URGENT-Great Family Cow Prospect-CHEAP!- Western PA

willow_girl · #1 07/29/10, 10:26 PM

(I put this on the Barter Board, but also thought I'd post it here, where more people might notice it!)

OK, the herd I milk has been having some problems with high somatic cell count, and the farmer is talking about culling a few of the high-SCC cows to bring our numbers down. Unfortunately, one of the cows on his hit list happens to be one of my favorites! She is a 4th lactation cow, calved about 3-4 months ago, I'd guess is making 70-80 lbs of milk a day (I can check her DHI records and give you an exact figure, we were just tested last Sunday).

She has a history of mastitis flare-ups in one quarter; she has recently been treated with Spectramast and is cleared up for now, but I would expect periodic recurrences. (You could always dry off that teat, or put a calf on her and let him have that one.) It's just a garden-variety mastitis; not toxic or anything nasty, just antibiotic-resistant.

On the plus side, she's always been a good cow! She makes a fair amount of milk, and she's always been healthy. She's a big, wide, sturdy girl (the kind of build I like to see in a cow) with a nice capacious, well-balanced (not heavy or light on any quarters) udder. "Soft" teats and large enough to make hand-milking easy, if you choose to go that route. She has always been kind of fat, but doesn't seem to have any metabolic issues at calving time due to it. No history of calving problems at all. She'd probably be an "easy keeper" on pasture due to her tendency to put on weight. Real nice disposition -- never a problem in the parlor, not flighty; I think she'd adjust real well to being a family cow.

I don't think she's been bred back yet, but if you were serious about buying her, I could probably get the farmer to breed her back first.

He has a cattle hauler he deals with, so I could help you line up transportation if needed. Location is just outside of Clinton, in Beaver Co., PA.

I'm not sure how much he'd have to have for her, but basically I think you could buy her for slaughter price, which is low right now. I'll bet he'd be really happy to see her go to a family; he hates to cull a cow almost as much as I do. I'd take her in a heartbeat if I didn't have four already!

Time is somewhat of the essence here, as he may make a decision over the weekend, which means she'd be gone by Monday. I'm sure he'd keep her around an extra week or two for someone serious about buying her.

I'm not making any money off this deal; just trying to keep her off the truck. Feel free to PM with questions. Let's rescue a cow!!!OK, the herd I milk has been having some problems with high somatic cell count, and the farmer is talking about culling a few of the high SCC cows to bring our numbers down. Unfortunately, one of the cows on his hit list happens to be one of my favorites! She is a 4th lactation cow, calved about 3-4 months ago, I'd guess is making 70-80 lbs of milk a day (I can check her DHI records and give you an exact figure, we were just tested last Sunday).

She has a history of mastitis flare-ups in one quarter; she has just been treated with Spectramast and is cleared up for now, but I would expect periodic recurrences. (You could always dry off that teat, or put a calf on her and let him have that one.) It's just a garden-variety mastitis; not toxic or anything nasty, just antibiotic-resistant. It's always shown up in the same teat; the rest have never been affected.

On the plus side, she's always been a good cow! She makes a fair amount of milk, and she's always been healthy. She's a big, wide, sturdy girl (the kind of build I like to see in a cow) with a nice capacious, well-balanced (not heavy or light on any quarters) udder. "Soft" teats and large enough to make hand-milking easy, if you choose to go that route. She has always been kind of fat, but doesn't seem to have any metabolic issues at calving time due to it. She'd probably be an "easy keeper" on pasture due to her tendency to put on weight. Real nice disposition -- never a problem in the parlor, not flighty; I think she'd adjust real well to being a family cow.

I don't think she's been bred back yet, but if you were serious about buying her, I could probably get the farmer to breed her back first.

He has a cattle hauler he deals with, so I could help you line up transportation if needed. Location is just outside of Clinton, in Beaver Co., PA.

I'm not sure how much he'd have to have for her, but basically I think you could buy her for slaughter price, which is down right now. I'll bet he'd be really happy to see her go to a family; he hates to cull a cow almost as much as I do. I'd take her in a heartbeat if I didn't have four already!

Time is somewhat of the essence here, as he may make a decision over the weekend, which means she'd be gone by Monday. I'm sure he'd keep her around an extra week or two for someone serious about buying her.

Ronney · #2 07/30/10, 06:41 AM

Willow, your getting that wound up about it your repeating yourself

Now, I've got no hope of being able to take this cow but in defence of it, if anybody is interested and she can be got for slaughter price, go for it. Mastitis of this sort can usually be cleared up with the use of AB's at the time and dry cow therapy at drying off, although there will often be reduced production from the affected quarter - buy hey, that's no big deal when she will produce more than a family can use anyway.

