Well according to my turn out date calving season starts 8-14. Got 4 out of 35 on the ground already, one is 10 days old, one out of an “ open” cow according to the vet about 6 weeks ago. Oh well, a healthy calf is welcome anytime here!
Getting a head start
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kenny thomas
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Seeing more and more vet mistakes
farmerjan
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They are even a bit off with the ultrasound lately it seems. Just had our first hit the ground this past week; that was a "fall calver" ... about a week before I expected the first, in another group, but more than a month sooner than she was diagnosed to be, I checked the list........ we had some that were stragglers from spring, calved in mid-June... that we intentionally are holding back to go in the fall group (mostly some boughts that we wanted to not be stragglers for spring group again).... and we bought 15 from a friend that wants to cut back... health reasons, rented pasture etc) and they are scattered out... some have 3-4 month calves and a couple just calved... but the bull is still in there, so they will go out to a pasture here, and then will get preg checked later in Oct/Nov when they get moved out of that pasture for the winter. We did not buy the bull, so after next week, they are either bred or not bred until time for a bull to go in this Nov.... and we can assess whether to keep the ones with the big calves if they are not bred... but I suspect they are probably bred back. All the calves need to be worked and ear tagged so we can identify who has what and see what kind of momma's they are...
puzzled in oregon
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Are you going to be calving year round now
farmerjan
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No, we have always calved spring and fall... and then any bought cows get put in the group that fits them best... but had a bunch of boughts that did not calve according to what they were supposed to be 2 (maybe it was 3) years ago... supposed to calve in May by preg ck at sale, , and didn't calve until early/mid July; and we stuck them in to try to get them to back up 1-2 months in the spring, which is when they were supposed to be calving, instead of first of July when they did calve, but they aren't backing up enough, so we just decided this year that when they had their calves in late-June, we would not put them out to try to get them to back up again, we would just hold them and they should be in very good shape to catch first off for the fall calving group.Are you going to be calving year round now
Now, if they don't breed back to calve mid-late Aug... at the beginning of the fall calving group, then they will get looked at pretty hard. Usually we can get a cow to back up a month or even 6-8 weeks if she is in good condition....the first year , and again the next year.... so several June calvers are now calving in late April/ early May which works for us... but there are several in this last late group of 6-8 cows, that just did not back up much last year... So, they will get held over and should be the first ones to calve in mid-late Aug next year... "losing" only about 60 days so to speak. They all raised nice calves and seem to milk good, keep their body weight... and maybe just don't do good breeding back in the heat of the summer... So, if they are in good shape, the calves are a little older, and they are cycling, they ought to catch right off when the bull goes in, in Nov. Trying to get all our calves on the ground by first of Dec so they get a little start before our weather gets cold and wet by the first of January or so.... not so much snow as cold wet rains in the winters lately... they can do snow, but that cold rain is hard on new calves, so if they are a month or so old, they are sucking good and getting around and not dealing with newborns.
We are trying to tighten up our calving window a bit, since we got a bit lax with several other things going on for 2 years..... Bulls come out in the next week or so... less than 90 days in this summer...a little concerned about the breeding back due to the terribly unusual hot temps in June that we never have... so just hoping they were more active at night. We switch bulls after about 50 days, in the odd case that someone is not "good" even though we do BSE tests... but we had a bull one year that was shooting blanks and it threw us way off on 20 cows... so now we just try to cover our bases. Sometimes won't be totally sure of who caught some of the cows, but these are commercial cows, so not as important to know sires as it would be in reg herds.... it is pretty obvious on most as they are usually bred in the first 30+/- days... but this hedges our bets a bit and sometimes a "new bull" will catch a few that are "late"... and still keep them safely within the calving window. Luckily most all our bulls we can entice them into the trailer out in the pasture with some grain... or take them down to the catch pens and get them in that way... but several will go in the back for grain... have the bull we are moving in, in the front section, and let them out the side door if they are not a big fat bull...
puzzled in oregon
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puzzled in oregon
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Cold rain and wind here so they calve in March. I think it is easier on the cows with their calves still safe inside, than having to nurse them
in that weather. But, bigger/older calves when the grass kicks in would be nice so they could utilize more of it.
When do the fall calves go to market ?
in that weather. But, bigger/older calves when the grass kicks in would be nice so they could utilize more of it.
When do the fall calves go to market ?
farmerjan
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@puzzled in oregon ... our spring calving is supposed to be Mar-May and Fall is Sept-Nov... Mar has been a better month to calve than April some years here... it is never predictable anymore. One year we would have been better off having them all calve in Feb because late March was miserable... but often it is not so terrible. Fall is backing up a little bit to mid-late Aug as the cows seem to be catching quicker in the fall, used to be bulls went in right after Thanksgiving, now it seems it is sooner.... and that's okay as the calves are bigger going into winter and eating more... more feed but then we can wean off and sell 450-6 wts in spring.
