first herd

[papavillars]

I just bought my first herd of cattle. 2 bulls, ( 1 angus 4yrs old, 1 longhorn 2yrs old), 8 cows mixed breed some short tooothed, 4 heifers,2 steers, 2 baby bulls 3-4 months old. All seem healthy but could use a little more girth or fattening up. What do I need to do first vacinate and with what, or deworm and with what. I have 45 acres of coastal with two flowing springs. I am in south central texas, so winters are usually mild. 5-6 days of freezing weather at a time followed by weeks in the forty to fifty degree temps. I put out sulphur,salt, and mineral block. thanks for any info.

 

[chippie]

Talk to your County Extension Agent. He should be able to help you learn to manage your herd.

Texas A&M Dept of Animal Science - Beef Cattle has publications and information that you can download.

http://animalscience.tamu.edu/academics/beef/index.htm

 

[papavillars]

chippie thanks for the reply. I talked to the ag agent but see in how i only have 90 total acres and there are several 500 to 1500 acre ranches and he can not break free to come out and advise me. he is never in the office and so i turned to these boards for some sage advise. Maybe me being a alum from u.t. and he an aggie makes a difference. Oh well we will beat the hell out of them on thanksgiving day so revenge is cheap but sweet. LOL

 

[jerry27150]

wouldn't do anything for a week or so. let them get adjusted to the place & then worm them with your choice wormer

 

[chippie]

What county are you in? Don't give up. His job is to help everyone. Talk to his secretary to find out when he will be in the office and set up an appointment to talk to him there first. Ask if your county has a Master Beef Volunteer who could help you.

Also, may I ask, why do you have two bulls for only 8 cows? Do you have pens or cross fences to separate the heifers from the bulls so that they will not be bred too young?

Do you have a veterinarian? What are you going to do with your bull calves? If you want to castrate them, it should be done before they get much older and before the weather gets too cold. Otherwise in the Spring, you will have a lot of fighting going on.

What are your goals?

 

[papavillars]

I have two bulls because that is what the man going out of state had to sell. I plan on banding the bull calves this weekend.I would like to have the longhorn cut. this would just make him pasture art. Do not forget I graduated from u.t.( masters from notre dame but I can not find a leprechaun for the farm.) Will coastal hay and rye forage be enough this winter.

 

[TexasBred]

I have two bulls because that is what the man going out of state had to sell. I plan on banding the bull calves this weekend.I would like to have the longhorn cut. this would just make him pasture art. Do not forget I graduated from u.t.( masters from notre dame but I can not find a leprechaun for the farm.) Will coastal hay and rye forage be enough this winter.

Papa....a UT graduate IS a Leprechaun on the farm. ;-) (Only kidding). Good to have you aboard.

 

[Cowdirt]

I just bought my first herd of cattle. 2 bulls, ( 1 angus 4yrs old, 1 longhorn 2yrs old), 8 cows mixed breed some short tooothed, 4 heifers,2 steers, 2 baby bulls 3-4 months old. All seem healthy but could use a little more girth or fattening up. What do I need to do first vacinate and with what, or deworm and with what. I have 45 acres of coastal with two flowing springs. I am in south central texas, so winters are usually mild. 5-6 days of freezing weather at a time followed by weeks in the forty to fifty degree temps. I put out sulphur,salt, and mineral block. thanks for any info.

Papa, there are not many fans of mineral blocks on this board. I'd get them on loose minerals soon. Check with a local farmer's supply store if you can't get an audience with the county agent; they can tell you what kind of minerals are needed in the area.

 

[papavillars]

Texas Bred, it is good to be aboard. congratulations to the Aggies for making the bowl game scenario. Looking forward to this weeks game. Now if Notre Dame would get it together I would reaaly be thankful. have a safe holiday.....Papa

 

[papavillars]

TN cattle, i agree i only need one bull and that will be the registered angus. I am going to have the vet out to cut the longhorn. I doubt I will ever have over thirty cows. I only have 85 acres and part of that is heavily wooded. I am going to kep the longhorn because my dad wants him. Dad is 85 and not in the best of health so putting up with the critter might be short time.

 

[papavillars]

Cowdirt, I have not used loose minerals but when i was real young my dad put out protein tubs. I will check with the feed store and see what is what. With 18 head of cattle how many bunk feeders should I need? Thanks to everyone for the info. I am sure I will have many other question so bear with me.

 

[TexasBred]

Texas Bred, it is good to be aboard. congratulations to the Aggies for making the bowl game scenario. Looking forward to this weeks game. Now if Notre Dame would get it together I would reaaly be thankful. have a safe holiday.....Papa

Not looking forward to Thanksgiving at all. :cry2:

 

[dun]

With 18 head of cattle how many bunk feeders should I need? quote]

With decent hay/grass you shouldn;t need any

 

[Cowdirt]

Cowdirt, I have not used loose minerals but when i was real young my dad put out protein tubs. I will check with the feed store and see what is what. With 18 head of cattle how many bunk feeders should I need? Thanks to everyone for the info. I am sure I will have many other question so bear with me.

Papa, dun is correct in saying with good hay and grass as long as possible, you shouldn't be feeding out of a bag. It is a good practice to feed a little good tasting stuff occasionally to keep the herd coming to you when you need to get them up. When I say a little, I mean maybe half a 5 gal bucket for your entire herd. Do a search on this board for "mineral feeder" and you will find a mineral feeder that dun and many of us use. It's made from a plastic barrel.