Willow, is it possible to post a photo of her and maybe get some idea of price for those that may be interested.

Good luck, I have one of these in my herd and she's a crackerjack cow both in production and termperment.

Cheers,
Ronnie

willow_girl · #3 07/30/10, 07:08 AM

Ronnie, she's a fat black cow.

I'll see if I can nail down a price on her.

This is a good cow, folks.

calicoty · #4 07/30/10, 07:20 AM

Willow-

We've been looking for a family cow...had been looking at Jerseys but my DH emailled this link to me. We are in Central Ohio with no way to haul (except a uhaul and I doubt that is safe

I don't really know what "slaughter" price is, or what the approx hauling would be

Also, i fyou wouldn't mind indulging a newbie...but what is high-SCC? Is it what causes the mastitis? We would be interested in having her bred back as well if possible.

Rickki

mamahen · #5 07/30/10, 10:44 AM

I wish we didn't have our 3 heathens.

I told my hubby about your last post, and how there may be other cows available with slight medical needs. He said umm hmmm. Which I took to mean, sure go ahead.

I guess I didn't translate it right, it means not this year.

Good luck, I hope she finds a happy home as a family milker.

Michael W. Smith · #6 07/30/10, 11:25 AM

I really REALLY think that YOU should buy her! I mean, come on willowgirl - why bother going to work at the dairy when you should open one yourself! You say you already have 4, just keep adding to them and then you would be the dairy farmer - plus you really like those cows anyway, so just buy them and own them!!!!!!!

I've always thought it would be nice to have a family milk cow. However, we don't use THAT much milk - I'm guessing we go through a gallon a week. Besides, currently I can go to the dairy farm a mile from my house, draw out a gallon of fresh raw milk from their bulk tank and leave a $2.00 donation.

I would have WAY over $2.00 / week trying to keep a cow - true, I'd end up with WAY more milk, but with this set up I don't have to have time and expense in keeping a cow.

I do hope you find her a good home - but like I said before - a good home for her would be YOUR home!!!!!!

willow_girl · #7 07/30/10, 02:06 PM

Michael, I'd take her in a heartbeat if I had more land, but my place is soooo small, and I have practically a full-time job shoveling cow manure as it is.

Prolly if things came down to the wire, yeah, she'd be coming home with me. LOL! (Shhh, don't tell Harry!) But I'd really rather find her a home, especially since I'd have to dry her off (no way I could stick to a milking schedule with the crazy hours I work) and she's fairly early into her latest lactation ... it would be a real shame to waste all that milk.

Quote:

We've been looking for a family cow...had been looking at Jerseys but my DH emailled this link to me. We are in Central Ohio with no way to haul (except a uhaul and I doubt that is safe I don't really know what "slaughter" price is, or what the approx hauling would be

Also, i fyou wouldn't mind indulging a newbie...but what is high-SCC? Is it what causes the mastitis? We would be interested in having her bred back as well if possible.

Yes, a high somatic cell count basically means subclinical mastitis, or a lowgrade infection in the udder that isn't always symptomatic. Actually, during the last test, she was sampled while being treated for an "active" case of mastitis, so one would expect her cell count to be high. The mastitis is cleared up now, but as this cow has had it in that same teat periodically, I think we can expect it will crop up again periodically. Some cases of mastitis are antibiotic-resistant; the cow ends up with a chronic lowgrade infection, which translates to a high SCC. This isn't a major problem where a family cow is concerned -- you could treat her as needed with antibiotics; permanently dry up (not milk) that teat, or put a calf on her and leave that teat for the calf to suckle (that's what I'd do). If you're hand-milking, you could milk that teat into a separate bucket and feed it to the cats, dogs, etc. She would make plenty of milk from the other 3 teats.

If you've never had a family cow before, I think she'd make a real good starter. She's a nice calm cow, and her udder will be really good for hand-milking. Ironically, on a commercial dairy, cows with large, soft teats are not considered ideal, because they may not milk out well on a machine, but boy are they easier to milk by hand!

I will talk to my boss tonight and see if he'll give me a firm price and whether he thinks his hauler might be willing to take her to Ohio.

Thanks for your inquiry; I'd really like to do something for this girl. She's one of my favorites.

springvalley · #8 07/30/10, 03:15 PM

Willow girl, can`t you get some federal grant money for starting that cow retirement facility you always wanted to get up and going..>Thanks Marc

willow_girl · #9 07/30/10, 11:42 PM

Why would I need a grant?! I've always been able to take care of my girls by myself ...

Anyway! Rickki, I talked to my boss tonight, and asked him to come up with a price. I won't see him again until Monday, but I'll try to coax something out of him then.

I checked the DHI report and she was 71 days fresh as of last Sunday, so still a little too early to breed back. Close, though!

I'll keep you posted.

Michael W. Smith · #10 08/02/10, 01:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by willow_girl

I talked to my boss tonight, and asked him to come up with a price. I won't see him again until Monday, but I'll try to coax something out of him then.

Waiting for an answer. Not because I want to buy her, but just wondering how much a "cull" milk cow actually costs. From what willow_girl says, it sounds like this cow would make a perfect home milker for someone.

willow_girl · #11 08/02/10, 10:06 PM

I only saw my boss for a couple mins tonight. He hasn't given me a price yet. He did ship the other 2 cows he was talking about selling, he was feeling pretty bad about that. I mentioned I had a possible buyer lined up for her if he lets her go, but they would prefer to have her bred first. He seemed OK with that.

So everything's up in the air right now! Rickki, I will PM you when I know more.

And yeah Michael, she has the kind of udder that would be really nice for hand-milking. I spent long enough wringing out those cherry teats on my old Jersey cow to appreciate the way she's built! LOL

calicoty · #12 08/02/10, 10:13 PM

Thanks, Willowgirl! I'm keeping an eye on this!

willow_girl · #13 08/02/10, 10:28 PM

That's good.

It might take a little while ... I don't like to push too much; he's my boss after all!

I don't think we have to worry about him shipping her, though.

DJ in WA · #14 08/03/10, 12:16 AM

Quote:

She has a history of mastitis flare-ups in one quarter; she has recently been treated with Spectramast and is cleared up for now, but I would expect periodic recurrences. (You could always dry off that teat, or put a calf on her and let him have that one.) It's just a garden-variety mastitis; not toxic or anything nasty, just antibiotic-resistant.

So what organism causes "garden-variety mastitis"?

If it is Staph aureus, that is contagious, right? And if so, could it spread to other quarters if you have a calf nursing? And if it's mastitis resistant, would it then be hard to eradicate and possibly lose more quarters?

willow_girl · #15 08/03/10, 08:08 AM

We have had some cows with recurring mastitis cultured, but unfortunately she's not one of them. Yes, it could be Staph a., which is an antibiotic-resistant strain. Yes, there is always a possibility of it spreading, although the Jersey I had had an intermittent infection in one teat -- I left that one for the calf when she had flare-ups, and it never spread to the other quarters. The calf didn't seem to mind, either.

This intermittent mastitis we've been dealing with is a real devil. The cows that flare up might have chunks in their milk one day but not the next. Treating them doesn't seem to make any difference. It's not a mastitis that makes their production drop -- we have to be careful they don't overflow the bucket. It's not the "hard, hot, swollen quarter" kind of mastitis. It's playing heck with our SCC, though, and my boss does like those premiums! (Can't say I blame him.)

Right now, her mastitis is cleared up. This is the first time we've used Spectramast on her. In the herd I milked before, we'd had some chronic cows that cleared up after we switched to S. from Today. Apparently it kills a different spectrum of pathogens. It's a wait-and-see game.

Look, this is a nice cow, and if he decides to sell her, she'll be cheap. She has a great udder for hand-milking, she's never had calving problems and always breeds back on time. Yes, there is a mastitis situation, and things COULD go bad, but there are no guarantees where livestock is concerned! My old boss paid $5,000 for a heifer from really good bloodlines; she freshened in with mastitis, one leg swelled up enormously, and she never made much milk.

Now, I think this girl would be fine as a family milker. With any luck, you might get a heifer out of her next year, and raise it up to replace her. If someone buys her, and it doesn't work out, I'd even be willing to buy her back. I like her, and don't want to see her going to slaughter right now. That's how I ended up running a sanctuary for retired dairy cows, LOL.

DJ in WA · #16 08/07/10, 12:43 AM

I just remembered this thread and my question.

It's always interesting to me that there are those who have no problem getting a cow with mastitis. I mean, you are buying a cow to drink the milk and you have to think about the milk coming out of an infected udder.

That's why I try to have a cow with low risk of mastitis - lower production and not from a dairy where bugs are passed around. I bought a cow from a dairy once and dealt with mastitis and didn't enjoy it. But apparently many do like playing vet and trying this and that antibiotic.

Maybe people that pasteurize also feel more comfortable with pathogens in their milk.

willow_girl · #17 08/07/10, 09:30 AM

I think working on a commercial dairy maybe changes one's perspective. Mastitis is kind of a fact of life -- some cows get it and you have to deal with it, but it's not a huge tragedy. I remember when I first got into having critters; I had a goat freshen with mastitis, and I called the vet! And paid for a vet call, LOL. I chuckle about it now, but at the time I was in panic.

My black cow Twister had an off-again, on-again sort of mastitis. It was one of the reasons she was culled (this was from the dairy I worked at back in Michigan). Didn't stop her from raising nice calves for me! She's still alive and well at the ripe old age of 13. Of course I'm not breeding my girls anymore, they're just pets now.

Yes, I always pasteurized, but not because of mastitis. Even milking into a covered bucket, like I did, it's still possible to have hairs or flakes of crud falling off the cow, or a fly landing on the cloth. I liked everything to be sanitary because I served my milk to guests and gave quite a bit of it away to friends and family. I never had to worry about anyone getting sick that way!

I think this cow I'm trying to line up a home for (I call her Mamie Lee, BTW) would make a good family cow because she has a really good udder for hand-milking. Big, soft teats and the milk fairly GUSHES out! If you've ever had the pleasure (not!) of milking a cow with short or tight teats, you'll know what I mean. I'd say about 10 percent of cows have udders that are perfect for hand-milking, and 10 percent have udders that I wouldn't want to milk if you gave me the cow for free! The other 80 percent are somewhere in the middle.

Also, this girl makes plenty of milk, so if you have to dry off one teat, or give it to the calf, you'd still have a lot left for the table. As I said earlier, that's what I'd do if the mastitis comes back ... or I'd just milk that teat into a separate bucket and give it to the cats.

And, I have my opinion as to what I like to see in a cow, and this girl fits the bill. I like a cow who's not too tall or long, but very wide and squarely built, powerful and not frail. These are cows that IME will go the distance. They have a nice wide pelvis, and because they're so square they tend to be steady on their feet -- they don't fall down or get knocked around when cows are bulling. Generally they have big udders with some 'back' to them. The drawback, of course, is that being short, those big udders tend to hang kinda low as they get older. That's an acceptable trade-off IMO. We had a girl built like this who went 11 lactations on the farm where I work now; I think she's about the oldest I've seen (especially in such good condition) with the exception of a Brown Swiss in one of the herds I tested who made it to 13. (BS are noted for being long-lived.)

OTOH I almost hate to see those tall, skinny heifers who are "jackrabbity" in the hindquarters, real high in the hocks with long legs, usually a teensy-tiny bag, too. For some reason, they just don't seem to do well.

Edited to add (husband interrupted me for a couple minutes): Based on my own experiences, I would recommend to anyone thinking of getting a family cow, especially a first cow, that they go with an older cow. If you can find one for sale from another family, that's great (providing they're not selling her because she's a PITA!) but as those are kinda scarce, your best bet probably is going to be from a commercial dairy. And it doesn't matter if she's a 3-teat cow, or doesn't look like the ones on the cover of Hoard's magazine; if you pick one that has a pleasant temperament, and a good udder for hand-milking, it's probably going to work out OK.

I'll bet if you were to ask 10 people who tried keeping a family cow but failed what the reason was, you'd find in the majority of cases it simply was an unpleasant experience for them --either because the cow was fussy or kicky, or because she had the kind of udder where you have to wring for 10 minutes with all the strength in your hands to get a quart of milk! In either case, milking isn't going to be pleasurable, and there will be a great temptation to say, "Aw, the heck with it!"

When I hear of newbies talking about buying a heifer, I cringe a little, because you're really getting a pig in a poke, as far as her udder is concerned, and temperamentally, some heifers can be real stinkpots at the outset. They give us enough grief in the parlor, let alone trying to milk one tied to post, or something, where she can really get her leg up to kick!

Now, these are my opinions, based on my observation and experiences. YMMV.

DianeWV · #18 08/07/10, 08:55 PM

Willowgirl-I really hope you are able to find this gal a home. Wishing you and Mamie Lee good luck. Take care.

willow_girl · #19 08/08/10, 07:01 AM

Thank you, Diane.

Our Little Farm · #20 08/08/10, 07:26 AM

oh I just wish I had extra $$ to do this. (Especially with 12 children). Hay we can do, shelter and good fencing we have, milking by hand I did from a young age, $$ to buy right now? Um no.

She sounds like she would be perfect. You are very knowledgeable and helpful.

I do hope she goes to someone on here that will give her a loving home and take good care of her. Thanks for sharing this, maybe in the future we will be able to talk to you about a milk cow.