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Will post pics when we get there…not the best time of the year for construction in this part of the world…winters are typically a bit wet.
Th
Will post pics when we get there…not the best time of the year for construction in this part of the world…winters are typically a bit wet.
Thanks,
You're about an hour and a half from my place and my businesses are in Houston so I go through Nagcodoches all the time. I'm going to build a new barn next year as well, I just have'nt quite decided what exactly I'm going to do
 
Picked out three at Rutherford's this morning. A couple of three year old red angus cows and one black angus x beef master cross about 5 years old…all bred and expected to calve in the first 2 or 3 months of 2025. Who knows? May wind up with two unblemished red heifers and trigger the end of the world…kind of doubt it, though…lol. Delivery will probably be Monday around noon…guess where I'll be on my lunch break…I'll see if I can get some pics then…only one of the pics this morning came out pretty good (lighting on one not too good and resolution on the other was lousy due to me trying to zoom in too much)…one shot came out ok…here she is:
 

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What are y'all's thoughts on creep feeding? If these new cows have decent looking heifers, I'll probably keep them. I read in several places where it isn't advisable to feed heifers creep feed if you plan to keep them for breeding. I wouldn't be able to police which ones go into the creep feeder. At the same time, after weaning I would like to feed the ones that will be sold for 2 - 3 months before selling and it would be nice if they were familiar with creep feed before being separated from the rest of the herd. Thoughts?
 
Here's the best pics I could get today. Two were skittish after the hour and a half trailer ride. I'll get better pics after they've settled in a bit. Here is one of the red angus cows (she settled in with our cows right off the bat):
 

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All should be calving about Feb-March…and speaking of calving…I've got about 3 of the Charolais that look like they are about ready to pop…and several of the brangus are getting pretty big…that is to say, in the family way…they must have been bred again not long after calving this past spring…I don't mind some early calves but this is a bit early for my taste…ah well, Mother Nature won't be denied, I suppose. The white cows did calve early this year - last week of January.
 
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Th

Thanks,
You're about an hour and a half from my place and my businesses are in Houston so I go through Nagcodoches all the time. I'm going to build a new barn next year as well, I just have'nt quite decided what exactly I'm going to do
Which Highway do you use when you come through Nacogdoches?

If you come in on Hwy. 7, you drive right by my house.
 
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With my fall calving herd (not very many 5-10), we get the calves started on creep corn with protein pellets a month or so before weaning. Then, when weaned, they don't miss a beat. This is the group that we feed out the steers and butcher at 12-13 months old.
Thoughts on giving creep to heifers to be retained for breeding?
 
Thoughts on giving creep to heifers to be retained for breeding?
I only put out feed to the fall group shortly before weaning...heifers and steers. I don't believe in "true' creep feeding. Your cows should provide all the nutrition needed for growth. If your cows aren't providing enough milk, maybe you shouldn't be thinking about keeping them as replacements??
I don't creep my main herd at all and I fence line wean them. Just not feasible to start them on grain before weaning.
 
I only put out feed to the fall group shortly before weaning...heifers and steers. I don't believe in "true' creep feeding. Your cows should provide all the nutrition needed for growth. If your cows aren't providing enough milk, maybe you shouldn't be thinking about keeping them as replacements??
I don't creep my main herd at all and I fence line wean them. Just not feasible to start them on grain before weaning.
I'm kind of in the same boat. A lot of folks say to give them creep feed a little before weaning to get them used to the feed (I will also fence wean). But I've read where you should not give creep feed to heifers that will be retained for breeding. I can't do both the way my operation is set up. I am planning to fence wean those that will be sold and feed them for 2-3 months prior to sending them to the sale barn. I like to think they would catch on to the creep feed in fairly short order…at least I hope so…they will also have free choice hay and plenty of grass provided the summer isn't too bad.
 
Picked out three at Rutherford's this morning. A couple of three year old red angus cows and one black angus x beef master cross about 5 years old…all bred and expected to calve in the first 2 or 3 months of 2025. Who knows? May wind up with two unblemished red heifers and trigger the end of the world…kind of doubt it, though…lol. Delivery will probably be Monday around noon…guess where I'll be on my lunch break…I'll see if I can get some pics then…only one of the pics this morning came out pretty good (lighting on one not too good and resolution on the other was lousy due to me trying to zoom in too much)…one shot came out ok…here she is:
I always like the reds. Hope they do well for you. I like to watch the videos Bubba Rutherford puts out about cattle and his pasture preaching messages. He seems like a genuinely good guy that tries to be honest and help folks based off of what I've seen online.
 
