Traditionally, people would feed first the cows to observe a special occasion like a birthday, death or marriage anniversary. Dana is a kind of feed given in the morning around 6 AM. The contents of dana include thoor dal husk, rice bran, wheat husk, and cotton seed cake which are very nutritious and high in proteins. All the contents are mixed in required quantities in a tub and soaked in water the previous evening so that it will be ready to be fed the next morning. Fresh green fodder grass is offered to the cattle around 1 PM. The grass is chopped into small pieces with a chopping machine so that it is easy to eat and used efficiently with less wastage. This green fodder grass is grown in 10 acres of ashram land taken on lease for the sake of cattle and when we fall short of green fodder we purchase to feed the cows.
We at Moukthi Navachetana Goshala apart from this feed and fodder, occasionally the cows are fed with jaggery or fresh vegetables donated by devotees. Fresh drinking water is offered to cows two times a day, once around 10 AM in the morning and again around 5 PM in the evening. Currently drinking water is provided in their feeding tubs or buckets, however we started installing steel water bins (gangalas), 1 between every 2 cows, so that fresh drinking water will be available to the cows round the clock.
At Moukthi Navachetana Goshala all the cows are washed every day, or every other day when not possible every day, with water sprayer and brush so that the cows will be clean and healthy without diseases. let out into the Sun since the cows like to be in the Sun to absorb Sun rays through their hump and suryakethu nadi on their backbone and produce Gold in their blood and milk. This is the reason why desi cow milk is slightly yellowish in color whereas milk is pure white in color. The dung will be removed from the goshala throughout the day around 5 times so that the cows will be clean and feel comfortable. Moukthi Navachetana Goshala concrete floor, the feeding tubs, and steel water drums will be cleaned with water once every day Once the cows are milked we spray Potassium Permanganate to clean and disinfect the udder in order to avoid bacterial diseases.
The cows are milked manually 2 times a day, in the morning and evening. We only milk the cows that have excess milk beyond the needs of their calves. For those cows that do not have sufficient milk for their own calves, we make sure that their calves drink sufficient milk from other cows.
Moukthi Navachetana Goshala have a team of veterinary doctors, some volunteers and some paid, attend the cows on a regular basis. We take their suggestions and services whenever needed. We are using both Allopathy and Ayurveda to treat the cows depending on the nature of the problem. We prune the horns of only those cows that are aggressive and may cause injuries to other cows.
