DESERVED REST

[piedmontese]

i was just wondering do any of u ever have a cow that u hav had for yrs and she always does a good job and u just get kinda attached to and when it is her time to be culled u dont do it? instead u just let her live out her days and enjoy life as a reward for all her work.i know its a business but surely sometimes it becomes personal for some of u with at least 1 cow.

 

[CKC1586]

i was just wondering do any of u ever have a cow that u hav had for yrs and she always does a good job and u just get kinda attached to and when it is her time to be culled u dont do it? instead u just let her live out her days and enjoy life as a reward for all her work.i know its a business but surely sometimes it becomes personal for some of u with at least 1 cow.

It will be interesting what responses you get here to this one. I am thinking that when the time comes I have one that will probably get that deserved rest. Hope I am a few years away from the decision....

 

[fitz]

i was just wondering do any of u ever have a cow that u hav had for yrs and she always does a good job and u just get kinda attached to and when it is her time to be culled u dont do it? instead u just let her live out her days and enjoy life as a reward for all her work.i know its a business but surely sometimes it becomes personal for some of u with at least 1 cow.

Yeah. Have raised several lead cows from birth that were hard to let go but always one waiting to fill the void so..............no.

fitz

 

[dun]

When we ran stockers we had one cow, wasn;t that old, that we kept aorund open becuase she was a prolapser. She was the clamest easiest going cow we've ever had. When the astockers came in we would turn her in with them and let her teach them the ropes and settle them down. Worked really well. When it got to the 3rd year of drought we quit with the stockers and shipped her.

 

[Northern Rancher]

Winters up here aren't much of a vacation up here for old cows good or bad so it's usually business as usual with just better memories.

 

[novaman]

If you have a cow that isn't generating income than you are stealing from all the other cows to pay her way. Don't get me wrong I've had some awful good cows that I wanted to have around forever but this is a business. I won't keep anything around that doesn't pay their way. Besides who wants to watch an old cow suffer? I would rather cull them and put that money towards her replacement and not have to watch her slowly die.

 

[fargus]

We haven't, and I doubt we ever will. Have had some pretty special cows, especially old 4-H calves and the like that were hard to load on the truck, but when it comes down to it they always go. Like Northern Rancher said, winter up here is no walk in the park. When a cow comes up open, especially an old one I take that as her handing in her retirement slip, and it's time to send her on to greener pastures.

 

[Santas and Duhram Reds]

I'll confess, I have kept an older cow or two, but I have a motive. I want that last heifer calf. I have two cows right now that I don't feel I have enough heifers out of, but this is probably their last year, regardless of what kind of calf they have. Keep them until they die? Never, not on purpose anyways.

 

[bigbull338]

i think weve all retired a few of our fav cows on the farm

 

[Dylan Biggs]

Never much fun to have to put them down though, seldom do they die in good health, in their sleep.

 

[I luv herfrds]

We had one old cow we were going to keep.
You could scratch her, sit on her, had to give shots in the corral, saved a calf at -35 below, she was a great cow.
We shipped her when she developed cancer eye. We just couldn't put her down ourselves.

 

[piedmontese]

i am not talking bout a sick cow,what i mean is u might have a 10yr old cow that comes up open and she has always done great and u decide to keep her.heck she could have many more good years of life left.i am not saying this is the way to do business i was just thinking about it.

 

[fitz]

i am not talking bout a sick cow,what i mean is u might have a 10yr old cow that comes up open and she has always done great and u decide to keep her.heck she could have many more good years of life left.i am not saying this is the way to do business i was just thinking about it.

