The Hikutaia Cow Page.

Dear Mrs. Nichol,

We are the group that is studying cows for our farm fair next Friday. We are learning about their size, the name for the baby and some other things but since your husband is a dairy farmer, could he answer some questions for us? Thanks.

Malachi wants to know - How much to mother cows, baby cows, and father cows

weigh?

And the answer Is.

It depends on the breed. Fresians weigh more than Jerseys. Mother cows weigh 400 - 500 kilos. Baby cows, (calves) weigh 30 - 40 kilos when born. Bulls weigh 600 - 700 kilos.

Toby wants to know - What do cows eat?

And the answer is.

Cows eat grass all year round. They are fed hay sometimes in the winter. Our pastures are good so we don't feed out much hay.

Benji wants to know - How does the farmer freshen the milk to sell in the stores?

And the answer is.

It is kept chilled to five degrees celsius on the farm.The milk tankers take it to the factory (about an hour away). The milk is pasteurised at the factory at 65 degrees celsius.

Joey P. wants to know - How long do cows live?

And the answer is.

Up to 20 years, but once they reach ten years old they are usually sent to the abattoirs (for hamburgers) as they don't milk so well and have health problems.

Leah wants to know - How do you wash the teats and what kind of soap do you use?

And the answer is.

We don't wash teats and we don't use soap! That was in the olden days! Farmers used to think that washing cows teats would help them let milk down easier.

Diana wants to know - how hot is the milk when it comes out of the cow?

And the answer is.

Body temperature, just warm. Farm milk is very creamy. Our milk vat holds 10,000 litres of milk. In spring we fill that from our cows every day. That's 10,000 cartons of milk a day just from us.

Please ask your husband to tell us anything else he thinks we should share with our classmates and our parents for Farm Fair.

And from Mr Nichols.

We wish we could beam you down on to our farm. It would probably be different from what you imagine. There are no street lights, no footpaths, no rubbish collections, and we can post our mail at our own gate.

I get up at 4.30 am in the spring and when the cows are calving I get in at about 6.30 at night.

We live right by a river and it can flood. Farmers always worry about the weather. If it is too dry there is no grass for the cows. If there is a flood it means the same.

We have three children aged nine, eleven and thirteen. They all ride the three wheeled motor bike on the farm and have pet calves as well as a cat each. The thirteen year old has a dog.

Well, Senior Kindergartners of Francis W. Parker School, Chicago we hope that's what you needed to know about farms!