What to do?

[Wags]

Decisions, decisions.....

On 6/25 of this year I purchased two registered yearling Dexter heifers. So far I haven't had much luck gentling them, although they both took a little sweet feed out of my hand this morning.

Just saw an ad on craigslist for a 2 yr old unregistered Dexter who is halter broke and has been hand milked. She weaned her first calf last week and is bred back to 36 inch mini hereford. Don't know if she could still be milked at this point although it has only been a few days since the calf weaned.

I really want a cow in milk.... after all cutting our dairy bill was the whole purpose of getting them in the first place. I would not make the purchase if I can't milk her right now.

The pros:
- cow in milk
- already bred, although it is a beef breed

The Cons:
- Pasture fencing is not complete yet, she would have to get along with my current heifers in a small corral, or be staked out for a week or two.
- Additional expense of purchase/feed

Questions:
- How do you introduce a new cow to an existing "herd"? (The two heifers are half sisters and were born just days apart and have never been separated.)

- Could having a friendly cow influence the heifers positively, or are they likely to make the friendly cow more wild?

- Why do I feel like I'm betraying my heifers by getting an experienced cow?

[Wags]

Well the cow was NOT as advertised - she was only slightly less wild than the two heifers I already have and the owner was beyond rude - told me there would be someone there to answer questions when I arrived - there was, but she sent him off to do chores in another part of the building as soon as he brought the cow out and told me, "buy her or don't I don't care, we don't have time to answer questions!"

Needless to say I turned around and left. Saw the bull she is bred to on my way out - cute little feller.

[Wags]

Thanks for the advice. I am always the Alpha (just ask hubby ) I try to maintain a confident and quiet demeanor around them and don't feel intimidated by them.

One seems more willing to make contact, but is frequently chased off by her sister. When we finish the pasture fencing tomorrow I am thinking of separating them and working with them individually.

[Honeycreek Dexters]

i'm having a prob gentling 2 myself 1 put a nasty cut on my wifes pet cow over the eye, she was 8 mos preg. nearly ran her in to exhaustion. i'm thinking about having them dehorned and then put them in with the herd.

[liz]

When I take a 'feild' cow and get her to become a milk cow I leave her in a box stall in the barn and first start by feeding them grain in an open head stanchion, slowly progress to closing it and then start with touching around the shoulder and slowly, after they become comfortable with me working around them and touching them move down the back and under the belly to the udder. Sometimes this only takes a couple of weeks, sometimes more but I have found that keeping them isolated from other cow company helps. L

[Wags]

Thanks for the advice - I don't have a barn just a three sided shelter, but I might be able to rig up some sort of box stall w/stanchion to work with them.

They were doing pretty good today - we were working on fencing near them and even with strangers walking by they just laid there chewing their cud. A week ago they would have bolted at most of the stuff they ignored today.

With a bit more hard work the pasture should be available to them sometime tomorrow morning and then I will be able to separate them. I can switch out who is in pasture and who is the corral. If I can then mange to get a lead rope hooked on a halter I will be able to try some of the other suggestions too.