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farmlife

1413 Posts


Posted - Oct 20 2014 :  4:59:19 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
I just ran across this post on Craigslist and it confused me. Can anyone help explain? (I have no intention of going to Kansas City at this point, but I'm doing a nationwide search to try to find more cows in my area instead of searching individual cities which is very time consuming.)

http://kansascity.craigslist.org/grd/4719148708.html

I had no idea what a "Landy heifer is, but it seems that Landy was a Jersey bull that came from New Zealand and apparently his semen has sired many lines of cattle. If she is double bred I am assuming that Landy is in both her dam's and sire's genetics. Am I correct in thinking that? Is this a case of inline breeding? Are future generations at a higher risk of genetic defects because of this kind of breeding?

Also I thought that 46" meant that a cow was mid sized, not mini. Maybe they are measuring at her head? Doesn't the American Miniature Jersey Association have rules about where and how to measure? I wish there was something in the pictures to judge her height off of because she doesn't look that small to me, but who knows? Again, I don't know that I'm particularly interested in this cow, but I found it interesting.

Here's another question as long as I'm asking: Has anyone found that the more times a cow goes into lactation the more milk she produces?

Thanks for your help in advance.

Ron

4666 Posts
Ronnie
Peever SD
USA

Posted - Oct 20 2014 :  5:14:32 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Hi Keely, sure is all Greek to me! I think MJ will have a better handle on all the Jersey information. I take it that one cow that was pending sold?
My experience with milking is usually nutrition based. The better balked the mineral and vitamins and feed the more milk during a lactation. At least that has been my experience with the Guernseys. I do believe genetics will play a part as well.

With a moo moo here and a moo moo there, here a moo, there a moo, everywhere a moo moo.
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farmlife

1413 Posts


Posted - Oct 20 2014 :  5:32:06 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Hey Ron, thanks for giving it a whirl. The other one sold so fast! It doesn't give a newbie like me much time to think things over, that's for sure. I found the add one day and she was pending by the next. That's why I started searching farther out, so hopefully I don't miss any others.

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Ron

4666 Posts
Ronnie
Peever SD
USA

Posted - Oct 20 2014 :  6:26:00 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Hi again Keely, the good ones online go very fast. I have standing orders for quality milking cows and do not have any. Are you locked in on a Jersey? Do you need a mini? Or would you do a milking Jersey or Guernsey form a breeder?

With a moo moo here and a moo moo there, here a moo, there a moo, everywhere a moo moo.
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kadebg1988

128 Posts


Posted - Oct 20 2014 :  7:40:36 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Correct! When a breeder states that an animal is " Double Bred" this means that the animal has one similar relative on both sides of her pedigree. This is a form of line breeding.
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farmlife

1413 Posts


Posted - Oct 20 2014 :  7:59:19 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Hey Ron,
I would be equally good with a Guernsey or a Jersey. There just don't really seem to be any Guernseys within 600 miles of me, your Harriet and Betsy are the exceptions, of course. I don't think I need a mini cow, in fact if I were interested in the Jersey I originally posted on this thread, I would have questions about whether she would produce enough milk for my family. Also I think that for a hand milker such as myself I would rather try to figure out what to do with extra milk than to lay on the ground to milk a mini. However, I do have concerns as to how long it would take to hand milk 8 gallons. Something in between would be good. I'm hard to please, aren't I? The last few cows I was interested in gave 3-4 gallons without a calf on. I would consider a cow from a breeder or dairy, but again, I'm not finding any in my area. I have concerns about how it would affect the health of the cow to load up and drive for 10 or more hours. It's also hard to know which dairies are reputable for what I'm looking for.

