Dairy Cattle Needs
(This is an excerpt from my Raising Dairy Cattle Ebook)
When it comes to insuring your cattle is properly cared for, there are a few areas to consider: fencing, proper cover, water access and a stanchion.
Before you bring any cattle home, make sure that you have a safe area for them where they won’t be able to escape. Fences are a non negotiable - they have to be solid.
True story - before we lived on our farm, our neighbors had an incident where someone's bull got loose. Can you imagine over 1,000lbs of testosterone running wild down your street? The whole neighborhood rallied to wrangle that bull and they eventually corralled him, but imagine how stressful that was. Step one is to not be that neighbor. Make sure your fencing is secured, in good condition and that your cattle will have a safe pasture where their needs are met. The fence works both ways - helping to deter unwanted critters from coming in and helping to keep your animals on your property. Let's dive in.
Here are some fencing options to consider based on your pasture layout and preferences:
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You can go with wooden posts and boards to create a permanent fencing structure. This fencing option will be more of an investment up front, but will provide solid pasture separation and a thicker barrier for cattle to go through. You will be able to build it as sturdy as you'd like and if you want my two cents - use screw, not nails! The cows will literally hammer the nails out with their heads. Ask me how I know. If a bull is motivated (aka there's a cow in heat nearby) it will try its darndest to break down a fence and clear a pathway.
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If you want go the posts + electric fence line in between method, you will need to gather more electric fencing line so that you can string multiple bands to the same poll. I suggest running at minimum a lower, mid and upper electric band to keep cows in. You can go as high as 6 lines all the way around for more peace of mind.
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If a permanent structure isn’t what you’re looking for, you can utilize electric fencing as a mobile option, too! This option is going to take some planning on your end with where you’re placing your grounding rod and main electric fencing power source up at. Once you have those details squared away, you can plan out paddocks around the electrical source and roll out electric line and secure it using plastic posting rods.
When it comes to having a structure for your cow: if you’re just starting out with a blank plot - or modifying your current layout - brainstorm your farm's future and create a layout that will benefit multiple animals and also allow for large equipment to navigate necessary space (like a barn stall that needs to be deep cleaned).
If you’re showing up to existing land and structures, you can consider ways to make it more practical and functional to fit the needs of your herd.
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A large barn isn’t excatly a necessity, but it is very helpful for many reasons. My husband, Jason, built our barn to be the main hub for us to care for all of the animals in one place and be able to easily switch cows between pastures. Our barn has 2 large stalls, a chicken coop, a maternity area with our milking stanchion, a brooder box for our small poultry and plenty of room to store our feed. It's our farm’s one stop shop for all things animal care/needs.
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If a large barn isn’t an option at the moment, consider creating a lean-to area. This is a 3 walled structure with an angled roof. A lean-to will provide a covered area for cows as well as an area for your to create a mini milking parlor in. You can make it as large or as small as you'd like and you can even get creative with whay you build it out of. I've seen them done with pallets before!
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All cattle really need (baring extreme weather conditions) are large leafy trees or a covered area of some sort to hang out under for shade or protection from the weather as the bare minimum in a pasture. If you’re rotational grazing (pg. 16), make sure that the paddock you have your cattle in has shade/a covering, especially during the warm seasons.
When planning to keep cows - a super important consideration is water. Where are you placing it? If you’re rotational grazing - how are you going to get water to each grazing spot for your cows as they move? Etc. Having a solid water program will save you both time and energy.
When we moved to the farm, we didn't have a plan for water. We placed cows in fields with water tanks and had no way of filling them automatically. For months, we filled 5 gallon buckets and drove them to each water container filling them up multiple times per day. We thought we were saving money on pipes/water lines, but the reality was that we were wasting our time that could have been spent more efficiently elsewhere and it was actually costing us more money in the long run.
Once we noticed this pattern, we fixed the issue and had lines going to each watering area. This was a great win - but we quickly noticed that the time we spent standing there filling the water up with a hose was still a waste of time. We then purchased automatic float valves for each watering tub and now, we will never go back to our old ways. An automatic water source frees up our time and energy so much that we are able to focus on different parts of the farm that we couldn't before. We've actually upgraded our chickens and dogs to the same automated watering system in their bowls and it keeps us from having to keep up filling everyones bucket.
If you are going to be rotational grazing, I suggest digging a water line down the center of your pastures and set a spigot roughly every 200 feet. This will allow you to move water easily no matter where your cattle are in their rotation.
And lastly, having a plan for a place to milk your cow is going to save your sanity for when it’s time to milk. There are a few options that you can consider here:
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This is as simple as it sounds - all you'll need is a sturdy fence post (or tree) and a lead rope to tie mama up with via her halter. Grab your milking equiptment and a stool (if you don't want to squat for 20 minutes.). This set up is the cheapest of all the options and can be done in the pastures as well. Bonus points if you have a covering over your head for when it rains - we didn't have one when we began out milking journey. Although this looks dreamy,bear in mind, if your cow isn't trained to stand still while you milk, this option will get interesting.
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Depending on your cow's size, you may benefit from having a platform for your cow to walk up onto so that you're milking at a better angle for your spine. Being mindful of microtraumas that happen to your body during farming is important for long term success. It can be constructed out of wood. If your cow is larger and doesn't need a platform, you can leave the platfrom portion out.
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This version is similar to the previous one, except it is built to withstand a lot of force which makes it perfect for procedures that need to be done on your cattle. Using 6x6 posts and a steel welded head gate, you can create a sturdy dual purpose structure to both milk and care for your herd in a safe environment for both the people and cows involved.
Planning out where you're going to place your water tanks and a diagram of where water lines need to be dug is going to save you so much time and energy.
When we moved to the farm, we didn't have a plan for water. We placed cows in fields with water tanks and had no way of filling them automatically. For months, we filled 5 gallon buckets and drove them to each water container filling them up multiple times per day. We thought we were saving money on pipes/water lines, but the reality was that we were wasting our time that could have been spent more efficiently elsewhere and it was actually costing us more money in the long run.
Once we noticed this pattern, we fixed the issue and had lines going to each watering area. This was a great win - but we quickly noticed that the time we spent standing there filling the water up with a hose was still a waste of time. We then purchased automatic float valves for each watering tub and now, we will never go back to our old ways. An automatic water source frees up our time and energy so much that we are able to focus on different parts of the farm that we couldn't before. We've actually upgraded our chickens and dogs to the same automated watering system in their bowls and it keeps us from having to keep up filling everyones bucket.
If you are going to be rotational grazing, dig a water line down the center of your pastures and set a spigot roughly every 200 feet. This will allow you to move water easily no matter where your cattle are in their rotation.