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A good old bull, part one.
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<blockquote data-quote="Dylan Biggs" data-source="post: 1148322" data-attributes="member: 14282"><p>Inyati, our challenge here is the wind chill factor. - 40 isn't that bad, because it is dry here, if the wind isn't blowing. Every winter here is a bit different. Last winter set in the end of Oct and didn't relent until the 3rd week in April. we had extended cold, daytime highs -20C for weeks on end, and night time lows of -30c. Inever got real cold the low here this winter was only -38C, but combined with the wind chill factored in it was in the -50C's with a low of -54C. We have had substantially more severe cold in the past. The shelter the cattle here are wind break slab fence shelters for wind protection. Our bulls had good protection from the wind but even they got frost bite on their scrotums last winter. Nothing that damaged semen quality thankfully. </p><p></p><p>We calve May and June. I am not interested in fighting inclement weather when calving. We calve our cows and heifers on the range in pastures ranging from 300 to 700 acres. Calving ease is a strong selection focus. We ride and tag see very few calves born. This year we only hand assisted one heifer this year, my third daughter was concerned the tongue was starting to protrude and so got off her horse and slowly walked up and got on the ground and grabbed ahold of the front feet and that was all the assistance needed to pop the head out. This was a purchased commercial heifer, sired by a bull of ours but bred to a red poll bull. there were 60 msome heifers calving this year, next year it will be 100 or more. Calving ease is essential in our management and I am prepared to sacrifice growth. Most of our calves are in the low 70's from our heifers. </p><p></p><p>As regards wet, I have had really only one actual experience with that which was back in 1992, we were still calving in April. The cows were out on range, we were just getting started calving. and a spring storm started in that was not forecast. It was April 27. It started as rain and turned to snow accompanied by a 65 mph wind gusts. The cattle all drifted to the south boundary, and the ground there was a hard pan type clay that turned quickly to mud. The calves were popping out like crazy and as fast as we could put them in a trailer and get them to the shop we were. Lost 10 calves, from hypothermia, visibility was almost nil, Had no idea who most of the calves belonged to . The storm went on for 18 hrs or so. It took three weeks to get everyone mothered up with a cow, Had over 30 calves in the shop at one time.</p><p></p><p>What I do remember is this one little old black angus cow 38P who went north into the wind on her own in that storm went a half a mile over a hill, a hill to us, maybe a rise to most, and found a buck brush patch to calve in. The buck brush is about a foot to a foot and a half tall and thick and provides good protection from the wind. She kept her calf in that buck brush the whole storm and it was in good shape when she led us to it a day later after the storm subsided. That is the kind of maternal instinct for survival that I have always admired about the good maternal Angus cattle. To have the intelligence to protect their calves from the elements. She was the only cow that did that calved during the storm. I still have her granddaughters in the herd. EPD's don't help much when it comes to measuring and or predicting that kind of maternal behavior. </p><p></p><p>At any rate cold, wet to the bone and windy is miserable indeed. I will take cold, windy and dry any day. The length of the cold here is what is hard to take, but still manageable none the less.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Dylan Biggs, post: 1148322, member: 14282"] Inyati, our challenge here is the wind chill factor. - 40 isn't that bad, because it is dry here, if the wind isn't blowing. Every winter here is a bit different. Last winter set in the end of Oct and didn't relent until the 3rd week in April. we had extended cold, daytime highs -20C for weeks on end, and night time lows of -30c. Inever got real cold the low here this winter was only -38C, but combined with the wind chill factored in it was in the -50C's with a low of -54C. We have had substantially more severe cold in the past. The shelter the cattle here are wind break slab fence shelters for wind protection. Our bulls had good protection from the wind but even they got frost bite on their scrotums last winter. Nothing that damaged semen quality thankfully. We calve May and June. I am not interested in fighting inclement weather when calving. We calve our cows and heifers on the range in pastures ranging from 300 to 700 acres. Calving ease is a strong selection focus. We ride and tag see very few calves born. This year we only hand assisted one heifer this year, my third daughter was concerned the tongue was starting to protrude and so got off her horse and slowly walked up and got on the ground and grabbed ahold of the front feet and that was all the assistance needed to pop the head out. This was a purchased commercial heifer, sired by a bull of ours but bred to a red poll bull. there were 60 msome heifers calving this year, next year it will be 100 or more. Calving ease is essential in our management and I am prepared to sacrifice growth. Most of our calves are in the low 70's from our heifers. As regards wet, I have had really only one actual experience with that which was back in 1992, we were still calving in April. The cows were out on range, we were just getting started calving. and a spring storm started in that was not forecast. It was April 27. It started as rain and turned to snow accompanied by a 65 mph wind gusts. The cattle all drifted to the south boundary, and the ground there was a hard pan type clay that turned quickly to mud. The calves were popping out like crazy and as fast as we could put them in a trailer and get them to the shop we were. Lost 10 calves, from hypothermia, visibility was almost nil, Had no idea who most of the calves belonged to . The storm went on for 18 hrs or so. It took three weeks to get everyone mothered up with a cow, Had over 30 calves in the shop at one time. What I do remember is this one little old black angus cow 38P who went north into the wind on her own in that storm went a half a mile over a hill, a hill to us, maybe a rise to most, and found a buck brush patch to calve in. The buck brush is about a foot to a foot and a half tall and thick and provides good protection from the wind. She kept her calf in that buck brush the whole storm and it was in good shape when she led us to it a day later after the storm subsided. That is the kind of maternal instinct for survival that I have always admired about the good maternal Angus cattle. To have the intelligence to protect their calves from the elements. She was the only cow that did that calved during the storm. I still have her granddaughters in the herd. EPD's don't help much when it comes to measuring and or predicting that kind of maternal behavior. At any rate cold, wet to the bone and windy is miserable indeed. I will take cold, windy and dry any day. The length of the cold here is what is hard to take, but still manageable none the less. [/QUOTE]
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