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kadebg1988

128 Posts


Posted - Oct 20 2014 :  8:02:12 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Another topic I would like to address is that after reading over this ad I see that she has not been tested for Q-fever. Most of you have probably not had a run in with this bacteria and I feel you should all be aware of it as it can be a real problem for small farm owners and tiny dairy enthusiasts. Q-fever or as it is called Coxiella Burnetii is a bacteria that originally came from Queensland Australia. It is most commonly found in Cattle, Sheep and Goats. I am going to share this link from WSU (Washington State University) as I feel it better describes the Bacteria. The Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory at Washington State University (WSU-WADDL) has received an increased number of inquiries about Q fever over the past few years. The questions fall into three distinct areas and include: testing of dairy goats for the infection in order to be in compliance with the Washington State requirements placed on raw milk dairies (RCW 16.36.040); testing of goats and sheep prior to sale, and/or breeding (biosecurity profiling); and disease investigation to determine the cause(s) of pregnancy loss or low reproductive performance. This information sheet is intended to answer some of the most common questions about Q fever. Where appropriate, there are web links to specific information.

What is Q-Fever?
Query or Queensland fever (Q fever) is a bacterial infection affecting a variety of animal species as well as human beings. Q fever is caused by Coxiella burnetii , an obligate, intracellular, rickettsial organism that can survive in a dried condition for extended periods.
Is Q-Fever widespread?
Coxiella burnetii infection of sheep and goats is nearly worldwide in geographical distribution and is thought to be endemic in most continents. C. burnetii cycles in a wide variety of wildlife species and their ectoparasites. The true incidence of Q Fever infection is unknown in the Pacific Northwest region of the USA. WSUWADDL is currently conducting a research study to determine the geographic distribution and herd prevalence of C. burnetii infection in goats in Washington state.
What are the clinical signs of Q Fever?
In livestock the disease is usually subclinical. However, occasional abortion outbreaks caused by C. burnetii have been reported in goats and, less commonly, in sheep. Susceptible pregnant females develop necrotizing placentitis (inflammation and necrosis of the placenta), which results in abortion, whereas non-pregnant females do not develop clinical signs. Some ewes and does abort without apparent clinical signs, whereas others show anorexia and depression 1 to 2 days before aborting. After the initial abortions or infections, animals become immune to abortion but can remain subclinically infected. After the infection is established, the female can carry the organism indefinitely, sporadically shedding it in milk and at parturition.
How is the infection maintained and spread?
In the susceptible animal host, the bacterium has an affinity for placenta, and high concentrations (approximately 100 million infectious particles) have been reported per gram of placental tissue. The agent is shed in birthing fluids and membranes, as well as milk, urine and feces. C. burnetii is typically acquired by susceptible animals and humans through inhalation of the organism in fine-particle aerosols. Contact with droplets or fomites (inanimate objects, such as gloves, coveralls, rags, etc) may also result in transmission. Ingestion has been proposed as a route of spread, particularly through the consumption of contaminated, unpasteurized dairy products. Although direct exposure to parturient animals or their birthing products poses the highest risk for infection, the organism’s ability to persist in the environment may result in a continued risk for infection weeks to months after the birthing event. Grazing contaminated pastures and tick bites are other possible sources of infection.
What is the potential for Q Fever transmission to humans?
Q fever can be transmitted to human beings primarily by inhalation of dessicated aerosol particles from the environment, and through contact with infected animals, particularly placentas and birthing fluids but also other animal products like wool. Disease in human beings is characterized by influenza-like symptoms. The majority of human cases have a history of contact with infected sheep or goats. The organism is killed by pasteurization but can be transmitted in non-pasteurized milk. All persons should wear masks and gloves when removing manure from the barn, assisting with lambing and kidding, and handling aborted fetuses.
How can Q fever infection – disease be prevented?
Although human and animal vaccines for C. burnetii have been developed, none are commercially available for use in the United States. Also, lack of knowledge on shedding patterns among ruminants makes definitive determination of Q fever shedding status difficult. Therefore, prevention efforts must focus on minimizing contact with animals that may be sheddingC. burnetii in body secretions and excretions. Although it may not be practical or possible to eliminate the risk of Q fever in a typical farm setting, the risk for spread can be decreased by 1) proper sanitation – good hygiene, especially when working with parturient animals; 2) segregated kidding/lambing areas; 3) removal of risk material from birthing areas (birthing products/fluids, contaminated bedding, manure); 4) good manure management; 5) control of ticks on livestock; and 6) restriction of moving peri-parturient animals (close to birthing or giving birth within the past two weeks) off the farm. For more information on "Best Practices to Control Q Fever" visit the Washington State Department of Agriculture website at: http://agr.wa.gov/FoodAnimal/AnimalHealth/Diseases/QFeverManagementPractices.pdf
How is Q Fever abortion diagnosed in the laboratory?
Diagnosis of Q Fever abortion requires laboratory testing of aborted fetuses and placenta from aborting does or ewes. Diagnosis is based on identification of lesions in the placenta (gross and microscopic pathology) together with identification of the organism by non-culture methods. Culturing of C. burnetii in the laboratory is not feasible because of the particularly contagious potential of the organism in laboratory cultures to laboratory technicians. Therefore diagnosis of Q Fever abortion at WSU-WADDL is based upon special non-culture methods such as immunohistochemistry, to visually identify C. burnetii under the microscope within the formalin fixed infected placenta (Figure 1) or molecular diagnostic polymerase chain reaction (PCR) methods that uses amplification of C. burnetii DNA directly from infected placenta (formalin-fixed or fresh).
Instructions on the optimal tissues to submit to WADDL for diagnosis of Q-fever abortion, or other causes of abortion are available on our Abortion Diagnosis page.
Figure 1. Coxiella burnetii organisms (red) within infected placenta cells (blue).

