One-cow Family Meets the One-family Cow
(Page 4 of 14)
May/June 1972
By Hank Rate
The agri-parasites in town will sell you hundreds of dollars worth of livestock veterinary gear if you let them but—unless you neighbor with a vet (in which case you won't need to stock anything)—I suggest having on hand only:
RELATED CONTENT
1 Rubber stomach tube and a gallon of mineral oil
1 Intravenous injection kit and a quart of electrolyte solution
1 Balling gun with a dose of sulfa boluses and a rumen magnet
1 Syringe (10 cc), a minimum quantity of a broad spectrum antibiotic and 10 cc of Epinephrine
1 Obstetrical chain (60") with hand hook, green soap or slippery calving disinfectant and a block and tackle fence stretcher
1 Can of powdered calf scour medicine with a table spoon measure
1 Castrating knife with sulfa powder and Lysol disin fectant
1 Can of dairy insect powder
1 Curry comb
1 Rope and/or rope halter
These items are all relatively inexpensive and, except for some of the antibiotics, have excellent shelf life. If you don't understand their application, most any neighbor with livestock experience can help you learn to use this equipment and medicine effectively. The O.M. Franklin Serum Company, Box 6838 Stockyard Station, Denver, Colorado and Charles Pfizer & Company, Inc., Agricultural Division, 502 Fountain Parkway, Grand Prairie, Texas publish excellent catalogs (as do other veterinary supply companies) that demonstrate the use of their medications and equipment.
WHAT BOVINE BREED IS BEST FOR YOU?
If you're feeding 10 or 12 kids and need all the whole milk you can get, buy a Holstein. Holsteins are considerably larger than other dairy cattle and their milk contains less butterfat... but they do give a lot of that milk and their calves generally sell better than the calves of other dairy breeds.
Most of us, though, have smaller tribes than mentioned above and can see a surplus of milk in the cards on any deal concerning a family cow. That probably means that a Guernsey Jersey is called for. The cream on their milk is worth as much as the whole milk itself. Cream is also much more compact to store and stays fresh longer so, from a strictly dairy products standpoint, a small farm household will usually do better with one of the latter two breeds.
HOW TO FIND THE COW OF YOUR DREAMS
If you're just starting out in the cow business, try to buy a middle-aged bovine lady that has always been a family milk source. Such an animal—six or eight years old with a consistent calving record—will provide you with three to six more years of milk and calf production with a minimum of problems. If possible, get this ideal homestead cow while she's carrying a calf—so you don't have to worry about getting her bred right off—and she'll teach you the business as you go along.
Forget the idea of picking up a "bargain" animal from a commercial dairy. Some of those cattle have never been touched by human hands and can be considerably less than you'll want in the way of disposition. They also can have breeding or other problems that have been covered up by intensive veterinary attention and are often not the "good buys" they seem to be.
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