How to take care of a cow
A teach and do book
This book is made by:
Niketan Foundation
Antoinette Termoshuizen
The Netherlands
[email protected]
This educational material is meant for teachers in Bangladesh to support them in
giving information and instructing intellectually disabled or autistic people who
take care of cows.
This product has the Education4all quality mark.
Education4all gives her quality mark to educational products which meet her
quality demands, educational view and where there is a clear relationship
between content and exams.
All rights preserved. Nothing from this publication may be multiplied, stored in a
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Translated in Bangla by: Ruqsana Parvin
Cow facts
There are 700 different cow varieties in the world.
There are milking cows and cows held for meat.
A female cow is called a cow.
A male cow is called a bull.
A baby is called a calf.
A young female cow is called a heifer.
A cow can weight up to 500 kilos.
A bull can weight up to 1000 kilos.
A milking cow gives 3 to 5 litres of milk.
In Bangladesh you find mainly the Pabna (Brahman) breed. It
has a distinct large hump over the top of the shoulder and
neck, and a loose flap of skin hanging from the neck. It is also
known for its distinctive long, floppy ears.
Cow dung is used as manure and as fuel, and a substrate for
methane production.
Feeding the cow
Feeding your cows is the
first and most important
part of taking care of milk
cows. You have to feed
them to help them produce
milk. Without feed, no milk.
Take care that they have
constant access to clean
water; cows should never
go without water, especially
when they are being raised
for milk.
You should try to feed them
every day or as many times
as necessary per day.
What to feed the cow.
Feeds high in calcium, phosphorus, protein and energy, which
will both help produce high-quality milk and keep them in good
health. In the Winter give them 25# hay/cow/day, in Growth,
Breeding: 50#/cow/day + grain + minerals + protein
Hay
Grain
Rye or Barley
Corn
Grass
Look at the colour of the feed. Hay can look
"good" to the eye if it is green in colour.
However, sometimes the better quality hay is
the more brownish-coloured hay.
Smell the feed to see if it contains mold or is
dusty. A cow will turn her nose up at moldy
and dusty feed.
Look at the amount of stem material in the
hay. Quite often a good indication of hay that
is too high in fibre and too low in energy is
when there is too much stem material in it.
This shows that the hay has been cut too late
in the season and has decreased in nutritive
value.
A milk cow
A milk cow (or dairy cow) gets a calf each year.
A cow gives milk as soon as she had a calf.
The cow will give milk for 10 months.
A good farmer will take care that the cow will become pregnant
again no sooner than 3 months after delivery.
After 9 months pregnancy a new calf will be born.
Not all the milk is for the calf.
The milk will be used to sell on the market.
At the end of her pregnancy the cow gives less milk.
All her energy is necessary for the calf in her womb.
We call this a ‘dry cow’.
The farmer has to stop with milking.
How to milk a cow
Dairy (milk) cows do not like a full udder, they want to be
milked. A dairy cow needs to be milked twice a day, once every
12 hours, approximately.
Make sure the cow is tied with
a halter to a sturdy post or
pillar.
Clean the teats with soapy
water or iodine. Warm, soapy
water can help "bring down"
the milk. Dry them, but don't
rub or irritate the teats.
Place a bucket underneath
the udder. Better yet, hold it
between your legs. This takes
practice, but it can be done,
easily and comfortably. This
position lowers the chances of
the cow kicking over an
almost-filled pail of milk.
Sit or squat in a position that
will allow you to move away
quickly if the cow becomes
uncooperative. Sitting crosslegged on the ground, for
example, is not safe.
Apply Vaseline to your hands
to keep friction to a
minimum.
Wrap your hands around two
of the four teats. Choose
diagonal teats (front left and
rear right, for example). Or,
try the front teats first, then
the back pair.
Squeeze the base of the teat,
after gently clamping each
teat between your extended
thumb and first finger, so that
the teat fills your palm as you
squeeze down.
Squeeze down to push out
the milk, maintaining your
grip on the base of the teat so
that the milk doesn't flow
back up into the udder. Do
not jerk or yank the teats.
This motion is performed by
sequentially squeezing your
fingers from the middle to the
pinky to force the milk out.
Be gentle yet firm.
Repeat with your other hand.
Most people prefer to
alternate (right hand, left
hand, right hand, etc.) the
downward squeezing motions
because it takes less effort
doing it in alternate steps
than all at the same time.
Continue until the quarter
that you're milking looks
deflated. Experienced farmers
can feel the udder to know
exactly when all the milk has
come down. Often even
looking at the quarter just
milked can tell you if it's been
emptied enough or not.
Move on to milk the other two
teats. If you use the diagonal
method, switching sides is not
necessary.
Housing
A cow gives less milk when she feels too cold or too hot.
Therefor it is important that the housing climate is a stable
climate, with enough fresh air.
Every cow needs its own place, to lie down and to ruminate.
