Post by hoperefuge on Jul 24, 2013 11:47:54 GMT -5
I need some help deciding what will be the best feed plan for this new little guy, who will be a future herdsire to follow up my Rousseau. This is kinda 2 threads rolled into one here, I guess. But it all goes together, so hang with me.
This weekend I'm finally bringing home my 2 new Dexter girls , Isabella & Little Red Girl (that one *really* needs a nickname, I mean really, they couldn't come up with a better registered name? : and the bull calf, Mr. Lincoln. This has been in the works since early spring & we've been waiting for the logistics to work out. Red Girl's heifer is being sold separately to somebody else, so the plan was for the seller to attempt to graft Mr. Lincoln onto her for me. That hasn't worked out, unfortunately, so he is freshly weaned & on Calf Manna. (So he was on his momma until 4 months old)
It would be so much easier for me & better for him if he could be fostered, but none of my current girls go for that sort of thing. My understanding is that Red Girl is not particularly halter trained nor used to being handled a whole lot, so I'm not sure forcing the idea with her will work out so well, though I wonder if she'd be more agreeable once her heifer is totally out of the picture. At any rate, I'm not counting on that working.
While I know that he would be fine from this point on grain, my concern is how that will affect his ability to do well as a grassfed breeding bull. The last thing I want is to end up with a bull that *needs* grain to maintain good breeding condition! And from what I've read from others on here, putting him on grain now will affect his rumen development such that he may not do very well grassfed. So what is my best option?
I'm milking BoPeep & would be able to have a gallon of fresh milk a day for him. Would that be enough to keep him headed in a grassfed direction? I'm thinking that I may still need to do some grain with only a gallon of milk a day? And does it matter if it's from a bottle or a bucket, since drinking from a bucket is the wrong position to shunt the milk past the rumen? I'm willing to try a bottle, but at 4mo I suspect it will be a losing battle. I'm just so unsure what is the best route to take with him.
I'm really excited about this little guy. He's got excellent milk/udder bloodlines behind him (for a Dexter) and I just want him to be able to reach his full potential as a breeding bull. Please help! Your insight & advice is much appreciated!!!!
Kim
This weekend I'm finally bringing home my 2 new Dexter girls , Isabella & Little Red Girl (that one *really* needs a nickname, I mean really, they couldn't come up with a better registered name? : and the bull calf, Mr. Lincoln. This has been in the works since early spring & we've been waiting for the logistics to work out. Red Girl's heifer is being sold separately to somebody else, so the plan was for the seller to attempt to graft Mr. Lincoln onto her for me. That hasn't worked out, unfortunately, so he is freshly weaned & on Calf Manna. (So he was on his momma until 4 months old)
It would be so much easier for me & better for him if he could be fostered, but none of my current girls go for that sort of thing. My understanding is that Red Girl is not particularly halter trained nor used to being handled a whole lot, so I'm not sure forcing the idea with her will work out so well, though I wonder if she'd be more agreeable once her heifer is totally out of the picture. At any rate, I'm not counting on that working.
While I know that he would be fine from this point on grain, my concern is how that will affect his ability to do well as a grassfed breeding bull. The last thing I want is to end up with a bull that *needs* grain to maintain good breeding condition! And from what I've read from others on here, putting him on grain now will affect his rumen development such that he may not do very well grassfed. So what is my best option?
I'm milking BoPeep & would be able to have a gallon of fresh milk a day for him. Would that be enough to keep him headed in a grassfed direction? I'm thinking that I may still need to do some grain with only a gallon of milk a day? And does it matter if it's from a bottle or a bucket, since drinking from a bucket is the wrong position to shunt the milk past the rumen? I'm willing to try a bottle, but at 4mo I suspect it will be a losing battle. I'm just so unsure what is the best route to take with him.
I'm really excited about this little guy. He's got excellent milk/udder bloodlines behind him (for a Dexter) and I just want him to be able to reach his full potential as a breeding bull. Please help! Your insight & advice is much appreciated!!!!
Kim