fear of poop

cathleenc · #1 09/29/08, 07:23 AM

well, fear is an overstatement but the liquidy nature of cow poo keeps scaring me away from having a family cow. We have goats, sheep, chickens, ducks, turkeys, geese, rabbits, cats, dogs, little boys.... lots of poop all over the place. So why does cow poo seem twelve times more intense? It's just so liquidy and HUGE.... or so it seems to me from a distance.

So - will I always feel this way? Is it really much more poop-intensive to care for one cow? Is a family cow really going to be poop-encrusted and need a bath every time we milk? Is the barn going to be wet and soggy and full of ammonia?

I know my statements are all overblown but well, that's what fears and trepidations are like sometimes. Help me find reality, please!

thank you
Cathy

commonsense · #2 09/29/08, 08:01 AM

Do you have pasture space for a cow, or will the cow have to manage in a barnyard/mudlot? I don't have "poopy" cows, but they have a two-acre pasture to themselves and they keep very clean.

I have an indoor shelter for them as well, and as long as I clean it regularly, they don't make much of a mess of themselves in there either.

Maybe consider getting a smaller breed of cow, like a jersey, so the "pies" are smaller?

I know what you mean though, I'm still a little amazed sometimes by the messiness of cow pies. I'm more accustomed to horse/goat/chicken messes.

tailwagging · #3 09/29/08, 11:27 AM

This is a picture of my mini-zebu bull's poop. I thought at first something was wrong but I found out later that this breed seem to have poops likes these. My cow's is wetter but still not a flop and I wet her feed to get more water in her since I milk her. Our larger bull's is like the cow's but a little dryer and well, larger. The calf's is like goat berries. I like the dryer poop =)

fear of poop - Cattle

Karin L · #4 09/29/08, 01:24 PM

A normal, runny-like poop means a cow's getting lots of protein.

Poop like tailwag posted, means the animals not getting much protein.

Karin L · #5 09/29/08, 01:29 PM

A cow is actually clean just so long as she has a grassy pasture and/or has fresh straw to lie down in her stall. The only time she'll get poop on the hide is if she's in a muddy area all the time, which is never good for any animal, or if she's sick and scouring.

Tiffin · #6 09/29/08, 01:35 PM

That picture is like what my goats did, not cows. Perhaps because it is a mini. I have Dexters and they have the true cow pie stuff: green, rounded, size depends on the animal size. This type is actually easier to deal with which I only do in the barn with a barn cleaner. If they become loose then it is a green splatter which is quite messy and the cow will show this on their backside until this subsides for such reasons as too wet grass in the morning, frost, introducing something new. If they stay outdoors in the pastures and barnyard then it's fertilizer; go for it.
I have to add though that keeping animals of any type is dealing with poop, whether it be dogs, cats, birds, pigs, cows, horses, doesn't matter it's what to do with the poop. lol

farmergirl · #7 09/29/08, 01:52 PM

I have been dealing with horse poop for over 20 years now, but I will admit that some poop is more yucky than others. Cow poop is liquidy and hard to get off your boots if you happen to step in it. The other thing is that because it is more liquidy, if you step in it just right you might end up sliding and falling down

If you are not going to be keeping the cow indoors all the time, the poop factor shouldn't be too bad. The only time I have to clean up cow poop is if I stall one of the cows for some reason and then I just wait for the poop to dry out some I can pick it up with the poop fork. Really, poop is a GOOD thing. It is a way for us to capture nutrients and return them to the soil through composting. Just this morning I scooped up llama poop to put around my roses for fertilizer

Don't fear the poop; embrace the poop.

tailwagging · #8 09/29/08, 02:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Karin L

A normal, runny-like poop means a cow's getting lots of protein.

Poop like tailwag posted, means the animals not getting much protein.

Really???
I was told that they are a dryer breed and didn't on their own drink a lot of water. My cattle get 16 % dairy feed, alfalfa cubes with calf manna along with their hay. I was told I was giving too much protein so was getting too much growth of hoofs by the cattle extension office rep and by the vet. They are beef cattle poeple so would that make a difference in what they would do?? But even then their poop has been like that.

cowkeeper · #9 09/29/08, 03:07 PM

Haha, don't get a Jersey if you want less poo, and less liquidy poo! They can outpoop a Holstein. When I had Jerseys I couldnt believe the sea of poop in (and all around) the gutter. I never had any luck tying up the tail either, so I used to get it smacked around my head regularly. (That's why we have 'barn clothes'). Jersey people have all kinds of strategies for dealing with it; ya gotta suffa if ya want lots of milk and cream (LOL) ck.

