Another..."last" update.

[Warren Allison]

@farmerjan last two posts are spot on.

Better listen! I couldn't say it any better for sure.

Mastitis is nasty stuff. Got to have at least one extra calf per cow. That's why I get them early and bottle em for a few days or a week or two if I have to. When u need a calf, u need it NOW! Ain't no time to be running around looking everywhere only to be disappointed no one has one. At any price!

No way will I pay more than 300 for a GOOD BEEF CALF. And at 300 it better be PERFECT!

Yeah, I think $500 was a bit high for that calf. But, we knew where she came from and the bull that sired her. Plus, like you just mentioned, there might not have been on at the sale today. And, I gave way too much for those two half Jersey heifers, too. But, she had called me to carry them to the sale for her, and I knew how much she lacked paying for her husband's funeral, and they were not gonna come near that at the sale. This philanthropy stuff is gonna bankrupt me!

 

[Warren Allison]

Update: You'd never know which calf is Gail's...she treats them like they were her twins. Mattie has had Zeke milk her, about a gallon, every day. They don't need that much, and he often gets trash in it, but she just adds it to the slop bucket for the hogs when he does. Or when they don't need it. Scott told Zeke to not put her on the porch anymore. This puts his or Mattie's head right at the same level as a front kick from Gail would be. So, Zeke just uses his folding dove hunting stool. They have quit feeding her except for one scoop....about a quart...every day, just to keep her coming to the gate every time she hears somebody in there. We are hoping as the calves get bigger and drink more, we wont have to keep milking her.

 

[farmerjan]

Update: You'd never know which calf is Gail's...she treats them like they were her twins. Mattie has had Zeke milk her, about a gallon, every day. They don't need that much, and he often gets trash in it, but she just adds it to the slop bucket for the hogs when he does. Or when they don't need it. Scott told Zeke to not put her on the porch anymore. This puts his or Mattie's head right at the same level as a front kick from Gail would be. So, Zeke just uses his folding dove hunting stool. They have quit feeding her except for one scoop....about a quart...every day, just to keep her coming to the gate every time she hears somebody in there. We are hoping as the calves get bigger and drink more, we wont have to keep milking her.

Sounds really GREAT.....

 

[Warren Allison]

So, my friend Dan, the breeding manager and AI tech for the huge Charolais operation, called me at 5AM this morning. I got the worst head cold ever yesterday, so I was up anyhow. I think I slept from 1 to 3 this morning. Anyhow, one of their Braunvieh/Brown Swiss recep cows had slipped 2 embryos this year. After the 2nd one, he AI-ed her to this old timey red &white Simm he had in the tank. Or it might be Fleckveih..I dunno. He wanted to see if the problem was the cow or the embryos. 10 days ago she had a 108 lb heifer calf. Monday, one of their high-dollar Charolais had a calf, and wanted nothing to do with it, other than to try to kill it. So they have been bottle feeding it colostrum, and want to graft it onto that recip cow today. He said if I wanted her calf I could have it! I am coughing and sneezing so bad I can hardly talk. So, I woke up Clay...bless his heart. and at 6 AM ., he took off for Scott's place with that calf in the back of one of his trucks with a camper shell on it. He should be there in about `30 minutes. They gonna see if Gail will take that one too. If not, they will just milk Gail and bottle feed it til Saturday, then take it to the sale. Y'all keep your fingers crossed for us!

 

[farmerjan]

So, my friend Dan, the breeding manager and AI tech for the huge Charolais operation, called me at 5AM this morning. I got the worst head cold ever yesterday, so I was up anyhow. I think I slept from 1 to 3 this morning. Anyhow, one of their Braunvieh/Brown Swiss recep cows had slipped 2 embryos this year. After the 2nd one, he AI-ed her to this old timey red &white Simm he had in the tank. Or it might be Fleckveih..I dunno. He wanted to see if the problem was the cow or the embryos. 10 days ago she had a 108 lb heifer calf. Monday, one of their high-dollar Charolais had a calf, and wanted nothing to do with it, other than to try to kill it. So they have been bottle feeding it colostrum, and want to graft it onto that recip cow today. He said if I wanted her calf I could have it! I am coughing and sneezing so bad I can hardly talk. So, I woke up Clay...bless his heart. and at 6 AM ., he took off for Scott's place with that calf in the back of one of his trucks with a camper shell on it. He should be there in about `30 minutes. They gonna see if Gail will take that one too. If not, they will just milk Gail and bottle feed it til Saturday, then take it to the sale. Y'all keep your fingers crossed for us!

