Pet cows are actually a thing . Not many people think of having a cow as a favourite , but it ’s fairly easy — and enjoyable .
I bed myHighlandsteer . His name is Frazer , named for Scottish - Canadian explorer , Simon Frazer . He ’s an ox - in - training and my safe bovine pal . Will we one twenty-four hour period eat him ? No path !
While farm phratry traditionally equate Bos taurus with quicken hamburger , increase legions of rural dwellers view stock in a brand new igniter . House rabbits , Pygmy goats , stack - belly out pigs and now cattle : They ’re favourite , not supper .
“ What ’ll you do with him ? ” postulate visitors when I say he is n’t abattoir tie . Good interrogation . What does one do with a pet cow ? There are so many avenues to go after .
Bovine Careers
Consider driving . Frazer ’s job is learning to deplumate a go-cart . gulp Bos taurus are traditionally buck in bicycle-built-for-two , linked to one another and to the implement they ’re haul by means of a hardy wooden neck opening yoke . But an wild ox ( a mature draft steer ) can tire a limited sawhorse harness or a sleek single yoke . And a moo-cow can take out a cart or wagon too . The reward ? Trained cattle are less reactive than many horses ; it ’s generally good to loop the reins , hunker back and relish their leisurely step . elusive bovid hooves rarely demand expensive shoeing , and an ox - draw conveyance really turns heads .
Have you ever thought of mount pet cow ? While the unchallenged world-beater of saddle cattle is the Texas Longhorn steer , any reasonable , sizable , sturdily built cow or tip can be prepare to sit . According to the International Texas Longhorn Association ( ITLA ) , there are 400 - plus saddle - discipline Longhorn steers in the United States . Saddle and pull steer event nurse at ITLA interior and regional shows include an intricate trail event in which steers slop through water , weave through power pylon , ill-use over an assortment of obstacle and retain their composure while riders voyage a logic gate , put on a crinkly slicker and unlatch and close a rural mailbox . telling ? Yes !
A petite Jersey , a Dexter , or a gentle miniature dairy farm cow can provide your family with better dairy farm product than money can buy , and unlike a pliant milk jugful , Bossy makes a expectant dearie , too .
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The lenient , woolly undercoat curried from molting Galloway and Highland kine is a fiber creative person ’s delight . Spin it and cockle the ultimate cushy , strong mittens . A 2,000 - punt wild ox yields a flock of premium hair .
A best-loved cow can be unnaturally inseminated , so you need n’t ever own ( or inflict ) a copper . Her calf will be readily salable as pet or breeding origin if her bloodlines are good . Help preserve an former breed or shew a new one — and know the joys of raising cattle without send calf to slaughter .
best-loved cows can mow your yard . Some , such as Scottish Highland cows ( one of which is pictured below ) , also browse — they’ll brushing Ellen Price Wood fate and grub tree diagram bourgeon for you too . Shutterstock
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Training Pet Cows
Cattle are levelheaded creatures and they promptly execute for solid food . Traditional wages - based education regimen do work well with bovine but clicker preparation , the method used to instruct marine brute at attraction such as Sea World , is their forte . Methods designed for clicker training dogs , knight and llamas are easily qualify for cattle . you may even instruct your bovine to do deception !
Bovine Byproducts
Call it cowpie , cow pat , cow collapse or plain old cow manure , bovines make a load of plant food . Fresh cow floating-point operation is 5 pct nitrogen , .2 percent phosphoric battery-acid , and 5 pct potassium hydroxide by system of weights ; dried manure has even higher percentages . And it ’s enounce to be mildly antiseptic . Old - timers soaked jock ’s metrical foot in fresh cow pie , smeared it on their head to subdue phalacrosis and cake it on injury as a drafting poultice . In India , where cows are hallowed , dried moo-cow dab leave cooking fuel and are smoldered to repel mosquitoes .
Finding a Mentor
Tame bovines make charming and unusual deary , but they ’re not for everyone . Before buying a cow , calfskin or channelize , observe a wise man to advise you . County extension agents , veterinarian , experience wild ox herder , veteran dairymen and bitch kine stock breeder are excellent choices . Investigate multiply via on-line hunting engines . Cattle - oriented posting lists put unexampled owners in daily touch with helpful cattle keepers from around the globe .
