Post by wyomama on Oct 30, 2008 13:29:09 GMT -5
Backstory.... I've got 5 (was 6 a week ago ) milk cows. No local AI tech. I took the class about 5 years ago, but have only managed to settle two of my cows ever - and both times, got bull calves. I'm taking a refresher course in Dec, hopefully that will help. I usually have access to bulls (either LH or Angus) to borrow, so it's not been a huge issue, other than having everyone calve within a couple of months of each other, which isn't ideal.
My experience with the calves has been.... the dairy bulls, or Longhorn cross calves of either sex grow VERY slow, compared to the Angus cross calves. I have limited pasture, and what I do have, I like to use for the cows, so I have to feed hay pretty much constantly to the beefers.
My DH is a cow selling machine.... he got money I could not believe for the lightweight LH cross 2-yr olds that I was just going to dump at the sale barn, and has people clamoring for more, and willing to pay a premium if they are black.
So.... we decided it made more sense to use Angus bulls to freshen the cows, and sell those calves for beef, and then to just buy replacement heifers or cows as we need them. I still have some Jersey semen left, so would continue to use it on my two best cows that I would want a heifer out of.
Someone with a nice Angus herd owes me a little money that is hard to come by these days. So... yesterday morning, I picked out a nice bull calf as part payment. I also hung around and helped castrate the other 48 bull calves.... but I digress....
I'm excited by the calf - he's a son of the bull I used last year, who makes low birthweight babies, that are fast growers. They all get his huge butt, too. My Dexter crosses spit out lamb-sized babies from him like it was nothing - my Brown Swiss didn't even look pregnant except for her bag. The daddy also has a really nice disposition. He's not tame, but he's calm, non-aggressive, and pretty unruffled by just about everything. As we were working the calves, it was apparent the ones that he sired. Other than having his butt and his head, they were the ones that WEREN'T crashing into the fence frantically trying to escape the slightest pressure, and weren't trying to fight their way out of the squeeze.
So.... what suggestions do y'all have for managing this calf? He's momma raised, pasture born, in March or so, so 7 or 8 months old. Do I get him halter broke and gentle with manners? Keep hands off and figure out a way to move and handle him with chutes and alleys and the trailer?
Ideally, I'd like to figure out a way to keep him around for several years, and that's why I made sure to pick a baby from the bull I used last year. If all else fails, and he proves unmanageable, we'll butcher him.
My experience with the calves has been.... the dairy bulls, or Longhorn cross calves of either sex grow VERY slow, compared to the Angus cross calves. I have limited pasture, and what I do have, I like to use for the cows, so I have to feed hay pretty much constantly to the beefers.
My DH is a cow selling machine.... he got money I could not believe for the lightweight LH cross 2-yr olds that I was just going to dump at the sale barn, and has people clamoring for more, and willing to pay a premium if they are black.
So.... we decided it made more sense to use Angus bulls to freshen the cows, and sell those calves for beef, and then to just buy replacement heifers or cows as we need them. I still have some Jersey semen left, so would continue to use it on my two best cows that I would want a heifer out of.
Someone with a nice Angus herd owes me a little money that is hard to come by these days. So... yesterday morning, I picked out a nice bull calf as part payment. I also hung around and helped castrate the other 48 bull calves.... but I digress....
I'm excited by the calf - he's a son of the bull I used last year, who makes low birthweight babies, that are fast growers. They all get his huge butt, too. My Dexter crosses spit out lamb-sized babies from him like it was nothing - my Brown Swiss didn't even look pregnant except for her bag. The daddy also has a really nice disposition. He's not tame, but he's calm, non-aggressive, and pretty unruffled by just about everything. As we were working the calves, it was apparent the ones that he sired. Other than having his butt and his head, they were the ones that WEREN'T crashing into the fence frantically trying to escape the slightest pressure, and weren't trying to fight their way out of the squeeze.
So.... what suggestions do y'all have for managing this calf? He's momma raised, pasture born, in March or so, so 7 or 8 months old. Do I get him halter broke and gentle with manners? Keep hands off and figure out a way to move and handle him with chutes and alleys and the trailer?
Ideally, I'd like to figure out a way to keep him around for several years, and that's why I made sure to pick a baby from the bull I used last year. If all else fails, and he proves unmanageable, we'll butcher him.