I used to leave the bulls in until weaning. And then I ended up with bred heifer calves. Learned my lesson the hard way.We fall calve but I leave the bull in until weaning time
I used to leave the bulls in until weaning. And then I ended up with bred heifer calves. Learned my lesson the hard way.We fall calve but I leave the bull in until weaning time
Seems odd for coyotes to take down 300# calves. Are you sure it wasn't something bigger? Or calves died then scavenged?We just found 2 calves out to a pasture that were killed... tracks and all show probably a pack of coyotes... have had coyote problems out here in the past... killed within the last week... eaten down to the bones except the legs... son found one eartag... other one no ears, nothing... just bones...between coyotes and buzzards picked clean.
I will not cull their mommas because they did not wean off these calves. They should be bred back... moved the cattle over to a more open section, where they will have trouble cornering anything against some fences... this was an area along a creek and somewhat bottlenecked... we also have a problem with black bears out there destroying the round bales of hay in the one hayfield.... Owner doesn't allow hunting... but we are going to talk to him about the coyote problems... calves were 300+ lbs... early summer calves that were doing pretty good considering the dry conditions. He said the cows were spooky acting too... We are going to probably start running a few more mules out with the cows now... It stopped the problems with the sheep this spring... never had this much trouble out with the cattle before. Need to find some "mean dog stomping" mules.....
Put your longhorn with them.We just found 2 calves out to a pasture that were killed... tracks and all show probably a pack of coyotes... have had coyote problems out here in the past... killed within the last week... eaten down to the bones except the legs... son found one eartag... other one no ears, nothing... just bones...between coyotes and buzzards picked clean.
I will not cull their mommas because they did not wean off these calves. They should be bred back... moved the cattle over to a more open section, where they will have trouble cornering anything against some fences... this was an area along a creek and somewhat bottlenecked... we also have a problem with black bears out there destroying the round bales of hay in the one hayfield.... Owner doesn't allow hunting... but we are going to talk to him about the coyote problems... calves were 300+ lbs... early summer calves that were doing pretty good considering the dry conditions. He said the cows were spooky acting too... We are going to probably start running a few more mules out with the cows now... It stopped the problems with the sheep this spring... never had this much trouble out with the cattle before. Need to find some "mean dog stomping" mules.....
I had bred heifer calves, but I blamed it on my wide calving window. There was a bull calf born 3 months ? before the other calves. After weaning, I found an aborted fetus in the barnyard. Worked the heifers and found more pregnancies. Let the bigger ones keep 'em and aborted the smaller ones. I got lucky. There was only a few. They calved unassisted and raised their calves. ...That bull calf got knifed. Probably a little under 1000 lbs. by the time he healed up and was sold.I used to leave the bulls in until weaning. And then I ended up with bred heifer calves. Learned my lesson the hard way.
We had a stag one year, named him One Nut. And I'll be damned if he didn't breed a heifer. Vet came out for a little surgery, subsequently changing his name to No Nuts. It happens!I had bred heifer calves, but I blamed it on my wide calving window. There was a bull calf born 3 months ? before the other calves. After weaning, I found an aborted fetus in the barnyard. Worked the heifers and found more pregnancies. Let the bigger ones keep 'em and aborted the smaller ones. I got lucky. There was only a few. They calved unassisted and raised their calves. ...That bull calf got knifed. Probably a little under 1000 lbs. by the time he healed up and was sold.
Put your longhorn with them.
I would except we were getting ready to move them to this more opened field anyway in anticipation of them coming home within a couple weeks. Still might suggest it to son.... her calf is ready to wean and she should be bred back...Put your longhorn with them.
Bears can be destructive for sure. One fall they must have been looking for food and tore up dead trees and done a number on some rotting fence posts.@GoWyo anything is possible. But we go check here twice a week, and son has been in there 3 times in the 8-9 days, because the float on the one water trough won't shut off all the time and he has changed out parts and finally put in a whole new kit... The one calf he found the tag for is one that you notice all the time, very people interested.... and he said he has seen it several times and then all of a sudden the cows were acting weird and he didn't see the calf and went looking... Both carcasses were up against the fence in that corner that is like a deep V where the fences come down to the watergap... he said it looked like they had been trapped there...
@Ky hills ... the bear problems this year with the rolls of hay has been extensive. They tore apart 3 rolls in the field that we hadn't gotten moved...1st cutting..... scattered the hay and rolled the rolls and really made a mess... then this last cutting son got all the hay put in a row along the edge right up along the driveway and patch of trees there... and they actually got several bales moved and rolled and tore the netting off one completely... he normally does not do netting here but thought for 2nd cutting it would help to maybe not get them unrolled as easy... and they scattered that bale into several big clumps. He has been in and out of there to get all the hay moved out. Normally we would feed that hay there when the pastures got short so we didn't have to move them all back to the barn area so soon... better the manure out there on the pasture than is the barn lots....
One day a couple years ago we were putting a new "wheel" on the back of the bush hog and a bear came right up the low draw there, and I thought it was a cow when I glimpsed it coming up,,,, then realized it was a bear... and it walked up through the cows like no big deal and the calves were actually running around like calves do when they want others to play and chase them... My son and I just watched him meander his way right up across the field and into the woods.... calves lost interest and came back down where we were and bear paid them no attention... Not saying it couldn't have been a bear that got them, but son saw tracks there along the water's edge... we got over 2 inches last Tues/Wed and it happened since then or the tracks would be long gone... I think he went in there again to replace the whole float piece on Friday...
It does seem like there are more coyotes out there than in past years... have not talked to the guy over the hill to see if he has had any sheep losses... but he also has several big Great Pyrs out with the sheep... has had them for years with his sheep...
This owner does not allow any hunting on the land...but the coyote problem has got to be addressed... he does not think the bear problem is that big a deal... that we should move the hay if they are a problem... GRRRRRRRRR..... PITA owners that do not make their living farming... and have more money than they need so no skin off their back for our loss...
Red angus cattle according to this article.So who is Roy Beebe? Does he have cattle?
I was having this discussion with a neighbor the other day, it amazes me how many veteran hunters will take a shot with a rifle towards a house or road because they can't see the house due to brush, trees or hills, but they know the house or road is there. I hunt a little and when I set up I always pick out a marker as to how far right or left I can swing and not be shooting toward someone else's property or a roadway. The direction I'll shoot with a rifle on my own property is several acres of hardwoods that belong to me before you ever reach someone else's property line, a stray bullet will catch a tree before ever making it to the property line. I'm a proponent of the 2nd amendment but a lot of people scare me the way they handle a firearm.With houses in every direction, livestock and a state road frontage it's just to risky to let just anybody come in and hunt.
Yes, I'm a proponent of the 2nd amendment too, I think sometimes people question that when we don't allow them to hunt, Sometimes they will try to convince us that they know about guns and gun safety but it's not worth the risk. Our land is folded up with hills but still fairly small acreage and high powered rifles could easily go into neighboring property if not mindful of it.I was having this discussion with a neighbor the other day, it amazes me how many veteran hunters will take a shot with a rifle towards a house or road because they can't see the house due to brush, trees or hills, but they know the house or road is there. I hunt a little and when I set up I always pick out a marker as to how far right or left I can swing and not be shooting toward someone else's property or a roadway. The direction I'll shoot with a rifle on my own property is several acres of hardwoods that belong to me before you ever reach someone else's property line, a stray bullet will catch a tree before ever making it to the property line. I'm a proponent of the 2nd amendment but a lot of people scare me the way they handle a firearm.