First two cows just arrived, now what to do

[GoodValley]

Hello. I'm new to the cattle business. I attended an auction of registered black angus last weekend and made a purchase. This is in Western Washingon state. The auction started out with bulls, they sold in the range of $2100-$2800 each, I thought that was pretty high.

Next came pregnant cows and "pairs". There were three pairs at the auction. My neighbor bought the first pair for $2100, the mother was huge, 6 years old, baby about 2 months old. He seems to have a lot of cash, it's just his hobby so he probably didn't care what he paid.

I bought a pair which was a mother born April 2001 and her heifer born two months ago (picture below). $1350 total, the two look very healthy to me. The heifer was her third offspring. The auction catalog had EPD information for most of the animals, but the pair I purchased had no information. My neighbor says he never cares about that stuff. I was told by the 18 year old girl who auctioned it that her family has grown from a few registered angus to 14 head on 11 acres, and it takes a lot of time to prepare the figures and submit EPDs, so they didn't do it. Is that a problem for me?

Now the two are happy in my field, it's approx 5 acres total, three different sections, good fencing and well water. I was told that the mother is ready to be inseminated again next time in heat. I purchased some grain, two 50 lb bags, and gave them some grain as the grass may not be ready here for full nutrition.

I have a friend who is a fresh produce wholesaler. If he gets old vegetables in bulk that are not suitable for sale, will my angus like to eat it?

By the way, end of sale there were 9 commercial angus which went for $1.04 per lb.

Any advice on what I need to be doing? Thanks!!

 

[Arnold Ziffle]

For starters, give the cow a good shot of dewormer and plenty of good groceries (the cattle kind, not people kind).

 

[eric]

Congrats! Not too bad a price it seems.

As far as what to do now....throw a roll of hay in there, provide plenty of fresh water, some shelter if possible, and enjoy your pasture ornaments. You should get many hrs of enjoyment out of watching them move around and stuff. Every chance you get, try and feed them some range cubes, and soon you'll have them eating from your hand.

Good luck and enjoy! :cboy:

 

[tapeworm]

May just be me or the anglebut that calf doesn't look just right...is it a short??? Hard to tell with pictures especialy with blacks but sometime there is a reason for getting a good deal.LOL Not meaning to puit them down or anything..nice young pairs are hard to find these days. Congratlations and welcome to the cow business!!!
PS: the question about what to do is one that you should have already had answered before you bought something. Do like the others said and also try to start a relationship with a good large animal vet. Best not to wait until you need one in my opinion. Good luck

 

[1848]

I bought a pair which was a mother born April 2001 and her heifer born two months ago (picture below). $1350 total, the two look very healthy to me. The heifer was her third offspring. The auction catalog had EPD information for most of the animals, but the pair I purchased had no information. My neighbor says he never cares about that stuff. I was told by the 18 year old girl who auctioned it that her family has grown from a few registered angus to 14 head on 11 acres, and it takes a lot of time to prepare the figures and submit EPDs, so they didn't do it. Is that a problem for me?

Nice pair for a very good price. Calf looks awesome. Unless you wanted to be a registered breeder, or performance breeder with AAA then I wouldn't worry about EPD's. It can get expensive in the end and probably why the family who sold the pair did not keep up with it. Just use a calving ease bull on the cow. Give them good quality hay ($25 to $40 a round bale), and set out some mineral. Only grain them once a day, and just give her a large coffee can or so full. Personally I would stay away from the fresh produce. They may like to eat it but I would save it for the pigs.

 

[Chuckie]

I think you made a good buy. I like both of them. Ask any question at any time. I most likely won't know the answer, but someone else will.

 

[eric]

Let's do some math....

born April 2001 / this we know

1st calf say March 2003 (23 months)

2nd calf Feb 2004 (11 months)

this calf Jan 2005....(11 months) / this we know also

Man, you got yourself a baby making machine if she was born April 2001 and this is her 3rd calf!!! You may not have to get your own bull, sounds like she might get pregnant just by a bull being in the area!! ;-) :cboy:


I also noticed the calf in the picture looks kinda weird, but I thinks she's just a fat, healthy calf. Or it could be the angle of the picture being taken.