The intermediate pet cow or wind can survive 18 years , some live 25 geezerhood or more . Adding a bovine brute to your family is a huge dedication . Be sure you really want a cow or hint before you buy one . Here are the barren staple to look at .
Pet Cows 101
caparison for a cow or tip can be as fancy as a box seat kiosk in your horse cavalry barn or a round-eyed field shelter . You ’ll probably demand a secure , enclosed area in which to train your animal , either indoors or fenced tall and stout , so it ca n’t leap out . New owners often get into cows ca n’t startle , but frightened or irked cattle can vault a received pipework gate with relief .
workings enclosures should be solidly build of planks , poles or brawny wire oxen panels at least five- or six - foot magniloquent . Equine round - pen panels work well . If your fauna is a miniature , a wee youngster or already tame when you get him , stock fencing will do . There is a lot to be said for begin with a trained pet bovine or a calf . Pete / Flickr
Pastures should be perimeter fenced using stout , permanent fence Post stand cattle gore , tightly stretched wire mesh , five or more chain of burred wire , or four to six strand of high tensile galvanising fence . politic wire wo n’t make for unless it ’s electrify ; oxen will contract in good order through . foil fence need n’t be as elaborated unless you ’re fencing cows away from something they must n’t eat . cows can pasture with other metal money ; each will dine on industrial plant the other leaves . The exception : some horse harry cattle . If your sawbuck and pet cow ca n’t get along , freestanding ley are credibly a must .
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Bos taurus require a lot of imbibing water . An grownup moo-cow will down around 30 gallons a day , more if it ’s hot or she ’s wet . She wo n’t drink as much as she needs from a soiled or scummy piddle source and in all probability wo n’t offend meth in a waterer that ’s frozen over . clear water served lukewarm when the atomic number 80 plummets and cool when it zoom will promote her to imbibe all she needs . kine appreciate pool entree in the summer . They ’ll wile away sultry day up to their chins in nerveless piss and drink from the pond as well .
A 2,200 punt Minnesota - based equitation tip , a Hoosier granger ’s miniature Zebu pasture decoration and a Georgia family ’s milk Jersey all require radically different diets , vaccinations and deworming schedules .
While Good Book and online resource can write out the staple of cattlekeeping , always discuss crucial compass point with your county agrarian university extension agent and a oxen - savvy local veterinarian before bringing Bossy home .
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Pet Cow Care
Cattle are ruminants . Their four - compartment stomach allow them to deplete their intellectual nourishment then hunker down , bring it back up as a chew and rechew it at leisure time . Unless you ( or a sura ) milk your cow , it ’ll probably do best on a predominately hay and pasture dieting . No matter which local forage you pick out for your cow or steer , it should be high quality , debris - free , and fed from a hayrack or a neat , juiceless bit on the ground . Bos taurus and mouldy feed magical spell disaster ; never feed musty hay or musty , sour cereal to your cow or confidential information . Shutterstock
Cattle attractflies . The worst are horn and face up fly , but deer fly front , sawhorse fly , gnats and black rainfly are attracted to cattle too . Droves of biting flies cause cattle to scratch , race and fret , so control is a must . Insecticide - laced ear tag , oral larvicide , pour - ons , sprayer and dust bags or back scrubber are all executable options ; but because galling cornet flies develop electric resistance to the chemical substance used in these control , it ’s important to spread out organophosphate and pyrethroid product every few years . Face flies spread pinkeye , a extremely communicable bacterial infection that can go to sightlessness unless aggressively treated . Fortunately , most horn fly control ware also push back face flies and other bloodsucking pests .
Well - nourished pet cowskept in ironical , tidy surroundings do n’t require a lot of coat charge but you ’ll need a cattle comb to dress your shedding animate being and chase cake - on mud and guck when it accumulates . Most kine treasure being hosed with coolheaded water on hot , steamy summertime day . bear to hand pick burrs , flyspeck sticks and other junk from long - coat stock and from foretop and shadow swish .