C burnetti
Is there a diagnostic test for Q Fever infection in an animal with subclinical infection (no clinical abortion)?
There are a number of serology tests for Q Fever in animals that identify a host immune response (antibodies) to C. burnetiiinfection indicative of a previous or current infection. However, serology tests do not indicate whether or not an infected ewe or doe may be shedding organisms. Also, serological assays are most suitable for screening herds or flocks, but the interpretation of individual animal level is difficult.
WSU-WADDL uses a commercially available ELISA for Q Fever serology ("CHEKIT-Q-FEVER"; IDEXX Laboratories). Q fever ELISA tests are preferred for practical reasons (ease of use and commercially availability of test kits) and for their higher sensitivity compared to other tests, such as complement fixation test (CFT). The supplier gives ELISA test kit cut offs. For the IDEXX CHEK-Q-FEVER test values are normalized to a kit positive control (to decrease test variability) and values less than 30% are considered negative, values greater than or equal to 40% are considered positive, and values between 30% and 40% are considered suspect. If a sample is suspect it is recommended to collect a new sample from the animal and retest. If the sample remains suspect after 2 separate test, then retest by another method (such as CFT) and investigation of the epidemiological situation in the herd should be considered. Also, remember that serological assays are designed for herd or flock use and some scientific publications advocate interpretation of serological tests with a minimum of 6 animals tested.
On selected cases (usually retests) WADDL may also send samples to a USDA national reference laboratory, which uses the complement fixation test (CFT)) assay. CF antibody titers between 1:10 and 1:40 are characteristic of past infection while titers of 1:80 or more (from a group of at least 5 animals) indicate active infection.
Highly sensitive PCR tests (that amplify organism DNA) are currently in use at WSU-WADDL and can be used to diagnose C. burnetii shedding in body fluids on subclinically infected animals. However, since shedding is sporadic (does not occur at all times) a negative PCR tests cannot rule out C. burnetii infection.
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farmlife

1413 Posts


Posted - Oct 20 2014 :  8:22:33 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Okay Kade, now I'm scared. What I noticed is that she hadn't been tested for TB. Good to know that I should be worried about Q fever as well. What do you recommend testing for prior to purchasing an animal? How do you approach that with a potential seller?
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kadebg1988

128 Posts


Posted - Oct 20 2014 :  8:43:47 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
It is something to be worried about but not paranoid. I have spent tons of sleepless night waiting and waiting for test results to come back on my cattle only to find that they are all clean. When you approach a seller, you have no reason to feel ashamed or scared to ask for test results or to have the animal tested. A responsible breeder or seller should be more than willing to co operate with you in order to meet these requests and even if you do not end up buying the animal, it will allow the seller to be able to advertise their animal as clean OR worst case scenario, to cover it up and not tell the next person, Depending on the results of the test. But if we all are to keep our herd healthy and happy we must KNOW the appropriate questions to ask and to better inform sellers out there of the dangers in advertising un-tested cattle. Knowledge is power, but you can also lead a man to knowledge and not make him think. Hope this helps.
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maryjane

