[LuckyGRanch]

We just got a milk cow and I'm wondering what we should have her tested for before we can responsibly drink raw milk?

 

[Christina R.]

I think the 2 things are brucellosis and tb. AZ is a tb free state, so our vet didn't see the need to test for tb. Our gal was vaccinated as a calf for bruc., and didn't abort her calf, and never showed any other signs of bangs, so he didn't see the need to do that test either. I think the bigger need is tb if you aren't in atb free state and don't know much aout her from her previous owner.

 

[Jim in MO]

Congratulations!! So what breed did you get?

Here in missouri we are a brucellosis free state but I still vacinate against it. Also I would test for TB for sure.

Enjoy! Have you ever milked a cow before?

Jim in MO

 

[willow_girl]

Having just lost my beloved Jersey cow to Johne's I would strongly recommend testing for it as well.

The bacteria that causes Johne's in cattle (M. paratuberculosis) has been linked to Crohn's disease in humans.

Note, pasteurization (even commercial pasteurization) does not kill 100 percent of the bacteria.

 

[Jim in MO]

So how's the latest member of the family doing? Getting the hang of milking yet?

 

[dosthouhavemilk]

I would strongly urge you to test for Johne's as well. We are currently battling with it, but so is every other dairy farmer in our area. :waa:
I assume she came from a dairy. Do you know what they tested and vaccinated for? Has she been tested? We test annually for TB, Bangs and Johne's. We also vaccinate for Bangs. Our farm was one of the first to take part in a lot of the testing. We have records for TB tests from a long time ago.

Other than that you might be interested in what her test was if the previous owner was on DHIA test or something similar.

 

[willow_girl]

We are currently battling with it, but so is every other dairy farmer in our area.

Same here, Roseanna ... sucks, doesn't it?

I would be interested in hearing about your calf program and how you keep your heifers isolated, and whether you think it's working to prevent transmission.

I lost 1 of my 3 cows to it and her heifer calf nursed off her so I assume she is infected as well.

My vet says the risk of transmission to the adult cows is low.

I plan to have them both tested, along with the heifer, before their calves are born next summer.

I'm bummed because they are retired (cull) dairy cows and I was hoping to give them the chance to raise their calves, but if they're heifers I'm afraid I'm going to have to remove them from the contaminated pasture. :waa:

 

[dosthouhavemilk]

Same here, Roseanna ... sucks, doesn't it?

I would be interested in hearing about your calf program and how you keep your heifers isolated, and whether you think it's working to prevent transmission.

We have a small dairy farm (57 head right now) so our calves were always removed within a reasonable time frame. However, we used to pool milk and feed that to our calves. So now we use powdered milk. The scary thing is our 13 year old cow (Freedom, just ready for retirement) was one of the four full grown cows that showed up positive last year! We actually had a cow (Fanfare) die from Johne's and it was horrible. The heifer calf (Davina) that resulted from her pregnancy that year was raised and slaughtered. Davina was a month old when her mother died. We hope that those four (Freedom, Listeth, Moulan and Sirius) picked it up by sniffing around Fanfare after she died. This year we only had one positive blood test and we sent out the fecal four months ago and no response yet, so she is most likely negative. We ended up culling those four, and have had culled two others before (one was Blessing, Fanfare's only daughter and the other was Twink our first postive, she was only 20 months old). We have a heifer that we should have slaughtered. Freedom was pregnant with Libertad when she was tested but it is hard for us to do so.
We have been testing for Johne's for around 8 years. Ever since they started the program in Ohio.

 

[LuckyGRanch]

Thanks for all of the wonderful info!

Our new gal is a beautiful 4 year old Jersey named Posey!

So far I've made butter and yogurt not to mention drinking way to much of that wonderful whole Jersey milk! Tomorrow's project is Ricotta!

Yes, we've had a milk cow before. Posey is from a commercial dairy and I expected a period of retraining and getting her used to our little homestead.

As we unloaded her, I asked if she was halter trained. (Duh...shoulda asked that sooner!) "Well, I suppose you could get er to wear one."

Our first milking was flawless. She stood tied simply by a collar tied to a tree in the middle of the field! She doesn't kick. Before she gets ready to move or shift about, her tail flicks a couple times and then she gingerly steps. She's a doll!

So....test for Johne's, Bangs, Brucellosis, and TB?

 

[bumpus]

.
Women are everywhere but it's not every day
you get to see a good looking cow. :haha:

.

 

[willow_girl]

Roseanna, thanks for the info and I'm glad to hear your program seems to be working.

I can't bear to cull Libby-Belle (the calf out of my cow that died from Johne's). I keep hoping that by some miracle she'll test negative, even though I know it isn't likely. :waa:

I guess if my other girls have heifer calves, I'll remove them at birth into a clean area and feed only colostrum and milk from cows that test negative. And sell them as soon as possible, to limit the possibility of transmission ...

My vet seemed to think that was a sufficient plan.

Lucky, Posey is a pretty girl alright! Love those Jerseys!

 

[LuckyGRanch]

Thanks! We think she's purty! We're in love!

Yesterday my husband and I even milked together! I milked from one side and he milked from the other. She will let us do just about anything to her. She'll also let "anything" do just about anything to her!! We had to pull the year old calf out of the pasture because he'd started nursing again!!!!!! It is NOT her calf!! Brat! :yeeha:

She came from a small commercial dairy with a closed herd. All breeding has been done AI. I remember about 4 years ago the first time I was on the farm to buy a bull calf. The farmer was telling me about Johne's. I'd never even heard of it. (Newbie Homesteaders!! ) He was proud of the fact that his herd had tested negative for quite some time. I'm hoping we'll be as lucky with all the other things we'll be testing for as well.

 

[katmease]

She's gorgeous!!!

 

[heinola honey]

I want one too!!!!! :waa: