never saw.   I couldn't look back, altho before he was sold, friends took him down from the trailer for me, and in the pen he was kept, he told everybody in there with him that he was boss right off.  

I learned to get better advice when I get a baby cow.
I learned what to do if it gets the scours.
I learned Holstein males are $10 for a reason.
I learned that unlike my burro, pony, ancient horse and pig, that Holstein Steers travel alone, they don't become part of a group that they don't identify with, they are loners. They don't buy into the pack mentality or familyness like the others do.  The others compassionately take care to watch where their feet are.  They know who is under them, and are aware when a new baby is born to one of its family, that that baby is to be watched after, licked and avoided in horseplay.  
As oblivious as Cow was, I still think he knew that last night.   I know he loved me, i was his mom.  He knew, tho.

I also learned to make a cast for a baby goat.  He's fine.  He's running around like crazy, playing king of the hill with the others, and altho i'm going to have to re bandage it, (i dont want to, but its wearing out)  its coming on 2 weeks since it happened, and he's even putting light pressure on it, standing and trotting.   I think he'll be able to use it, i made sure it wasn't too tight, but it was hard on a baby dwarf goat, to attatch somehthing that restrictive.

Cow did more for me than I ever did for him, he influenced my art, I sold paintings of him, made prints and will have Cow in my head for all time.  He was a kind soul in a brutish muscly body that was charged with some sort of GO chemicals, ones that made him push his horns into people and step down on things, and made him want to flip pet pigs.  Old pet pigs, old what the hell is your problem pigs that never were hurt a day in their life.  I also learned that I will never understand him, nor could...   I think sometimes i know what the horse and other goats want.  They tell me in some subtle way.  I have a pony that will nip you in the butt if you're not moving fast enough with the food.  It nipped everybody else, not me, but I know what it meant.  I know when my old horse is slipping downwards, he lost a friend horse a couple of years ago, we had already gotten the companion donkey for him, he was ok, but slipping.  We bought goats, and he LOVES the goats.  They brought him back, and he keeps an eye on them.  The horse donkey and pony would go on evening strolls if a baby was in house or my son was sleeping in the barn, just to ward off intruders like raccoons.  They'd hear noises and go back there, something I never would.   Cow wasn't on the same planet, ever.  But I miss him, and always will.  He was himself.


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## Farmer Kitty (Mar 29, 2009)

Sorry to hear you had it so rough. 

If you ever decide to get a cow again, make sure from newborn on that it knows you are boss not it. Make sure that while those dances are cute as a calf that you let it know that's not allowed with you. Those kinds of things are dangerous. 

You said he was steered and that's was good. Next time, dehorn too. 

You have to remember they get big and you need to be boss from day one. Hopefully, these tips will help you next time, if you decide to try again. Maybe you did this this time, I don't know, and he was just the way he was out of nature.


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## wynedot55 (Mar 29, 2009)

sorry that you had to sell him.but holsteins are mean rough killer bulls.an holstein steers are no differant esp if they know your scared of them.but please dont give up on cattle.


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## Imissmygirls (Mar 29, 2009)

If you think Holsteins bulls are psycho, don't go near Jersey bulls!
It is very hard for people who have never had a cow to understand how fast they grow and how big they get and what you actually have to do to control them. 
 Please find a mentor locally to talk to and get around more cattle before you purchase another bovine. 
They can be wonderful creatures, but they are LARGE animals and you need to learn how to handle them safely. As you learned, even the young ones can be scary.  I hope your son isn't afraid of cows now.  They aren't to be feared, but you must learn about them.


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## Audreyvgs (Mar 30, 2009)

No, i don't think anybody here is scared of cows in general, just we're now aware
that each has their own nature, and that needs to be respected.  We never DIDNT go in the pen where
he was, just he had this habit with my sister of sneakin up on her and stepping on her toes! ha.  stealthsteer.

Next time I'll do more research as to the temperment of these animals.  I had a black lab once that I had to
roll him over a couple of time to show him who was boss, so I know it can be done, just that I don't think it would
have worked on Cow.  ?     I wish my learning curve was curvier instead of so damn near flat, but its how it works here.

Other than the goat, I have no regrets having the cow, and i don't think my sister would have any either.  really.
It was basically a love, and a joy just to look at.  How beautiful he was, and even in the stall at the auction, he was
head and shoulders better cared for and good looking.  We did a good job and can be proud of ourselves. 

I based it on my premise that having a life, whether it be a whole cow life, or even just that first year, having a time
where there was no stress, nothing but fun and good food is better than going from the auction to a feed lot.
I have no idea whether this makes sense to anybody.  audreylogic.  

We will do this again, but after the homework.  I bet its all on this site.


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## Farmer Kitty (Mar 30, 2009)

Read up. There is an "Index to useful info" link in my sig. You'll find a lot of useful info there. The biggest thing, besides care, is making sure they know you're boss and that they respect you. From your post on his behavior he never got that. Either you didn't know what to do or that his "cute" behavior would continue and be a danger or he just wouldn't learn it when you tried. 

As for breed, it will depend on who you talk to as to what their personnal preference is. Research and decide what you think will be right for you. 

When you get your next "Cow" please don't be a stranger. Come, ask questions, share stories and pictures, share your experiences. Sometimes it's the best way to learn as stories get swapped and bits of info with them. Or maybe you would tell about the cute dance your calf is doing and we might say, "Stop, think this out, if he continues it could be dangerous." Sometimes it's the little things that trip a warning. Even to the point of your sharing an experience of what your cow did and how you taught him not to do it, may help another.


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## m.holloway (Mar 30, 2009)

that's true. i think if i would have allowed Sara-lu to butt me every time it was feed time. it would have turn into more then being cute as if she was telling me to feed her. that was at 300lbs. now she is 600. it just wouldn't be a small push. she still try's to get into the feed can. but i smack her on the nose and she backs off.i'm learning everyday new stuff here. i just  love it here on this bycow!!!


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## wynedot55 (Mar 31, 2009)

as said please dont be a stranger here.we love answering qs.


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