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hoof need trim every few months . engage a professional person who will load your animate being in a nomadic slideway and use baron instrument to shape his hooves , or teach your ducky to pick up his feet and do the job with wide-eyed hand tools yourself . bring down Purdue University ’s “ Trimming Hooves ” Thomas Nelson Page online to see how it ’s properly done .
Continually sloppy foothold in barns , moo-cow portion or pastures conduct to foot rot , a nasty bacterial malady that thrives in mucky manure and invades via scratched or abraded foundation . Untreated foot rot can make lasting handicap , and is passing awful to the animal . Keep your cow or steer out of mud . Shutterstock
All cattle are substantial , and unhandled ace are responsive . It claim a certain amount of strength and agility to tame and train a bovine . Horned cows can be especially grievous ; beginners should n’t bribe a idle , snorty cow or steer with horn . Older Bos taurus can be dehorned but it ’s a grisly , agonizing process . Choose a calf or a tame adult fellow member of horn breeds , or opt for a dehorned or naturally polled cow or lead .
Buy a Better Bovine
Many first - time buyers pick out a calf , and this is a logical choice . However , because calves are more susceptible to sure diseases and stress than older cows , buying a baby is a process fraught with danger . talk about calf - erect issues with your county extension agent or vet before buying a bantam baby — you must be fully disposed and in the know before you do .
Any calfskin should be purchased from a reliable origin . “ Do n’t buy a sura from a sale barn , ” tell dairy James Leonard Farmer Lori Armstrong of Thayer , Mo. “ Cattle at a sale might look perfectly healthy but you’re able to bring home a lot of disease that elbow room . For a pet I ’d bribe a bucket calfskin ( bottleful baby ) from a dairy farm farm ; it will look to you as mama . It ’s not long before a calf is big enough to start dragging you around , but a pail calf is smaller so it ’s loose to train . I ’d recommend a Jersey . Jerseys are of course social ; they make really good family Bos taurus . ”
Another option : Buy a trail or part train weanling calf or older heifer , cow or guide from a reputable beef stock breeder . Nick and Anneke Self of Bent Creek Farm near Greenville , Tenn. , breed our son Frazer . A hoarse 10 - month - erstwhile calf when he joined us , Frazer was already gentled and he led and stood tied like a professional . “ We take our kine to exhibitions , ” explains Anneke , “ so we work with our calf , we instruct them basic thing , the form of things Frazer knows . Quite a few Highland breeders do that . It would n’t be hard to find out a handled Highland , even an adult , if [ you ] check around . ”
Before choose a breed , conceive what you plan to do with your dearie . Ornamental constituent lawnmower ? Any breed that intrigues you will do .
But if you have your pith set on a riding wind , a Longhorn or Highland work more sense than a Jersey or Zebu . An Angus kin Milk River cow ? Get a Guernsey or else ! Any steer realise a fine ox , but for massive force power try a Chianina . And for compact prettiness , opt for a Dexter or a miniature Longhorn . If you require to deliver the goods medal , take a breed that ’s popular in your locus .
Availability of favored cows may be an issue . Most miniature stock and some heritage and imported breeds are in demand , as well as breed list on the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy ’s endangered list .
Evaluate your climate and facilities . While they ’ll adapt , Highlands in Florida and Brahmans in northerly Minnesota are definitely out of their factor . minuscule land area ? Think Dexters , Jerseys , Guernseys and miniatures when space is at a premium .
Which sex ? cattle and wind make fine favorite ; for the casual cattle steward , Bull do not . Working cattle are traditionally castrated male , but cattle can pull carts and pack riders too .
in conclusion , do you recognize cattle ailments , affliction and shape anomaly when you see them ? Do you get it on what to inquire about vaccinations , multiply caudex bloodlines , and other nuances of oxen sell ? If not , involve someone who does to help evaluate potential purchases . Do n’t choose unwisely because you ’re unaware .
So go in the lead , have pet cows — or a heifer , steer , ox or calfskin — and enjoy the ultimate hobby - farm pet .
