Can anyone shed light on these noisy cows.

[ShitPoetryClub]

For the last 28yrs I've lived next to a dairy farm but the last week has been extraordinary. The cows are just so noisy. All 80ish of them mooing their heads off from dawn to dusk but worse mid afternoon.
The noise doesn't bother me, just concerned what's up with them? Do you think it's the heat?

Glad the cows got sorted out and are happy with their herd again :)

Hopefully you get a good night's sleep as well

@Scrowy, I was the one making the point about sexed semen further up the thread. I’m not vegan.

@SupermanWithTheGreyHair

Farming is brutal, this is a consequence of humans wanting animal products. The cows will call for their young, the young want their mums. But humans wants come first. It’s dreadful.

But the cows wouldn’t exist unless we took their milk or farmed them for beef. There would be no cows and no calves. Perhaps that’s not a problem but I do sometimes wonder if people think they’d still be farmed if milk and beef stopped being consumed.

[quote DoorAjar]@Scrowy, I was the one making the point about sexed semen further up the thread. I’m not vegan.[/quote]
I don't think I've said anything about vegans have I?

No, you didn’t, @Scrowy, I’m just saying I consume dairy products and have some knowledge of dairy farms.

@Scrowy

Dairy calves aren’t suitable for beef production, generally.

That's also not that true any more. A lot of what people believe to be true of the dairy industry is now at least a decade out of date.

Dairy Cows are often artificially inseminated with 'sexed semen' vastly increasing the rate of heifer (female) calves being born and reducing the amount of bull calves.

Dairy Bull calves that are born do now have a healthy market in the beef industry, they are fattened and sold (not as veal) and the meat is increasingly sought after by supermarkets etc as its very lean.

Many dairy farmers are also crossing their dairy cows with beef breed bulls like limousin or Hereford and the resulting calves, male or female are sold into the beef industry.

Most dairy producers (e.g. Arla) make being in a Red Tractor scheme a condition of being one of their members, and often also stipulate that male calves can't be culled at birth. Not that anyone would these days anyway because male calves currently have a value.

A lot of what people think they know about dairy at the moment comes from the very dark days after BSE etc where British beef sales were on the floor.

I'll happily admit that some practices in the British dairy industry aren't ideal, but it's also not anywhere near as bad as some people like to make out and by and large dairy cows lead very pampered lives. They are the supermodels of the bovine world.

Must be well fun, having your milk artificially sucked out sat after day

Must be well fun, having your milk artificially sucked out sat after day

Artificially sucked out twice a day usually

And yes they do seem to like it, they are after all fed tasty high concentrate food while they milk. Often when they are finished they have cow brushes to rub against (they Really like those) and they get to go and lie down in cow mattresses and chew the cud until the next milking. Dairy farmers literally have competitions (judged, with prizes) about who can produce the best and most nutritious silage to feed their cows.

I'm not a dairy farmer (I'm a beef and sheep farmer), but I live near dairy farms and I see the cows queuing up at milking times and getting very shirty if the humans are running late. They like their routine.

Cows are wonderful, curious animals with very distinct personalities. When we are TB testing our approx 200 cattle I can give the vet the heads up which cows are going to go wild in the crush, which will behave beautifully and which is going to stubbornly stand there and refuse to move. I can tell you how many calves each cow has had, and who the cows mother was of where we got them from. Most of the time I know without looking what the last 3 or 4 numbers on her 12 digit eartag are.

I abhor animal cruelty. Hate it.

But I don't consider good animal husbandry, milking and butchery as cruelty. I can care for, and provide high welfare and a good life for my animals without anthropomorphising them. I can eat them and be happy that I know what I am eating was raised well and kindly.

God, I've been hearing a poor cow mooing for the last two or three days 😞

Please forgive my ignorance, but in the old days when they used to have a cow at home, what did they do to prolong lactation then? Thanks!

@fairytwinkletastic

God, I've been hearing a poor cow mooing for the last two or three days 😞

So have I. She's annoyed because she wants to be in the field wither mates rather than in the barn having her foot treated for an infection. Her calf is there with her but keeps hopping through the feed barriers to cause annoyance just like a toddler hiding in the clothes racks in the supermarket.

She's driving me nuts, but nothing horrible is happening to her.

@fairytwinkletastic

Please forgive my ignorance, but in the old days when they used to have a cow at home, what did they do to prolong lactation then? Thanks!

Exactly the same

@ShitPoetryClub

I've been over the farm and asked they have a farm shop so I just walked right in. Apoarantly farmer and his family have gone away on holiday for 2 weeks (first time for 10 years) and locum farmers are managing the herd. The woman in the shop said they are really struggling though and the herd has got mixed up, they don't know which cow belongs in which group and non of them seem happy. Guess they are just like us, wanting to go back with their own mates. Anyway good news is farmer has cut short his holiday and is coming home today. Apparently he knows which cow is friends with which.

That's a cute story Hopefully the farmer gets more of a rest later.

oat milk tastes better than cows milk anyway!
Oat milk is way superior

What is superior depends on the task.

Oat milk and dairy milk are two very different products when looking at their nutritional profile - they can't really be compared. Oat milk is fine for those who just want the taste, but it isn't really a suitable replacement for those who need the calories, protein, fats, and need a higher nutrient density that dairy can provide that oats lack.

It's a fine product, but oat milk can't fulfill as many dietary needs as dairy. Some may view it as a 'whim', but we don't really have a suitable sustainable replacement yet for all the things dairy and other animal products do nutritionally and medically. That's why good animal care is important, some people are reliant on it.

It's heartbreaking to hear. I cry just thinking about it.

This thread is sad. Poor cows

@Scrowy I love to see somebody correcting misinformation, times have definitely changed

I love to see somebody correcting misinformation, times have definitely changed

If you are vegan and have a baby and can’t breastfeed, what do you feed your baby on?

Its no different from puppies and kittens being sold on at 8 weeks old

There are dairy free formula milks available. I would talk to a doctor and nutritionist if bringing up a child vegan from birth though.

If it's a dairy farm and not a beef/suckler farm then the calves are removed from the cows shortly after birth- usually Spring time.
In this heat, I would be concerned there was an issue with their water supply.

@Scrowy - thanks for all the info you've provided, it's made for very interesting reading. Much appreciated.

"Oat milk and dairy milk are two very different products when looking at their nutritional profile - they can't really be compared. Oat milk is fine for those who just want the taste, but it isn't really a suitable replacement for those who need the calories, protein, fats, and need a higher nutrient density that dairy can provide that oats lack.

It's a fine product, but oat milk can't fulfill as many dietary needs as dairy. Some may view it as a 'whim', but we don't really have a suitable sustainable replacement yet for all the things dairy and other animal products do nutritionally and medically. That's why good animal care is important, some people are reliant on it."

This is very inaccurate, imagine thinking that we NEED another animals breast milk for nutrition. There is absolutely nothing cow milk provides nutritionally that can't be found elsewhere.