7072 Posts


Posted - Oct 20 2014 :  10:57:51 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
I test all of my cattle annually (starting at one year of age) for Q fever, Johne's, BVD, BLV, Brucellosis, TB (cows only), and trich (bulls only). My entire herd has always tested free of these diseases (page 318 of Milk Cow Kitchen for more details). Any animals that I buy or bring here must also test negative.

Cows that test positive for Q fever exist (and some are for sale). I've been told that some of them produce milk and possibly live on dairies but if the milk is pasteurized, they aren't culled because heat-treating the milk prevents humans from getting sick from Q fever. It would be interesting to ask the owner of the animal for sale why she hadn't been tested for Q fever.

MaryJane Butters, author of Milk Cow Kitchen ~ striving for the stoicism of a cow standing in the rain ~
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farmlife

1413 Posts


Posted - Oct 21 2014 :  04:52:37 AM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
I saw in your book that you are quite vigilant with the testing of your animals. (Thanks for setting such a good example for the rest of us.) However, I'm finding that there are not nearly as many people selling cows who do the same. I think that's part of the reason that I'm finding it hard to drive so far to find a cow. I'm worried about missing a health issue, or finding one after I've driven multiple hours one way, and/or getting there only to find the wildest cow ever. I know that you have access to incredible vet services at the university, but can any large animal vet test for all those diseases? Can you give me a ballpark figure of what it costs to do a full set of those tests?

I totally understand that there is no guarantee when you buy a cow, but I think I would feel a lot better if all those tests were done. I also wouldn't mind having them test for parasites. That way there would be as much assurance of a healthy animal as possible. Once I decide on a cow, the animal would still have to make the drive to my house, which is looking like it wouldn't be short. I know you recently did that with Samson, MaryJane. Can you give me some tips for making a cow as comfortable as possible for a long drive?

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maryjane

7072 Posts


Posted - Oct 21 2014 :  06:29:15 AM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Keeley,
Some of those tests are required before an animal can travel intra- or interstate anyway, so a seller should be willing to get those done for you and tack on a few extra that you require. All except the trich and TB come from one simple blood draw. Easy. I will look up my costs but it's well under $100. Most every vet is certified to get an animal ready to travel.

Every animal that travels also needs a brand inspection before departure and I'll give you resources for that also (later this morning). You'll find a brand inspector in your area for sure and usually they'll just show up and check to make sure the animal that is going to travel is the one you say it is. They check ear tags in my case and ask me a bunch of questions. You've probably seen their trucks (with logos) here and there but it didn't register because you haven't needed their services until now!!!!

BTW, when Janet met me in Billings to deliver my new cat, Jasper Tomkins, she took him to her local state-certified vet first and he gave Janet travel papers that were then given to me. These inspections are a good thing!!! It's one way in which heath officials stop the spread of nasty diseases. Sellers/buyers shouldn't think of it as an inconvenience, but rather a service to our animals.

Regarding travel, cattle travel amazingly well, healthy animals that is. I'll give you more details on that also, like how often I stop to offer water, etc. If you need to stop along the way to milk a cow, that isn't a problem either.

As an aside, if someone contacted me regarding a cow I had for sale and asked for all the tests described above, as well as background on my parasite control program and asked if I would send in a stool sample to check for parasites (the Neospora listed in the ad is a parasite that is spread from dogs), it would put a big smile on my face because I would think the animal is going to a good home.