Marketing calves is just watching the market... we wean when it works, sometimes when we preg check, sometimes not until the cows are pushing 7 months bred. Depends on the grass, pastures, etc.. Used to be we had to sell a group in mid-late fall (early spring calves) to help make payments. Plus we had only hay to feed through the winter. Now, we have the option of holding them and feeding silage to weaned animals. We finally bought the farm we had been renting from the widow of a friend we had helped for years, who passed away. Wanted to buy it years ago but his daughters would not hear of it, when he was sick, he wanted to sell it.... rented it for nearly 8 years from the widow and she got tired of the fighting between them, and none of them really wanting to commit, nor financially able, to actually operate a farm. She wanted out of debt because they had built a house a couple years before he passed and there was a sizable mtg... so sold the farm part. Grow about 10-15 acres of corn, put it in silage bags a couple years and then built a silage pit, concrete pad and big concrete "blocks". Gives us options to hold calves and feed. We kept quite a few through the winter last year, sold this spring in several groups... bigger and heavier than we usually sell but prices were good. Then we sold a bunch of 5 wts that came off the fall calving cows. We kept most of the heifers and put them out to pasture instead of some steers like we have done in the past.
Used to be we would sell lighter weight calves, trailer weaned, years ago... no place to wean and hold and feed. And tried to calve just in the spring. Then things slowly evolved and the twice a year calving season, and being able to wean and hold them has made things much more flexible for marketing. But it has taken 30+ years to get here, and we carry alot of real estate debt now with buying the last farm. We buy and put together some groups, usually bull calves that are discounted, work through the chute, and wean and get on feed/silage/grass... until we have a group to sell... It gives us options now... been a long time getting here...
Marketing calves is just watching the market... we wean when it works, sometimes when we preg check, sometimes not until the cows are pushing 7 months bred. Depends on the grass, pastures, etc.. Used to be we had to sell a group in mid-late fall (early spring calves) to help make payments. Plus we had only hay to feed through the winter. Now, we have the option of holding them and feeding silage to weaned animals. We finally bought the farm we had been renting from the widow of a friend we had helped for years, who passed away. Wanted to buy it years ago but his daughters would not hear of it, when he was sick, he wanted to sell it.... rented it for nearly 8 years from the widow and she got tired of the fighting between them, and none of them really wanting to commit, nor financially able, to actually operate a farm. She wanted out of debt because they had built a house a couple years before he passed and there was a sizable mtg... so sold the farm part. Grow about 10-15 acres of corn, put it in silage bags a couple years and then built a silage pit, concrete pad and big concrete "blocks". Gives us options to hold calves and feed. We kept quite a few through the winter last year, sold this spring in several groups... bigger and heavier than we usually sell but prices were good. Then we sold a bunch of 5 wts that came off the fall calving cows. We kept most of the heifers and put them out to pasture instead of some steers like we have done in the past.
Used to be we would sell lighter weight calves, trailer weaned, years ago... no place to wean and hold and feed. And tried to calve just in the spring. Then things slowly evolved and the twice a year calving season, and being able to wean and hold them has made things much more flexible for marketing. But it has taken 30+ years to get here, and we carry alot of real estate debt now with buying the last farm. We buy and put together some groups, usually bull calves that are discounted, work through the chute, and wean and get on feed/silage/grass... until we have a group to sell... It gives us options now... been a long time getting here...
Down here, you can bring 2 pot loads of calves that are identical...100 of them.... and they are still going through the ring one at a time, at 1-2 seconds per calf. Out of those 100, there may be 50, 75, even 100 different people buy them. For years (until this year's crop, actually) we had 100-120 cows in the herd, and we'd put in 5 or 6 bulls, so that they all calved in February. In March we'd round them up for tagging and cutting steers, and end of August we'd round them up, sort off the calves and carry them to the sale. We did this because we only had to fool with them twice a year like that. Actually 4 times because when all the crops were in, we'd drive them over there and let them winter on the crop residue for the whole hunting season When quail and rabbit season was over in February, we'd drive them (and most had calved). But, we didn't have to do anything with them...never even swung a rope during the move over and back. When I bought the herd back last winter, the guy I had sold to had used 1 bull in the pasture with them. And he had sold a few and bought a few more. so they calved from January to May this year. And, I have bought a few more here and there, in different stages of pregnancy, and/or with calves from 1 week old to old enough to wean. We decided we wouldn't try to get back to a 40-45 day calving window. Scott and I are both older and have health issues, plus we have more time now, as we are slowly starting to retire from our other businesses. We had 9 January calves, and the biggest crop was 43 in March and 40 in April. ` It sure was a lot easier to work that many than 100-120 at one time. Plus, it does no good to bring them all in one group. And now that I have made a deal with Clay's boss to sell him 400 a year, he'd rather have 30-40 or so a month any how, rather than 400 at one time. And he sends his trucks and trailers, and 2 of his cowboys down to get them. All I do is sort and pen them the morning they are coming. And most of the time, Joe and Lisa come over to help with that.
