All in the Family

For quite a while we’ve been tossing around the idea of registering some of our cows.  Some breeders venture into the world of registered Holsteins by purchasing heifers or cows that are already registered.  We’ve talked about that, but for now, that’s not something we’re too interested in.  Instead, we hope to register some of our best.  We’ve always been a purebred Holstein dairy, and we already use registered bulls for our AI breeding program, so not much will change in our genetics except now there will be an official record.

We haven’t registered anything yet, but we did take the first step in the process by joining the Holstein Association and reserving our prefix.  Registered cattle all have names.  Their names each start with their breeders’ prefix.  We took the obvious route when naming our dairy (Heim Dairy Farm), so our choice of prefix may surprise you.  Each breeder must have a unique prefix, so we were relieved to find that Stellamaris was available – we already had our hearts set on it. 

A couple of heifers strolling along the shore of Lake Stellamaris this winter.

Those of you who know us personally likely know that David’s family owns a fishing lake (roughly 60 acres).  The lake was built by his grandpa and great uncle in 1960, and the property borders the farm we live on, which was then owned by his grandparents. The lake is commonly referred to as “Heim Lake”; however, the official name is Lake Stellamaris.  David’s great grandma (the builders’ mother) was named Stella, and we aren’t sure where the “maris” came from, but a quick Google search tells me that “Stella Maris” is an ancient title for the Virgin Mary.  Given the family’s Catholic faith, this is likely related. Regardless, the lake is important to our family and has traditionally been the site of family events (including our second wedding reception because we were married in Illinois). Stellamaris also happens to sound nice at the front of a cow’s name – when considering a prefix, it seemed like an obvious choice. 

In the last few weeks we’ve also taken a little bit of time to examine our herd records and identify specific cows we would like to register.  We were looking not only for a great cow, but a great cow with great daughters who could form our first cow family, and hopefully be a great foundation to continue to build our herd upon.  As we looked through our records, that family became clear.  In fact, a few members of this family have already graced this blog.

According to David, one of the best cows we have from the original herd is number 929.  Amazingly, 929 has also had 5 heifer calves, and we still have three of these daughters.  One, number 1108, had her first calf this spring and is one of our favorite 1st lactation cows.  She is a Geneva daughter, and her calf is a heifer by Boliver (number 1205).  You may have seen this pair in this post & video about a calve’s first few hours. We were excited to discover that 1147, who is breeding age now, is also a Geneva x 929, and we now have pretty high hopes for her.  And last fall, 929 had her fifth calf and fifth heifer: number 1194 by Abraham.

Cow number 1108 the morning she freshened, with her heifer calf, number 1205.

We haven’t figured out the exact registration process, but we’ve determined that we’d like this to be our first registered cow family.  As we work through this process, we’ll be sure to keep you updated on our progress and the official names of our animals.

What’s In A Name

One of the first questions I get from many people when they find out I have cows is: “do all the cows have names?” The short answer is “No. They have numbers.”

If you read this blog regularly, though, you know that some of them have names; we’ve even asked for your help in selecting some names. When I first visited the farm, only one cow had a name: Cupcake. She is a story for another day, though.

As I started helping with calves, several of them started picking up names. The timing is probably coincidental. One of the first was Sparky, number 1062. She was a really active calf, and it just came out one day as she was attempting to eat the hose I was using to give her group water. Another calf born about the same time was number 1068, Buttercup. When moving her to a pen she tried bucking and running. David said something like “whoa there Buttercup”, and it stuck, kind of. She went by Buttercup for several months, but now, as a milk cow, she’s just “1068″. Sparky, on the other hand is still just “Sparky”.

This is Sparky. You can’t read her ear tag, but we know who she is.

Many of the calves that got names were favorites, but that’s certainly not to say that a cow or calf without a name is not a favorite. Number 1099 is due to calve next week. When she was 2 days old she tried to take me (as in ran at me with the intention of trampling me). It was adorable, and she’s been one of my favorites ever since. She never got a name, though.

All of the Kuckelcows have names, and we’ve continued to give their daughters names. However, I call HD 100 (the first Kuckelcalf born here, named Zorba) “100″. We actually have two number 27s. One was born here, and one was purchased. They go by “27″ and “big 27″. “Big 27 is a purchased Kuckelcow, so she also has a name. It’s Unicorn, but I had to look that up. Although all 38 Kuckelcows came with names, I only know four or five off the top of my head, and we only regularly refer to three by their names.

