Quote:
Originally Posted by Patty in Wisc
Wow SBL, thanks for posting that link. I did not know thatfarmers give those antibiotics w/ hormones to all the cows. My farmer friend raised cattle for over 50 years & never gave antibiotics unless they were sick & then they were separated.
I also read couple years ago, that some cattle farmers down south were told to gradually mix corn in the cow poop & mix with the hay that they eat. Then, gradually add more poop as they get used to it - to cut the cost of feeding them. The farmer that wrote of it (on another forum) from I think TX, said he wouldn't do it but some were.
Next time I get horse or cow manure I'm gonna ask about all this. Thanks for this info.
|
I don't think the article said that all farmers give antibiotics (w/wo hormones) to all cows, but depending on the needs or the problem they may dose the entire herd as a preventive and/or treatment.
It was yrs ago when I worked at the dairy farm--one thing we did was fog the milking barn with pesticides like DDT or Chlordane to kill the flies (the floor would end up with a solid layer of flies). All of this was pushed out and washed down with the manure at the end of the milking shift. Of course, DDT and Chlordane are no longer used, but I'm sure the fly problem is still there--I don't know what they use now. Pretty much all farm animals need wormers every yr or so, depending on the parasite there are various chemicals that are used--the only one I can think of is pyranyl palmoate--not very toxic, but certainly synthetic.
Again I am not saying don't use manures, but you might want to know a little more about your source.