MaryJane Butters, author of Milk Cow Kitchen ~ striving for the stoicism of a cow standing in the rain ~
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farmlife

1413 Posts


Posted - Oct 21 2014 :  1:09:42 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
MaryJane,
I think Montana requires proof of Bang's vaccine, TB test, vet check and certification, brand inspection, and bill of sale. In-state cattle purchases require nothing other than bill of sale and brand inspection. (I'm familiar with the brand inspection as we had that done for our beef calves.) Originally I started looking out-of-state because that would require a vet check and at least a TB test. So far I have not come across any sellers who are willing to do any further health checks or tests if they aren't required. In fact, a lot of people don't even respond once I start asking questions. I think they are questions that everyone should ask and I think I am friendly about asking them. On the other hand, if they have someone who will buy an animal with no questions asked I guess that works better for them.

That makes me think that maybe I should be looking to buy from a dairy operation, since the good ones are vigilant about testing for diseases and the health of their cows. Then you hear about those dairies that are horror stories as well. I also don't speak the language of a dairy farmer, which makes it complicated to buy a cow from one.

I think I should buy a cow from you, MaryJane, if it puts a smile on your face to ask for all of those tests, because most people seem to view me as a pain in the rear end. What is the protocol if the buyer pays for testing to be done, but the cow doesn't pass the tests and the buyer no longer wants to buy it?

Here's a really stupid question, but I really don't know the answer. If you are driving a cow that you have purchased across multiple state lines do you have to meet the requirements of each individual state that you go through? Also are there border checks that you have to stop at, or do you just go on your way and produce the paperwork if you are stopped and asked for it? Totally ignorant, sorry.


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maryjane

7072 Posts


Posted - Oct 21 2014 :  4:15:10 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
The day has slipped by me and I have an appt. in town coming up. I will try to get to your questions this evening. There's always tomorrow!

MaryJane Butters, author of Milk Cow Kitchen ~ striving for the stoicism of a cow standing in the rain ~
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maryjane

7072 Posts


Posted - Oct 21 2014 :  11:41:05 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Hi Keeley,

I thought I would go back to the top and try to answer some of your questions. It’s hard to tell the size of the cow in the ad or get a good look at her udder. Because the miniature Jersey people started measuring at the hook bone a while back, it’s hard to know what a measurement like 46” means. If she measures 46” at the hook bone, then she’s a bigger cow, around 49” or 50”, not a miniature.

Here’s the ad:
100% Grassfed Jersey family cow A2/A2 46" tall - $2200 (North)



Poppy is a petite double bred Landy heifer that is very, very mellow and shy without being flighty.

She is A2/A2 and has been tested for Johnnes, BVD, BLV, and Neospora (all negative). She's had 1 calf and is currently open to be bred back this fall. We do have a bull onsight if you would like her bred before she goes. She is not halter trained but could be very easily. She's a rockstar to milk and can be milked by hand or machine (all 4 quarters work great). She raised her own calf and sharemilked with us once a day.

Poppy was born on our farm and we keep a closed herd of grassfed dairy cows. She is the very last cow in the pecking order and is thinner than she should be because she doesn't fight for a spot at the hay ring. Poppy would do best on plentiful pasture with just another cow or two (or as the only cow). If kept grassfed she would also need high quality alfalfa hay.

Poppy is only 46" tall so could have paperwork submitted to the American Miniature Jersey Association. She has never been sick and has never recieved antibiotics. Excuse the muddy legs in the pictures, the cows had been down around the pond when we called them up.


The American Miniature Jersey Association is pretty much defunct at this point. Here’s a bit of information about measuring that might be helpful: https://www.heritagejersey.org/measuring.aspx

Here are the questions I would have asked:
1. Do you have her “double-bred Landy” history written down that I could see and a DOB on her? Was she AI? Was she dehorned?
2. May I see copies of the tests you list as negative and the genetic test results for the A2A2?
3. Has she been tested for Q fever and TB and did she get a Bang’s vaccine before she was 12 months of age? Paperwork please!
4. Has the bull onsite been tested annually for Trich and what’s the history on him?
5. How many months did you milk her and how much milk did she give you when you milked her once per day?
6. How long did her calf nurse?
7. When did you dry her up?

It hasn’t been my experience that the more times a cow goes into lactation, the more milk she produces. I see a slight decrease over time, actually.

