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Well, I just got the royal brush-off from my bull guy. He has a big ranch. It's not like he doesn't know how to handle cows, he's been surrounded by cattle his entire life, but he made some pretty weak excuses for why I wouldn't be able to bring Molly over for breeding this year. He was...

Yeah, Sioux Falls is clear over on the other side of the state, kitty-corner from us. Not going to take our old beat up trailer that far, LOL! Besides, I wouldn't buy a calf from a sale barn. You never know what you're going to bring home. If I find another calf, it will be from a local...

I agree, this is a fabulous idea, but calving season here is February through April. Unless I have a calf shipped in from somewhere (MM, maybe you could find one and bring it up here in your truck? and I'm only half joking!), the youngest calves available are 5 to 6 month old weaned calves. I...

Yeah... it's different when it's just one milk cow as opposed to a whole beef herd. No winter calvings for me, because I have to milk the cow. The calf has to be old enough to milk for me if there's a blizzard or it goes below -10F, so I like them to be born in the fall. This one is an oops...

OK, I'm confused. You said tetanus is endemic. OK, granted, so they should always get a shot? But then you say you band and cut with no shot? Or am I misreading something there? I listen to my neighbor because he has a big Angus ranch and has been doing this literally his entire life, and...

I've never done tetanus for knife castration. I heard it was necessary for banding, I guess because of the slow dying-off of tissue and such... but my neighbor (the one that castrates for me) said tetanus would only be necessary if the calf was in a dirty place or there was a lot of "junk"...

Hey, the one-prong idea is a good one. I was told if that happened again to cut the band and start over but then I was wondering HOW WOULD I CUT THE BAND without cutting him? Well, hopefully I won't have to band anymore calves. I much prefer when the neighbor cuts them. That's "4-imprint...

Yeah, he was nursing when I did it. He was thinking about NOTHING but milk at the moment, so I figured it was a good time. He didn't pay any attention to me fiddling around behind him until the rubber band and the tool's teeth snapped shut on him, THEN he noticed, LOL! Well, anyway, it's an...

Well, he certainly LOOKS well fed. And he's just full of spunk. I'm glad I taught him some manners when he was a little kid. ;) Oh, and I don't think I mentioned it yet, but I suck at banding. I had both testicles in the band at the beginning, then I let go of the bander and it closed on...

I taped Joe yesterday morning and he tapes out at 350 pounds. He'll be four months old in a couple days. Is that a good weight for his age, being 3/4 beefer? He seems chunky enough, but I dunno, I thought he'd weigh a little more than that by now. Last time he stepped on my foot, it FELT...

Yeah, I went back and re-read the first couple pages of this thread, and she's a totally different cow now. She was a scrawny, rough-looking little baby when she first got here, scared of her own shadow, and now she's a sleek, beautiful, confident momma cow (and what a good momma she is)...

You're right, Joe IS getting big. And wide. All that milk! Molly still looks very good, I think. I did take some pictures just the other day, because I realized I hadn't in such a long time! So here you go: It's really a shame Joe's not a heifer because LOOK! He's already...

Well, I'll be darned, the Skin-So-Soft WORKS! I can't believe it! I poured some (maybe half a cup) into my half empty quart squirt bottle of orange oil, vinegar, and water, and took it out with me at evening chores. Molly came in for her treats and her lower legs were black with flies, and...

Joe is staying long enough for Molly to have another calf (hopefully a heifer) and for the second calf to grow large enough for mounting games. I really don't think Molly will be trying to jump fences anymore, but I'd rather be safe than sorry. I've been keeping her in the pen with Joe during...

Little update on Joe the calf. :) I did band him, because I won't be taking them over to the neighbor's for a couple more months, and Joe is a very um, "frisky" boy, LOL! I talked to the neighbor with the bulls, and he suggested we band him, so he didn't have to deal with a BIG frisky calf...

What IS it with calves sleeping in the feeder? My pea-brained calf decided it was not only a good place to sleep, but it also made a very good bathroom as well. I wondered why Molly wasn't eating as much hay as she usually does, and then one morning I saw Joe standing in the feeder, peeing. I...

I have the narrow bore inflations and a Gast oil-less 3/4 hp pump with a balance tank, running at 12.5hg (I think that's the correct terminology). https://hambydairysupply.com/nupulse-3-4-hp-vacuum-pump-for-1-or-2-bucket-milkers/ I've been doing this for 12 years now. Molly is the fourth...

Oh, I almost forgot, there was one other picture I wanted to post. Molly loves Rich. She loves him almost as much as she loves her own baby. She never kisses ME like that, but I'm the evil witch that makes her DO stuff. Rich just talks sweet to her and spoils her rotten. Cows and...

My hand is on there in case Joe hits her with a hard bunt and knocks it off the hanger. Also, my other hand is lightly holding (not pressing, just there in case) the back inflations on because her teats are so short. It just won't hang by itself for the whole milking now, so I have to tilt and...

Here are a couple final pictures... I'm sure everyone wants to see her being milked. I had a good helper (he gets me the cream!). She's making about 5 gallons a day - that's my best guess - and he's getting about half and I'm getting the other half. Works for me! My share: I can't hoist...