.... I think she will do just fine for you... Zeke just needs to talk to her real nice... explain the situation, and .....

 

[Warren Allison]

Clay just called, and he is on his way back. It is 10:30, and he got there right before 9. @farmerjan , @MurraysMutts you will not believe how it went.! Blows my mind! I will be back on here in a minute or two to tell how it went,. Right now, I am headed to the store for some smokes and about $100 worth of Mega Millions and PowerBall tickets!

 

[Warren Allison]

So, Clay got there about 8:30 this morning and just went on and pulled hi s truck up to the gate .Zeke got the calf out, and toted it into the pasture. Gail had heard it bawling when they pulled up, so was on her way to check it out, the lil girls following. So she walked up to Zeke, stretched her nose out to sniff it, just making a soft, lowing sound. Zeke walked to her side, an put the calf down right at her udder. She latched on and Gail just stood there and let her. I think Dan said they hadn't fed that calf this morning before Clay left with her. They hadn;t milked Gail yet this morning either. Clay said that when the new one got full, Gail walked off with all 3 of them behind her in single file, with the new one in the middle. We are going to have to do something about Zeke naming them though. He likes to sing outlaw country, and has recently discovered Sturgil Simpson. God help us, he named this new heifer King Turd!

@farmerjan @MurraysMutts Question: When we put all the cattle back on the Kudzu place in February, and those 22 Plummers start calving, should we worry about Gail trying to nurse all of them? Her three will be 3 months old by then, and no way could she provide for them, if 20 others were trying to nurse her too.




ko

 

[farmerjan]

If the new momma cows are at all protective, Gail will most likely not bother with them. Plus, the "newness" will wear off and unless a calf goes to hollering, she most likely will not be a problem. Now, she might let anyone that wants to try, nurse her... but most new babies will be bonding to their own momma cows, and probably they will go off on their own to have them and stay aloof for a day or 2.
Any chance of putting the others there and letting them calve then moving Gail and her 3 up there a week or 2 after most/all of them have calved? Normally, a nurse cow will not just "take" a calf from another cow, unless that calf is not bonding to the new momma; plus she will still have her own calves with her... if you pulled the calves off she might want another baby to take care of, but my experience that once they get well established, they will not try to take a calf away from another cow. Stand around and be a milk bar for anyone that wants a drink is more likely.

You have gotten another "Bessie" or "Patience" , or any other name, of a perfect nurse cow. I am really glad for Zeke's sake that she has done so good... just make sure he watches , to make sure that they all go on her.... mostly he can watch their poop, and if it is fairly consistent, soft but not runny... then you can rest assured they are nursing. It sounds/looks like she will take them anytime and not need to have her own on her when a grafted on calf wants to nurse as is sometimes the case...

How about telling him since she is a girl she needs a girl name since King is a boy's name... Dolly Parton comes to mind... or Jolene.... a nice white charolais could be Snowtop.....Cotton Jenny....Queenie instead of "King"...

 

[Travlr]

IHow about telling him since she is a girl she needs a girl name since King is a boy's name... Dolly Parton comes to mind... or Jolene.... a nice white charolais could be Snowtop.....Cotton Jenny....Queenie instead of "King"...

And be sure to ask the cow what her preferred pronouns are...

 

[Warren Allison]

If the new momma cows are at all protective, Gail will most likely not bother with them. Plus, the "newness" will wear off and unless a calf goes to hollering, she most likely will not be a problem. Now, she might let anyone that wants to try, nurse her... but most new babies will be bonding to their own momma cows, and probably they will go off on their own to have them and stay aloof for a day or 2.
Any chance of putting the others there and letting them calve then moving Gail and her 3 up there a week or 2 after most/all of them have calved? Normally, a nurse cow will not just "take" a calf from another cow, unless that calf is not bonding to the new momma; plus she will still have her own calves with her... if you pulled the calves off she might want another baby to take care of, but my experience that once they get well established, they will not try to take a calf away from another cow. Stand around and be a milk bar for anyone that wants a drink is more likely.

