I'm at a local petting zoo with my family and noticed that the hooves of the cow they have here look in rough shape. I don't know much about cows so I wanted to ask someone who knows more before I report anything. Is this normal or is this just hoof care neglect?

Hi!

I recently bought a cow hide rug and I was lucky enough for it to have been branded and i wanted to identify who this cow may have belonged to or to learn more about it.

If anyone could help that would be really cool. I like that i have the opportunity to trace it back.

Apologies if this is off topic I am not super well versed in this stuff

Thank you in advance

When you sell a cow, how much of what you know about them actually goes with him/her?

I’ve been thinking about this after selling a young bull we raised. I’d promised myself I’d find him a good home, and when I advertised him I found myself putting his whole story out there — where he came from, what had been done with him, what he was like, the history I thought the next owner should know.

I’ve done a version of the same thing with a couple of Braford heifers — after they sold, I sent their records along to the new owner.

Obviously with registered cattle there’s pedigree, registration info, performance data, health records, etc. But what about everything else you know from actually having the animal — temperament, mothering ability, quirks, previous calves, old photos, past issues, things you just remember?

Do you have a system for passing that knowledge along when cattle change hands? Or does most of it stay with the seller?

Hey everyone hope you're well. I have a question in relation to something I observed in our cows that were serviced.

We have one cow that was serviced and 6 weeks on I noticed a thick cloudy-ish/translucent string from her, it did appear mucus like but yet didn't have the same consistency as the ones they put out when in heat which is more free flowing. At week 9 I observed the exact same thing again only this time three others on the same night in the herd who were serviced also had it, one of them also being 9 weeks and the others being 7 weeks serviced.

The string has no odour and their vulvas are pink with no sign of redness, none of our bull calves have shown any interest in them whereas they have in the others who haven't been serviced.

I know scanning would be ideal but unfortunately the guy we normally use is going through a family bereavement and our local vet is currently on holidays and none of his other staff are trained up in it.

I'm just partially paranoid as my brother who has his own farm who opted to synchronise his cows heats (We stick to natural detection ourselves) scanned his a few weeks back and found out half of his herd was empty.

I did ask Google and chat bots but one says it's a common and even positive signs of successful pregnancy while the other says it's probably endomertitis

Any feedback is appreciated

Anyone have experience with RioMax or Crystal Lyx Tubs? I'm thinking of changing to tubs from loose mineral, or adding tubs to the regiment.

Currently I'm using Redmond Mineral Mix w/Garlic, probiotic powder, and a multivitamin blend.

I was thinking of adding tubs to increase protein and mitigate Flys during the summer, in addition to extra mineral.

I want to start Creep Feeding, does anyone have a high protein recommendation for calves? I currently use calf manna and a grass screening pellet that's about 15% proteins.

I have a 2 year old heifer that I cannot get to stop nursing. I have tried almost everything I can think of. She was weaned at 6 months, kept with only weanlings for 6 more months. Turned her out with the herd to get bred, she immediately starts nursing any cow that will stand long enough. I put her back in with weanlings for 4 more months, same situation as soon as she’s out with the herd. I put a plastic nose ring in, she just pulls them out. I have a metal one but I have not pierced her nose, yet. Logistically, I cannot keep her with weanlings her whole life, so I have to do something. Anyone have any other tips or tricks?

I have been debating on putting her in a pen system with one or two of the herd matriarchs, who will not take her BS. Thinking maybe if she gets a good hard correction from one of them, she would learn but I am open to other ideas.

**Yes, I know she needs to go to the sale barn. I am desperately trying to keep her genetics in my herd. She is the only heifer her dam ever had, taking her to the sale barn would completely end that bloodline. At this point, that is not an option. If she would have been from any other genetics, she would have been gone a year ago!

I had a heifer beef bucket calf that we discovered was basically allergic to milk replacers at about 3-4 months old. We finished her out to 5 months old on raw cow milk from a nearby dairy. But, she lost quite a bit of muscle mass in that whole ordeal and I’d LOVE to try and feed to help her regain some of what she lost. She’s already getting daily walks of a mile or so, and the normal rinse/ body work routine as well.

Feed wise she’s currently munching on a homemade mix we did with a nutritionist of cracked corn, oats, alfalfa pellets, beet pulp, a calf concentrate pellet, and a drizzle of molasses when we mix it. It comes out to about 18%CP, and 3-4% crude fat. She also gets a 75% alfalfa, 25% grass hay, and free choice minerals as well. I’m looking at maybe adding champion drive? And some ultra fill or natural fill to her feed pan.

She’s 6 months old and genetically she should be fairly well muscled but also very feminine. I have her dam and sire here. As well as several half siblings that are grown and look great. Target show is in January so I have plenty of time to get her up and going better here! She’s definitely never going to be clubby because that’s not what she’s bred for.

Curious what everyone does for flies out on a ranch? Couple hundred acres, couple hundred cows, but how do you keep flies off the cows?

Hi everyone,

​I am a dedicated farm worker with over 5 years of hands-on experience, and I’m currently looking to relocate to Europe (Austria, Lithuania, or other strong agricultural regions) for a long-term position on a cattle farm.

​Since this community knows everything about cattle, I’m hoping to get some advice or point in the right direction. Here is a quick summary of what I can bring to a farm:

​• Cattle Care: Strong experience in daily livestock management, feeding routines, and maintaining strict farm hygiene for cows.