Regarding travel, healthy cattle probably do better than people. I like to give my animals room enough to be able to lay down but not so much room they can get hurled (hurt) if I have to stop quickly. They should never be tied up. I don’t give them feed or water while moving but stop and offer water every 4 hours. For a lactating cow, I stop more often to offer water. I feed them once in the morning and once in the late afternoon. I hung one of those rope hay nets up once and Samson got his foot stuck in it, so now I just feed them when I stop at night in a container on the floor of the trailer. Same with water. Cattle won’t always drink when you offer it routinely. Not a big deal. I put down a dense layer of pine shavings that I don’t change unless they’re going to be in the trailer longer than two days. If you’re going to leave your animal(s) in the trailer and go into a restaurant (I travel with a camper so that I can stay right next to them), make sure you lock the trailer. I’ve heard of kids looking for excitement by opening the backs of trailers to let animals out--dangerous for the animals and fellow drivers. Also, I installed a small camera in my trailer with a screen in the cab so I can check on my animals as I drive.

If you’re traveling with a lactating cow and she’s used to being milked with a machine, they have some super simple, quiet generators now that I use when stopped. Mine is a Honda. I map out WalMart parking lots along my route and call the particular store beforehand to make sure it’s okay. They’re always very pleasant and say it’s fine as long as I don’t stay longer than one night. When you pull into the back of a WalMart parking lot, there’s a whole community of RVer’s there!

Regarding parasites, on page 281 in my book, I describe how simple it is to send in a stool sample for checking on parasites. You could send that info to a seller and they could collect a sample and send it in. Cost is around $17.50 plus shipping.

I would think that any large animal vet can check for the diseases we’re talking about. It’s what they do!!!!! As well as provide you with papers for traveling (vet certification). I’m pretty sure that when you travel through different states, your only concern is the departure state and arrival state. That’s how it’s worked for me. Kansas to Idaho, Colorado to Idaho, Idaho to Montana, etc. There aren’t border checks that I’ve been stopped at but that might happen during hunting season. If you’re traveling with a stock trailer, you might get stopped randomly. I never have.

If I were to pay for tests as a potential buyer, I would clarify in writing in an email that if any of the tests come back positive, the sale is canceled (I’d be willing to walk away from my test money). Early on, when I purchased a couple of animals, I was told I’d get the “paperwork” (see the results of the tests) when the animal arrived. You usually have 30 days to get to where you’re going before the vet health certificate expires. There’s no reason a person can’t scan those and send them to you before the animal gets on the road.

I scanned my TB, Brucellosis, etc. paperwork and I’ll post those tomorrow or the next day as well as come up with some phone numbers to call. I had trouble finding a standardized website, so I think the best place to start to know the regulations in your particular state is to call your vet or your particular state government office. Sounds like you already know how to order a brand inspection. Cost of tests for me were $24.20 for a health cert., $14.20 for Brucellosis, $5.70 for TB, $15.00 for trich, $6.70 Q fever, $4.20 Johne’s, $5.00 BVD, and $4.20 for BLV.

My goal in the next ten years is to start a trend amongst sellers to offer these tests/paperwork right out of the chute as standard protocol. I’m hopeful that if we all push in that direction, we can do it. I spoke with someone this past week who had called about a cow on Craigslist that had in fact tested positive for Q fever when asked point blank (unfortunately someone bought that cow that didn’t know to ask). If I were to bring an animal here with trich for example, I would have to cull my entire herd. Q fever means I would have to pasteurize my milk. Taking a chance and hoping for the best is just not worth it. It’s kind of like unprotected sex. Just say NO!

MaryJane Butters, author of Milk Cow Kitchen ~ striving for the stoicism of a cow standing in the rain ~
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Ron

4666 Posts
Ronnie
Peever SD
USA

Posted - Oct 22 2014 :  04:08:28 AM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
I guess it would not hurt of a guy/gal made up some type of PDFs form that had each desired test and date done that could be checked off and filed or used when searching for an animal to send to the seller or to the vet doing the health check.

