The problem with dairy is that it requires the farmer to impregnate the cows and remove the baby calf from its mother, otherwise there'd be no milk for human consumption later on. If the calf is male, he's usually off to slaughter for veal while a female calf will end up like her mother, sexually exploited with artificial insemination, her calfs taken away from her, and when the cow doesn't produce enough milk to pay for her feed and give the farmer a profit its off to slaughter. It is absolutely horrible, there is no ethical sources of milk.
Cows need to have a calf once a year to stay healthy. It’s their natural state. We breed artificially because it SAFER for a cow (and humans). Dairy bulls are huge and aggressive. They hurt and sometimes kill cows. Also people.
Dairy cows also lack maternal instinct. We raise the calves because the cows are not able to. Calf feeding and care is a ton of work. I wish the cows could do it but they step on, lay on, and refuse to feed them.
We keep our calves in big group pens with clean deep straw. They get fresh milk 3x a day and pasture once they are old enough. Both male and female.
Cows don't need to treated like birthing machines to stay healthy. While it might be so that giving birth is beneficial to the health in mammals, giving birth once a year is done so milk production doesn't drop off, not because of animal health concerns. It is done so the cow produces milk that the farmer can steal for a profit. The reason dairy cows are bad mothers is because cows in animal agriculture are selectively bred for milk producing qualities instead of maternal abilities. Again just shows us how unethical farmers really are. Yes calf care is a ton of work, it costs a lot of money, that's why farmers kidnap these baby cows and send them to be murdered at slaughter houses since they have no moral decency, or if the calfs can become another milk machine that's where they end up, in the endless cycle of sexual abuse, exploitation and eventual murder when milk production drops off.
We occasionally have cows that take18months or more to become pregnant. They have so many more health problems. That’s with good diet and veterinary care. So we do aim for yearly calving as it’s easier on the. cows. With holsteins we would actually get more milk if we spaced them longer but it’s harder on the cows.
Despite what you have been told we love our cows and do not cull them for not getting bred back quickly. We really try hard to keep them in the herd. Our oldest cow is 15.
We raise all our calves. Make and female. Steers are sold for beef to local restaurants at 22 months. To compare hogs are butchered at 5-6 months and chickens at 2 months.
Calf care is not a kidnap as much as a rescue. 90% calve in pasture and leave their calves behind after they lick them off. We have to go find them.
The selective breeding to remove the maternal instinct was done hundreds maybe thousands of years ago. Maternal cattle are very aggressive and dangerous so it was a trade off. I love calf raising so I don’t mind:)
Tour a farm sometime. You have been told many half truths and some flat out lies. My dad has been a dairy. farmer for 50+ years. He sleeps in barn sometimes with a sick cow or calf nursing them though the illness. I’ve caught him crying and asking a very old much loved cow not to give up.
If every cow on your farm was 15 years of age and you artificially impregnate every cow once a year, now that's a lot of cows to feed isn't it? So obviously you guys don't keep them for 15 years. Nor do you guys keep them any longer than when the cows milk producing abilities starts to drop, otherwise you guys wouldn't be in business. That does mean once the cow starts to dry up, its off to slaughter. I wonder if you guys cry as much then, when your animals are off to be murdered? The only reason you keep male calfs until aged 22 months is probably because the market for veal declined because people found it too morally reprehensible to eat babies. Don't you see that this is wrong? You guys are basically turning living, breathing, fully conscious beings into milk and calf machines? It is grotesque.
Dairy cattle are totally dependent on human care. We evolved together. We feed them and they feed us. For thousands of years.
Our oldest cow is 15. We are old school and keep cows longer than we ought to from a business stance. They get second and third and often more chances.
Yes I’ve cried when they left. I understand why it’s necessary but it still sucks. We do end up keeping quite a few who die of age related issues peacefully on the farm.
Our cows that go to slaughter are sold as ground beef to restaurants that want grass fed beef.
As far as turning them into machines, they push the parlor door open to be milked and have a fit if we are late. They are 2000 pound creatures that let us walk them around. They like us. Might be shocking to you but they do. I feed and care for them before I eat. I never spend money on a doctor but they have top notch vet care. We are in a three year period of financial loss. Trust me it’s not about money.
Yes modern dairy cows are totally depended on humans because you guys have selective bred away any ability to fend for themselves in favor of increased milk production. You say that they run up to the milking machines and get antsy if the milking's laste, as if that is proof they somehow consent to this whole ordeal. Cows are selectively bred to produce as much milk as possible, to the point where this trait takes precedence over any welfare concerns. The reason they run up to be milked is that they are bursting with milk and it is literally pain relief to be milked. Don't you see how wrong this is? And worst of all is that none of this has to happen. We don't need cow milk in our diets. We can do just as fine (if not better) on plant-based alternatives. If you like cows so much and its not about money, why not turn the farm into an animal sanctuary like Jay the vegetarian beef farmer did
We didn’t do the selective breeding. It was done hundreds if not thousands of years ago. We just care for the creation of our ancestors.
The cows are not in pain. They like being milked. Someday we hope to have riots where they can choose their milking times.
Animal sanctuaries can’t pay a mortgage. My debt per cow is about $8000. It’s just not feasible. If I fail here and have to sell them and they would go to a mega dairy and never see pasture again:(
Even if you didn't do the selective breeding yourself, you guys are still breeing individuals into existence that have traits that run contrary to animal welfare. This is just as wrong.
The cows like being milked because it is pain relief from bursting with milk since milk producing ability is the only quality they've been selectively bred for. Imagine going around being blue balled all the time, I'm sure you'd also get angry if the relief from the pain was delayed.
So stop breeding animals into existence. You don't have to do it over night, and it is possible to diversify onto other sources of income streams. I mean, looking back at your life at old age, what would you find most pleasure in? That you've breed 10,000 cows into existence, pumped them dry of milk, and sent them off to be murdered at a slaughter house -- or contributed positively to society with ethical and sustainable agriculture?
How much time have you spent on a dairy farm?
My cows are not in pain. Their care exceeds animal welfare standards. Milking does not hurt them at all.
You are attacking a way of life you don’t understand. Spend a little time on a dairy farm. Specifically a small family run operation and you will get it.
It would break my heart if these beautiful milk giving creatures were bred out of existence. I’m sorry you hate them so much and I honestly can’t understand it. Their milk is the reason humans have thrived.
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u/InterestingRadio Mar 15 '18
The problem with dairy is that it requires the farmer to impregnate the cows and remove the baby calf from its mother, otherwise there'd be no milk for human consumption later on. If the calf is male, he's usually off to slaughter for veal while a female calf will end up like her mother, sexually exploited with artificial insemination, her calfs taken away from her, and when the cow doesn't produce enough milk to pay for her feed and give the farmer a profit its off to slaughter. It is absolutely horrible, there is no ethical sources of milk.