Growing out calves to start up?

[denvermartinfarms]

Cut the horns. We cut all of ours when we got them. Should of cut them shorter but they are at about ear length. You should be able to get a good heavy bred Longhorn momma between $800-$1400....maybe even a pair for around $1500.

Yes, cut the horns off and breed them to a Charolais. It's a smart way to go for sevarel reasons.

 

[sim.-ang.king]

Dude this is getting to be too much!! Your first post said you have been around cows your whole life and you are not a newbie.

Take some seminars, read some books & magazines, visit some neighbors. I want to know who gave you the silver platter ranch when you obviously have way too much to learn in too short of time??

Buy a couple older beef cows and start the learning from there.

This is not an offensive post to me. This is simply the thruth. Allforage is sometimes grumpy - but this is not grumpy.

Oh, we did touch on the subject what cattle to start with earlier, right Sniper? You were given great advice back in the other thread. This thread is all abot trying to do what only experienced cattlemen can make money from. Starting your business with a class of cattle that are extra sensitive and raising them in a weight interval where the price per weight goes way down - is not a good plan.

If someone got offended by AF's comment, it must of struck a nerve, and had some truth to it.

Sometimes you need a good slap in the face.

 

[Big Cheese]

Cut the horns. We cut all of ours when we got them. Should of cut them shorter but they are at about ear length. You should be able to get a good heavy bred Longhorn momma between $800-$1400....maybe even a pair for around $1500.

Yes, cut the horns off and breed them to a Charolais. It's a smart way to go for sevarel reasons.

Exactly what we are doing. Its working very well for us.

 

[denvermartinfarms]

Cut the horns. We cut all of ours when we got them. Should of cut them shorter but they are at about ear length. You should be able to get a good heavy bred Longhorn momma between $800-$1400....maybe even a pair for around $1500.

Yes, cut the horns off and breed them to a Charolais. It's a smart way to go for sevarel reasons.

Exactly what we are doing. Its working very well for us.

Only bad part is you can't buy the LH cows for 300 to 500$ anymore.

 

[Big Cheese]

Nope we got most of our Longhorns for around $850-$1200. I averaged $685 for 15 but I bought them over the last 2 years. Prices were lower a couple of years ago lol.

 

[Caustic Burno]

Depending on where you are LH will hurt you at the salebarn.
Buyers will dock you for calves with chrome.
Why start out in the hole and try to dig out.
Here it better be black or a black baldie to draw premium money.
I say find some good Hereford cows as they sell cheaper and put a good
black homo bull on them, sit back as the draw premium money mashing the scales down.

Again this is simple you want black and heavy calf in the least amount of time.
You can fight it and it absolutely makes no sense as when the hide comes off they are all the same color.
If you choose to fight what the order buyers want you are just giving away money.

Grass in front of the cow bull behind.

 

[denvermartinfarms]

I agree with CB, if you can find some good Herefords and put a brangus bull on then it would be hard to beat. The deal with the longhorns is you can buy them cheaper, here I can buy good heavy bred longhorns for about 1000$ and sell there first calf for more than that. But we have a good market around here for good cattle, a little chrome won't kill you as long as they are good.

 

[bball]

Good judgement come from experience and experience comes from bad judgement

Thats good stuff

x2..That is straight gospel! :clap:

 

[Caustic Burno]

I agree with CB, if you can find some good Herefords and put a brangus bull on then it would be hard to beat. The deal with the longhorns is you can buy them cheaper, here I can buy good heavy bred longhorns for about 1000$ and sell there first calf for more than that. But we have a good market around here for good cattle, a little chrome won't kill you as long as they are good.

With him being in Texas it better be black with a touch of Brimmer.
No sense giving money away neighbor I hauled a SH and Brangus steer for last week
same size, the Brangus brought a dollar more a pound and the SH was a better calf.
That is the reason my neighbor went to using my Angus bull this cycle the chrome on the SH
was killing him. On a 4wt calf that is 400 froghides in the billfold. That is what they were was
4 wts I watched them go across the scale wasn't twenty pounds difference in the calves.

