Family Cow

by Dirk Van Loon

A family cow can provide an endless supply of delicious fresh milk, but also requires a large investment of time and money. In this practical guide, Dirk van Loon provides detailed information on choosing an appropriate breed for your needs, nutrition, milking, health care, and bovine behavior. With expert advice on everything you need to know keep your animal healthy, happy, and productive, you’ll soon be enjoying all the benefits a family cow can bring. 

Genres: Nonfiction

273 pages, Paperback

First published January 3, 1976

Reviews

[Brandon · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best books for beginners, written well.

[Ami · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Family Cow" was a (mostly) simple, straightforward book encouraging and instructing people on keeping a cow for the family's milk and beef supplies. In fact, Van Loon is so persuasive that by the end of the book I was channelling my very best Veruca Salt, but instead of wanting squirrels I wanted a family cow. "Daddy, get me a family cow. I want a family cow, noooooow." (If you've never read "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" then this makes no sense and you should do so posthaste.)

My only complaints are that the book is slightly dated (written in the 1970's) and there were some overly technical diagrams and graphs concerning feed replacements. I would have also liked a little more information about the various types of dairy cows to choose from. Still, this is a book I would like for my own personal shelves.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did end up learning a few things about cows, but when I closed the book, I was mostly left in a daze from the information overload. A good chunk of the book seemed to be focused on nutrition and I had trouble wrapping my brain around most of it. My unfamiliarity with farms and cows (apart from flying past them on the highway) also helped make this a difficult read.

On the positive side of things, I enjoyed the author's funny and personal writing style and the sketches were helpful at times.

[Marianne Butler · Rating 3 out of 5]

This has a lot of good information, but it's not practical enough. I didn't feel confident that owning a cow would be possible without a history of owning them in the past. It left me terrified and feeling almost certain that I would fail. However, it will be a terrific reference book if we were to own a cow, especially when it came to deciding what to feed her.

[Bart · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book a lot. It's a hands on guide to keeping your own cow, so I can only recommend it to you depending on how often you fantasize about moving to the country and growing your own food.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

probably not all that enjoyable, unless you have a mild obsession with cows, or raise them i suppose

[Brigid · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is full of great information. When we get a farm, I will read it again so I can remember all the great ideas/points the author makes.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

The best book on cows. It makes keeping a family cow seem really plausible and it gets me super excited.

[Virginia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want a family cow.