# Prospective Cows



## freechicken (Aug 5, 2016)

Hello all! 

I was wondering if you would look at some pictures for me and share any thoughts you may have on these cows? We have sold our goat herd and are getting ready to purchase a dairy cow. We have been corresponding with a jersey dairy that is culling some of their older cows. Most of the cows they are selling are on their 6th or 7th lactation. No history of mastitis. Sound on feet. Milk is dhia teated monthly. I have photos of two of the cows we are considering, waiting for photos on the other two.

The second cow is called Hooray, 7th lactation, bred in May. The first is called Lovely, 6th lactation, just fresh.


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## TAH (Aug 5, 2016)

I am no cow person but they look cute. 

I will tag people that know @Goatgirl47 @JerseyCattleLover @WildRoseBeef


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## NH homesteader (Aug 5, 2016)

Ahem..  Ignorant goat person here.  I just made my husband come look at hhow GIANT those udders are,  and he goes... Yeah they're cows.


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## WildRoseBeef (Aug 5, 2016)

I don't want to make any comments yet until I see the other two cows. But a question: What are you hoping to achieve with the cow of choice? Obviously milk is one thing, but are you also hoping to keep offspring off her?


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## Green Acres Farm (Aug 5, 2016)

How much milk does that thing give a day?


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## Latestarter (Aug 5, 2016)

OMG! That first cow, lovely, is UDDERLY ridiculous! That has to be good for 8-10 gallons (or more?) a day!  I love milk, but good gosh... I couldn't imagine... I don't know anything about cows, but #1 "looks" younger and "healthier". I know I'm probably out to lunch here, but they both look "malnourished" or "skinny" to me...  I know... that's the way dairy cows look... I just can't get used to seeing bone definition under skin with lack of muscle covering...

Kinda neat how they did colored/patterned ankle wraps to identify them...


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## Goatgirl47 (Aug 5, 2016)

First of all, are you planning on milking by hand or machine? If by hand, then you need to get a cow with nicer, longer teats.
Do you want one that is a tame, "in-your-pocket" type of cow, or one that is more standoffish?
Do you care about diseases? Getting a cow from a dairy is a little risky. You would be better off getting a younger cow (maybe in her second or third freshening) that was raised to be a family milk cow, and that is tested for diseases such as Johnes, BLV, BVD, and so on. We've found most of our great milk cows on Craigslist. We had the owners test them for us if they weren't already tested.

I think that the second cow (Hooray) has a slightly nicer udder than the first one, and longer teats better fitted for hand milking. As a bonus, that one may already be bred, so you wouldn't have to worry about getting her pregnant. Her udder is below the hocks and that's something I personally don't like in a cow (the udder may get lower and lower with each freshening, which might lead to the cow stepping on/damaging her udder) but besides that she looks like a pretty good cow.

The first cow, Lovely, has a HUGE udder! She has a nice topline (as does Hooray) and a pretty head, but judging by her udder I would not buy her. It is considerably lower then her hocks.

I'd pass on both though, if it were me. But we are very picky with our cows as you may already have guessed.


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## NH homesteader (Aug 5, 2016)

OK so it's not just me.  I thought they were huge beyond huge! And the second one is so skinny.


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## freechicken (Aug 5, 2016)

Excellent input. Thank you.

We are hoping for milk for our family plus cheese/yogurt/butter. We also will feed pigs/chickens/and lambs with excess milk. I do not want to keep offspring necessarily, unless it is for my dinner table. I am not looking to start a herd...

I would love to buy a cow that has been raised specifically to be a family milk cow but the price tag here in my area prohibits that. The cost is nearly triple what these cull dairy cows are listed for.

These cows are reportedly treated as "pets" and are supposedly all friendly and docile. The owner will request all testing for us (TB and Johne's for sure).

Here are the other two:

Randi is on her third lactation and is being culled because she lost a teat to a bout of mastitis. Just fresh. 






Rhonda is on her 6th lactation, just bred.

 



Thoughts?


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## WildRoseBeef (Aug 6, 2016)

IMHO I'd pick Hooray if I were you. Her udder is in better condition than the other three culls, and despite the fact that she's in poorer body condition than the other three, that can be easily remedied with some extra TLC in supplementation. Randi would be a close second, followed by Lovely, then Rhonda. Randi's udder is just slightly tighter than Hooray's, but Hooray's got the bigger teats which, as mentioned, make it nice for hand-milking.


