You have probably heard impatient exclamations: “Why do you choose for so long - you’re not buying a cow!”. And this phrase is not devoid of background, choosing a cow is often not an easy task. But nothing is impossible with a competent approach.
Instructions
Step 1
Decide why you are buying a cow: you need a dairy or beef cow, and maybe a dairy and beef (combined).
The ideal option for dairy cattle breeding can be considered a black-and-white breed of cows. These cows are unpretentious, they do not need a lot of feed, but they are characterized by rich milk yield, and besides, they also have good meat qualities.
Step 2
Pay attention to the general appearance of the cow. A good animal has a small head relative to the body - dry and light with an elongated facial part; long neck with thin skin; proportional, developed body, widening towards the rear (the body from the side looks like a truncated cone). The cow's chest should be narrow, deep, and the belly should be round, the back should be straight.
Burenka should not look like a bull and does not have a harsh voice. The horns should be thin, slightly curved inward. Examine, feel the entire body of the cow for ulcers and swelling.
Step 3
Examine the udder of the cow. It should be round, cupped, lobes of the same size and size. If any of them is different, it may be a consequence of a past illness, it is not known how this affected the quality of milk. The nipples should be neither thick nor thin. The owners of the former milk hard, the latter often lose milk. Pay attention to the skin of the udder. It should be thin so that thick and taut veins are visible. If a cow has recently been milked, the udder may be smaller than usual and may form folds, the so-called "stock". Check for warts or cracks.
Step 4
There are some more small details to pay attention to. First, it is desirable that the end of the tail hangs below the knee joint. If dandruff is visible in the tail brush, this indicates intensive metabolic processes in the animal. Secondly, ears - the presence of sulfur there in large quantities indicates a high fat content of milk.
Step 5
High-yielding cows are usually a little lean, but their thinness should not be excessive. Let's just say it's rather lean. A beautiful slender cow is the queen of her herd. This means that she will get better grass, and fresher water, and her milk will, accordingly, be the best. She must be calm, shy animals give little milk, it is hard to keep them, and it is unlikely that it will be possible to re-educate them. To check, touch the cow's neck - a calm cow will just look at you in bewilderment and move a little away from a stranger. The fearful creature will strain and recoil.
Step 6
Ask the salesperson how many cows he has and how often he changed them. The owner makes the cow shy, and if people treated the animal well, then his character remained good. Such owners of cows change infrequently and parting with a wet nurse is treated as a loss.
Step 7
In general, the cow should have a cheerful appearance, easy gait and clear eyes. She should eat a lot and everything, not too much, chew, chew and chew again. If you have decided on the choice of a cow, you can ask the owner for permission to milk her. Check how you milked her, taste her milk.
Step 8
A good owner should have a veterinary card for a cow, which contains information about the animal, its vaccinations, and examinations. Also, this information can be obtained from the State Veterinary Inspectorate. There are various chronic diseases that cannot be detected by a superficial examination, but they are dangerous, since they are transmitted to humans (tuberculosis, brucellosis, etc.) You can insist on re-examination of the animal before buying, this is provided for by veterinary legislation.
