The Backyard Cow: An Introductory Guide to Keeping a Productive Family Cow

This book is so great! It starts off with cow history that is so intriguing! I couldn’t stop reading. It’s very informative and helpful! Best cow book out there.

Excellent book! It told me what to look for when choosing which breed is right for my family (and the reasons why are individual!), how to establish a milking schedule- I didn't know I could create my own!, and advice on tending to injuries and illnesses. I feel more confident now. And more!I definitely recommend this book to anyone who wants to buy a family cow.

Very down to earth, enjoyable read. I also learned as much as I had hoped I would. I will soon have some Dexter cows, and after reading this, I hope to be ready for them, and maybe what to expect.

Great information, have re-read several times

GOOD

great

This book is such a fabulous resource that after reading it we decided that we are not ready for a cow yet! We also purchased her other book, "The Backyard Goat" because we enjoyed her writing and the great information she shares. We loved this book and will keep it prominently stored for the day when we are ready to have cows.

Well I checked this book out from a library and it was good, but not great. It covered most of the same things other family cow books cover: History, Cow terminology, breeds, raising a calf, etc. Maybe because I've read so much in other books, I just didn't find all that much useful. The feeding section was better than most, and the section on mating/birthing was better than most but that's in my experience because that's lacking in most books.I found the Health chapter completely lacking. The author starts out by saying she won't tell you how to treat anything, that you should just call your vet even after she specifically mentions that a cow can die from bloat in less than an hour. She then states- incorrectly- that there is no effective treatment for rainrot. Having dealt with rain rot before there are actually lots of effective treatments for it, the easiest in my opinion being povidone iodine (trade name Betadine). Since she didn't include it you can either wash the affected area with Betadine Scrub once a day for 2 weeks following the instructions (which are- I believe- to scrub for 5 minutes) or you can dilute Betadine Solution to 10% (with water) and use a spray bottle once daily on the infected area for 2 weeks. Unless you have a chronic case, it should clear up, seeing as how the author speaks of owning horses I find it hard to believe she really doesn't think anything works against it.It was an ok introduction but the practical parts were lacking, and lets face it if you're reading a book like this the practical parts are most important.If you're new to cows I highly recommend Family Cow Proboards (google it) and the book it was meant to accompany Keeping a Family Cow by Joann Grohman also available through amazon.