Growing out calves to start up?

[wacocowboy]

I don't know if it gets to cold where you are for oats or not but I like them. I think wheat tolerates the cold a bit more than oats.

 

[Big Cheese]

A lot of people plant wheat around here...that would be what we would probably plant if we planted anything.

 

[fenceman]

Big cheese i like the blocks and tubs during cold weather also. Everyone's right when you do the math they are more expensive. I think sometimes though labor and convenience doesn't get figured in. We also use wheat and oat pasture, and is our most important winter and early spring feed. But when the cows are on hay or dry grass i like tubs. I like the convenience of them and im willing to pay for it. WACO just curious, do you feel like your better of cutting hay off your oats than just grazing them off. If you have your own hay equipment, maybe you are. I personally feel im better grazing them through the spring, and letting my native pastures get up and ahead. Thanks fenceman

 

[Caustic Burno]

You have to understand this first when buying supplements.
https://pubs.ext.vt.edu/400/400-230/400-230.html

 

[fenceman]

You have to understand this first when buying supplements.
https://pubs.ext.vt.edu/400/400-230/400-230.html

Excellent information. Thank you

 

[wacocowboy]

Big cheese i like the blocks and tubs during cold weather also. Everyone's right when you do the math they are more expensive. I think sometimes though labor and convenience doesn't get figured in. We also use wheat and oat pasture, and is our most important winter and early spring feed. But when the cows are on hay or dry grass i like tubs. I like the convenience of them and im willing to pay for it. WACO just curious, do you feel like your better of cutting hay off your oats than just grazing them off. If you have your own hay equipment, maybe you are. I personally feel im better grazing them through the spring, and letting my native pastures get up and ahead. Thanks fenceman

I don't own equipment but have a deal where it basically only cost me diesel and string and help my neighbor load his. It keeps me pretty much stocked with hay. I bought some last year but it was good hay cheap wish I had bought everything that guy had. I think it comes down to preference. I prefer to have the hay rolled up never know when it ain't going to rain and then no oats so you need extra hay. I am a hay hoarder.

 

[Big Cheese]

Nothing wrong with being a hay hoarder never know when you may need it. We lost two hay meadows this year which makes about 50 bales each cutting so we are having to find around 350 more rolls of hay or land to replace that. That's what I like about the blocks as well they are very easy and convenient to put out. I know they can get expensive especially if your pasture is poor...we've been through that as well with our new pasture that is in rough shape that we are having to build it up. But it gives the cows what they need for a not to bad price and they are easy to put out.

CB I'm going your article tomorrow when I get in front of my laptop. I skimmed through it and soybean meal is really high in protein I didn't realize it was that high. I knew cottonseed mill was I used to mix that with a bottle calf's feed back when I was in high school and it worked wonders mixed with corn.

 

[fenceman]

Big cheese i like the blocks and tubs during cold weather also. Everyone's right when you do the math they are more expensive. I think sometimes though labor and convenience doesn't get figured in. We also use wheat and oat pasture, and is our most important winter and early spring feed. But when the cows are on hay or dry grass i like tubs. I like the convenience of them and im willing to pay for it. WACO just curious, do you feel like your better of cutting hay off your oats than just grazing them off. If you have your own hay equipment, maybe you are. I personally feel im better grazing them through the spring, and letting my native pastures get up and ahead. Thanks fenceman

I don't own equipment but have a deal where it basically only cost me diesel and string and help my neighbor load his. It keeps me pretty much stocked with hay. I bought some last year but it was good hay cheap wish I had bought everything that guy had. I think it comes down to preference. I prefer to have the hay rolled up never know when it ain't going to rain and then no oats so you need extra hay. I am a hay hoarder.

Sounds like a pretty good deal. My work allows me opportunitys to trade work for hay. It usually works out good for everybody. You cant have to much in texas. We have to have hay for winter, but also have to have a cushion for summer. Sometimes central tx can Become a desert my wintering area is set up like this. I cut 20 acres of a110 acre pasture for a oatfield i put a gate on each end of cross fence. I built a hay pen on cross fence outside oat field. I feed hay just outside main gate of oatfield. When i turn them in i leave gate open they can come out and eat hay if they want. They can leave oats and roam the 90 acre pasture if they want. At the other gate i cut 2 acres off off oat field with hot wire, and put them in there when it gets wet, kind off a sacrificial plot. It saves main field from getting punched up to bad.i have another plot about 4 acres for hunting that gets feed usally around late winter. And another about 7 acres i plant in ryegrass for spring grazing. I also broadcast ryegrass onto oatfield in November. The cattle trample it in. And it extends spring grazing on the field.i am not by any means saying my way is the best . just sharing my way. I can roll protien tubs off the back of truck when they are needed. When the gates open to the oatfield i pick them up with fel and store them in barn. I did,nt invent this strategy its very very common method around here. Especially for feeding stockers

 

[wacocowboy]

Fenceman just curious why don't you just put your ryegrass out when out put your oats out. I just mix the oats and rye grass in the drill or if I am using spreader I have them do it when loading.