I'm kind of in the same boat. A lot of folks say to give them creep feed a little before weaning to get them used to the feed (I will also fence wean). But I've read where you should not give creep feed to heifers that will be retained for breeding. I can't do both the way my operation is set up. I am planning to fence wean those that will be sold and feed them for 2-3 months prior to sending them to the sale barn. I like to think they would catch on to the creep feed in fairly short order…at least I hope so…they will also have free choice hay and plenty of grass provided the summer isn't too bad.
I have been fence line weaning for several years now. I don't creep feed. I get them out of my weaning pasture each morning before I feed them grain (barley). I have been slowly working them up to about 5 pounds per day; right now they are getting about 2.8 pounds per day. After about two weeks I just have a half dozen or so that are still standing back, but they are starting to get it figured out. I think I am going to have to start feeding them hay this next week. I don't think it will be much longer and they are going to waiting at the bunk each morning. I wean for 60 days before I take them to the sale barn. I don't keep heifers, as I don't have anyplace to calve out heifers, so they all get sold.
 
I always like the reds. Hope they do well for you. I like to watch the videos Bubba Rutherford puts out about cattle and his pasture preaching messages. He seems like a genuinely good guy that tries to be honest and help folks based off of what I've seen online.
He has a very good reputation…thanks for the "best wishes".
 
For any interested: Here are the prices from yesterday's sale at the Center Livestock Auction (this where I sell mine). Wasn't there and didn't have anything being sold. Just thought somebody might want to take a look. Sorry about the resolution...still haven't figured out how to make a good jpeg from a pdf file...oh, well.


Center 11-17-2024.jpg
 
Looked down in the pasture this evening and could make out the two red angus cows hanging out with the rest. Hard to make out whether the black angus x beefmaster was there...got too dark too fast and she blends in with all the black cows. Looks like they are settling in...I'll take them some cubes Saturday and see if everybody shows up.

On a different thread, someone was talking about whether or not people remove the plastic net wrap off of round bales from their pastures. Well, I had to clean out some on a used round baler at work that was wrapped around the pick up tines. This confirmed that I am doing the right thing by keeping it all picked up. Took about two hours to get all of that stuff out of there - it was packed and wrapped up around everything under there...lol...it took a pair of needle pliers, a pocket knife, a box cutter, and a home-made hook fashioned out of a piece of scrap metal by yours truly...not to mention a hard-headed guy like myself...whatever it takes, I suppose.
 
I "DO" feed my replacement heifers at weaning and thru the winter. I feed WSC with a protein pellet. Start out slow increasing until they are getting 5# WSC/hd/day. We "generally" have brutal winters and my heifers have no shelter (including no woods). Doesn't take long to get them started on corn. Corn provides them with a little extra heat AND I want my girls to grow to their genetic potential. NONE get fat. They calve at 24 months old and I expect them to have 75 - 90# calves. They get fed from Sept thru breeding (April). Then when herd is turned out on grass, heifers go out with them and never get grain again (unless they end up in show string). 5# isn't even 1% of their BW at weaning let alone thru the winter.
As long as you don't get any fat on they, why do you think it would hurt them in their future? Obviously, it has never hurt any of my breeding stock. Most of my cows don't get culled until they are 10-16 years old.
 
I "DO" feed my replacement heifers at weaning and thru the winter. I feed WSC with a protein pellet. Start out slow increasing until they are getting 5# WSC/hd/day. We "generally" have brutal winters and my heifers have no shelter (including no woods). Doesn't take long to get them started on corn. Corn provides them with a little extra heat AND I want my girls to grow to their genetic potential. NONE get fat. They calve at 24 months old and I expect them to have 75 - 90# calves. They get fed from Sept thru breeding (April). Then when herd is turned out on grass, heifers go out with them and never get grain again (unless they end up in show string). 5# isn't even 1% of their BW at weaning let alone thru the winter.
As long as you don't get any fat on they, why do you think it would hurt them in their future? Obviously, it has never hurt any of my breeding stock. Most of my cows don't get culled until they are 10-16 years old.
I'm thinking of regular old run of the mill creep feed (looks like a slightly smaller version of range cubes - the creep is probably a little under 1/2" diameter) - often called creep pellets - smaller than cubes but larger than the 1/4" creep feed that I've seen…I read that feeding it to heifers to be retained can result in lower weaning weights…don't know if the article was talking about feeding them on regular basis (sounded like it). I was just going to use it once in a while leading up to fence line weaning to get those to be sold familiar with it. At the same time, I could just skip it…I'm confident the ones to be sold would figure it out on their own pretty fast once separated from the rest. They will have already been around the cows when I take them cubes and probably eaten a few cubes along the way. The more I think about it, the more I believe they won't really need a "familiarization" process leading up to weaning…the expression "eats like a cow" comes to mind - they should figure out that it is food pretty quick.
 

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