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## Baymule (Aug 6, 2016)

Just curious, what is their price and what is the price for "family" milk cows in your area? Here, family milk cows on Craigslist sell for $1,000 to $1800. If this matches prices in your area I can sure see why you would go with a dairy cull. What makes a cull for a commercial dairy might make you the perfect family cow for the perfect price.


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## freechicken (Aug 6, 2016)

These cows are selling for $700- $800 and family cows here sell for $2000- $2500. For $1500-$1700 you can get a heifer or a nurse cow that's never been milked. Our primary concern, being first time cattle owners, was finding a cow that has a good disposition and is used to being milked.


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## Baymule (Aug 7, 2016)

Wow, that sounds like a deal. I would be all over the dairy culls too for that price. I just typed dairy cull, I thing I need to use a nicer term to describe these bovine beauties.......hmmmm...... I got it! Dairy Retirees!! There's a lot of retirees on these sites and we sure ain't sitting around doing nothing!

So whick of these lovely DAIRY RETIREES are you going to choose? Given lots of love and good care, you should expect to have a good family milker for a long time.


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## Goatgirl47 (Aug 7, 2016)

WildRoseBeef said:


> IMHO I'd pick Hooray if I were you. Her udder is in better condition than the other three culls, and despite the fact that she's in poorer body condition than the other three, that can be easily remedied with some extra TLC in supplementation. Randi would be a close second, followed by Lovely, then Rhonda. Randi's udder is just slightly tighter than Hooray's, but Hooray's got the bigger teats which, as mentioned, make it nice for hand-milking.



2x. Hooray just needs a little fattening up.


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## greybeard (Aug 7, 2016)

How's their teeth?
How far did you watch them walk?


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## freechicken (Aug 7, 2016)

Thank you so much! The reason they are culling Hooray is because she doesn't like the grain they feed at the dairy. I imagine that is contributing to her condition as well. Two more questions:

1) What should I feed her and in what quantities should I give in to improve her condition? 

2) what tests should I have them run before we buy her and what can wait until we get her home to our own veterinarian?


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## freechicken (Aug 7, 2016)

greybeard said:


> How's their teeth?
> How far did you watch them walk?



They are 600 miles away so I haven't seen them in person yet. I will put a deposit down and pay remainder upon completion of sale when we travel at the end of the month. Could I ask their veterinarian to assess those things for me when he runs tests on her? What would I be looking for?


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## WildRoseBeef (Aug 9, 2016)

Find out what kind of grain or grain mix they're giving her, and go from there. There's no way we can tell what to give her without knowing first what she doesn't like. It may be a matter of mixing salt or mineral mix (or molasses) with the grain mix to get her to eat it. Teeth are important to know as well. 

Tests to run: Johne's Disease and possibly BVD are the two big ones to test for, especially the former.


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## freechicken (Aug 9, 2016)

Just heard this from the seller:

"Since my last email to you Hooray has been to the vets to get DA
surgery (tacking it down).  We believe her not liking our grain
finally caught up to her--not getting the balanced diet she needs.
(We are hoping she may try our grain again and not feel icky and stick
with it)  We have been crazy busy and I thought as I was taking her
for her surgery yesterday that you'd probably pick her...  And here it
is--your email.  So, she is probably not your choice now.  The vet
said we caught it very early--but, understandable if she's off your
list.  Very sorry about this as you'd finally settled on her.  (She is
doing very well already after just one day).  Let me know what you'd like to do"

Thoughts?? I am so new to all of this that I don't know a serious problem from a minor one.

Is Randi's bout of mastitis and dry teat a serious concern? I don't mind her only having three milking teats but are there concerns with the 4th? Any special care required?


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## greybeard (Aug 9, 2016)

DA is Displaced Abomasm.
http://www.thecattlesite.com/diseaseinfo/211/displaced-abomasum-in-cattle/

For tests, I would want CFB for TB to be on the list.


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## Latestarter (Aug 10, 2016)

As long as they caught the DA in time, it should be no issue or problem. As for a cow with past mastitis, you're taking on a risk of further mastitis issues, IMHO I'd skip that one entirely.


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## misfitmorgan (Jun 13, 2017)

Did the OP every end up getting a milk cow?


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