What Do We Do With Our Old Cows: Cattle

"It is no bad thing to celebrate a simple life." - J.J.R. Tolkien

Everything gets old and our cows are no exception to that rule unfortunately. So what do we do for the cows that just get to old to stay breeding? I honestly do not have a straight answer for you sadly because every cow is different. My answers will also not match up with other livestock raising families. Why is that? Well everyone and I mean every single body run their own operations how they want. Let me dive in on what happens to the girls who are aging out of our breeding herd.

When Do You Know It Is Time

Here at Diamond TA Homestead we have three girls at roughly 15 years old. That is pretty well up there for cows. Cows are more commonly retired around 12 years old. We keep an eye on health and mothering capabilities when they have a calf on their side. Lets talk about our three old girls for a second. Basil is in the best shape of the three and has a calf on her side, she is keeping weight on and moving with the herd with ease. Sometimes taking the lead. Then we have June who going into winter is looking rough she is still in great spirits and keeping up with the others. With her not having a calf currently I am hoping that it will help with some weight gain with their extra winter feedings. Lastly we have Maya who is in the worst shape and to be honest she was in better shape than June and all of a sudden her weight was not staying, even without a calf on her. She is currently walking with a limp and struggling to keep up with the herd.

After the old girls with have two more in the same age group of being roughly 7 years old. Those two being Marvel and Kettle. Miss Kettle is the leader of the herd being in her prime and with a slight bully like attitude. Marvel may not keep up with the herd but her personality is a bit of a lazy loner. We will have to start watching them more closely in another 4 years or so. By then I am hoping we have a new plan for our older girls.

Our current "babies" of the heard are nearing a year and half old and we have three of them. Magnolia who is Basil's 2024 heifer and the first calf we have ever kept back to keep as a breeder, then we have the two newbies we bought right out of a show ring those being Luna-Moon and Monroe. These three girls will hopefully be here for a very very long time and the future of our homestead!

What Care Do We Give To The Old Cows Who Need Extra

As you now know we have two in not so great condition one worst than the other, We will firstly put them in the weaning area. We tried that and well Monroe and Luna were bigger bullies than Kettle and poor Maya did not stand a chance. Since that did not work we added her to one of the stalls where she didn't have to travel for food and water. Normal good quality hay, alfalfa hay, and 24/7 sweet feed to try to get weight back on her. This girl stopped eating completely which was the main factor of us knowing it is time. We let her out back with her herd and she is once again eating but all the walking she is doing makes it not stay on her. Some cows have no care in the world as long as there is feed with them but Maya could careless about the food and more so the need to be with everyone. Even put June in with her and they both were not happy with that situation.

What Do We Do With Those Who No Longer Can Safely Do Their Job

Now you know what we look for and how we try to fix them, but what if they aren't getting weight back on? Well if that is the case we currently will be selling them. If a cow goes down randomly and cannot get up we will euthanize. That goes for old and young. Cows can pinch a nerve while calving and yes sometime we can get them up and going however there are a few case where they can't walk or stand again. At that point the most humane thing to do is to put them out of their misery. I have had a few people message me and say the followings. "That is so cruel. They provided so much for you and then you get rid of them." and "Why can you not just keep them and not breed them?"

Let me address that first comment. You know what is cruel? Letting that cow suffer being bullied by the younger ones off hay and then struggle to keep up when they move. Watching your neighbors bull continuously jump the fence and mount your old mommas who can barely hold their own weight at the time. You know what is not as cruel? Bringing them to the sale where yes some people are in search of old retiring cows to give them a retirement place, or they will go on a meat trailer and be euthanized humanely and feed families with the meat they have left. It is sad to hear but that is just the way it works in most ranchers eyes. They bring in or keep young one and move out the old ones. It is just the cycle it always has been.

Now why can we not keep them? The simple and easy answer I have is we do not have a spot for a retirement herd. Boy I do wish for a place for our amazing ladies to live out the rest of their lives. One day that is my plan however that will not happen for many years I don't think. Hopefully for Marvel and maybe Kettle if her attitude changes, but it most likely will be the yearlings group who will get to retire here. It is just one of those thing we don't know until we get there.

There you have it the question I always dread to think about. I love my girls even the ones who do have attitudes and can't mess with. They all have names and a full detailed record from the time I took over cattle for the oldies or if their new when they stepped foot off the trailer. I put so much love and care and spend a lot of my free time watching these beautiful creatures. I hate seeing them get old but it is part of life and we will all become that age some day.