This post really does have a point, and I’m finally getting to it. I think the people who ask me about the cows names think that a name gives the cows identity and personality. Really, though, what makes a name? Does it have to be a word? Can’t it be a number? When we refer to “1099″ an individual animal comes to mind the same way that a different animal comes to mind when we refer to “Sparky”. If we refer to “Buttercup” I think something like “that’s 1068 – right?”

I think the question people are really asking is: “Do you know your cows?” And to that, the answer is yes, absolutely yes. We know them, and we care about them a great deal.

Starting Fresh

Those familiar with beef herds are used to hearing about calving seasons, but many dairies, including ours, prefer to keep a consistent number of cows milking and try to calve year-round. A very hot end to summer 2011 meant not very many cows got bred, though, so this spring we actually went two months without a calf. Also, we do limit calving in the worst heat of July or August because calving in the heat is hard on both the cows and calves. It has been a little interesting watching our numbers swing as we continued to dry off cows without adding back equivalent numbers of fresh cows. At the moment, we’re milking fewer than 70 cows, but all that is about to change.

Monday morning number 476, Willow (a Kuckelcow), had a heifer calf out of the bull Shamrock. She was due to calve on September 8^th . Calving early is very common, and there is no cause for concern. It wouldn’t really even have been a surprise except there are 7 other cows or heifers actually due before September 8^th. In addition to those 8, there are 13 more animals due in September. In fact, the craziness doesn’t stop this month – we expect 17 calves in October and 13 calves in November – that’s 51 total fresh cows in three months. For a herd our size, that’s a bunch.

I explained dry-off a few weeks ago, but what happens when a cow or heifer has her calf (or “freshens”)? After the cow has cleaned off her calf, we take the calf to keep it safe and healthy. After the next milking shift, we milk the cow separately to collect it’s colostrum. Colostrum is thicker than milk and contains a lot of good stuff meant specifically for her calf. We feed the calf it’s mother’s colostrum for it’s first two feedings. Because the cows are treated before dry-off we milk them 6 times before testing their milk for antibiotics. If the test clears, we “turn them out” with the rest of the milk herd. If for some reason the milk tests positive for antibiotics, we would continue to dump her milk until the antibiotic cleared. I don’t recall this ever being an issue with a fresh cow, but we never return a cow to the herd without testing her.

Heifers are a little bit different. Our heifers, now 1^st lactation cows, are not treated prior to calving, so we only milk them 4 times before turning them out with the rest of the herd. We do this to make sure they’ve stopped giving colostrum and started giving milk and to help them adjust to milking. It’s a big change, and keeping them separate enables us to give extra attention to keeping them calm and comfortable as they adjust to their new daily routine.

As we ease into fall, we’re looking forward to fresh faces in the calf huts and fresh udders in the milk barn.

Willow’s new daughter, Alfalfa

A Bunch of Bull

In two weeks time we had 5 bull calves born and zero heifer calves. I don’t know why, but we always seem to have streaks related to calf gender. In fact, it’s a common assertion among dairy farmers that after a streak of one, you’re “due” for a streak of the other.

In this case, our 5 bull calves followed up a string of 6 heifers (w 3 bulls scattered in between). Regardless of the calf’s gender, a fresh cow is always a blessing, but the calf does impact our operation.

We try to raise our heifer calves as herd replacements, but bull calves don’t have much place at a dairy. What do we do with our bulls? Contrary to what some believe, dairy bull calves don’t all get sold for veal.

We prefer to sell them as soon as possible, usually within a week, after they’ve had their mother’s colustrum. They’re almost as cute as the heifers, but they cost money to feed, take up space, and don’t benefit the dairy operation. We do keep one every six months or so to raise and butcher for beef. Yes, we eat them. And the meat is very good.

There are many reasons people buy bull calves. Sometimes when a beef farmer loses a calf, they will try to give the mother a dairy bull in place of her calf. If it will take it, it’s good for the cow, and the farmer has a larger calf to sell with their others after weaning.

