Cows Make Bad Pets

Greetings on a lovely day in Utah!
Tuesday is my day off when I choose to take it, but with a rapidly approaching trip to NY in T-minus 7 days, I decided to help at the ranch and treat calves anyway. Can't claim martyr here, because I then spent midday following the vet and owner as they did pregnancy checks- then an hour or two visiting with our Pfizer Animal Health rep working out a game plan for preventing pink eye and salmonella in the youngstock population. Then the nutritionist stopped by for his weekly visit and we kicked around a few ideas to improve the feed mix for my 200-300 pound heifer calves.
Not a bad afternoon! Honestly, how many people thoroughly enjoy "working" on their day off? It's a perk of dairy farming.
There were two things that came up and got me thinking about a subject that we explored in my Young Dairy Leaders class- namely, that there is a significant difference between livestock and pets.
Point No. 1 came via a story my Pfizer rep shared about her kids, all under 10 years old, and the menagerie of livestock at home, including three orphaned piglets, a pygmy goat, chickens, cats, a dairy goat that lost her kid, a few dogs and a bunch of beef cattle. The rep shared with me how the dairy goat- acquired from a friend to supply milk for the orphaned pigs, (also acquired from a friend)- had "adopted" her husband, reaching the point that she came home last weekend to find her husband being followed around the yard by 4 kids, the dog, a couple cats and a goat.
She talked about how her kids love to play outside in the dirt and feed, are proud of their dad's job "doing AI (artificial insemination)" and are budding entrepreneurs- attempting to sell eggs to every visitor to the homestead, and negotiating terms to borrow a neighbor's male goat to get their pygmy goat pregnant.
Her children have a true appreciation for livestock, hard work, and the rewards associated with both.
They help care for the dogs and cats as well as the pigs- recognizing that the pigs will be bacon in the freezer someday, and raising goat kids can help them save up money for a dirt bike- none the less caring and for them to the best of their ability.
Ultimately, these children recognize that there is a purpose for pets, and a purpose for livestock.
I'll be the first to admit that the lines can become blurred- my 12 year old cow Dee, is a pet. I've made management decisions regarding her care that would not be practical for a cow that wasn't one. She won't be sent for beef as most dairy cows are at the end of their productive life; not because I take issue with dairy cows being slaughtered for beef, but rather because she was never intended as anything besides a pet and cherished 4-H project.
Dee is my favorite, but I truly enjoy cows. I could lose an hour watching a row of Holsteins dig into fresh feed- so clearly content and enjoying the veritable feast provided for them twice daily. I find the same enjoyment watching my calves polish off a bottle of milk or hop around the hutch on a sunny, windy day.
I care for them obsessively- regarding their health and growth as the most honest indicator of my success as their manager. I take time to check on any calves that don't finish their bottles in the hutches, or appear to be withdrawn out in the pens after weaning. But they are not pets.
Which is point No. 2; demonstrated as we received word that a pen of milk cows had gotten out and were milling around the commodity shed and compost rows. No big deal, a number of employees, the owners, the nutritionist and I took off to herd the cows back into their corral. No yelling, no running, simply guiding the cows back to the correct area by blocking their access to the wrong paths.
It reminded me of the joy of trying to catch my Dee cow when she freed herself from a field in her younger days. There was running- she ran away from me, clear around the pond and into the woods! There was yelling- she got herself wedged between two small trees and had the audacity to look back at me implying I was responsible. There was no simple solution to Dee getting loose. I would compare it to the game my puppy plays when it's time to toss her into the back of the pickup and head to the ranch. She's going to end up in the truck but not before I chase her around the truck (and house, and trees).
Cows are happiest when they have a routine. When I show my dairy cattle, I need them to be used to being handled and easy to lead on a halter to ensure the safety of those working with them, and so they look their best. (Dee never subscribed to this theory) This requires a lot of time spent making that type of handling routine. For the calves I work with at the ranch- this type of handling will never be a part of their life. They will be allowed to spend their days eating, drinking and laying down at will; herded to the milking parlor three times a day and left to their herd mates otherwise. For these cows, it is sufficient that they are handled without undue roughness or noise- learning to view humans as nonthreatening- allowing them to be milked and otherwise handled without injury to dairy employees or to the cow herself.
There are certainly similarities- the needs of the cow are met and they live without fear, able to thrive and produce milk, but I wouldn't put one of my show cows into a corral at this dairy because they would follow the employees around trying to be petted, and I wouldn't put a halter on a cow at this dairy and expect her to lead like a dream around a show ring.
Pets are an extension of our family if you will, cared for to the best of our ability. Livestock like dairy cows also have all their needs provided for, but they were never intended to play fetch (Thanks A.Birch!) which makes them bad pets, but great animals to work with.