2013 calves

[dutchcowboy]

Hi,

Cows started calving last week, thursday a set of twins (two bulls) and saturday at 12:00 a bull, at 16:00 a heiffer, at 18:00 heiffer and at 23:00 a bull.
Had to pull a little bit on a firstcalver (25 % Belgianbleu), the res tcalved without any help.
Cows are mostly sim x maine anjou, sire of the calves is a salers.
One first calver to go, think she i'll do it next week.
My salers do not calve before the end of april, they are out in the mud.

Cow with the twin and the firstcalver didn't have a lot of milk, the hay I feed them is a bit low in quality so I bought a bale of cornsilage to give some more energy.

Greets, Jeroen

 

[cowgirl_jenna]

Nice calves! Do you milk the cows? That looks more like how a dairy farm set up would be here. With that said, I have a neighbor who retired from dairy farming. The last few years he bred his holsteins to angus, and now he has about 15 mostly angus cows. He treats them just like he did his dairy cows, they come in the barn and into tie stalls. I joke with him sometimes that he is really still dairying, just minus the having to milk himself My next question, please describe that corn silage bale. We feed a lot of corn silage, but I've never seen it in a bale before? How is it made? With our severe drought last summer, some people around here cut and baled their corn and wrapped it, but it wasnt chopped much (some have a roto cut in their baler) but that doesn't get it that fine as your bale. Anyway, thanks for the pics, I'm really interested how others do things and like to learn!
Jenna

 

[Craig]

Nice looking set of calves! :clap:

 

[greybeard]

Hi,

Cow with the twin and the firstcalver didn't have a lot of milk,
Greets, Jeroen

I bet that one does't have any problems giving lots of milk. That, is a healthy looking udder.

Nice calves!

 

[iowafarmer]

Cowgirl Jenna they use a machine like this. http://www.agronic.fi/en/tuotteet/mr-81 ... inkaeaerin
Compacts loose materials and bales them.

 

[dutchcowboy]

Thanks for your replys,

@ cowgirl jenna , No I don't milk my cows. Just like to have some cows on tie stalls. Its good for their docility and you can them calve during the winter.
My barn is not so big (6 x 12 meters) and in this way their fits 11 cows in it. About 30 years ago every (dairy)farmer had this system. From 10 to 80 cows. Today there are left a few farmers with large barns(freewheel, sorry for my english) whit 80 to 600 cows in it.

The corn bales are made with exact that machine what yo can see in the link (thanks for that)
The chopped corn is brought to the farm and shoveld in the baler, it spits out a 40 bales per hour.
The corn must be a bit dryer like when you make a normal silagepile.

@greybeard, This is the only pure simmi(fleckvieh) cow on the farm, bought it from a dairyfarmer who kickt this one out for lack of milk (15 liters a day), calf only uses the front teats. One hour after the calf is born I like to milk the cow and give the calf the colostrum, just to be sure the calf had enough.
The first calver only had 0,5 liter, the one with the twins is on my cull list so i don't like when she loosing to much weight.

Greets, Jeroen.

 

[Limomike]

Good lookin crop of calves.

 

[sim.-ang.king]

Good looking calves.
Would like to have a barn like that...makes feeding a lot easier.

 

[dutchcowboy]

Tanks !

Feeding the cows aint as easy as it looks like. First I have to cut blocks from the haysilage heap and I have to use a wheelbarrow to get the haysilage in front of the cows.The water is the only thing I don't have to worry about.

Silage heap.

Greets , Jeroen

 

[glacierridge]

Thanks for your replys,

@ cowgirl jenna , No I don't milk my cows. Just like to have some cows on tie stalls. Its good for their docility and you can them calve during the winter.
My barn is not so big (6 x 12 meters) and in this way their fits 11 cows in it. About 30 years ago every (dairy)farmer had this system. From 10 to 80 cows. Today there are left a few farmers with large barns(freewheel, sorry for my english) whit 80 to 600 cows in it.

The corn bales are made with exact that machine what yo can see in the link (thanks for that)
The chopped corn is brought to the farm and shoveld in the baler, it spits out a 40 bales per hour.
The corn must be a bit dryer like when you make a normal silagepile.

@greybeard, This is the only pure simmi(fleckvieh) cow on the farm, bought it from a dairyfarmer who kickt this one out for lack of milk (15 liters a day), calf only uses the front teats. One hour after the calf is born I like to milk the cow and give the calf the colostrum, just to be sure the calf had enough.
The first calver only had 0,5 liter, the one with the twins is on my cull list so i don't like when she loosing to much weight.

Greets, Jeroen.

This reminds me much of our farm.
lovely!!

 

[dutchcowboy]

So the last one calved saturday, calf came backwards. Me and my brother in law pulled it out in 30 minutes, with just ropes and sticks, no puller. Never had a backward calf before. The calf was alive, didn't breathe, gived some mouth to nose breathing after we lifted the hindlegs. And ther he was. Mother is a sim/maine x sal/herf firsttimer bullcalf is sired by a saler.

Jeroen.

 

[dutchcowboy]

Hi,

My salers started calving this weekend. AI 'ed two cows (mother and daughter) on 10 july with a double muscled parthenaise bull (sansoonet). Mother calved saturday (20-4), a bull. Daughter calved sunday(21-4), a heiffer. No assistance needed. Calves are about 40 kgs.



The oldest cow with her bullcalf



Her daughter with her heiffer.

The rest of my salers and saler/ X are bred to a salers bull. Put him in the pasture with the cows on july 15, so they'll start calving soon.

Greets, Jeroen.

 

[dutchcowboy]

http://www.ki-samen.nl/upload/03745-Sansonnet.jpg

Here's a link to a picture from the bull.

 

[dutchcowboy]

Some more cows calved the past weeks.


Second calf of this saler/x cow.


Also a second calf of this saler/x cow.


Old salers cow, calved 8 times now.

Calves are all heiffers, from a 100% salers bull.
Freezerbeef next week.


Parthenaise x salers, 4 weeks old.


Blonde d'aquitaine bull, lease him from my butcher !, first I wanted a limosine but I couldn't find one i can afford.
This is a cheap way to cover my cows, but I think I have to sell all the calves next year. :frowns:

Comments are welcome.

Greets, Jeroen.

 

[dutchcowboy]

First calf of the old english hereford bull I leased last year arrived.
Its a heiffer, her dam is 5/8 saler and this is her first calf.


Dam of the cow above.

Greets , Jeroen.

 

[Red Bull Breeder]

Nice pictures. Cows and calves look good.

 

[Jake]

Great pictures, always interesting to see other places and the cattle they are running.

 

[cow pollinater]

Great pics. I'm not much of a traveler but one of these days I'm going to come see your corner of the world. Your pics just made me want to see it even worse.

 

[dutchcowboy]

Hi, thanks for the replys,

Great pics. I'm not much of a traveler but one of these days I'm going to come see your corner of the world. Your pics just made me want to see it even worse.

When you come to see my corner of the world and you visit my small country, you are never far away from my small farm. :cowboy:
You're always welcome ,

Jeroen.

 

[dutchcowboy]

Sold these two guys today, the cows' bankaccount was almost empty and there are some bills to be payed. Got 800€ a piece.
Born in march, they will be picked up over a week.
Don't have to wean them.

Jeroen.