With a moo moo here and a moo moo there, here a moo, there a moo, everywhere a moo moo.
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farmlife

1413 Posts


Posted - Oct 22 2014 :  04:41:40 AM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
That seems like an easy way to do it, Ron. Thank you so much for your detailed response, MaryJane. That gives me a much better idea of how the process should work. It did of course give me another question, however. Once I arrive home with my cow, do I need to have a brand inspection done in my state as well as from the state where I purchased the cow?

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farmlife

1413 Posts


Posted - Oct 22 2014 :  04:48:20 AM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
MaryJane, I love your reference to buying an untested cow being like having unprotected sex! That's perfect. Oh and it's good to know that milk production seems to decrease over time. A lot of people say things like "I got x number of gallons from her, which is pretty good for her first lactation." It sounds like I should be pretty good with whatever that number is since it probably won't increase.

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maryjane

7072 Posts


Posted - Oct 22 2014 :  05:55:57 AM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
If I've purchased a cow and had her shipped here, yes, a second inspection, but that's not the case if I'm traveling like I did with Samson. One inspection is enough. But your question makes me think I want to call again today to get squared away on that for sure.

I've been wanting to make a travel check list but I haven't had time to nail down state to state differences and get really clear on those.

I do have my own HEALTH RECORDS form in Excel that I keep on all my animals that I give to a seller (also handy for me) along with copies of the actual paperwork to back up what's on the records list. I have everything from hoof trims to vaccinations to births to parasites on that sheet(s). I also have their tag #s at the top. Comes in handy when you call the vet for any reason or have a vet visit. I always grab those first.

The other thing I ran into is that transportation requirements are different for dairy cattle over beef cattle. I had a state employee in Oregon give my vet the wrong info initially about what was required for me to sell an animal to someone in Oregon because she didn't pay attention to the difference, beef vs. dairy.

My goodness, this is feeling like another book:)

MaryJane Butters, author of Milk Cow Kitchen ~ striving for the stoicism of a cow standing in the rain ~
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kadebg1988

128 Posts


Posted - Oct 22 2014 :  08:37:56 AM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Ok as I was looking over this conversation I saw that something does need to be mentioned. All the negative tests in the world are not going to do you any good, if you have the animal transported and the transporter decides to stop off at his residence and keep your cow their for 30 days or so, until he gets another trip lined out. This is a world where honesty and integrity are falling very fast to the wayside, and just because your animal tested clean, does not mean that the other hundreds of animals who have passed through this transporters property were also negative for all disease. Especially if he owns his own animals, just like here in Oregon you ARE NOT required to have your cattle bangs vaccinated if they stay on your farm or travel within the same state. So I did not see this mentioned and it needs to be said that whatever you buy, clean test and all, NEEDS to be QUARANTINED for at least 30 days from the time they arrive at your farm. This allows ample time for most underlying disease to be seen or at least re-test the animal to see if something that showed negative before may have reared it's ugly head. I have a quarantine pen set up on a different property where we take animals in question and place them their until we have all the test cleared again. After the animal has left the secured area and is brought into the herd, We take our propane field burner go over the entire area where the cow was and then after it has been thoroughly burned I sprinkle a fine coating of Lye on the ground, this is my step in preventive measures. New sheep also go through the same process. Most diseases in livestock are multi-host friendly so they generally can be spread from cow to goat to sheep. Some cattle I don't even bother doing this too because I trust the seller for health in their herd as well as I trust my own prevention program, but not everyone is so conscientious. Things will happen and eventually we are all faced with one tragic event or another, Yes I agree we should all focus on preventative measures, but we all need to have a plan of action as well for WHEN it does happen. Your local veterinarian is going to either become your best friend or your worst enemy, so sometimes it's much easier to deal with your states veterinarian as they see more cases of disease come through their door than most other vets and they work very diligently to contact other state veterinarians and see what cases are turning up around you and I that we need to be aware of.
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farmlife

1413 Posts


Posted - Oct 22 2014 :  7:02:52 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
You make the case for doing your own transporting, Kade. Good point.
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