Comments on Big Red

[cypressfarms]

Hi all, below is a picture of Big Red. She's actually a heifer that should be calving soon. Every cow has a story, and this is hers:

We bought her in Feb 2003, and she weighed #350 lbs. I got laughed at by everyone! So small. So ugly. So everything bad. My girls named her little red.

Well at about 12 months she went to my dads place to see some new scenery. By August of 2005 she was bred by his angus bull. When we worked her and the vet palpated her, I was happy to find that she was pregnant. She was getting so big that she graduated to being called red.

In august of this year I brought her back to my place, and the girls immediately re-named her big red. She's huge now. She bigger than my 3 year old brangus'. Anway she a lead cow(heifer) supreme, and although we don't have pet cattle she's one of the only one with a name.

Hopefully she'll calf soon; she's so big it hurts me to look at her. I only hope that since she's so big this first calf doesn't give her trouble. Anway here's big red, tell me what you think. I know she looks out of place with the brangus cows, right? But I would like someone to give me an honest opinion on Big Red.

 

[Scotty]

I think she will do. Hope you have a great calve.


Scotty

 

[TxCoUnTrYbOy]

How old was she at that 350 lbs? At what age did she shoot up and get huge? The reason I ask is that my bull has the same problem. Just really small for his age. Maybe there is hope yet that he could grow?

 

[cypressfarms]

I don't really know how old she was when I got her. My guess was 4-5 months. I bought her from a stockyard because my daughter liked her. (Really long story). She did go through several growth spurts. The first was winter 2003 when she got fed just like the horses with the "good stuff". The last of the growth spurts, which was over this past summer, is when she went past 1,000 lbs. She now is bigger than my Brangus cows, and my brangus bull that's 2 years old. I actually am worried that she is too fat for this first calf coming up, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed and watching her like a hawk.

I think that there is definitely hope for your bull. One thing with red that we did, since she was so small, I kept in a pasture with my horses close to my house and fed her supplements a good bit. She also got the best hay (with the horses) jiggs bermuda, and first choice at ryegrass. She has always had molasses tubs available to her, and I worm, vaccinate, and use insecticide ear tags religously. Since she was so "far behind" everything else I made sure she had everything she needed.

While she may not ever be a ribbon winner, she's turned out pretty good from the runty looking "little red" that we had.

I've seen bulls go through similar growth spurts. They may look awkward for a couple of months, and then all of a sudden they break out and look like a totally different animal. Good luck with your bull!!!

 

[Campground Cattle]

Looks like the kind that puts folding money in your pocket. ;-)

 

[bward]

She is gorgeous. Big, long, deep, and feminine. Should be a super mama.

 

[Ryan]

She is gorgeous. Big, long, deep, and feminine. Should be a super mama.

Ditto :)

Ryan

 

[Susie David]

She would be welcome on our place...I agree with the femine comment, she has a nice look about her. DMc

 

[Beefy]

she looks like shes got some beefmaster in her.

 

[cypressfarms]

Hey Beefy,

She does look like she's got beefmaster in her. She was lighter red when she was younger than the dark red she is now.

I wish I had 50 like her. Well, let me wait to say that until she has her calf.

She was bred to my dad's angus bull. If the calf comes out good, I was thinking about getting 8 or 10 beefmaster replacement heifers.

 

[Beefy]

you should. beefmaster and brangus cows bred back angus would be hard to beat. actually those two breeds cross well with about anything.

 

[tapeworm]

Could make a nice cow for you but wouldnt take much for her to be to fat for my tastes
Are you trying to make a welfare cow out of her?? LOL Why are you feeding hay with all that grass still out there...give those cattle some cake or soemthing to make em clean that grass up!! Who works for who around there??

 

[cypressfarms]

Tapeworm,

Yes she is too fat; I'm worried about her calving with this first calf.

It looks like a lot of grass but it's not that much. The bermuda is starting to die off, and most of what you see is smut grass. I just took over the land behind my house in August, and my #1 goal is to get rid of that smutgrass. The guy who had cattle on it for me leased it from my wife's family and hasn't done anything to improve the pastures in over 20 years. A long uphill battle. I do have a molases tub out which makes them clean up some of the dead grass.

No one working out here but me, and that's after my day job.

 

[Frankie]

cyressfarms said:

Hi all, below is a picture of Big Red. She's actually a heifer that should be calving soon. Every cow has a story, and this is hers:

We bought her in Feb 2003, and she weighed #350 lbs. I got laughed at by everyone! So small. So ugly. So everything bad. My girls named her little red.

Well at about 12 months she went to my dads place to see some new scenery. By August of 2005 she was bred by his angus bull. When we worked her and the vet palpated her, I was happy to find that she was pregnant. She was getting so big that she graduated to being called red.

In august of this year I brought her back to my place, and the girls immediately re-named her big red. She's huge now. She bigger than my 3 year old brangus'. Anway she a lead cow(heifer) supreme, and although we don't have pet cattle she's one of the only one with a name.

Hopefully she'll calf soon; she's so big it hurts me to look at her. I only hope that since she's so big this first calf doesn't give her trouble. Anway here's big red, tell me what you think. I know she looks out of place with the brangus cows, right? But I would like someone to give me an honest opinion on Big Red.

I like her. Good luck with the calf.

 

[tapeworm]

Tapeworm,

Yes she is too fat; I'm worried about her calving with this first calf.

It looks like a lot of grass but it's not that much. The bermuda is starting to die off, and most of what you see is smut grass. I just took over the land behind my house in August, and my #1 goal is to get rid of that smutgrass. The guy who had cattle on it for me leased it from my wife's family and hasn't done anything to improve the pastures in over 20 years. A long uphill battle. I do have a molases tub out which makes them clean up some of the dead grass.

No one working out here but me, and that's after my day job.

LOL I know you work plenty hard..thats not what I meant. I mean that its a cows job to harvest grass...you make her upkkeep cost a fortune when you give her somthing that you have harvested and then carry it to her. Sometimes we have to make them eat what we want them to. You do whatever you want but a heiferthat fat would be waitin a long time for me to bring her hay with all that dead grass and a protein tub out there

 

[cypressfarms]

You know tapeworm I think you may be right.

Your comments made me go out and walk around in the pastures today for some time. There is a good bit of roughage and some green left.

The hay you saw was one square bale that I brought just to get the cows to come to me (one square bale for 18 cows doesn't go far), but it did get me to thinking about my hay plans this winter. I was set to start haying in the next couple of weeks with round bales, but I may hold off an extra week or two to see what happens. I know the cows won't eat the smutgrass, but I'm interested to see if the eat all of the standing dead grass. My fences are good, so I don't have to worry about them searching for something else.

Never hurts to keep an open mind!

 

[cypressfarms]

Hey All !!!

Big Red has just had her first calf. I can't help but get excited with every calf, but this is our "unofficial pet". She had a black bull calf. I'll try to put some pics of him soon, if anyone is interested. She isn't acting too motherly though. I haven't seen him suck yet, but by the time I got out there this morning is was 7:30 and she already had him dried off.

This gives me a perfect excuse to call in sick for today.

 

[Rustler9]

That's a good looking heifer, I don't think she's too fat at all. I like to see them going into the winter in good condition. She's probably going to be an easy keeper. I have Beefmaster and Beefmaster cross cows that stay like that year around. Congratulations on the new calf and show us a picture of them when you get a chance.

 

[bward]

Congrats! Yes please post a pic.

 

[cypressfarms]

Hey everyone,

Here's what you get when you cross a beefmaster heifer with an angus bull. ....... FRED as my girls call him