 

[Rafter S]

I agree with CB, if you can find some good Herefords and put a brangus bull on then it would be hard to beat. The deal with the longhorns is you can buy them cheaper, here I can buy good heavy bred longhorns for about 1000$ and sell there first calf for more than that. But we have a good market around here for good cattle, a little chrome won't kill you as long as they are good.

With him being in Texas it better be black with a touch of Brimmer.
No sense giving money away neighbor I hauled a SH and Brangus steer for last week
same size, the Brangus brought a dollar more a pound and the SH was a better calf.
That is the reason my neighbor went to using my Angus bull this cycle the chrome on the SH
was killing him. On a 4wt calf that is 400 froghides in the billfold. That is what they were was
4 wts I watched them go across the scale wasn't twenty pounds difference in the calves.

I'm not surprised that the Shorthorn didn't do well. I know you're a little ways farther east than I am, but I don't remember ever seeing one go through the ring. I don't know anyone that raises them, although there may be a few show people that have some.

 

[bball]

Dude this is getting to be too much!! Your first post said you have been around cows your whole life and you are not a newbie.

Take some seminars, read some books & magazines, visit some neighbors. I want to know who gave you the silver platter ranch when you obviously have way too much to learn in too short of time??

Buy a couple older beef cows and start the learning from there.

Sniper, if you don't already have a name for your operation...Allforage has done you a huge favor, "Silver Platter Ranch" :nod: Good luck to you with whichever direction you choose to go; my 2 cents leans toward steer clear of the small sale barn calfs until you gain some more hands on experience. Like most things in the cattle biz, they can be very rewarding and/or extremely frustrating. Without a strong background in sick calfs, I fear it would be the latter for ya.

 

[Caustic Burno]

That is all my neighbor had until last year was SH.
Said he was going to raise what he liked.
What he didn't like was getting skinned at the barn.
Him and there was another big operator up in Boogies neck of the woods
only two I knew of.
If it is painted like a LH or SH you will be skinned here at the salebarn.
LH and SH color gene is strong and hard to cover up, it is all BS and a reason to dock you.
Just like run straight Brahman heifers through the barn at 4 wts and they will dock the fire out of you.
Run them through at 12 to 14 months and watch the bidding war for back to the farm girls.

 

[Rafter S]

That is all my neighbor had until last year was SH.
Said he was going to raise what he liked.
What he didn't like was getting skinned at the barn.
Him and there was another big operator up in Boogies neck of the woods
only two I knew of.
If it is painted like a LH or SH you will be skinned here at the salebarn.
LH and SH color gene is strong and hard to cover up, it is all BS and a reason to dock you.
Just like run straight Brahman heifers through the barn at 4 wts and they will dock the fire out of you.
Run them through at 12 to 14 months and watch the bidding war for back to the farm girls.

Maybe I need to make a trip to the Piney Woods this summer. I wouldn't mind picking up a few Brahman heifers if they could be had for a good price.

 

[denvermartinfarms]

I agree with CB, if you can find some good Herefords and put a brangus bull on then it would be hard to beat. The deal with the longhorns is you can buy them cheaper, here I can buy good heavy bred longhorns for about 1000$ and sell there first calf for more than that. But we have a good market around here for good cattle, a little chrome won't kill you as long as they are good.

With him being in Texas it better be black with a touch of Brimmer.
No sense giving money away neighbor I hauled a SH and Brangus steer for last week
same size, the Brangus brought a dollar more a pound and the SH was a better calf.
That is the reason my neighbor went to using my Angus bull this cycle the chrome on the SH
was killing him. On a 4wt calf that is 400 froghides in the billfold. That is what they were was
4 wts I watched them go across the scale wasn't twenty pounds difference in the calves.

Yep, that's the kind of thing I see out east, anything that's not black takes a big hit. I guess if I was in Texas I would have all horned hereford cows and always use brangus bulls. As it happens that will also top the market here, but it's to late for me to start over, I have way to many good mixed cows.

 

[Caustic Burno]

That is all my neighbor had until last year was SH.
Said he was going to raise what he liked.
What he didn't like was getting skinned at the barn.
Him and there was another big operator up in Boogies neck of the woods
only two I knew of.
If it is painted like a LH or SH you will be skinned here at the salebarn.
LH and SH color gene is strong and hard to cover up, it is all BS and a reason to dock you.
Just like run straight Brahman heifers through the barn at 4 wts and they will dock the fire out of you.
Run them through at 12 to 14 months and watch the bidding war for back to the farm girls.