BDB · #10 09/29/08, 06:04 PM

I thought that was the best part of keepin cows. go out early in the morning to milk and get smacked up side the head with that poopie tail . thats wakes you up more than coffee kinda feel bad for the cows I see now at farms with there tails cut off

doodles · #11 09/29/08, 07:58 PM

I have several Jerseys,all of which I have trained to milk on their first freshening. They come in from the pasture and are milked in a 12x12 stall with rubber mats. They are just loosely clipped to a ring on the wall . No stanchions or other restrictions.
I have never had one that pooped or peed inside after the first week of initial training. They are exceptionally clean and do not lay in poop or mud unless confined to a dirt lot. I never get messy when milking them.
I can't imagine where these horror stories about Jerseys come from.....honest I am very serious about how wonderful they are. My youngest daughter just turned 9 in August and she handles them with no issues. She even leads them back to pasture up our driveway in the dark when we do night milkings. I find our 7 Jerseys exceptionally kind and tolerant especially with my children.
Even our 4 yearold mini bull is super sweet and leads like a dog.( No bad bull stories please.. I was raised with many bulls and know the dangers)
Anyway,I totally recommend a Jersey to anyone who wants a cow that will squeeze their heart.

Karin L · #12 09/30/08, 10:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tailwagging

Really???
I was told that they are a dryer breed and didn't on their own drink a lot of water. My cattle get 16 % dairy feed, alfalfa cubes with calf manna along with their hay. I was told I was giving too much protein so was getting too much growth of hoofs by the cattle extension office rep and by the vet. They are beef cattle poeple so would that make a difference in what they would do?? But even then their poop has been like that.

Well I think my reference to that is associated with beef cattle. I dunno much about the poop differentiation between dexters and the mainstream beef cattle, but I do remember reading that somewhere a while ago, and seeing it made sense because when they're out on pasture with grass that obviously is rich in protein, their poop is less solid than if they were on poorer quality hay. But I'll have to look into that a little more...and maybe find the article where it says the difference between solidity in cowpies.

tailwagging · #13 09/30/08, 10:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Karin L

Well I think my reference to that is associated with beef cattle. I dunno much about the poop differentiation between dexters and the mainstream beef cattle, but I do remember reading that somewhere a while ago, and seeing it made sense because when they're out on pasture with grass that obviously is rich in protein, their poop is less solid than if they were on poorer quality hay. But I'll have to look into that a little more...and maybe find the article where it says the difference between solidity in cowpies.

OH please if you could!
I was just trying to start a topic on what I should feed and lost it =(
I want to feed my cattle what they need and though I have worked at dairys, I only milked,fed cavles and helped with vet care. I am a newbie to feeding cattle.

Not to argumentative! when cattle are on grass they are getting a lot more moisture then on hay.

cjb · #14 09/30/08, 12:32 PM

I agree re. the Jersey's - they're awesome. It took me a bit to get used to the copious poos when they let loose but my quickly learned to never poo or pee when in the milking stall. I don't even tie ours up - she just stands there and eats while I milk.

We have chickens and they go out and tear up the cow pies to look for bugs. This helps in the breakdown process.

francismilker · #15 09/30/08, 12:42 PM

They are what they eat. Just like us! Their manure reflects their diet. Feed them hay only and it comes out dry. Feed them lots of high protein grain and they can shoot it through a key hole from six feet away!

agmantoo · #16 09/30/08, 06:34 PM

On pasture the height of the poop is reflective as to the value of what they are consuming. A tall cow pat is indicative of lots of roughage and little nutrient. During the recent drought with the low quality of feed that I had the pats had lots of height. Today, with the lush growth the pats are almost non existent.

cowkeeper · #17 09/30/08, 07:10 PM

Ok, if we were talking about concrete, we would call it 'slump'. We need a word for cow plop height...

**gone-a-milkin** · #18 09/30/08, 08:52 PM

Actually I like 'slump' too. The only time I am scared of cow poop is when I am chasing cows in the dark and risking hitting a skimmed-over plop at high-speed. It is EXACTLY like stepping on a banana peel, treacherous.

Otherwise ~ rubberboots, barn clothes, and it washes off too.

Karin L · #19 10/01/08, 04:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tailwagging

OH please if you could!
I was just trying to start a topic on what I should feed and lost it =(
I want to feed my cattle what they need and though I have worked at dairys, I only milked,fed cavles and helped with vet care. I am a newbie to feeding cattle.

Not to argumentative! when cattle are on grass they are getting a lot more moisture then on hay.

Well, here's a couple articles I found, though I don't think they're the ones I was looking for...although they should of use to you.

http://www.das.psu.edu/dairynutritio...nts/manure.pdf

http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/vi...ngebeefcowsymp

steff bugielski · #20 10/01/08, 05:08 AM

We have one cow for the freezer. She is usually outside so poop is not a problem but it was so hot and humid here one night that I left the barn door open so the goats would not steam to death. Cow spent the night in with them. OMG! I have never seen so much poop in one place. Now I have had 20 horses, 20 goats 100 chickens and nothing compares to that one night worth of poop and pee. I will never have dairy cows because of that. I don't mind poop but that was a bit much.