Showing posts with label cow comfort. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cow comfort. Show all posts

Friday, May 29, 2015

Inside Out: What Are Dairy Cows Thinking

The new Pixar movie Inside Out is coming soon and I know my family is looking forward to going to see it.



It imagines our emotions being characters in our heads and how they interact. My first thoughts on dairy cows is that there must be a couple in their heads that do nothing but watch and wait for me to get close to the cow's rear end.

"Is The Farmer in range?"

"He's not in the full splatter zone. Wait!"

"Is he there yet?"

"Getting closer!"

"Now?"

"Now!"

And that's when they press the "go potty" button and my t-shirt and jeans get an instant brown tie-dyed look.

Maybe we can't actually get a view of a cow's brain or have a conversation with her about her feelings, but we can watch her because actions really do speak louder than words. As I write this our cows are all laying in the pasture after the morning milking. Full, content cows taking a nap is a good sign. Most are chewing their cud and simply resting.


As it gets closer to lunch I know they are hungry because they will be lining up at the gate to come in to eat.

There are many things that can frighten the girls from loud noises or "funny" smells (cows have a keen sense of smell) to visitors to the farm. When those incidences occur the cows will often put their noses in the air and raise their ears to figure out what's going on. If they feel threatened they will run. Cow care and cow comfort, therefore, are a top priority on any farm.

Happy, content cows eat and milk well. When cows refuse to eat, go down in milk, or don't go in to be milked at their regular spot in line then we also know something is wrong. Paying attention to the cows and how they act with others and during their normal daily routine is very important if we want to know what they are thinking and therefore how they feel.

Maybe cows can't verbalize it, but how they act is as good as speaking. Of course, there may be good reasons for cows not talking. Dairy cows have been know to be a little sassy!



Wednesday, November 28, 2012

If a Dairy Farmer Won the Power Ball


Yes, I did buy one Power Ball ticket. Do I have faith that I will be the winner? Of course! Half the fun of the ticket for me is to enjoy the time daydreaming about what I would do with the winnings. Today I thought about how I would use it to improve our dairy farm. So after taxes, charitable donations, and helping friends and family members out, this would be what I might do with it.


  • New manure spreader and tractor. We could use one, trust me and I think that would be awesome to tell the morning show's reporter when they came out to interview me.
  • Hay, hay, and more hay. The drought we endured this summer left us with a very lackluster crop.
  • An iPhone. I don't want one because I want to be an Applefanboy, but I read in a dairy magazine about a new app and attachment that will let users check the somatic cell count of milk for individual cows. Improving milk quality? I am a fan of that.
  • Robot milkers. The fourteen year old boy that resides within me screams that robots are cool. Robot milking units that I have read about seem to be about improving cow comfort and the farmer's time. I think I would definitely want to explore using them.
  • Webcams around the maternity area. Wi-fi at the farm is very limited right now, but I would love to extend it and add webcams so we can better monitor our pregnant or postpartum cows.
  • Of course there are plenty of repairs that need to be made and these could be attended to.

Short list? Yup, but I'm sure I'll think of more to add to it. What would you do on your farm if you won the lotto?



photo credit: Lisa Brewster via photopin cc

Friday, July 22, 2011

Social Cows

dairy cows drinking water
Latest Gossip Around the Water Tank

While it isn't exactly like The Office here on the farm, some cows definitely have personality.  Milking time is a great example of this.  The last group of cows to be milked are always the same cows.  Likewise, the first group of cows to be milked are usually the same cows everyday.  We know if one of those early milkers comes in late then she may not be feeling good.

 We have a few that are particular about when and how they go into the barn. The cows are milked five at a time on the left and right side of the barn.  Some cows are lefties and some are righties.  Others want to be the cow that starts a run of five and some are not happy unless they are in the middle.  If you cater to the cow they will cater to you.

There are also shy cows and bullies.  The more timid cows are usually those that are on their first lactation in the herd.  They may be pushed away from the feed bunk by some of the other bigger animals (the bullies).  We often let these new ones eat first so that they get plenty of feed without having to compete with the others as much.