Bought my first cows on my own this weekend!

[Z&J Cattle]

I have only been the cattle business since April of this year and have been reading everything I can get my hands on and asking as many dumb questions as I can think of!lol My co-worker "made" me go with him to work cows this spring and that was all it took! I was hooked! I have always thought that I would like to raise cattle but never really knew for sure how I would be when I got to see what is really involved, but the more I am around them and the business, the more I love it! Anyway, I bought a cow/calf pair in April at a herd dispersal sale at a local salebarn. Actually, my co-worker bought her, I just sat beside him and then wrote the check. Well, I have been looking for a decent deal on some more cows since then and haven't really found what I am looking for. This weekend, I called the salebarn and it just so happens that they were having another herd dispersal sale. My co-worker couldn't make it, so I decided to go and use my best judgement and try to buy some more cows. I was looking for Angus/Brangus cows and luckily the old man who was selling out had about 40 bred and/or already calved cows. I started bidding on the pairs that I liked and ended up taking two of them home! I got a 5 year old Angus with a 300# heifer calf and the momma is already bred back 1st period! I also got a 4 year old w/calf that looks like a sister to the other one (and could very well be). The old man had raised most of the cows from heifers. Bidding on those cows was one of the most nervous moments of my life! That is a lot of money and I didn't know how much confidence that I had in my judgement, but when my co-worker saw them he said that I did very well! They are just a touch thin, but the reason that they were being sold is that the farmer had just about ran out of grass. We wormed and vaccinated them yesterday and I think between the wormer and some groceries, they will make some very nice momma cows. They were very gently mannered by the way! Well, I know I have been long winded, but I just thought that I would share my experience in case anyone is bored enough to read this ridiculously long post.

Zach

 

[Beefy]

congrats. you should get a good 8 years out of them atleast. angus are hard to beat. same goes for brangus though. one good thing about buying pairs is you know what gender the calf is. do you plan to keep the heifer calves? what did you vaccinate them with/for? sounds like 'you done good.'

 

[Z&J Cattle]

I would like to save one of the heifers, but the farm that they are on now is not setup to really seperate her from the bull, so I will have to sell her. I really like the looks of her though. We vaccinated the cows with Lepto, and we also wormed them and gave them a multi-min shot. We wormed and black legged the larger of the two calves and gave the small one a free pass as she is only a couple weeks old. We will get her in a few weeks when we work the others.

 

[msscamp]

Congratulations! It's a great feeling, isn't it?

 

[SPRINGER FARMS MURRAY GRE]

Congratulations...Enoy! (You might consider some Murray Grey heifers,cows or Bull). ;-) :cboy:

 

[Wilson_Cattle_Company]

Congrats! Welcome to the profession!

 

[Ryder]

Zach, you are for sure hooked now.

 

[whatabull]

Congrats and welcome to the world of Cattle.

 

[flaboy+]

Congrats Z&J. Now all your conversations will be centered around cattle. :lol:

 

[Chuckie]

Zach, sounds like you have the disease now. Once you get bovineitis, it just gets worse. :roll:

 

[dun]

Zach, sounds like you have the disease now. Once you get bovineitis, it just gets worse. :roll:

And there is no permanent cure, only treatment. If you think you're over it, it will still sneak up and bite your butt at a later date. (Speaking from experience)

dun

 

[eric]

Zach, sounds like you have the disease now. Once you get bovineitis, it just gets worse. :roll:

And there is no permanent cure, only treatment. If you think you're over it, it will still sneak up and bite your butt at a later date. (Speaking from experience)

dun

And if you're like most people, when it bites your butt, your wallet will be close enough that it gets a pretty good chunk of that too! But, that being said, there sure are alot of worse things to spend your hard earned money on, and not too many more that will give you the enjoyment the cattle will. 8)

 

[ALACOWMAN]

Zach, sounds like you have the disease now. Once you get bovineitis, it just gets worse. :roll:

And there is no permanent cure, only treatment. If you think you're over it, it will still sneak up and bite your butt at a later date. (Speaking from experience)

dun

Yep i know a feller who caught it. poor guy been going down hill ever since :cboy:

 

[CowCop]

~

Congrats on you and your cows.

Don't suppose you could take a few photos and show us your new herd ?

What did you worm them with ?

"Bovineitis" makes ya do crazy things.

After I bought my first heifer, I moved 200 miles so I could have more.

 

[Lynn]

Congrats Z&J !! Thank the good Lord you found this web site to help you along. Before joining up, I visited cattletoday everytime I had a cow question and I have always found the answer ( or answers ) on this site. Just a bunch of good ole' boys and gals willing to lend a hand and ... won't rib you ... well, much. Only advice I have is to take it easy on the Range Cubes. When I got my first few cows, everytime I went out for a "visit", I poured the Range Cubes out to gentle them and get them used to the working pen. Those cows got pretty bloated before I backed off! Good luck and get some pictures so we can take a look.

 

[TheBullLady]

Congradulations! I've been trying to remember the first cows I bought.. hmmm.. Alzheimer's kicking in again!

Do y'all remember the first cow(s) you bought? :roll:

 

[Bret]

Wishing you many successes and positive experences.
Bret

 

[Z&J Cattle]

WOW! Thanks everyone for the kind replies. I forgot to take my camera when we worked them Sunday. Right now they are about 70 miles away at my co-workers farm until I get my pasture established next year. I can't wait to get them home! They will only be 6 minutes from me then, and hopefully, if I can eventually convince my wife, they will be right out the back door of my house! I also want to thank everyone on this board that has been so helpful and answered so many questions for me. Cattle people are the nicest people that there are. I belong to several internet forums ranging from hunting to racing to radio control airplanes and cattle folks are hands down the nicest. Just like Saturday at the barn an old man heard me tell someone that I was going to have to wait over an hour for my hauler, and he offered to haul them for me! I had never seen him before in my life but he was going to go out of his way to help me. Unfortunately, folks like that are becoming harder and harder to find, but not in the cattle business. You guys (and gals) are the best!

Zach

 

[Workinonit Farm]

Zach, sounds like you did well for yourself. Congrats. The addiction to cattle isn't much different than the addiction to RC planes. Once you get started, you don't want to stop. You'll have your moments when you may want to quit, like when the planes wreck from a dead-stick landing, but you'll be right back at it.
Welcome and enjoy.

Katherine

 

[BC]

What sale did you buy the cattle?