New Calves and Hoof Trimming

Like I mentioned in yesterday's post, today I was going to experience hoof trimming cows. I've seen horses trimmed and shod several times. But cows...that's a whole other ball game. With horses, the farrier or blacksmith comes and trims the hooves and will put on horseshoes, usually while the horse is tied or someone is holding it. Cows go into a trimming chute. There are levers and pulleys and all sorts of things to keep the cow comfortable while the person trimming moves, bends and supports the feet and legs, securing them only long enough to trim the hoof. I was amazed at how calm the cows remained while they got their feet trimmed! The first cow we trimmed, Faith, was so docile I couldn't believe it. She never mooed or anything--just stood there and looked around.

"Faith", waiting patiently to get her bovine "pedicure".

You may be wandering, why we had to trim hooves. Depending how cows are managed, they can be kept in free-stall barns, out on pasture or a little of both. Around here, many cows are kept in free-stall barns, especially on the big dairies. What's a free-stall barn? A free-stall barn is a big open barn with a line of "stalls" for the cows to lounge in. There is usually a large aisle way for them to walk and a long area where they can eat. The cows can roam about freely through the day between milkings. Some barns have water-cushioned mats for the cows to lay on in their "stall". Typically there is some sort of mat with bedding on top. The bedding is usually a sandy type of material or sawdust. The farm I was at uses sawdust. The downside to sawdust, as far as feet are concerned, is that it doesn't wear on the cow's hooves like sand to keep them nice and trim. There are pros and cons to using sawdust or sand, but that is determined by the farmer's preference, cost, etc.

We trimmed two cows. I guess I should say Stan did...I mostly watched. However, on the second cow, Stan let me have a go at it. It was definitely harder than Stan made it look! Their hooves are hard. It took about two hours to trim two cows. It was all manual labor, no grinders for shaping, just strength and finesse to shape the hooves with the trimmer.

Now with nice trim feet, the cows move better, stand better and are all-around more comfortable. Cow comfort equals more milk production. A friend of ours is a dairy nutritionist. His mantra is, "cow comfort, cow comfort, cow comfort!" I think dairy cows have to be one of the most cared-for creatures in the agriculture industry. A good milking cow is worth her weight in gold. Just today I heard on the radio about a cow that now holds the record for milk produced. She gave a record 8,400 gallons in a year! To dairymen, milk is measured in pounds. Why? Not sure. But, convert that out...If a gallon weighs 8 pounds, that's 67,200 pounds of milk a year. Divide that by 365 days, that's 184.11 pounds of milk a day!!! The average amount produced by a cow is probably 60-80 pounds a day. Some cows will give more. In February, Stan said he had four cows that were hitting 100 pounds a day. But 184...? That's phenomenal!!!

On another note, I took some video of some of Stan's new calves. They were born a couple of days ago. The one with the green ear tag is a heifer and the one with the pink nose is a bull. I think the bull is cuter...If you turn up your volume and pause the playlist, you can hear me talking to the calves.