Checking cattle/vacation

[denoginnizer]

I check my cattle every day rain , shine or christmas. I have a friend that calves around a hundred hefers. He says he checks on his every 4-6 hours night and day. Lots of circles under his eyes :lol: .
Anyway I was wondering how often you checked on your cattle and if you ever go on vacation? Any ideas on who to trust to check the cattle if a vacation is planned ?

 

[Wewild]

I check my cattle every day rain , shine or christmas. I have a friend that calves around a hundred hefers. He says he checks on his every 4-6 hours night and day. Lots of circles under his eyes :lol: .
Anyway I was wondering how often you checked on your cattle and if you ever go on vacation? Any ideas on who to trust to check the cattle if a vacation is planned ?

I check every night and my dad checks in the morning.

He's got it by himself the one week a year I go on vacation.

 

[TheBullLady]

At least once a day every day.. more often if we have a cow / heifer close to calving.

We go on vacation a couple of times a year. We're lucky.. there's a young farmer down the road that is glad to come by and feed the cat and check the cows while we're gone. We generally have him fertilize the pastures while he's here, so he can make some $$! Added incentive..

 

[dun]

What's this vacation thing you talk about?

dun

 

[Beefy]

I basically live with the cows. not because i have to but because i like to. I check on them whenever i get the chance. i try to keep an eye on them as much as possible during calving season b/c we calve out a lot of heifers each year. plus i love being out doors and can always find something nearby that needs doing. checking on cows is my favorite thing to do in the whole wide world. i carry my cowlist with me everyday and am constantly judging. i have a cull list and a rating of 1-10 for each cow in my head at all times. I know the cows like the back of my hand or probably better. i can tell you who had what for several years back and whos the most fertile and whos on probation, etc. yes, i am basically a cow. vacation?

 

[denoginnizer]

I wasnt complaining . I really enjoy looking after mine as well. Especially enjoy seeing a cow with a newborn calf.

 

[Medic24]

I have heard about vacations before, can anyone explain what they are? My neighbors and friends talk about them sometimes in whispered tones. Are they fun?

 

[sca10010]

I have heard about vacations before, can anyone explain what they are? My neighbors and friends talk about them sometimes in whispered tones. Are they fun?

Tried one once - couldn't wait to get back home.

 

[CKC1586]

Our vacations are to go to a cattle show, with the cows!
The neighbor or one of the nephews does chores when we are gone.

 

[Craig-TX]

We check our cows three or four times a week in the winter, depending on the weather, and one or two times a week in the summer. Nothing special, we just feed cake, get good counts, make sure the bulls are home, look for problems.

Craig-TX

 

[eric]

Dang Craig, I was beginning to feel guilty because I wasnt pitching a tent in the pasture and sleeping out there either. Like you, I have another job and sometimes don't get home until after dark, so sometimes it's 2-3 days between checking cows also.
4-6 hrs...who's working for whom here?

 

[frenchie]

I check my cattle every day rain , shine or christmas. I have a friend that calves around a hundred hefers. He says he checks on his every 4-6 hours night and day. Lots of circles under his eyes :lol: .
Anyway I was wondering how often you checked on your cattle and if you ever go on vacation? Any ideas on who to trust to check the cattle if a vacation is planned ?

vacation ...never heard of it...What does it mean :lol: :lol: :lol:

This is my vacation....

 

[D.R. Cattle]

Vacation could never happen during calving season, but we've been known to slip away during slow time like June or July. In that case, Dad will keep tabs on the herd, which is really nothing more than checking water supply and fencelines, and possibly a sick cow.

 

[joe]

vacation.....= day at the sale barn, private treaty sales, cattle show, farm show, etc.... The Mrs. was upset last year we went to the "sweetheart sale" at the sale barn on valentines day, and I didn't even get her anything! I have my sone watch the cattle for these events, but the wife is calling every 10 minutes to make sure everything is okay. And NO vacations during calving of the heifers. Grocery shopping is as close to a vacation as we get then!

 

[sidney411]

We only check our cows on the weekends, we don't live at the farm though. I try to go out there and check in the middle of the week if I have a heifer that is due to calve. We do ask our neighbors to watch a heifer every now and then. They have helped us out on several occasions. It is sure nice to have good neighbors!

 

[Gale Seddon]

It's always a challenge to find anyone reliable to keep an eye on our animals when we are away, which is usually for a donkey show or a fair. I won't leave if we're expecting a calf or foal. If the event is within an hour's drive, my husband stays over in the trailer and I commute back and forth so I can feed, etc., and then meet up at the event...makes for long days, no wonder those things make you tired!

It's nearly impossible to find someone willing to come out part-time on the weekends to help us with stuff; nobody wants to exert themselves or do physical labor (God forbid they should work up a sweat!). And I'm talking $8-$10/hour here! Had one fella for a month or so, every weekend, and he was dumb as a box of hammer handles (weed-whacking with no string?) and he finally gave up after falling down twice (first backwards, then forwards) in the mud one rainy day (I referred to him as "the missing link"); had to pull him out of the mud with a broom handle, hard to keep from laughing that day. Another one kept bringing his two kids, 7 and 8, with him so they could "experience farm life" -- and guess who had to keep an eye on them? (Caught the younger one tossing an old axe-head at his brother!) Had a lady for one visit, showed her how to clean the chicken coop; I knew she was doomed when she walked in and kept saying "excuse me, please" to the hens. A good friend took over for me one weekend last year and only thing was she fed cow grain to the donkeys and vice versa...unmedicated grain, thankfully, so no problems.

 

[D.R. Cattle]

If you think $8-10 an hour is bad, good thing you aren't trying to hire someone here. Anybody that can put on a pair of boots and swing a hammer gets $20/hr here. No need for intelligence, just capable of pounding nails or laying shingles...$20/hr. Of course they do actually have to work, laying shingles isn't my idea of fun.

 

[greatgerts]

I would have to agree with Joe on this one. Shows and sales are vacations for me.

 

[L Weir]

We check ours everyday, but ours are close to the house. We never go on vacation when it is calving timing. Ours calve through to June. We never go on vacation anyway. By summer comes it is time to make hay.

 

[docgraybull]

I have a real good "hand" who is building a herd, but doesn't have any land. I charge him a minimal fee (basically to cover my costs) and run his cattle with our herd. Same pasture, vaccinations, feed, hay, bulls, etc. In exchange for that he helps with the roundups, any chores, doctoring, etc. and is always available to check cows, feed, etc. when I need to be gone. Works out well for both of us. An added benefit is that he is a top notch cowboy and is knowledgable about cattle and horses. And like Beefy, he loves to be around the cows and knows them well. Even though all of them have number tags, he knows them as "old baldie", "big girl", etc. When I ask about number so-and-so, we have to go through a description of the cow to clarify which one I'm referring to.