• Machinery: I operate tractors (pulling trailers and ploughing) for field preparation and feeding.

• Loading/Handling: I hold official CACES certifications for operating telehandlers and loaders, which is very useful for moving feed and cleaning barns.

​I am physically fit, used to early mornings and hard work, and I have absolutely no problem relocating for the right long-term opportunity.

​If anyone knows of farms that are currently hiring, or agencies that specialize in placing workers on dairy/beef farms, I would really appreciate your advice. Feel free to send me a PM if you have any leads or would like to see my CV.

​Thank you!

Cow mata

Hi redditors!
I know this is probably not the right subreddit to post this in, but I really didn't know where else to.

My neighbour is a farmer, and he has a herd of cattle, all bulls. I think they're limousins, but I can't be sure I don't know my breeds. Anyway, his field is right next to our back garden - only a "wall" (his idea of a wall; really just wooden poles with netting and metal wires across them) divides them. So yeah I was upstairs in my house and I look out the window; I see seven ginger cows in my front garden. No, I don't have cows.

So I assume these are my neighbours cows, so I call his wife saying "Hi, yeah, I think your cows are in our garden." She says "we'll come get them for you now", so after around 15 minutes of waiting, the cows are gone.

Dad, who mainly works on the garden, was at work so me and my mum went to investigate the damage. Oh. My. \*bleeping\. days.*

I feel like I should start by saying they uprooted a tree.
An oak tree, maybe 7 feet high? Gone sideways. The farmer's son just put it back up in straight into the ground as it had never happened.
They demolished our cherry tree, chewed like 4 branches off of it, knocked half the apples off our trees in our growing orchard (they're only 6 feet high and skinny), left one of our apple trees leaning diagonal, dug up three of our vegetable beds, ate half a 6m long bed of potatoes, shat everywhere, and last but definitely not least, left more holes than poo EVERYWHERE.

We're not fully sure how long they were in there for as our dog only started barking when he saw them in our front garden, but they RANSACKED it.

And after all that, we didn't even get an apology.

And this isn't the first time something like this has happened to us with the same farmer.

Last year in spring, his lambs and sheep broke into our garden and ate all our cabbage. We weren't overly bothered, it's only cabbage, but we were a bit concerned at the fact the sheep were able to get into our garden. So we asked the farmer to make sure it didn't happen again as it might be dangerous; he said okay and he put mesh netting over the fence (the wooden poles and metal wire). We weren't entirely satisfied, it seemed like a half-arsed wall, but sure we thought it'd work. If that's what the actual farmer decides to do, maybe it's the right thing?

And apparently, that's how the cows got in. They "jumped" over the "*wall" (*the picture i have of the two poles) and actually did proper damage to our garden, which is where we get most of our food.

So. I was wondering what legal rights do I have, what can I do, or can I do anything? Or what can I do?

TL;DR: herd of cattle ransacked our garden, second time something like this happened, what can I do?

And if you see another post just like this, it was probably my dad lmao

GUYS. 2 days later...
the wife came to apologise (finally?) and brought a box of chocolates
they're neighbours too and i don't wanna make things awkward so dad said he'll have a chat next time he sees him and they'll work from there
thanks so much for all the help!!!

I sold one of our steers today. I had purchased a couple and had them for 16 months. Not really calculating how much meat it was or the amount of freezer it would take, I had initially planned to put them both in our freezer.

Today I sent one to another farm. The little guy was not happy with me. First he asked "is he gonna die?" (Knowing that we eat our livestock). I told him "not today".

We started back in the SXS and in a very serious voice said to me "DON'T SELL ANY MORE OF OUR COWS, THEY ARE OURS".

Poor kiddo. We always tell him they are friends til they are food. I have no problem raising at eating them. Guess I should have considered him a bit more?

the farm I work at bought a big herd off Charolais off some guy, does this one have Down syndrome? is that even thing cows can have? is there a different thing that would cause this look? I’m just curious

edit: she eats normally, unsure if her calves have also looked like this, walks fine and no other issues just weird face. Her legs are also pretty short and she’s smaller than the other heifers and cows

please ignore how dirty the barn is, shit and rain don’t mix well, the cattle were only in there for a few hours as we got them all moved to one pasture, our trailer couldn’t take them all at once.

After Trump announced importing 300,000 tons of beef in 90-days, I started this petition because artificially tanking beef prices by importing 300,000 tons of outside beef over 90-days doesn't fix the real problem of meat shortage — we need MORE American cattle production, not less. This move punishes farmers right when they're trying to invest and recover. It's not fair trade. It's undercutting our own producers.

American cattle producers are already struggling. Years of drought, rising input costs, lack of land, and historically low herds—now they're finally seeing market signals to rebuild. Then the government wants to flood the market with 300,000 metric tons of cheap foreign beef over 90 days to lower prices. Thanks a lot bro.

Florida's livestock markets, the National Cattlemen's Association, and cattlemen across the country are standing against this. If this matters to you—if you think American farmers deserve a fair shot—consider signing and sharing this. Has anyone else been paying attention to this?

I hope this ok here. We have this cow at work called debby, shes always looked this way since birth and is very different from the other cows. No other cow looks like her, not even the bull. My current theory is she has down syndrome or something

Shes the one on the left in the second photo, cow next to her for reference

I've heard that these guys are available in the US, but I can't seem to find anybody who actually breeds them!

Anyone got any breeders to suggest to me?