You have gotten another "Bessie" or "Patience" , or any other name, of a perfect nurse cow. I am really glad for Zeke's sake that she has done so good... just make sure he watches , to make sure that they all go on her.... mostly he can watch their poop, and if it is fairly consistent, soft but not runny... then you can rest assured they are nursing. It sounds/looks like she will take them anytime and not need to have her own on her when a grafted on calf wants to nurse as is sometimes the case...

How about telling him since she is a girl she needs a girl name since King is a boy's name... Dolly Parton comes to mind... or Jolene.... a nice white charolais could be Snowtop.....Cotton Jenny....Queenie instead of "King"...

Well, "Red Rocket" isn't a girl's name either! LOL He is hung up on Sturgil Simpson here lately, because of the lyrics. He thinks they are funny and he thinks he is really doing something singing those "dirty word" lyrics :
Well, now Lord, if you can hear me won't you throw a damn dog a bone
'Cause if the Devil shows up with a better deal this old soul's a-goin' down
Oh, I sing 'em real pretty, sing 'em real sad
And all the people in the crowd say "He ain't half bad"
Well, they call me King Turd up here on **** Mountain
If you want it you can have the crown

Yes, we can hold Gail where she is till after those cows calve. Never had a herd of Plummer cows to calve out, but Brahmas are protective mothers. They have been known to bed down all the calves, and leave a cow or two with them to baby sit while the others go off to graze, on big ranges. I have heard of, but never seen it, that the babysitters will nurse any of the other calved while their momma is gone. That half Herf and the two half Jeresy heifers will be calving at that time, too. There ought to be enough milk between all 26 cows to feed a bunch of calves. I guess we will just have to play it by ear. The bulls will go in from about April 15 to Memorial Day weekend. It should be easier next year when they all calves in about a 3 week period. Thanks, Jan!!

 

[Down in Dixie]

If he likes Sturgil Simpson he can name her Juanita. I like his stuff as long as it's not his attempt at rock. That crap was terrible.

 

[farmerjan]

So, did you get the charolais calf or did they take the calf off the recip cow and you got that big heifer???? so they could put the charolais calf on the recip cow?

 

[Warren Allison]

So, did you get the charolais calf or did they take the calf off the recip cow and you got that big heifer???? so they could put the charolais calf on the recip cow?

Yes, that's what happened. We got the recip cow's baby: 1/2 Fleckveih, 1/4 Braunveih, and 1/4th Brown Swiss.

 

[farmerjan]

Sure hope the recip cow takes that char baby after having her own for 10 days.... so for a pretty calf like that a name like Jolene or Juanita would be good... Big girl would even work... but "KING" ????? Nah....

 

[Warren Allison]

Sure hope the recip cow takes that char baby after having her own for 10 days.... so for a pretty calf like that a name like Jolene or Juanita would be good... Big girl would even work... but "KING" ????? Nah....

She took right up with it. Dan has been working for this outfit since he graduated UGA in 1970. But., he has been a horseman all of his life. He knows to get a bottle of cheap cologne before he even starts to graft. Dunno if they even make it anymore., but BRUT was the best there is. Neither of us have ever had a mare not take an orphan foal.

Oh, he won't change its name. He thinks that King Turd is the funniest thing he has ever heard.

 

[Warren Allison]

So, this run of good luck has me worried....bad. Murphy's Law was written for me. My instincts tells me to quit while I am ahead. I am predicting right now that we gonna have a lot of trouble when those other 3 calve in March. So, Clay took that Milking Shorthorn and her 2 calves down there Saturday. Gail came to the gate when he unloaded them. She greeted the cow, then sniffed and licked her 2 calves. The new cow sniffed and licked Gail's 3. Scott said that the past 2 days, any of the 5 might nurse either of the cows. @farmerjan @MurraysMutts , is this something to be concerned with? We could separate Gail and the other cow with their respective calves if we need to.

I think we messed up getting 5 dairy cows. But, for a retired person in good health, that had a few acres and a barn, and nothing else to do, I could see where this could be a profitable hobby. If you had 5 cows like this, and had the time to stagger grafting calves on them, and time to look for beef calves to graft, you could raise maybe 4 a year off of them. 20 calves to sell, and at today's prices, that could gross you $20k in sales each year.

