we raise commercial cattle, have some registered but they are used in crossbreeding. our mostly british with a little continental cows eat whatever grows, they sure aren't picky eaters. Alfalfa is too high in protein for our animals. they get fat on just pasture and about a quarter pound of grain every few days. that is to get them to come up to the catch pen so they look forward to being in there. we're raising beef not horns. possibly that increases the need for high protien. we've never had a problem selling our heifers into others folk herds. genetics that are correct for our managment and the types of forage around here (endophyte ecfected ky31) seem to always be in demand greater then our supply. we all have priorities, ours aren't flash and glitter, they are sound, long lived, fertile, gentle, moderate framed, easy calving, polled cows that wean calves that weigh over half of the cows/heifers weight on grass (if you can classify ky31 as grass) and maintain there condition. that's the difference between seedstock and commercial
dun
> Hey Dun! I gather from a lot of
> your posts that you have a rather
> large Longhorn operation...I could
> be wrong though...have been
> before.
> I'm not implying that we
> Longhorners raise/feed cattle like
> in a feedlot to fatten up for
> market. I'm just saying that one
> needs to watch their condition and
> supplement feed as needed to
> maintain that condition--easier to
> maintain condition than to correct
> deficiencies.
> What Longhorns eat in pasture or
> range are grasses, plants, tree
> leaves, etc., that the more
> finicky "English-type"
> breeds will pass up. Now if you
> are running 1,000 or 10,000 head
> of something, then 10 cents a head
> a month saved is big bucks and
> could make the difference between
> profit and loss. On the other
> hand, think a lot of Longhorn
> people are breeding/raising horn
> and other attributes for improving
> the critters and hopefully some
> genetic improvement, without
> losing sight of the
> "true" characteristics
> of Longhorns.
> On feeding costs, our
> "investment" is about
> 1/2 a 50# bag equivalent of cubes
> and beef show ration per 10 head
> (or about .30 cents a day/1000#
> unit). We are paying an average of
> about $4.65 a 60-70# bale for
> horse quality, weed-free alfalfa
> and supplemental feeding about 2-3
> bales/day per 10 - 1000# units
> when pasture is down and weather
> is miserable and cold and about 1
> bale/day with marginal pasture.
> Only "extra" feed we do
> is with pregnant or lactating cow
> and her calf at side while they
> are in a separate large pen before
> integrating with rest of herd.
> No...we're probably not making
> money on stock maintenance, but
> are turning out some very nice
> looking calves for future sales.
> AND, the special treats have made
> it extremely easy for us to work
> in halter on our calves and to
> sort out ONE animal from several
> at the gate to move to another
> area--we just call their name,
> offer special treat, and that ONE
> animal comes to us (usually).
> At this point, our main program is
> to obtain and maintain and improve
> our genetic line (selective
> purchases and culling out certain
> offspring), keep protein levels
> good to enhance their already
> genetically determined horn
> predisposition, and to provide a
> middle-of-the-road body style (not
> too lean, not too fat) that seems
> to appeal to a large segment of
> the buyers and those wanting
> Longhorns for commercial
> cross-breeding. Our cows are
> maintained between about 950 and
> 1150 lbs and not over 1200 lbs.
> Hope this info helps some others
> on messageboard.
>
Bill
