A cow is the best creature of the world. This thing is written in Hindu scripture. The importance, utility and necessity of cows is well known from the religious, spiritual and scientific point of view. Here I am trying to write about the necessary things for the daily service of a cow so that it may live happily and we may get more benefit from them. I start from the birth of a calf.
1. A calf should be looked after well at the time of its birth and after birth. As soon as the calf tries to stand up, it should be helped and the nipple of the cow should be given into its mouth. The cow’s first milk (guta) should be milked before the calf is fed with milk. If the calf is not able to stand after a long time, it should be given the nipples of the cow in its mouth, holding with hands, feed it with milk. Be careful that the calf should not be fed with more milk. It should be fed with limited milk so that it may be neither hungry nor be over fed. If it is fed with ore milk, it may have diarrhea. When the calf is fifteen days old, it should be fed with flour, salt and turmeric powder. The calf should be fed with enough milk for at least three months. The cow should not be milked in this period. After that the calf should be looked after well. It should be given churi grain and nutrition. Thus the calf will be made useful very soon. The calf is often not fed with enough milk so it is become the victim of malnourish. And becomes weak. We have to bear loss for it. If the she calf is served properly it will be ready to give birth of a calf in three years of age. Otherwise it is able to deliver a calf in five and six years of age.
2. If it is she calf, it should be taken in contact of a bull for conception (garbhadhan) when it is on heat. It should not be kept in contact with a simple and weak ox. It is a male calf, it should be made an ox by a doctor. If it is left as nandi, it will wander here and there and be grieved. An ox can be sold easily.
3. The pregnant cow should be tied and given nutrition and touched with hands affectionately. At the time of its calf birth, a person should be remain near it so that it may be ready to be served. Other wise it will not allow anyone to go near it. In the houses people are careful about it. But in the Goshalas they can’t do such things so the cow and she cowherd have to face so many difficulties. The cow does not allow anyone to go near it. It is terrified for all the things like pain of calf birth, tied with rope and milking are going on together. It is very difficult to keep the cow under control. So we should be very careful about it.
4. After the calf birth, one should remain with the cow till the navel string (maily) falls down. It is very harmful for the cow so it should be buried under a pit so that dogs can not trouble us. If the navel string does not fall down for a long time, the root of suniya and gur should be boiled in water it should be given to the cow two or three times a day so that the navel string may fall down.
5. Just before the calf birth the cow should be given 500 gm. Ghee so that the it may issue a calf easily. If it is possible the cow should be given two to four kilogram ghee before ten or fifteen days before of the birth of a calf.
6. After delivered a calf the cow should be fed with millet (bajra). The millet should be boiled or it should be given with grass before feeding at first the millet should given after cooking it. The cow should be given the millet in small quantity three or four times a day it should not be fed in a large quantity. Gur and millet, thyme (ajwain) can be fed mixed with millet. After four weeks it should be started suawad. In suawad bharda, maithy, gur sua, makhania, bhata and khopra etc. should be given to the cow. Green grass should not be given to the cow for ten or fifteen days after its calf birth the cow should be given luke warm water to drink. It should not be given cold water for two or three days. Its body should be washed well with luke warm water.
7. If it is the complain of coming out uterus out of it body after the calf birth, the cow should not be allowed to sit down. Other wise the whole body may comes out and it may cause the death of the cow. If the nipples of cow become stiff after some days and started bleeding in the nipples, the cow should be given proper treatment by a doctor. If no treatment is given the nipple will be useless.
8. In goshalas aged calves drink milk from its mothers. They are left with their mother so they try to drink milk whether there is no milk in their nipples. So the five or six months old calf should not be left more than twice a day for milk otherwise the cow milk will be reduced.
9. Some people often complain that the cow does not allow to be milked or tied after the calf birth etc. the first thing is that it should not be forced or beaten. Take it in confidence with love and affection. The easiest method is that you should go near the cow slowly and again and again, feed it with something, try to touch its body with love and affection after some time the cow will allow you to go near it and it will near you. It will not protest. The worst cow can gradually be taken into confidence if it is touched lovingly and called it with affection. Then the cow will follow you.
10. At the time of milking the cow should be tied (nujna) its hind legs with a rope.
11. At the time of milking, leave the calf near the cow. lick ticks the calf and its nipples are full of milk. At this time it should be tied nujna. Put nutrition (banta) before the cow and tied the calf near the cow so that it may give milk easily. If there is no calf or nutrition near the cow at the time of milking, it may move here and there. It cause difficulty in milking. So at first the cow should be made habitual for milking so that there may be no difficulty in milking. The calf will learn to graze easily if it is tied near the cow at the time of milking. If you put nutrition (banta) at the time of milking, the cow will allow you for milking whether the calf is dead.
12. After milking the nipples of the cow should be washed well.
13. People often stop giving nutrition (churi grain etc) to the cow as soon as it stops milking. It should not be done. You may curtail the quantity of nutrition but you should not stop it. It causes the cow becomes weak and it will effect on the milk on next calf birth. It should be given nutrition till two or three months after it stops giving milk.
14. A cow should be given salt (sendha namak) with nutrition (banta) salt is necessary for its health.
15. In olden time when the grass lands were available everywhere and people looked after the cows well. But now the working capacity of people has been reduced. We are unable to give all the facilities to the cows in every season. In rainy season a cow remains standing till it rains. After it stops raining the cow will not sit if the cow shed is wet. So we should be more careful in rainy season. The cow shed should be dried in rainy season. It was seen so many times that a cow sat on a dry place. It didn’t sit on wet and muddy place. There should be proper arrangement for the cow in summer and winter. Those cows which are tied the whole day and night, should be taken out in sun rays at least once a day in winter and in summer the cows should be kept in shade. The place for a cow should be different in a day and night. It is seen in many Goshalas that they are surrounded by a high walls and the cow sheds are built in pacca houses. And on the flour bricks and stones are spead. They keep more cows in a small place. The cows do not have enough place to live in. Those cows do not get enough air and light. Such places are not appropriate for cows to live in. The cow should be protected from cold, heat and water (in rain, winter and summer). There should be an open place for cows. In summer the cows should be kept in pacca house in day time but they must be kept in open space at night. The place for them to sit must sandy so that they may sit with ease. A cow feels uneasy in sitting on a rock the whole time. We should have proper arrangement for the cows. A cow feels uneasy in sitting on a rock the whole time. So we should have proper arrangements for the cows.
16. In the irrigated area the cows are kept in houses for ever. They are not allowed to walk (wander). Wandering here and there is necessary for the cows for the proper digestion of diet other wise obesity will increase. So some parts of the land should be left in the field for the cows so that they may wander on it. Whether there is a shortage of land yet it should be done in those goshalas where there is a lot of cows, it is impossible to have a bath for the cows. But in houses where there is a few cows and they are tied, should be given a bath at least once a fortnight before the sun rises in summer.
17. The cows should be given food grain and nutrition (pasuahar) according to their digestion power. Don’t feed them more than they need. They may eat more but can’t digest them. In goshalas it can’t be done but at homes we may give them the grass which they are required. The cows which are given grass and water in time and according to their requirement are made the cows healthy and powerful.