Cattle housing?

[Tman]

I agree with the get involved part. When I was just a kid an old timer down the road had more animals than could possibly be raised on a small parcel of land. The long and short of it was most of the land had been sold off, his wife was long gone and all he had was his animals and the ground they stood on. He loved his animals but had long since lost any sense of what was good for them our himself. I spent many mornings and evenings at his place feeding and watering everthing from mules to peacocks. When all was said and done he passed and the county came in and carted off all the animals to God knows where. At the time it broke my heart and I felt betrayed, now that I am older I wish he had someone there to take over for him.

Maybe she has the same problem ? Perhaps they don't get out because it is too hard for her to accomplish! A little help ????

I struggle with all of this but it does seem strange that after all we do for kindness to our animals we turn our head while they are whacked in the head with a hammer at the slaughter house and I sure don not mind a good steak ! I don't pretend to understand it all.

Sorry I always forget to log in when I come from the E-mail notification.

 

[eric]

Being chained at the head and one foot, bet that makes calving interesting!

I agree with the above post, this is probably a little old lady who doesn't know any better. Been doing it this way all her life, just as her daddy did it and his daddy too. Maybe some noncritical enlightenment is needed here, tactfully explain your concerns and try and feel her reaction. Is it defensive or just truly unknowledgeable? Maybe speak with a few of the neighbors, if something was going wrong, they would probably know of it.

 

[cherokeeruby]

One thing that hasn't been mentioned is that she gets the cows bred.

"She only keeps female cows and occasionally has them impregnated and then sells the calves."

So how does she get them impregnated, does a AI tech come by? Friend bring a bull by? Someone else is seeing these cows kept in these conditions. Maybe the Neice should first ask her Aunt how they get bred and then talk to the appropriate person and see what they know.

 

[dun]

I wonder if some of the people that are only familiar with the dairys in CA where the cows are kept in climaticly controlled buildings and never get(have) to go outside think it's cruel to make the cows go out and eat grass in the hot sun and cold rain.

dun

 

[Tman]

I wonder if some of the people that are only familiar with the dairys in CA where the cows are kept in climaticly controlled buildings and never get(have) to go outside think it's cruel to make the cows go out and eat grass in the hot sun and cold rain.

dun

Cherokee, I agree it does not all add up seems like we only have part of the story and Dun hit the nail on the head. It is all about perspective and our perspective is often shaded by the lens we see the world through. I would be interested to hear more about the breeding as well. Hope we have not run the orginal poster away ! Love to hear more.

 

[Anonymous]

When I first saw this post yesterday my first thought was "tie stall dairy". My second thought was this will stir things up on this board. It is still a relatively common way to handle dairy cattle in some regions. It is one of the systems where AI was perfected. Cows were easy to access and generally gentle. If the barn has a low ceiling, which is common in tie stall barns, it is difficult to use a bull for breeding. The dairy industry has been moving away from tie stalls but as in everything else there are always those who stay with the old ways. If the original poster is concern she should work with the old gal to see what changes could be made to improve conditions. Calling the humane society should be the last thing any of us want. I can just see what PETA would do with pictures of this.

Dave

 

[Arnold Ziffle]

Please excuse the off-topic comment, but I must say that I really get a kick out of your avatars Tman --- both the rocket powered dog and the earlier rendering of what I guess is an orangutan.

 

[PATB]

I think alot more info is need on this subject by a qualify individual to make an informed decision. The origingal poster said she was very unfamiliar with animals and there care. I have never seen a tie stall barn with a leg chain and wounder about that. The poster better talk with family members before she starts calling in the authorities which could lead family troubles.

 

[Tman]

Please excuse the off-topic comment, but I must say that I really get a kick out of your avatars Tman --- both the rocket powered dog and the earlier rendering of what I guess is an orangutan.

Thank you Arnold, I cannot take credit for them though. I found them both in the stock avatars here on this webpage and found them both entertaining. Credit goes to Admin.

:lol:

 

[Anonymous]

I wonder if some of the people that are only familiar with the dairys in CA where the cows are kept in climaticly controlled buildings and never get(have) to go outside think it's cruel to make the cows go out and eat grass in the hot sun and cold rain.

dun

duns right there are dairy cattle that are in a barn or covered pen on cement 24 hours aday..... :| :|

 

[txag]

I wonder if some of the people that are only familiar with the dairys in CA where the cows are kept in climaticly controlled buildings and never get(have) to go outside think it's cruel to make the cows go out and eat grass in the hot sun and cold rain.

dun

duns right there are dairy cattle that are in a barn or covered pen on cement 24 hours aday..... :| :|

& there are show steers kept in coolers just for the sake of growing hair!!