Maybe I need to make a trip to the Piney Woods this summer. I wouldn't mind picking up a few Brahman heifers if they could be had for a good price.

Watched two last week thought about pulling the trigger on.
The only negative is hanging on to them until they are 18 months old before they will breed.

 

[Big Cheese]

Depending on where you are LH will hurt you at the salebarn.
Buyers will dock you for calves with chrome.
Why start out in the hole and try to dig out.
Here it better be black or a black baldie to draw premium money.
I say find some good Hereford cows as they sell cheaper and put a good
black homo bull on them, sit back as the draw premium money mashing the scales down.

Again this is simple you want black and heavy calf in the least amount of time.
You can fight it and it absolutely makes no sense as when the hide comes off they are all the same color.
If you choose to fight what the order buyers want you are just giving away money.

Grass in front of the cow bull behind.

You won't start out in the hole CB. You pay $1000 for a heavy bred Longhorn cow bred to a beef bull you'll get $1000 for that calf and the cows is then paid for everything else from then on is profit. I would much rather pay $1000 to start off then $3000. He can always upgrade later if he feels the need too. You can make money off Longhorns I promise you.

Plus you can run 3 Longhorns to 2 beef cows. That's more head which equals more calves. Just saying.

 

[bball]

Sniper, I keep reading all this and I continue to have the same thought: go buy yourself a few 5-6 year old brood cows from a reputable producer in your area. Make sure they are tame as a kitten. Train these cows to come to you when you ring a bell (easily done, while you feed them some sweet feed or grains, ring a bell while they're eating, after a few times of this, you can ring a bell and your cattle will come to you from anywhere they can hear the bell. This keeps you from chasing them, they come to you. These older, trained cows will be a godsend to you as you add new cattle be cause they will help keep the herd calm and train the other cows to come to you. Heres the things about cattle, you can grow as fast as your pockets are deep (presuming you have the land) but that isn't always a good idea, especially if you're just getting your feet wet. I think this advice will make your enjoyment of owning cattle much more enjoyable, atleast while getting started.

 

[Caustic Burno]

Depending on where you are LH will hurt you at the salebarn.
Buyers will dock you for calves with chrome.
Why start out in the hole and try to dig out.
Here it better be black or a black baldie to draw premium money.
I say find some good Hereford cows as they sell cheaper and put a good
black homo bull on them, sit back as the draw premium money mashing the scales down.

Again this is simple you want black and heavy calf in the least amount of time.
You can fight it and it absolutely makes no sense as when the hide comes off they are all the same color.
If you choose to fight what the order buyers want you are just giving away money.

Grass in front of the cow bull behind.

You won't start out in the hole CB. You pay $1000 for a heavy bred Longhorn cow bred to a beef bull you'll get $1000 for that calf and the cows is then paid for everything else from then on is profit. I would much rather pay $1000 to start off then $3000. He can always upgrade later if he feels the need too. You can make money off Longhorns I promise you.

Plus you can run 3 Longhorns to 2 beef cows. That's more head which equals more calves. Just saying.

You fell and hit your head an need an aspirin.
They will skin him alive on LH cattle recipe for failure in this part of the world.
More head doesn't equal more pounds on the scales. Hard to put beef on hatchet ass cattle.
If they were that good the buyers would drive the market to the breed not dock it.

 

[herofan]

Dude this is getting to be too much!! Your first post said you have been around cows your whole life and you are not a newbie.

Take some seminars, read some books & magazines, visit some neighbors. I want to know who gave you the silver platter ranch when you obviously have way too much to learn in too short of time??

Buy a couple older beef cows and start the learning from there.

Yes, take some seminars, read some books, visit neighbors, or just buy some cows and learn on your own. How dare you come to a cattle forum to ask questions about cattle. Who ever heard of such a thing?

 

[greybeard]

Maybe I need to make a trip to the Piney Woods this summer. I wouldn't mind picking up a few Brahman heifers if they could be had for a good price.

Watched two last week thought about pulling the trigger on.
The only negative is hanging on to them until they are 18 months old before they will breed.

How old were they?