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<blockquote data-quote="CattleAnnie" data-source="post: 52170" data-attributes="member: 220"><p>Thanks for all the well wishes, everyone! They aren't a top notch group of calves, but I've been trying to improve on my females every year in the hopes that someday (should I live long enough) I'll have the high sellers at the sales. Oh well, gotta keep on improving, eh? They are actually quite a mismatched bunch...due to BSE I kept quite a few late calving cows that I otherwise would have culled, but giving away a bred cow for a few hundred bucks just kind of burns, and it showed in my average weights this year. Back in the day of a decent paycheck for the calves, my weaning weights on the steers were in the low to mid sixes. This year those late calves dragged the average down to the low fives. But at least they were full of pee and vinegar to take to the market, right?</p><p></p><p>Cattle-gal, I surely do wish that snowbug would just bug right off. On the plus side, we had a nice chinook blow in this morning and the snow is really settling and melting in a hurry. Good thing. Tomorrow afternoon I've got the vet lined up to preg test the cows. Will vaccinate and deworm them as long as they're handy, then if all goes well and the warm spell holds will try kicking them back out onto the hayfield regrowth. Sure don't have the feed to spare around here to be rolling out bales already.</p><p></p><p>Ollie, up here the only folks that creep are a few purebred breeders pushing their calves in prep for the spring yearling sales. The majority of us start feeding in November at the absolute latest and in our own situation we're still feeding hay till spring turnout in early June. To pour creep to the calves would be too cost prohibitive to the operation as a whole. The plus side is that due to our long daylight hours in the summer months (it never really gets too dark to see outside near summer solstice - just dusky) plants grow at an incredible rate....all that was lacking for the last couple of years was our usual abundance of water(that is until the end of haying season and then we were hit with almost thirty days of rain or drizzle). So in answer to your question, yep - grass and momma's milk and lots of both make for fat calves (which of course doesn't discount a whole herd health program and using the best animals in your herd that you can afford).</p><p></p><p>How do the rest of you manage your pairs? Would it be too nosey to inquire as to average weaning weights in your areas? Up here we figure that with March calving the least a decent cow should do is raise a five hundred pound weaning weight on a calf...and that would put her on the bubble for culling as a poor milker.</p><p></p><p>Take care.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="CattleAnnie, post: 52170, member: 220"] Thanks for all the well wishes, everyone! They aren't a top notch group of calves, but I've been trying to improve on my females every year in the hopes that someday (should I live long enough) I'll have the high sellers at the sales. Oh well, gotta keep on improving, eh? They are actually quite a mismatched bunch...due to BSE I kept quite a few late calving cows that I otherwise would have culled, but giving away a bred cow for a few hundred bucks just kind of burns, and it showed in my average weights this year. Back in the day of a decent paycheck for the calves, my weaning weights on the steers were in the low to mid sixes. This year those late calves dragged the average down to the low fives. But at least they were full of pee and vinegar to take to the market, right? Cattle-gal, I surely do wish that snowbug would just bug right off. On the plus side, we had a nice chinook blow in this morning and the snow is really settling and melting in a hurry. Good thing. Tomorrow afternoon I've got the vet lined up to preg test the cows. Will vaccinate and deworm them as long as they're handy, then if all goes well and the warm spell holds will try kicking them back out onto the hayfield regrowth. Sure don't have the feed to spare around here to be rolling out bales already. Ollie, up here the only folks that creep are a few purebred breeders pushing their calves in prep for the spring yearling sales. The majority of us start feeding in November at the absolute latest and in our own situation we're still feeding hay till spring turnout in early June. To pour creep to the calves would be too cost prohibitive to the operation as a whole. The plus side is that due to our long daylight hours in the summer months (it never really gets too dark to see outside near summer solstice - just dusky) plants grow at an incredible rate....all that was lacking for the last couple of years was our usual abundance of water(that is until the end of haying season and then we were hit with almost thirty days of rain or drizzle). So in answer to your question, yep - grass and momma's milk and lots of both make for fat calves (which of course doesn't discount a whole herd health program and using the best animals in your herd that you can afford). How do the rest of you manage your pairs? Would it be too nosey to inquire as to average weaning weights in your areas? Up here we figure that with March calving the least a decent cow should do is raise a five hundred pound weaning weight on a calf...and that would put her on the bubble for culling as a poor milker. Take care. [/QUOTE]
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