 

[Anonymous]

Thank you everyone for your replies!!!

I thought I should explain a little bit more about the situation so you could get a better idea. I am huge lover of animals but like I said I know nothing of cattle. Which is why I am concerned over this situation.

You definitely hit the nail over the head when you said this aunt of my husband's is just a little old lady who has been following after the family traditions of cattle raising. I am an American located in Austria. Which should tell you right there that most people here in Austria raise animals the "old fashioned way". Being American I am a bit more open minded you could say, and believe animals should be treated fairly despite their purpose whether it be a good piece of steak.

This aunt's farm is located out in the sticks and the next neighbour is a few miles away. I asked my husband why the cows do not get to go out to pasture. He thinks it is because the only person who looks after the cows is the aunt, therefore it would be complicated for her alone to round up the cows for milking, etc. The milk is used by her family and neighbours like one member guessed. The cows are impregnated by the vet who comes around and then the calves are sold for money.

All in all I would never call the authorities unless I saw evidence of the cows being thoroughly abused. I would rather talk to the aunt and make possible suggestions. I know her husband makes a good sum of money, she only keeps the cows for company and a bit of money on the side. They have A LOT of land and just built a huge new garage and shed. I have no idea why they didn't build a nice little fenced in pasture outside the barn for the cows instead. It would not be that hard to collect the cows if you had a little pasture attached to the barn, would it?

Call me crazy if you will.... but I am just not comfortable seeing any animal penned in a dark dirty barn for their whole lives. It just does not seem humane to me whether it be cow, chicken, or dog.

I am going to see if I can pursue this though. I'm going to make some suggestions the next time I go up there and see if I can turn this situation around.

Thanks again for the help!

 

[la4angus]

In my limited experience with milk cows, they tend to come up at milking time if they are given feed while being milked. It is very easy to train them to come in with a bucket of feed at any other time; ie; for breeding etc.

 

[txag]

maybe if you have the time you could offer to help build a fence & round them up?

 

[Anonymous]

That's a good idea txag. Or get her checkbook out. Ownership has it's privileges. Once Lisa buys the cattle, THEN she can decide how they should be handled.

 

[certherfbeef]

I grew up on a dairy farm. In the winter time Dad tied the 30 head of holsteins up in a tie stall barn. That is where they stayed until late april or even May until the grass in the pasture started to grow. Dad shipped grade A, so a milk inspector was in every couple months or so to make sure the old bank barn was up to par. We used almost 1 square bale of straw per animal every day. May be this lady is just waiting till the pasture takes off.

 

[dun]

Spoke to a friend of mine from Germany today about this very subject. He claims in most parts you rarly see any cattle unless the farmer opens the barn door. Then you see them all lined up in the barn. He's not a farmer or even cow oriented so was curious about it. The cattle industry is highly regulated in Germany and I would imagine it is also in Austria. I also think that this woman is probably raising her animals in the standard manner and possibly even regulated manner for her part of the world.
Just some thoughts

dun

I grew up on a dairy farm. In the winter time Dad tied the 30 head of holsteins up in a tie stall barn. That is where they stayed until late april or even May until the grass in the pasture started to grow. Dad shipped grade A, so a milk inspector was in every couple months or so to make sure the old bank barn was up to par. We used almost 1 square bale of straw per animal every day. May be this lady is just waiting till the pasture takes off.

 

[Oldtimer]

Spoke to a friend of mine from Germany today about this very subject. He claims in most parts you rarly see any cattle unless the farmer opens the barn door. Then you see them all lined up in the barn. He's not a farmer or even cow oriented so was curious about it. The cattle industry is highly regulated in Germany and I would imagine it is also in Austria. I also think that this woman is probably raising her animals in the standard manner and possibly even regulated manner for her part of the world.
Just some thoughts

dun

I grew up on a dairy farm. In the winter time Dad tied the 30 head of holsteins up in a tie stall barn. That is where they stayed until late april or even May until the grass in the pasture started to grow. Dad shipped grade A, so a milk inspector was in every couple months or so to make sure the old bank barn was up to par. We used almost 1 square bale of straw per animal every day. May be this lady is just waiting till the pasture takes off.

Dun - I think you just nailed it. I've had a couple of foreign exchange students from Europe (one was from Germany) that thought we were cruel because we didn't put the cows in a barn for the winter- they told about the cows over there and even those let out to pasture were barned at night- then barned all winter. Every area has different customs.