Milkless cow

I have a cow with a 3 week old calf. The poor thing is about to starve as the mama just doesn’t have enough milk to feed it . The calf isn’t going for the supplement milk at all though it is eating some calf feed. Any suggestions on what I can feed the cow to help her produce more milk?

Joni

This isn’t normal; most cows have at least enough to feed their own calf. I’d have your veterinarian check her over. Does she have mastitis? Can you milk her to check, or is she a beef cow with a wild disposition? A veterinarian can give a cow an injection of oxytocin, which will stimulate a cow to let down more milk. But if she is not able to produce or let down more milk, you will have to separate the calf from the cow and bottle feed the baby. Calves that have nursed don’t like the artificial nipple at first and you may have to wrestle him into a corner to force him to accept the nipple. Usually after one or two forced attempts, the calf gets the picture and will do well on the bottle. — Jackie

Mites

My husband butchered our old rooster today and found he was covered with some kind of mites. The insects in question were tiny, gray in color, and concentrated around the vent and lower back. We had noticed that this rooster had been picking or rubbing at his feathers and had virtually no feathers on his lower back.

Based on his level of infestation, I think it’s safe to guess that our hens and other two roosters probably have mites as well. A little research online points to Northern Chicken Mites, but the choice for treatment is less than clear. What’s the best thing to treat our birds with, and what’s the best way to disinfect our coop, roosts, barn and nest boxes? Should we regularly treat our birds? This is the first time in ten years of raising poultry that we’ve notices signs of external parasites. Our birds mostly free range and we often see them dust bathing in patches of dry dirt, so I’ve never provided dust bath areas for them. Do you regularly provide DE for your birds? Have you dealt with mites in your flock before?

I normally like to go completely organic around the homestead, but I don’t want to compromise the health of my flock. I suspected that it was the cold weather and shorter days contributing to my girls no longer laying eggs, but now I’m wondering if these mites are an issue with their egg production. I have one old (4 year) Silver Laced Wyandotte hen, three Buff Orpington pullets (this spring’s chicks), two Silver Laced Wyandotte cockerels (this spring’s chicks), plus two Pekin ducks and one Embden goose. The rooster we culled today was a two year old Freedom Ranger.

Carmen Griggs
Bovey, Minnesota

Mites and lice are quite common in chickens and other poultry. Fortunately, they’re also pretty easy to get rid of. I dust our birds twice a year, in the fall, about two weeks apart to kill hatchlings as the dust does not kill eggs. I use a rotenone dust and use it, holding the bird upside-down by the feet, paying particular attention to the vent area and under the wings. These are favorite places of these pests. I clean out my coop in the fall/early winter, and completely remove shavings from the nest boxes and dust the empty boxes with rotenone, as well. Right after I clean the coop, I dust the birds. By using this method, I’ve never had a bad infestation. Some folks have had good luck with DE, and others, not so much. It would certainly do no harm to use it and see how it works for you. Don’t use swimming pool filter DE, though, as it is not safe for living creatures. — Jackie

Keeping flour in the freezer

How long will flour keep in the freezer?

Paul Phillips
Connell, Washington

Flour will keep in the freezer nearly forever, provided that it is in an airtight, moisture-proof container. Moisture from the freezer will sooner or later cake up flour frozen in its store bag. — Jackie