The floor of the cowshed should be easily cleaned.
Most of the time the floor is a little bit slant, so that urine and
water can easily flow away. This keeps the cowshed dry.
The cowshed has to be cleaned once or twice a day.
Getting a baby
When a cow is 15 months old, she is old enough to get a calf.
A cow is ‘in heat’ every three weeks, for one or two days.
You can see this because of the behaviour of the cow.
She may be acting restlessly and mooing a lot.
She will be wandering around in search of a mate.
She may travel four times as much as she does when she's not
in heat.
Sniffing or nudging may occur in the vulva region between her
and other cows.
The bull will be sniffing and nudging her vulva region, and
doing a Flehmen response (where he curls back his nose, raises
his head in the air as high as it can go). He will also rest his
chin on her rump to test if she'll stand for him or not.
Cows in heat can be dangerous, especially if they are alone and
have no other cows to interact with. You are obviously a part of
her herd, and when she's in heat, she will try to mount you.
When there is no bull, the cow can get an Artificial
Insemination. The bull-semen will be injected in the uterus of
the cow.
A calver (pregnant cow) cannot get in heat.
A cow is pregnant 9 months and 9 days.
When a cow has to deliver the calf, she will separate herself
from the other cows. She prefers to deliver her calf in a
cowshed.
The calf just before delivery.
When the calf is born, the
mother licks the calf
exuberantly. In this way
mother and child learn to
recognize each other’s
smell. The calf will be on
his feet very quickly and
will drink milk from his
mother.
The first milk is called colostrum. The colostrum is important to
protect the calf from diseases. A calf drinks his other’s milk 5 to
10 times a day. In total it drinks 5 litres.
Cow behaviour
When you have more cows, you can see that there is a
hierarchy. One cow will be the boss, another cow would like to
be the boss and there are cows who have nothing to say.
A cow licks herself approximately 152 times.
Approximately she scrubs herself 82 times a day.
In this way they take care of their pelt.
The mother cow licks her calf so they get to know each other.
A calf licks itself an hour a day.
Cows lick each other’s neck and head.
This is because they cannot reach those parts themselves.
The cow that licks stands lower in the hierarchy than the cow
that is licked. A cow likes it to be licked.
When cows like each other they lay, stand and ruminate next to
each other.
When a cow keeps her head down, she wants to show
friendship to another cow. Or it shows that she is submissive.
The tail of a cow can tell us how she feels.
When the tail is straight downwards, the
cow is happy.
When the tail is curved from the body, it
means she’s scared or she’s in heat.
When the tail is in between the legs, it
means: I’m ill, afraid or I feel cold.
When the tail is up, it means: I’m in for
some fun.
When she is weeping with her tail, she tries
to get rid of the flies.
Health care
Brushing
It is important to brush the cow.
Brushing increases the milk
production with 1 litre per cow per
day. It will stimulate the blood flow
of the skin and the hide will be
healthier and shiny. The cow will
suffer less from dust and itches. As
a result a happier, healthier and
more productive cow.
Vaccination
Keep up-to-date with vaccinations and deworming and lice
control programs. Ask a local animal vet for certain
vaccinations and deworming or delousing products that are best
for your cows.
An example:
At the beginning of the breeding season (May)
Calves 0 – 4 months: Covexin 8 (or other blackleg vaccine);
Virashield 5 respiratory vaccine; Deworm (Cydectin); Dehorn,
castrate, ear tags
Cows, Bulls 2 yrs +:Pyramid 10 vaccine; Covexin 8 (if under 2
yrs); Deworm (Cydectin), Fly Tags
Six months later (November)
Calves: Wean; Deworm (Cydectin); Pyramid 4 plus Presponce
vaccine (respiratory); Covexin 8 (Blackleg);
Cows: Pyramid 10 Vaccine; Covexin 8 (2 and under);
Pregnancy check, cull open cows
Deworm all cows at least three to four times yearly, more often
if needed due to density on pasture.
Illness
Check your cows regularly for any signs of illness or injury.
Dairy cattle can easily be affected by mastitis and lameness
issues. When your cow is ill, go to a vet.
Dealing with cows
Cows like structure and peace.
They do not like it when there is a lot of noise around them.
Running and yelling gives unrest / agitation.
So it is important to do your work with the cows peacefully.
When you have to bring the cow from one place to another
place, you can hold her with a rope bend around her nose.
When the cow is agitated you can bring her head up a little bit,
in this way the cow has less power.
Approach the cow from the side or backside, put your hand on
her spine and walk slowly to the front side, while you stroke
her. With one hand you can hold her horn, while you take the
rope in your other hand. Walk on her left side, just next to her
head. A cow kicks backwards and sidewards.
Make sure that you are the leader, the cow should not walk in
front of you. When the cow does not want to go with you, just
pull the rope or let someone give her a tap on the buttocks.
Never turn her tail.
This is very painful.
You can break her tailbones.