 

[GoodValley]

Hi, and thanks for all of the replies. The mother is very good at getting pregnant as you mentioned, that thought came to mind when I bid. Also at the auction was her second offspring, now over a year old, a bull who looked great. He went for a good price at the auction. I understand from the owners that the first offspring was butchered and tasted great. As for the two month old heifer, she seems healthy but I do not have a trained eye like you all. I believe the picture shows her at an odd angle. This heifer moves around a lot. She has a kind of spirited gallup as she trots around, she's not sedentary. I have three kids of my own, and I would say in human terms that this two month old heifer is very "alert". Perhaps it's typical.

I'll get bale of hay. I purchased a rubber 15 gallon tub for water at the local grange. There were horses here before, and we have a nice covered barn for the animals to rest inside and get some shade.

There is a tag on her ear that shows some vaccination. The previous owners let me know that everything is up to date, but I will get in touch with the local vet as soon as I get the paperwork in the mail for these cows. I was told by the auction organizer that the papers will be sent soon.

Any other advice welcome, thanks.

 

[Wren]

When was this auction and which auction yard was it? Chehalis or Centraila? I was at chehalis 2 weeks ago when they ran some registered angus through. If it was this auction I can tell you some more about these cows.

 

[GoodValley]

Hi. The auction was in Marysville. I bought #5, who came with a baby, here is a link to the brochure.

http://www.wwangus.com/PerformanceSale/2005/2005_WWAA_Sale_Program.htm

What do you think about these?

 

[jerry27150]

cow & calf both look great & they sure don't look wormy. looks like they have everything they need. i am sure their previous owner wormed them before the sale anyway

 

[Arnold Ziffle]

Jerry, I don't want to quibble much on this and its strictly my own personal practice but: Unless I personally knew and trusted the prior owner implicitly and he told me that a cow was just very recently dewormed (with the dewormer of my choice) I would always spent a few extra bucks and give a newly purchased cow a shot of dewormer. I view it as just good, cheap "insurance", even if they don't have a wormy look. Regarding GoodValley's cow, its now the middle of March and the cow pictured might have most recently been dewormed back in the fall.

I just looked at the brochure and if my old eyes haven't failed me she was born in very LATE April, 2001 --- so she's even a little more of a baby making machine than Eric suggested. To me she looks like she's giving what she's got to her baby, and she's the kind I like to take extra good care of, so she continues in her great ways.

You done good, GoodValley.

 

[jerry27150]

sorry arnold, but i never worm one unless she is thin. had an arcticle in grass farmer a couple years ago about worming & some decided most cows don't get thin & they were spending a lot of money on wormer for the whole herd when only 4or 5 needed it, so they figured you could save your money & sell cows that havn't built an immunity to worms. two vets told me years ago not to worm unless they were thin. said most cattle build an immunity by the time they are 2 years old

 

[SPRINGER FARMS MURRAY GRE]

Jerry, I don't want to quibble much on this and its strictly my own personal practice but: Unless I personally knew and trusted the prior owner implicitly and he told me that a cow was just very recently dewormed (with the dewormer of my choice) I would always spent a few extra bucks and give a newly purchased cow a shot of dewormer. I view it as just good, cheap "insurance", even if they don't have a wormy look. Regarding GoodValley's cow, its now the middle of March and the cow pictured might have most recently been dewormed back in the fall.

I just looked at the brochure and if my old eyes haven't failed me she was born in very LATE April, 2001 --- so she's even a little more of a baby making machine than Eric suggested. To me she looks like she's giving what she's got to her baby, and she's the kind I like to take extra good care of, so she continues in her great ways.

You done good, GoodValley.

I wholeheartedly agree....worm them twice a year....spring and fall! ;-) :cboy:

 

[franseen]

I like that calf seems like it has a really nice top. If her bull sold at the sale and you would be interested in selling her current calf get ahold of her bull's info. What he sold and to whom. Then you can use that information to market you calf. Good luck.

 

[D.R. Cattle]

I would have recommended knowing a bit more in the "what to do" field before buying. But your probably like me...a sucker for a pretty face.

 

[Beefy]

if by "weird" y'all meant "fat and healthy", then heck yes, thats a WEIRD calf.

 

[ga. prime]

GoodValley, I wouldn't feed the produce. Probably not very nutritious and could cause choking or other problems, depending on the variety of produce. I've got an uncle that had a cow choke to death on a pear. She tried to swallow it whole and it stuck in her throat.

 

[Victoria]

Congrats on your cow and calf GoodValley. One other thing, make sure she has got a salt or mineral block. I don't know about your area so I can't recommend which type, talk to your vet about it. He will know if the soil in the area is lacking something, you may need a block high in a particular mineral. Some people feed the salt/mineral loose to, whichever you prefer.