 

[wbvs58]

So, this run of good luck has me worried....bad. Murphy's Law was written for me. My instincts tells me to quit while I am ahead. I am predicting right now that we gonna have a lot of trouble when those other 3 calve in March. So, Clay took that Milking Shorthorn and her 2 calves down there Saturday. Gail came to the gate when he unloaded them. She greeted the cow, then sniffed and licked her 2 calves. The new cow sniffed and licked Gail's 3. Scott said that the past 2 days, any of the 5 might nurse either of the cows. @farmerjan @MurraysMutts , is this something to be concerned with? We could separate Gail and the other cow with their respective calves if we need to.

I think we messed up getting 5 dairy cows. But, for a retired person in good health, that had a few acres and a barn, and nothing else to do, I could see where this could be a profitable hobby. If you had 5 cows like this, and had the time to stagger grafting calves on them, and time to look for beef calves to graft, you could raise maybe 4 a year off of them. 20 calves to sell, and at today's prices, that could gross you $20k in sales each year.

Aren't you retired Warren? Health might be the problem????

Ken

 

[Warren Allison]

Aren't you retired Warren? Health might be the problem????

Ken

Yes. I am probably doing 25 hours or less a week in my office rather than 50+.
I sold the Corriente herd, but have bought back 37 and 5 *%$#@ dairy cows!
I only have 2 clients I am buying cattle for right now. Red Angus and Red Brangus for one. And brahma, when I find a good deal, for the other.
And only 2 outside horses in for training.
Still never got to go fishing yet this year.

Health -wise? Every bone and joint in my body hurts 24-7, but they have for years now, Just gets worse in this cold weather. Left knee is so bad I have to mount from the right side only now, and right knew is starting to hurt some too. Getting the cataract removed from my other eye Wednesday and I can't wait! With just the one done, I don't need glasses for distance anymore, nor as strong a readers as I used to need.

 

[MurraysMutts]

So, this run of good luck has me worried....bad. Murphy's Law was written for me. My instincts tells me to quit while I am ahead. I am predicting right now that we gonna have a lot of trouble when those other 3 calve in March. So, Clay took that Milking Shorthorn and her 2 calves down there Saturday. Gail came to the gate when he unloaded them. She greeted the cow, then sniffed and licked her 2 calves. The new cow sniffed and licked Gail's 3. Scott said that the past 2 days, any of the 5 might nurse either of the cows. @farmerjan @MurraysMutts , is this something to be concerned with? We could separate Gail and the other cow with their respective calves if we need to.

I think we messed up getting 5 dairy cows. But, for a retired person in good health, that had a few acres and a barn, and nothing else to do, I could see where this could be a profitable hobby. If you had 5 cows like this, and had the time to stagger grafting calves on them, and time to look for beef calves to graft, you could raise maybe 4 a year off of them. 20 calves to sell, and at today's prices, that could gross you $20k in sales each year.

 

[kenny thomas]

So, this run of good luck has me worried....bad. Murphy's Law was written for me. My instincts tells me to quit while I am ahead. I am predicting right now that we gonna have a lot of trouble when those other 3 calve in March. So, Clay took that Milking Shorthorn and her 2 calves down there Saturday. Gail came to the gate when he unloaded them. She greeted the cow, then sniffed and licked her 2 calves. The new cow sniffed and licked Gail's 3. Scott said that the past 2 days, any of the 5 might nurse either of the cows. @farmerjan @MurraysMutts , is this something to be concerned with? We could separate Gail and the other cow with their respective calves if we need to.

I think we messed up getting 5 dairy cows. But, for a retired person in good health, that had a few acres and a barn, and nothing else to do, I could see where this could be a profitable hobby. If you had 5 cows like this, and had the time to stagger grafting calves on them, and time to look for beef calves to graft, you could raise maybe 4 a year off of them. 20 calves to sell, and at today's prices, that could gross you $20k in sales each year.

A cow won't milk but so much no matter how many calves want to suck. Years ago my wife had a nurse cow turned out with 2 on her. I have seen 4 sucking her and 2 more waiting.