Backbone Ranch
Well-known member
We had a bit of a rough start to our calving season this year. We had a 90+ lb bull calf born out of one of our smaller heifers that had to be pulled, and another born dead that was a breach birth. With that being said, things have gotten progressively better since then. We have 9 heifer calves and 10 bull calves on the ground. We bred our AI cows on a natural heat last year, and ended up with 6 AI calves... a much better conception rate than in the previous years when we did TAI. Our first natural service calves were due on the 7th, and we have been averaging one a day since then. I thought that I would share some pictures of them.
002 Heifer: This calf is an 18 day old heifer sired by a New Zealand Murray Grey bull, Ballee Thumbs Up.
006 Heifer: This heifer is another Ballee Thumbs Up daughter, pictured at 19 days.
004 Heifer: This heifer is a daughter of JOPA Elation Power, a USA bred Murray Grey bull from the late 1980s. She is pictured at 14 days.
001 Bull: This calf has been a standout since day one. He is sired by Cadella Park Minute Man and out of our oldest Tony daughter. He was 72 lbs at birth and is pictured here at 17 days. I am really eager to watch him develop.
005 Bull: He is an 8 day old son of Fox Hill Francois and is out of a Tony daughter. He was 80 lbs at birth and is quite a bit lankier than our other calves.
[image]https://i.postimg.cc/hGLYnT07/005-Bull-8-days.jpg[/image]
These next two bull calves are sired by BB Backbone's General out of Tony daughters. They are pictured at 7 and 8 days of age. The 003 calf is out of a 4 year old, while the 007 bull is out of a first calf heifer.
These are the first calves that we have had from both Fox Hill Francois and Cadella Park Minute Man, and the first heifers that we have had out of Ballee Thumbs Up. I am really liking them so far. The remainder of our calves this year will be sired by BB Backbone's General, BB Uncle Tony, and BB Backbone's Dominion. We have 7 or 8 more cows that are looking like they will calve in the next handful of days. I would say that the next rain storm would trigger most of them to go, but it has been raining almost daily for the last three weeks. Our ponds are overflowing, and I have seen carp swimming through the middle of our pastures in the river bottoms. After getting the truck stuck several times, we have resorted to checking them in the Ranger. Sometimes I have to sink it to the floorboards to cross a stretch of water, but at least it doesn't get stuck!
002 Heifer: This calf is an 18 day old heifer sired by a New Zealand Murray Grey bull, Ballee Thumbs Up.
006 Heifer: This heifer is another Ballee Thumbs Up daughter, pictured at 19 days.
004 Heifer: This heifer is a daughter of JOPA Elation Power, a USA bred Murray Grey bull from the late 1980s. She is pictured at 14 days.
001 Bull: This calf has been a standout since day one. He is sired by Cadella Park Minute Man and out of our oldest Tony daughter. He was 72 lbs at birth and is pictured here at 17 days. I am really eager to watch him develop.
005 Bull: He is an 8 day old son of Fox Hill Francois and is out of a Tony daughter. He was 80 lbs at birth and is quite a bit lankier than our other calves.
[image]https://i.postimg.cc/hGLYnT07/005-Bull-8-days.jpg[/image]
These next two bull calves are sired by BB Backbone's General out of Tony daughters. They are pictured at 7 and 8 days of age. The 003 calf is out of a 4 year old, while the 007 bull is out of a first calf heifer.
These are the first calves that we have had from both Fox Hill Francois and Cadella Park Minute Man, and the first heifers that we have had out of Ballee Thumbs Up. I am really liking them so far. The remainder of our calves this year will be sired by BB Backbone's General, BB Uncle Tony, and BB Backbone's Dominion. We have 7 or 8 more cows that are looking like they will calve in the next handful of days. I would say that the next rain storm would trigger most of them to go, but it has been raining almost daily for the last three weeks. Our ponds are overflowing, and I have seen carp swimming through the middle of our pastures in the river bottoms. After getting the truck stuck several times, we have resorted to checking them in the Ranger. Sometimes I have to sink it to the floorboards to cross a stretch of water, but at least it doesn't get stuck!
