Advice on culling due to age

[jondunn]

Hey guys, long time reader over the years, first time poster. We've been fooling with cattle since 05. We run Hereford, Angus, Angus x cows, and currently run an Angus bull. When we first started we thought about going to an all registered Hereford herd, but decided not to for various reasons. Anyhow, back on track. I purchased a DOD from a registered Hereford sale back in 06. She is now 12. I've gotten 6 calves from her, counting her calf she currently has, and retained 1 of them. She is an execellent cow and has proven herself very well. She raises dandy calves an is very gentle. She weighs probably 1250-1350. I hate to get rid of her, but I don't want her to die on the farm and leave me not getting some of my money back out of her. Any suggestions on what to do? Would you take the chance on her for a couple more years or ship her out at weaning time?

 

[jcarkie]

if she is raising a good calf and is physically sound, she might be worth keeping. have you checked her teeth to see if she has any. i have a cow i bought as a 5-6 yr old she had her 10th calf for me last dec. she doesnt have very good teeth just nubs but she gets around good and has an excellent udder, she stays in good shape. i have 10 yr old cow that had trouble getting up after having her last calf so i am not sure i want to chance it another time. usually 10 and over you have to pay attention for signs of weakness, most of the time they will miss breeding back or the calf suffers because they can't keep condition. if an old cow gets down they are usually done .

 

[bigbull338]

culling her is up to you.if you dont want to keep her id say send her to the sale when you wean her calf.

 

[cow pollinater]

What kind of country is she running on?
Twelve isn't all that old for a cow that's spent most of her life on easy pasture. I'd say keep her right up until you suspect she's not going to get it done anymore and then sell her. You should get some warning signs like poor body condition or failure to breed back in a timely manner as aposed to just having an old dead cow one morning.

 

[jondunn]

Overall she is in good shape, just a little slow. She has always been on the slow side though. She isn't lacking in body and her calve isn't lacking. I guess I'm just afraid she will drop dead on the farm, an I wont get no return. I will start keeping more of a close eye on her and just go from there. Thanks guys!

 

[Caustic Burno]

Hey guys, long time reader over the years, first time poster. We've been fooling with cattle since 05. We run Hereford, Angus, Angus x cows, and currently run an Angus bull. When we first started we thought about going to an all registered Hereford herd, but decided not to for various reasons. Anyhow, back on track. I purchased a DOD from a registered Hereford sale back in 06. She is now 12. I've gotten 6 calves from her, counting her calf she currently has, and retained 1 of them. She is an execellent cow and has proven herself very well. She raises dandy calves an is very gentle. She weighs probably 1250-1350. I hate to get rid of her, but I don't want her to die on the farm and leave me not getting some of my money back out of her. Any suggestions on what to do? Would you take the chance on her for a couple more years or ship her out at weaning time?

Now this gets down to good grass equal's good teeth and longevity.
Before I culled down because of the drought I had Hereford girl's old enough to vote.
I kept some that are 16 or 17 still holding BCS and raising a good calf every year.
It get's down to IMO she has more value as a DOD in your herd retaining her progeny.
At 12 years old she has kill value only through the barn unless you can find someone wanting to flush her.
Papers on that cow have no more value than a roll of toliet paper except to maybe the right Hereford seedstock producer. If she is a good cow producing there is no reaso to sell her.

 

[bird dog]

She ain't no more likely to drop dead than a five year old if she is healthy like you say. They usually give you some warning if something is wrong. Accidents will happen with cows of all ages. Check her body score at weaning time and compare her against your others. If its bad sell her. If its good keep her. If its in between and she is bred back, calve her out next year and sell her as a pair.

 

[KNERSIE]

What kind of country is she running on?
Twelve isn't all that old for a cow that's spent most of her life on easy pasture. I'd say keep her right up until you suspect she's not going to get it done anymore and then sell her. You should get some warning signs like poor body condition or failure to breed back in a timely manner as aposed to just having an old dead cow one morning.

Good advice!

For what its worth I am currently in the process of buying 11 year old hereford cows that ran their entire lives on tough country and still look like 5 year olds. The plan is to look after them as best I can and get as many calves out of these old proven girls as possible.

 

[longhornlover3498]

if she was a good cow and threw great calves i'd probably keep her til she died but thats just me. we have 2 longhorns that are both 19. one we call miss ann and the other is beaulah. they calve yearly and most of our herd females are miss anns daughters or grand calves. they still have their teeth and have great body condition. still waitin on beaulah to calve but miss ann has had her 5th bull calf this year out of 17 calves. vet said that they'll probably calve well in to their twenties.

 

[B&M Farms]

I wouldn't sale a 12 year old cow that was still in good shape. They will usually give you an idea of when its time to get rid of them. If she starts to get pulled down too much before weaning or weans a sub par calf its time. As long as she has teeth she should do okay. That said, she is getting to the age where you will have to watch. Some will do okay for a while longer.

 

[jerry27150]

if you wait til they show you they can't raise a good calf, you will get a real cutrate price for her & many show no sign til it is too late i rarely keep a cow past 11 years as that is the time when you can no longer be sure they can raise the calf they have & risk losing a 1000 dollar bill these days, better to sell them in good shape while they make good steak than to push your luck

 

[Caustic Burno]

if you wait til they show you they can't raise a good calf, you will get a real cutrate price for her & many show no sign til it is too late i rarely keep a cow past 11 years as that is the time when you can no longer be sure they can raise the calf they have & risk losing a 1000 dollar bill these days, better to sell them in good shape while they make good steak than to push your luck

I hauled a trailer load for the neighbor a couple weeks ago and there wasn't a cow in the trailer under 24.
Everyone of them had good teeth and still producing every 12 month's. When they aged them at the barn they aged out between 5 and 7 by their teeth. BSC was a 6.5 to 7 everyone fat and slick. Little Brimmer goes a long way.

 

[backhoeboogie]

Teeth. If they have good teeth, they are good cows. The older they are, the better they know the routines. It is crazy to sell a good cow and take a chance on replacing her with an unknown.

 

[ANAZAZI]

Teeth. If they have good teeth, they are good cows. The older they are, the better they know the routines. It is crazy to sell a good cow and take a chance on replacing her with an unknown.

:nod: