OP
OP
They have never done it or been around it then. This is the most labor-intensive and time consuming cattle operation I have ever fooled with!
Another..."last" update.
- Thread starter Warren Allison
- Start date
Help Support CattleToday:
farmerjan
Well-known member
@Warren Allison ... this is not in any way to mock you... BUT.... back when you were first talking about all the nurse cows, and all the calves you could raise for Zeke's bank account and all the money you could make on them, I had to zip my mouth and not laugh at you.... your enthusiasm was wonderful... but all I could think is this guy has NO CLUE.....
So, now after doing a few, and on very very wonderfully receptive cows, so you have not gotten a taste of the ones that can be MISERABLE WITCHES if the mood strikes them.....you see that they are labor intensive in the beginning, and it is not cheap buying orphan calves to put on them either...
It is a labor of love for people that like to fool with dairy animals, and who like messing with baby calves. Yes, there is money to be made, but it is not the gravy money so many seem to think... "OH that cow raised 4 calves, as opposed to one on the beef cow".....
It is a great project for someone with a cow that makes more milk than they want for the house use, yet still want to milk.... and also allows for someone to NOT milk if it does not suit their schedule.... but baby calves that are grafted need extra effort in the beginning, and nowadays, they are costing through the ying yang.... and when you pay those high prices, you da@# sure want to make sure they live and grow...
Thank you for sharing the experiences of Gail, and the calves, and all those things... and realizing that you sure aren't going to turn over the kind of money for the little effort you do, with the enterprises you get into with the buying and selling the various different groups of cattle you deal with.
Yes, labor intensive and very very time consuming if you are putting the effort into them that they need. A person has to enjoy them to really make it work...
So, now after doing a few, and on very very wonderfully receptive cows, so you have not gotten a taste of the ones that can be MISERABLE WITCHES if the mood strikes them.....you see that they are labor intensive in the beginning, and it is not cheap buying orphan calves to put on them either...
It is a labor of love for people that like to fool with dairy animals, and who like messing with baby calves. Yes, there is money to be made, but it is not the gravy money so many seem to think... "OH that cow raised 4 calves, as opposed to one on the beef cow".....
It is a great project for someone with a cow that makes more milk than they want for the house use, yet still want to milk.... and also allows for someone to NOT milk if it does not suit their schedule.... but baby calves that are grafted need extra effort in the beginning, and nowadays, they are costing through the ying yang.... and when you pay those high prices, you da@# sure want to make sure they live and grow...
Thank you for sharing the experiences of Gail, and the calves, and all those things... and realizing that you sure aren't going to turn over the kind of money for the little effort you do, with the enterprises you get into with the buying and selling the various different groups of cattle you deal with.
Yes, labor intensive and very very time consuming if you are putting the effort into them that they need. A person has to enjoy them to really make it work...
MurraysMutts
Well-known member
Right on as usual @farmerjan !
@Warren Allison
The juice is usually worth the squeeze tho...
you've got some easy going cows there. Spend 2 weeks or MORE twice a day having to work with em and get back with me!
I absolutely love a good cow that'll take any calf I give her and love it like her own. The reward for me is watching them do the job and seeing them babies grow grow grow!
Edited to add Warren,
Be easiest to meet the new calf halfway. A LARGE dog crate in the back of a pickup works in a pinch.
I've got a 330 gallon tote I turned upside down and make a hole. Strap It down and run. Easy peasy.
I get these ones in Kansas bought. That's what I'm gonna do. No trailer needed..
@Warren Allison
The juice is usually worth the squeeze tho...
you've got some easy going cows there. Spend 2 weeks or MORE twice a day having to work with em and get back with me!
I absolutely love a good cow that'll take any calf I give her and love it like her own. The reward for me is watching them do the job and seeing them babies grow grow grow!
Edited to add Warren,
Be easiest to meet the new calf halfway. A LARGE dog crate in the back of a pickup works in a pinch.
I've got a 330 gallon tote I turned upside down and make a hole. Strap It down and run. Easy peasy.
I get these ones in Kansas bought. That's what I'm gonna do. No trailer needed..
Last edited:
OP
OP
Yep. When Zeke found Gail and put her in our corral, I only saw 1/2 Brahma x 1/2 Jeresy heifers like those @Caustic Burno has and had posted pics of about that time, and the prices ones like that were bringing on J&J. If one could breed a Jersey to a Brahma and just raise that calf off her each year, I would love a herd of them. Or if I ran a Jersey dairy, that's what I would bred the cows to. I am only there for about 20% of the work. but I do bear at least 80% of the costs, and I get 0% of the revenue from, them. If I was doing all the work and paying all the costs, as well as getting all the money from them, I would have 5 dairy cows and their 6 calves for sale right now. If I had bought Zeke some Corrr cows with the money I have spent on the 5 cows, the extra calves, the inputs etc. I could have bought him 30 Corr cows that require zero work, zero inputs other than mineral salt, and would have given him $30k to $40k in calves each year (at today's calf prices). And yes, last bottle calves I bought were 25 years ago when we still had dairies around here, and the Holstein bull calves were $30 at the sale. To make matters worse, I paid way too much for the two 1/2 Jersey heifers, and Whitey, trying to help some folks out. Shoulda stopped with Gail and the G-H.
I do not take your comments as mocking me or in any way derogatory. I appreciate all the advice and info you have shared. I learned a lot from you, and Murray too.
MurraysMutts
Well-known member
THAT made me chuckle out loud!!!
Here's that "crate" I was talking about in my last post. Easy to strap down in a pickup bed. I use a wood shipping pallet to block the doorway. My tailgate holds that in place. I have a toolbox on my short bed and it all fits perfect!
Much easier than dragging a trailer. A 112lb lively calf might be fun to wrestle in there tho. Crate will haul 3 calves pretty easy btw.
OP
OP
No thanks! If I lived down there, and me and the ole lady were both fully retired, and I didn't have other projects, and wasn't training horses, I would probably enjoy it.you've got some easy going cows there. Spend 2 weeks or MORE twice a day having to work with em and get back with me!
Make me an offer on Gail and Whitey!
The Guernsey-Hereford too, if you want 3! I have a cap that makes a dog box to put on my Nissan Frontier, and will use that if I go get that calf. How far away are those Kansas calves? That tote thing you use sounds ideal.
MurraysMutts
Well-known member
Winfield sale is over an hour away. Less than 2 hrs tho. I'd have to look again. And depends which way I go...No thanks! If I lived down there, and me and the ole lady were both fully retired, and I didn't have other projects, and wasn't training horses, I would probably enjoy it.
Make me an offer on Gail and Whitey!
I have a cap that makes a dog box to put on my Nissan Frontier, and will use that if I go get that calf. How far away are those Kansas calves? That tote thing you use sounds ideal.
We will see what bring tmrw.
If demand is like here, I'll be saving my gas!
Only way I'd want em is super cheap
OP
OP
@farmerjan and @MurraysMutts , out of the 6 calves we now have, at least 5 of them will be worth something. Gail had the heifer by the red brahma bull, and so did the G-H. Gail;s heifer looks like those that @Caustic Burno has, and the G-H heifer born this weekend by the red Brahma bull, looks like a dark tiger-striped F1 Braford. We bought a heifer calf to go on Gail, what we thought was out of a Guernsey cow by that red Brahma bull, but turns out the cow was a red Holstein. Those 3 will be worth something. We got a black angus steer that came with Whitey and her calf, and it will be worth the most out of the bunch. Whitey's own heifer calf is by an Ayshire ( sp?) bull, and I don't guess a Milking Shorthorn x Ayshire would bring anything much, unless someone wanted a potential family milk cow or nurse cow.
That 1/2 Fleckveih-3/8ths Braunvieh-1/8 Brown Swiss heifer is going to make someone a hell of a cow. I think Clay wants to buy her when she is weaned. And the Jersey/BS and Jersey/Guern heifers will be having heifers by the grey Brahma we AI'ed them to in a few months.
That 1/2 Fleckveih-3/8ths Braunvieh-1/8 Brown Swiss heifer is going to make someone a hell of a cow. I think Clay wants to buy her when she is weaned. And the Jersey/BS and Jersey/Guern heifers will be having heifers by the grey Brahma we AI'ed them to in a few months.
OP
OP
You going to bid on them online? I wonder if it is one of the sales on dvauctions.com?Winfield sale is over an hour away. Less than 2 hrs tho. I'd have to look again. And depends which way I go...
We will see what bring tmrw.
If demand is like here, I'll be saving my gas!
Only way I'd want em is super cheap
MurraysMutts
Well-known member
Cattle USA for winfield
OP
OP
So yesterday, Scott opened the gate and let all 3 cows and all 6 calves in together. He said that yeah, the G-H is just like the other 2. The 3 orphan calves all got a drink from the G-H yesterday a time or 2, and this morning. Neither Gail's own calf or Whitey's own tried to nurse the G-H. ( Wonder why, @farmerjan , @MurraysMutts ?) Or at least not when Scot was observing. Good news, is, he called his brother and said looks like the G-H will be a nurse cow, so he could bring that twin down here...that he or I neither one could come get it this weekend. But even better news, is his brother is going to come get the GH and her calf, and take them back to his place. And he will do all the vaccs and other vetting they might need, wean the calf for us, etc. And he will AI her in April to whatever bull we want. That is great news to me...we don't have to fool with them!
Scott and Zeke took the the gilt and barrow to the processor today, and picked up the liver from the steer we hauled last week. Gonna let the steer hang a little more before they cut it up. Scott said the meat was very, very lean....that the man said he might have to add fat when he grinds it. Mattie isn't much of a steak eater...she likes roasts a lot, though. So, they gonna cut it up into all the roasts they can, cut some of the tenderloin into stew size chunks, and grind the rest. She likes brisket, but really has no way to cook it right, so Scott is going to smoke it for her. That steer was 1/2 LH and 1/2 Braunvieh, and weighed nearly 800 when they took it last week. It yielded about 425 lbs HCW. Probably get....what?....250 lbs of meat or so? I have no idea.... Never raised beeves to butcher for personal use. But, I sold that cow for more than I paid for the pair a while back, so it's all good if we get just 200+ pounds. I am getting the tenderloins out of one the pigs, and Scott the other. He's going to sugar cure the hams for Mattie, get as much bacon out of them as he can and smoke-cure it, and split it with Matties, and grind everything else into sausage for all of us. And Mattie wants all of the chittlin's.
So, I am enjoying not having to go down there this weekend! Zeke is recovering remarkably well. A young, healthy body can really heal quickly. He just has to wear shorts or sweat pants if it is cold, for now, til the wounds on the back of his legs and butt heal completely. Plus, that home health nurse has done a great job of keeping them clean and dressed well.
Scott and Zeke took the the gilt and barrow to the processor today, and picked up the liver from the steer we hauled last week. Gonna let the steer hang a little more before they cut it up. Scott said the meat was very, very lean....that the man said he might have to add fat when he grinds it. Mattie isn't much of a steak eater...she likes roasts a lot, though. So, they gonna cut it up into all the roasts they can, cut some of the tenderloin into stew size chunks, and grind the rest. She likes brisket, but really has no way to cook it right, so Scott is going to smoke it for her. That steer was 1/2 LH and 1/2 Braunvieh, and weighed nearly 800 when they took it last week. It yielded about 425 lbs HCW. Probably get....what?....250 lbs of meat or so? I have no idea.... Never raised beeves to butcher for personal use. But, I sold that cow for more than I paid for the pair a while back, so it's all good if we get just 200+ pounds. I am getting the tenderloins out of one the pigs, and Scott the other. He's going to sugar cure the hams for Mattie, get as much bacon out of them as he can and smoke-cure it, and split it with Matties, and grind everything else into sausage for all of us. And Mattie wants all of the chittlin's.
So, I am enjoying not having to go down there this weekend! Zeke is recovering remarkably well. A young, healthy body can really heal quickly. He just has to wear shorts or sweat pants if it is cold, for now, til the wounds on the back of his legs and butt heal completely. Plus, that home health nurse has done a great job of keeping them clean and dressed well.
MurraysMutts
Well-known member
@Warren Allison
I've never seen a calf born to a nurse cow suck any other cow but it's mother. They just ain't wired that way I guess.
Glad to hear Zeker is getting along good!
I've never seen a calf born to a nurse cow suck any other cow but it's mother. They just ain't wired that way I guess.
Glad to hear Zeker is getting along good!
Jeanne - Simme Valley
Well-known member
Warren, you can generally figure 2/3 of the HCW = meat in freezer. Will be little less if everything is boneless.
farmerjan
Well-known member
Glad to hear the update and that Zeke is getting along good. So glad for him... and yeah, them "youngsters" heal a whole lot faster than us "mature Folks"....
Most calves born to a nurse cow, will not nurse other nurse cows.... just a bonding thing I guess... yet I have seen several calves on a few of the beef cows and then they go back to their mothers and other calves will go on them... have 3 that totally co-mother/feed each others calves...
Grafted on calves often just get to where they are looking for a teat and will snitch off anyone that seems to stand and not make a fuss... one reason it can be hard to wean them off....
You fell into it again with Scott's brother coming to get the GH and her calf and he can fool with grafting the twin on her and raising them...
Most calves born to a nurse cow, will not nurse other nurse cows.... just a bonding thing I guess... yet I have seen several calves on a few of the beef cows and then they go back to their mothers and other calves will go on them... have 3 that totally co-mother/feed each others calves...
Grafted on calves often just get to where they are looking for a teat and will snitch off anyone that seems to stand and not make a fuss... one reason it can be hard to wean them off....
You fell into it again with Scott's brother coming to get the GH and her calf and he can fool with grafting the twin on her and raising them...
OP
OP
Thanks! We might get closer to 280 lbs, then.
Honestly, a couple of roasts, and she uses a LOT, about 30 lbs of stew cubes, and the rest in burger would suit Mattie. Scott's wife said that here while back, the IGA had filet mignons on sale, and she bought a box of them and took 2 big ones to Mattie. Matties cut them in cubes and used them to make a dish! It is kinda beef stew and kinda pot roast. LOL. But she makes gallons and gallons of chili, spaghetti, soup, Brunswick stew, and uses ground beef in her baked beans. Or did make a lot before the price of beef went crazy.
Last edited:
OP
OP
@farmerjan and @MurraysMutts . Come to think of it, I don't think I ever saw Gail's calf nurse Whitey or Whitey's calf on Gail. But, I am not around them much at all. And yes, I amd as happy as a dead pig in the sunshine, that he is taking the GH to his place, as far as I am concerned, he can keep her there, and just do what we are doing with the lady that is keeping the two 1/2 Jeresys: He can breed her and wean us a calf each year, and just keep her there in case he needs her. He calves about 400 head a year, and with all of his experimenting with Simms, Chi-Angus, Chiania, Brangus and Brahma, he is probably gonna have another twin or an orphan, or a rejected calf or two each year. It suits me just fine to spend no more time and money on her....just go get my 6 mos heifer off of her each year.Glad to hear the update and that Zeke is getting along good. So glad for him... and yeah, them "youngsters" heal a whole lot faster than us "mature Folks"....
Most calves born to a nurse cow, will not nurse other nurse cows.... just a bonding thing I guess... yet I have seen several calves on a few of the beef cows and then they go back to their mothers and other calves will go on them... have 3 that totally co-mother/feed each others calves...
Grafted on calves often just get to where they are looking for a teat and will snitch off anyone that seems to stand and not make a fuss... one reason it can be hard to wean them off....
You fell into it again with Scott's brother coming to get the GH and her calf and he can fool with grafting the twin on her and raising them...
OP
OP
The Guernsey- Herf and her calf went with Scott' brother Saturday. Yay!! We got the Pummers, their calves and the Corrs all rounded up and herded to the Kudzu place with no problem. The vet and her hubby are pretty good cowboys, and excellent horsemen. All 22 Plummers had calves Saturday. but so did one of the Corrs I bought the other day that are supposed to be due in March. These had been bred to an Angus bull, That Corr cow's calf was about 50-60lbs, and sure did stick out among those 140 lb Plummer x Chi-Angus calves! Got all the cows and calves ( Corrs too. I have never done that with the, but I guess it won't hurt!) vaccinated, wormed etc, with whatever it is they are supposed to have. 13 of the Plummer calves are bulls. Or were, they are steers now along with the little Corr calf. When we turned them out of the corral, they all headed to the bamboo patch.,,about 3 acres...long and narrow. I guess it was the greenest thing they saw. They walk it down and strip the leaves. I doubt the patch lasted til dark...they were really going at it! After we finished the cows and calves at the Kudzu place, we went up to Mattie's house and did Gail, Whitey, their 5 calves and and ZUS. Left the halter on ZUS, and ponied him back down to the Kudzu place. He doesn't need the feed, Scott is mixing and feeding the nurse cows with. And the vet AI'ed Whitey while she was there. Her calves are the oldest at 2 1/2 months. Gonna AI Gail in about 3-4 more weeks. We might move Gail and Whitey and their claves to the Kudzu Place when it greens up in March, but not sure, It is just those 2 on about 14acares counting the orchards, and we really want to keep feeding them while they are nursing. We will probably just move the 5 calves over there when we wean them in May. Let them eat that 26% Kudzu all spring and summer.
Scott took the vet down the road to the lady's place who is calving out the two 1/2 Jeresies for us, while Joe took off to his dad's place to get a 40', 8'wide canvas top, 3 axle cattle trailer, so I put his and Lisa's horses on my trailer with mine and Clays, and we went to help him start hauling those 220 calves to the row crop place. When I got their ,. I hooked to his 32 foot cattle trailer, and we spent all day, til after dark, hauling those calves. We let them craze the row crop land, in exchange for them working our cows (plus horse and dog meds). I ended up doing this for 5 hours, where as we did ours in less than 2. In retrospect, I would have done a lot less work and in a lot less time, if we had just done our cows ourselves. But, I enjoy working cattle on a good horse and with good cowboys. Took 2 trips each, then on the 3rd load they all fit on Joe's big trailer, so I hooked back to my trailer and came on back. All in all, a good day. And I felt better than I have in a long time. Not sore at all today.
Scott took the vet down the road to the lady's place who is calving out the two 1/2 Jeresies for us, while Joe took off to his dad's place to get a 40', 8'wide canvas top, 3 axle cattle trailer, so I put his and Lisa's horses on my trailer with mine and Clays, and we went to help him start hauling those 220 calves to the row crop place. When I got their ,. I hooked to his 32 foot cattle trailer, and we spent all day, til after dark, hauling those calves. We let them craze the row crop land, in exchange for them working our cows (plus horse and dog meds). I ended up doing this for 5 hours, where as we did ours in less than 2. In retrospect, I would have done a lot less work and in a lot less time, if we had just done our cows ourselves. But, I enjoy working cattle on a good horse and with good cowboys. Took 2 trips each, then on the 3rd load they all fit on Joe's big trailer, so I hooked back to my trailer and came on back. All in all, a good day. And I felt better than I have in a long time. Not sore at all today.
MurraysMutts
Well-known member
In May is when the fun of trying to find 4 new babies for them milk cows starts!!
Gonna be a good time!
Gonna be a good time!
OP
OP
Well, the woman calving out the 2 half Jersey heifers will have to deal with that. She can put calves on them, milk them or both. I just want the two 1/2 Brahma heifer each year. Scott's brother will deal with the Guer- Herf, same deal....just give me the 1/2 Brahma heifer each year. So that is three of the five I have situated. Saturday, the vet said she does work for a couple of the dairies, plus a lot for the beef cattle operations around here. She said she is always running up on orphan or rejected calves, and she could call us every time she finds one. I told her she ought to just get them herself, and bring them over and graft them on Gail or Whitey. She liked that idea, so I pushed it a little further. I told her she ought to just take Whitey and her 2 calves to her place, that it would be handier having the cow at her place when she finds these bottle calves. And I told her if she found 2 the same week or something, she could bring one over to Gail, if Whitey couldn't take them both. Then I really sweetened the deal. I told her if she wanted to, she could just do whatever needed doing to the 4 we have down there, including AI with semen we provide, and their calves from now on (Scott's brother is going to take care of all the vet work on the G-H) and she could just have Whitey's Ayshire heifer for free and raise her on nurse cow. She and Joe are gonna let us know this week, but I think it is gonna happen.
So, all we will have to fool with is Gail, but we get our five half Brahma heifers each year.
farmerjan
Well-known member
You sure do seem to luck out on finding people to "take care" of things for you.... and the cows... I'd like to have someone around here want me to "take over raising" some calves for them in exchange for the "use" of having and raising some calves for myself on their cows...
Looking for another nurse cow or 2 now since I am getting into this holstein bull calf deal.... but I am not going to pay 1800 for a 800 lb jersey cow ... like the last 2, I have seen advertised. Something will turn up somewhere...
Looking for another nurse cow or 2 now since I am getting into this holstein bull calf deal.... but I am not going to pay 1800 for a 800 lb jersey cow ... like the last 2, I have seen advertised. Something will turn up somewhere...
