Thursday, March 11, 2010

Twelve Things I've Learned From My Milk Cow, Dicey

1. If you're going to have big teats, they should serve a purpose.
2. Sometimes the shit is UNDER the straw.
3. Miracles happen every day. That's how a spotted cow eats green grass and produces white milk and cream that is churned into yellow butter.
4. Stop eating and go outside when the sun is shining.
5. Chew your food well and don't apologize when you belch.
6. Don't be an underproducer. They get culled.
7. Wide hips can be an asset. Like big teats, they should serve a purpose.
8. You don't need to be exceptionally bright to be successful at a job.
9. "Pie" has several meanings.
10. If you want to rule the barnyard, you need to weigh over 1000 lbs.
11. Obstinate is a 3-letter word. C-O-W
12. Politicians are like cow pies. They're part of a necessary process, but they stink, make a mess of everything, and attract flies.

About Dicey:
Dicey is named after the ranch, Paradise. We just call her Dicey for short. She was my first ranch animal. Ross bought her from a dairy that was selling her because she was an "underproducer". She actually produces about 6 gallons of milk a day and that's more than plenty for us. So, she's actually an over producer here. She's a registered Guernsey which is considered a threatened breed because there are so few of them. Most dairy cows in the US are Holsteins. Guernseys make perfect family cows because they're smaller than Holsteins and they have great personalities. They also produce a lot of very high quality cream.

Ross got Dicey for me because I have Crohn's disease and he believed that drinking raw milk would be good for my overall health and help restore the health of my gut. He was right! We drink a LOT of milk and cream and nothing is better than Dicey butter. I enjoy taking good care of my favorite cow because she takes good care of me.