Post by Tammy on Apr 7, 2010 10:43:01 GMT -5
A little bit of history:
I bought Sugar a 3/4 Jersey 1/4 Dutch Belted heifer calf from a friend. (I later purchased her Dam, Cookie when her owner was not longer able to keep her and sold her to Theresa in Louisiana.) Sugar was raised from two months of age until around eight months of age here on our farm. Joelle and family bought Scarlette and Sugar from me and they went to live in West Virginia.
As those of you who follow the forum regularly know, Joelle and family tried several unsuccessful AI attempts on Sugar. In the mean time, Scarlette calved and one of the members of the family went out one day to see what looked like Sugar nursing on Scarlette. They immediately separated the two and did not put them back together. Since they are not able to see Scarlette and Sugar and monitor them at all times, that is exactly what I would have done.
Joelle and I talked and I suggested that they bring Sugar down to the farm where we run our beef herd and put her in with our two Angus bulls. We had pulled the bulls off the herd for a while and it was a perfect opportunity to expose Sugar to the bulls and be able to monitor them at the same time. Joelle had kept accurate records of Sugar's heat cycles and we watched her closely but she never came into heat after we put her in with our bulls.
I just could not get Sugar off my mind. The more I thought about it, the more I wondered about Sugar nursing on Scarlette. Sugar had never done anything like this before. She also had not been sucking on Scarlette when she was dry. In addition, if she had been nursing on Scarlette before she calved, she would not have had any colostrum for Nestle, the baby, and she obviously had plenty of colostrum. I also felt very bad for Joelle and family as they had high hopes for Sugar but now felt that they could not trust her and due to their work schedules and set up were not able to monitor the two girls to make sure there was not anything going on that should not be going on. The more I thought about it, the more I felt that I should buy Sugar back and give her a chance here to prove herself. So, Joelle (and family) and I worked out a sale that included in part trading Nellson (whom they have renamed) for beef. I am thankful that Joelle and family were willing to give me the opportunity to give Sugar a chance to redeem herself. They and I have a lot of heart and time invested in this girl.
I brought her up from the farm with the Angus bulls last night and put her in with my herd. I put her in with the lactating cows and not the heifers because I wanted to give her every opportunity to either commence nursing or prove to me that she would not. Knock-on-wood she has not done so. I watched her stand a few inches away from Emmy as her calf Ezekiel nursed and she did not act the least bit interested. I watched her all evening and all morning and she has made no attempt to nurse anyone. Butter, who was her surrogate mother for a while is in the same pasture and in milk and there has been no interest in nursing from Butter. So, I am cautiously optimistic. I know that "suckers" can be sneaky so I am not letting down my guard but I can watch the cows in the front pasture and will be keeping a close eye on them. In addition, I know how much milk each cow gives and I did not come up short this morning. If I start coming up short, I will know something is up.
My plan is if I can prove to myself that she is not nursing, then I will confirm that she is bred. If she is bred, then it will be more than likely to the last AI attempt to the Guernsey bull. If she is not bred, then I question whether she will breed. If all goes well and she end up bred and not nursing, my plan is to try to re home her as I really don't need another heifer right now. However, if I am not able to re home her, I am ok with that as well. She has a great build and reminds me very much of her dam, Cookie. I think she will make an awesome milk cow.
In the event that she should be found to be a sucker and she is indeed bred, I plan to either make sure she goes to a home where they know she can't be around other cows. If that does not work, then I will either make her beef by running her with the beef herd, away from the dairy cows with cows that won't tolerate sucking until she calves.
I am very optimistic and have a good feeling about her. I had to at least give her a chance and I hope she proves to be everything I think she is.
Here are some pictures as she was re-introduced to the herd:
Sugar and Princess were good buddies as calves. Here they are re-introduced across the fence.
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Emmy and Apple get in on the action.
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Everyone wants to check out the new girl!
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Davie says, "Wow!"