 

[fenceman]

I try to have oats drilled in by September 1, about 11/2 inches deep. We consistently get a wet front about then. You know the one that scatters the doves, about opening weekend. This has me grazing oats by mid November. Planting rye on September 1 is to early imo. October can get hot and dry. You know that. Ryegrass when sprouting won't tolerate hot and dry like deep planted oats will. Plus ryegrass does not really come on until spring, much like winter wheat. Imo there is no advantage to get it in early only risk. I use the whirlybird instead of drill to minimize damage to oats and minimize labor. It works very well for me. Now when I plant ryegrass into pasture I prefer drill if you can get in a 1/2 inches or so it helps if it gets dry. I have no problem seeding ryegrass into December. It will sprout grow acouple inches and hang there until you start getting those sunny days and cool damp nights of early March. Then here it comes. Hit with 50 pounds of nitrogen and stand back. This past fall we mixed turnip seed with fertilizer. Spread out before drilling oats. I was impressed. The cows initially weren't so impressed, they did eventually turn on them.

 

[wacocowboy]

I have never had any problems mixing the oats and ryegrass and everyone I know does it the same way but you may be on to something. Dove season sucked this year around here. It was so bad I didn't even mess with it no way I would have ever gotten my limit.

 

[fenceman]

Mixing oats,and ryegrass is common practice. Wheat to.I've done it. Works well. I still do when no tilling into pasture. But on my tilled ground, I like (fertilizer, space)to be focused on oats for maximum fall grazing.the damage to the stand from grazing gets partially repaired by the ryegrass.I'm sure I get more out of my ground this way. We had a good dove season. Let a strip of millet go to seed.

 

[wacocowboy]

The last few years the doves have been really good but not the past dove season.

 

[hillbillyhammer]

Cant seem to find it now, but in one of these posts on this thread CB mentioned "yellow baldies". Is this a char x hereford cross?
What is the best way to make em?

 

[Caustic Burno]

Cant seem to find it now, but in one of these posts on this thread CB mentioned "yellow baldies". Is this a char x hereford cross?
What is the best way to make em?

Yes on the cross as far as I am concerned I loath a Char bull.
But I have repressed anger issues with reoccurring nightmares.
I like Char cows.

 

[backhoeboogie]

Cant seem to find it now, but in one of these posts on this thread CB mentioned "yellow baldies". Is this a char x hereford cross?
What is the best way to make em?

Yes on the cross as far as I am concerned I loath a Char bull.
But I have repressed anger issues with reoccurring nightmares.
I like Char cows.

I got lucky with my char. Tiny calves that grow like crazy.

6 new calves right now. Brangus and char sired. Black or gray. You know who sired who. Char are smaller than the brangus by about 5 pounds. Probably hard to believe. I'd love to have you come take a look some day CB.

 

[Caustic Burno]

Boogie I have no doubt that they are kick butt being you own them.
I also know Char has fixed a lot of problems since the mid 70's just like Gerts of the
60's. I catch myself looking at the Char bulls from time to time and tell myself you are
an old man now remember. Those good times of hitching a cow up to a tree and pulling a calf
were not bad as a young man. I would be sore for two weeks if I could even do it now.

 

[hillbillyhammer]

Cant seem to find it now, but in one of these posts on this thread CB mentioned "yellow baldies". Is this a char x hereford cross?
What is the best way to make em?

Yes on the cross as far as I am concerned I loath a Char bull.
But I have repressed anger issues with reoccurring nightmares.
I like Char cows.

I got lucky with my char. Tiny calves that grow like crazy.

6 new calves right now. Brangus and char sired. Black or gray. You know who sired who. Char are smaller than the brangus by about 5 pounds. Probably hard to believe. I'd love to have you come take a look some day CB.

Boogie any chance of us seeing some pics of em? I would like to post a pic of a char x brangus heifer I bought this week.
She is bout a year old. Time I figured out how to put a pic on here she will probably be 2.

 

[backhoeboogie]

I am still technology challenged with photo bucket. I will take a pic, post it to ranchers, and link it here. Understand this pic will not serve to prove anything. Simply show the calf size and comparison.

CB is absolutely correct. An older brother-in-law was telling me about every calf being cut out. Cows later sold for slaughter. That was the 70's. Char bull wrecked entire herd. I could not afford to take such a chance.

My bull went bad. I needed another but didn't want to spend the prices being demanded for brangus. Looked at some and passed. Bought the char for an interim bull. Terminal. I like him so well he has been kept on. Found a decent brangus and got him for a bargain. Now running two. It's working.

 

[TexasBred]

Well our hay is definitely not filler. They are all grass no weeds.....bermuda, cheat, wild barley, dallas and all other kinds. We spray our hayfields very regularly to keep them that way. Our cows were in great shape all winter long and never got poor. They definitely don't starve.

The protein is just a supplement that we keep out. They eat them if they need them. Cows are like humans they know when they need something or are missing something.

Cows do not eat because they need something. They eat because they enjoy being full. Hard to over consume tubs because of the hardness but dump a bag of pellets in front of her and she'll eat half of the bag.