I would guess you're just using the ten year age as an example. If I had one that I wanted to keep I may just see if she would breed back in a reasonable time frame. Here, many more years of good life left would have to include raising calves on her own. Just can't give up the slot to one that's not producing each year. I wouldn't want to watch a good cow get down with problems that old age most likely would bring anyway. I don't like putting any of my cows down favorite or not. I want an old cow leaving here standing on the trailer with life in her eye which should result in her last payment for living here. I don't even get to stay free.
When the time comes, you should do what makes you most comfortable.

fitz

 

[sizmic]

I speculate that most people on here have had a loyal unwavering friend at one time. Always around when needed, happy just being with you. When the day came that they just didn't feel like nippin heels, jumpin on the 4wheeler, tractor, or even leaving the yard, did you just ship them off? You can tell I am talking about a dog. I'd bet most everyone would keep feeding one long after they quit earning their keep, just being happy they were still around. At the very least, training the youngsters and making them walk the line. I have one cow that I feel has earned the right to die here. She doesn't ride the 4wheeler or in the back of my truck on the way to TSC, but she has a whopper of a calf every year without fail (10 yr old), mostly heifers. She and her offspring are the smartest cattle that have ever been on the farm. By smartest I mean " ability to learn and teach". All of her offspring have been halter broke in about 30 minutes. She is not the prettiest cow with the best EPD's, but I heard a bit of wisdom from an oldtimer. "Look at the cow that brings in a whopper of a calf every year without fail and learn to like what she looks like". She was also a "end of the sale, trailer filler, bargin".

Sizmic

 

[piedmontese]

i am not talking bout a sick cow,what i mean is u might have a 10yr old cow that comes up open and she has always done great and u decide to keep her.heck she could have many more good years of life left.i am not saying this is the way to do business i was just thinking about it.

I would guess you're just using the ten year age as an example. If I had one that I wanted to keep I may just see if she would breed back in a reasonable time frame. Here, many more years of good life left would have to include raising calves on her own. Just can't give up the slot to one that's not producing each year. I wouldn't want to watch a good cow get down with problems that old age most likely would bring anyway. I don't like putting any of my cows down favorite or not. I want an old cow leaving here standing on the trailer with life in her eye which should result in her last payment for living here. I don't even get to stay free.
When the time comes, you should do what makes you most comfortable.

fitz

well said.

 

[CPL]

My first cow that I bought will die on my place.

 

[Angus Cowman]

i am not talking bout a sick cow,what i mean is u might have a 10yr old cow that comes up open and she has always done great and u decide to keep her.heck she could have many more good years of life left.i am not saying this is the way to do business i was just thinking about it.

Nope if they aren't producing they are gone
I ain't the United States Gov't this is a business not a welfare home

 

[3waycross]

Yep!..........her name's Cookie Sold her two years ago with the rest of my commercial cows. Let my buddy have her for 1/2 price on the condition that she not go to the sale barn...ever. She has 2 producing dtrs in the herd and a 2010 heifer on the way up. He's as soft headed as I am so I am pretty sure she's safe for another 5 years or so. Besides she never fails to breed back and she's right at 11 now.

 

[DOC HARRIS]

i was just wondering do any of u ever have a cow that u hav had for yrs and she always does a good job and u just get kinda attached to and when it is her time to be culled u dont do it? instead u just let her live out her days and enjoy life as a reward for all her work.i know its a business but surely sometimes it becomes personal for some of u with at least 1 cow.

Piedmontese-
I would imagine that it depends upon how sentimental one is in relating to individual animals in the herd, and, as several breeders have alluded, whether one wishes to retain heifer calves from that particular individual. There could be several very legitimate justifications for attempting to acquire at least one more calf from an outstanding producer before retiring her.

Just a suggestion - I know that it is easier to use the "electronic shorthand" for some people and shorten one's words to single letters and symbols, but there is no reason to do so on the Forum. You are NOT restricted to a specific nunber of characters. It makes it rather difficult to interrupt some of these awkward "shortcuts" when perusing these posts. You might get more responses if it were not so difficult for some of us 'older' citizens to understand what you are taking about! Frankly, I am too old and set in my ways to attempt to learn a new method of communication, and mentally correct the grammatical and spelling errors of the current 'electronic speed writing' fads!

DOC HARRIS

 

[Dylan Biggs]

i am not talking bout a sick cow,what i mean is u might have a 10yr old cow that comes up open and she has always done great and u decide to keep her.heck she could have many more good years of life left.i am not saying this is the way to do business i was just thinking about it.

They all age to the point of being old cows eventually even though they may never have been sick a day in their life.