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Wish us luck!!!!!
I bought Sugar a 3/4 Jersey 1/4 Dutch Belted heifer calf from a friend. (I later purchased her Dam, Cookie when her owner was not longer able to keep her and sold her to Theresa in Louisiana.) Sugar was raised from two months of age until around eight months of age here on our farm. Joelle and family bought Scarlette and Sugar from me and they went to live in West Virginia.
As those of you who follow the forum regularly know, Joelle and family tried several unsuccessful AI attempts on Sugar. In the mean time, Scarlette calved and one of the members of the family went out one day to see what looked like Sugar nursing on Scarlette. They immediately separated the two and did not put them back together. Since they are not able to see Scarlette and Sugar and monitor them at all times, that is exactly what I would have done.
Joelle and I talked and I suggested that they bring Sugar down to the farm where we run our beef herd and put her in with our two Angus bulls. We had pulled the bulls off the herd for a while and it was a perfect opportunity to expose Sugar to the bulls and be able to monitor them at the same time. Joelle had kept accurate records of Sugar's heat cycles and we watched her closely but she never came into heat after we put her in with our bulls.
I just could not get Sugar off my mind. The more I thought about it, the more I wondered about Sugar nursing on Scarlette. Sugar had never done anything like this before. She also had not been sucking on Scarlette when she was dry. In addition, if she had been nursing on Scarlette before she calved, she would not have had any colostrum for Nestle, the baby, and she obviously had plenty of colostrum. I also felt very bad for Joelle and family as they had high hopes for Sugar but now felt that they could not trust her and due to their work schedules and set up were not able to monitor the two girls to make sure there was not anything going on that should not be going on. The more I thought about it, the more I felt that I should buy Sugar back and give her a chance here to prove herself. So, Joelle (and family) and I worked out a sale that included in part trading Nellson (whom they have renamed) for beef. I am thankful that Joelle and family were willing to give me the opportunity to give Sugar a chance to redeem herself. They and I have a lot of heart and time invested in this girl.
I brought her up from the farm with the Angus bulls last night and put her in with my herd. I put her in with the lactating cows and not the heifers because I wanted to give her every opportunity to either commence nursing or prove to me that she would not. Knock-on-wood she has not done so. I watched her stand a few inches away from Emmy as her calf Ezekiel nursed and she did not act the least bit interested. I watched her all evening and all morning and she has made no attempt to nurse anyone. Butter, who was her surrogate mother for a while is in the same pasture and in milk and there has been no interest in nursing from Butter. So, I am cautiously optimistic. I know that "suckers" can be sneaky so I am not letting down my guard but I can watch the cows in the front pasture and will be keeping a close eye on them. In addition, I know how much milk each cow gives and I did not come up short this morning. If I start coming up short, I will know something is up.
My plan is if I can prove to myself that she is not nursing, then I will confirm that she is bred. If she is bred, then it will be more than likely to the last AI attempt to the Guernsey bull. If she is not bred, then I question whether she will breed. If all goes well and she end up bred and not nursing, my plan is to try to re home her as I really don't need another heifer right now. However, if I am not able to re home her, I am ok with that as well. She has a great build and reminds me very much of her dam, Cookie. I think she will make an awesome milk cow.
In the event that she should be found to be a sucker and she is indeed bred, I plan to either make sure she goes to a home where they know she can't be around other cows. If that does not work, then I will either make her beef by running her with the beef herd, away from the dairy cows with cows that won't tolerate sucking until she calves.
I am very optimistic and have a good feeling about her. I had to at least give her a chance and I hope she proves to be everything I think she is.
Here are some pictures as she was re-introduced to the herd:
Sugar and Princess were good buddies as calves. Here they are re-introduced across the fence.
[]
[]
Emmy and Apple get in on the action.
[]
Everyone wants to check out the new girl!
[]
Davie says, "Wow!"
[]
Wish us luck!!!!!