Other farmers will buy the calves to feed until they’re bigger and sell them as feeder beef. Dairy bulls aren’t as feed efficient as beef breeds, but they produce good lean meat and generally cost less to buy. Most beef farmers raise the calves to maturity before slaughter like we do.

The other major market for bull calves is 4H. Bucket calves are great projects for young kids to get into livestock showing. Dairy bull calves are a fairly inexpensive option for kids whose families don’t have cattle.

Previously, we would take the calves to a nearby auction on Saturday mornings. The price could vary a lot month to month, usually following expected trends. If someone inquired at the farm we would gladly sell the calf for a price comparable to what we would expect to get at an auction, but we didn’t advertise our calves for sale.

This winter, however, we reached an agreement with a beef farmer to trade our bull calves starting in June for fans that remained in the free stall barn on a dairy he had purchased for its acreage. We simply agreed on a price for both the fans and the calves, and we’re both getting a good deal that benefits our respective operations. His nephew will raise the bull calves and learn about caring for cattle while our cows stay cool with his fans.

We’re happy to be able to make good on our trade agreement, but we won’t be heartbroken if our bull streak gets broken soon! We’re due!

Meet the Kuckelcows

Late last summer Heim and Sons (the dairy’s name under the previous generation’s ownership) was low on cows.  We were only milking 68 and had 13 that needed to be dried off soon.  It wasn’t logical for the dairy to buy cows with the transition of ownership somewhat underway, so David and I were considering maybe buying a dozen or so bred heifers that would calve soon to keep numbers up and get a bigger start on our own herd.  David already had a few cows that he had raised from bred heifers he bought several years ago.  Right around that time, a somewhat rare and unique opportunity presented itself, and we ended up buying a full herd of 38 cows that I like to call: The Kuckelcows.

The milk inspector, who knew of our interest, informed David of a dairyman who lived a couple hours north of here who had “about 30″ cows and was ready to retire.  His name is Jody Kuckelman, and he was looking to sell his herd as a whole.  Thirty cows was more than we were looking to buy, but David talked to Jody and thought they sounded like good cows.  He had been AI-ing since he bought the cows in the early 1970s, and there were actually 38 including bred heifers and dry cows.

On Labor Day (2011) we drove two hours north to meet the Kuckelmans and look at their herd.  Jody ran each cow through the gate calling her by number so we could take a look at her.  He was particularly proud of their udders, and rightfully so.  His wife, Lois, told us each of the cows’ names and described its general temperament.  They also gave us a sheet with their latest production numbers and freshening/breeding dates.  Each cow had a barn name, and they explained how they named each of their heifers starting with a specific letter depending on the year she was born.  The oldest cows we have start with “T”, the youngest with “Y”.

Vandit (460), one of my favorite Kuckelcows.

We ended up agreeing on a price that day (somewhat unexpectedly) and hauled the cows home the following weekend.  One of the best things about the Kuckelmans is that they kept good records and shared them all with us.  They actually gave us their calf books going back to the 80s and DHIA records back to Dec 2008 along with milk barn supplies they no longer had a need for.  They told us which cows to watch for kicking and shared several stories about their years dairying.  It made us feel really good to know what great people had raised these cows.  Dairying is a business, but it’s also so much more than that.

As we looked toward the transition of ownership, we wanted to differentiate all of our calves based on herd origin.  The original herd was being numbered counting upward from numbers in the 1100s and denoted with an “H” (we are currently on 1171).  David’s calves were numbered in order as well and denoted with “DH” (we were/are on DH28).  We decided to start numbering Kuckelcalves with 100 and “HD” for Heim Dairy.  Starting January first, all heifer calves have been denoted with “HD”, but the numbering systems have remained seperate.

We also, for sentimental reasons, have tried to keep up the Kuckelmans’ naming system.  The three heifers born in 2011 are named with “Z”: Zorba, Zelda, and Zephyr.

Zorba (HD 100)

And now that it’s 2012, we’re starting our future with the start of the alphabet. That brings me to what prompted this post: Athena!  We had our first Kuckel-heifer-calf of 2012 this week.  Her dam’s (mother’s) name is Venus, and her sire stack (dad x mom’s dad x mom’s mom’s dad) is Planet x Off Road x Mathie.  She’s a few days old and looking great so far!

Athena! Our newest heifer calf (HD 103).