The only time you may see a "group", is someone may be selling 2 to maybe 8 cows, pairs, or bed heifers by the head,, and want them run in the ring together. I learned long ago, you just bid as much as the worst one is worth by itself. I see people run in 4-5 black cows, with a red, white, yellow or smoky cow or 2 in with them. They will bring per head what the off colored-cows would have by themselves. They would have come out better to not have those off colored cows in with the black ones. Several times this past year, I might buy the group, and tell them to weigh the non-black ones. And because the blacks didn't cost top dollar, I could then sell them to someone for what they were worth. In 50+ years, I have always made money off people selling cows in a "group". If the bid gets close to what the black cows might bring, I just don't buy them. Occasionally, though, there will be someone there...a newbie wanting to "get some cows", that will end up having more in the off-colored cows than they are worth. But, usually these aren't people buying them to "flip". They are gonna keep them and raise calves off of them. And hey...if they use homo for black bulls, those red Herefords and Angus and Simms,etc., will raise them a calf that sells for as much as the black cows' calves.
The only time you may see a "group", is someone may be selling 2 to maybe 8 cows, pairs, or bed heifers by the head,, and want them run in the ring together. I learned long ago, you just bid as much as the worst one is worth by itself. I see people run in 4-5 black cows, with a red, white, yellow or smoky cow or 2 in with them. They will bring per head what the off colored-cows would have by themselves. They would have come out better to not have those off colored cows in with the black ones. Several times this past year, I might buy the group, and tell them to weigh the non-black ones. And because the blacks didn't cost top dollar, I could then sell them to someone for what they were worth. In 50+ years, I have always made money off people selling cows in a "group". If the bid gets close to what the black cows might bring, I just don't buy them. Occasionally, though, there will be someone there...a newbie wanting to "get some cows", that will end up having more in the off-colored cows than they are worth. But, usually these aren't people buying them to "flip". They are gonna keep them and raise calves off of them. And hey...if they use homo for black bulls, those red Herefords and Angus and Simms,etc., will raise them a calf that sells for as much as the black cows' calves.
Travlr
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Most of the sale rings I've been to put big lots through as long as they are uniform, and the big lots bring more per pound considering what they are. It's not unusual to see 100+ calves be brought through in two or three bunches to be weighed, and then sold together.
Lord, that would be a nightmare,. and take all day down here, The scales are right behind the entrance door to the ring, and can hold one animal. You'd have to do this 30 times, for a group of 30 ( which the rings wouldn't hold that many anyhow) and have some one there totalling up the weights and averaging them., and then sell them. Much faster and easier to just take an extra 1-2 seconds and sell them when they leave the scales and come into the ring. Now, if some one wanted to sell say a group of head cows...like 1200 lb cows... then the ring wouldn't hold but maybe 8 at a time. When they do, you bid on a cow...one cow... eight times the money. And experienced people bid on the worst of the bunch. They can run all 8 in together, because you don't weigh head cows. People will run in say, 7 Angus and one Herf or Charolais., All 8 of them will only bring what that Herf or Char by itself would bring. You lose out on the 7 black ones. But again ,savvy people wouldn't do that.,,..they'd sell the 7 Ang, and run the Chart or Herf in by itself. Or even better, run all 8 in one at a time.
Travlr
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Seriously? Your rings won't hold fifty 500 pound animals?
They separate animals by all kinds of criteria, but the big lots of consistent weaned calves get sold together. You might get 120 that weigh 500 to 550 and another lot of 80 that are 450 to 500 from the same ranch. Saves time for the sale barn and those doing the buying... and the seller gets more from the order buyers.
And I've never seen any cows sold by the head (except once) unless they're papered or being sold as heavy bred to be used as production stock. Pairs may not be sold by weight but they still cross the scales so you know what you are bidding on.
And it does take all day when they are running 3/6K animals through. If the animals were run through one or two at a time it would take forever.
kenny thomas
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I haven't been to a sale where the head cows weren't weighed. Lots of the head cows are being bought by the slaughter buyers now. Gotta be a pretty good cow to go back to the farm when some cows are bringing in the 1.60 range.
Katpau
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When calves are sold in a group, they are also weighed in the group. No individual weights. They are sorted into groups of calves of similar weight, and then the whole group is sold with the average weight and total announced. It is similar to what you might see on Superior Auction. They are able to sell thousands of calves in a day that way. Many of the calves arrive at the auction with the seller already having them sorted in groups of similar weight, but any outliers can be pulled out before they go in the ring. A pot load of calves will always sell better than individuals.
Here’s a group of my light weights selling at auction 5 years ago. We don’t sell through the ring anymore, but this is typical of how it’s done up here.
wbvs58
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That is true, and we don't see anywhere near as many head cows sold as we used to. And we see good. young cows in the weigh pen. When a cow is sold by the head, she will have been pregged and the months bred marked on her. This is when the owner or seller can stand up, and tell about the cow. auctioneer might spend a couple of minutes on her. If that cow had been put in the weight pen to be sold by the pound, she would not have been pregged, and she will be run through the ring in a few seconds...no standing up and telling info about her.
