Heresy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[norriscathy]

I shall now comit heresy again! We give every short recommended by every power to be. Last year we spent $8,500 on medicine and vet; with 225 cows that come to approximately $40 per cow! Except for worming, I am about ready to stop everything including palpating. We calve twice a year; why not run an extra bull with the dry cows so anything that was open could be bred for the next calving season. If they missed two, sell them. No vet; no medicine! Your thoughts please!!

 

[Anonymous]

$40.00 per cow per year seems to me thats pretty cheap insurance. Black leg can cost a whole lot more than $40.00 per cow if it ever hits you. Example 45 head x $650.00 = $29250.00 .

 

[buckaroo_bif]

I look after some cows for a guy that never wants his cows worked. Never even worm them! Feed them every other day in the winter and gather the calves in the fall. Believe or not they do great! They are good cows and sort of the exception to the rule I would say. I know a guy that runs his cows in the same manner, except for the feeding, they live on dry grass most all winter with very little supplement. They look poor year round I don't really know about calving or breeding back. He does get a mess of calves every winter. But then he did lose about 40 head a few years ago for some unknown reason.

bif

 

[Scotty]

Never skip on your vacines. Palpations and bull breeding soundness exams are the only two things that will really pay for themselves. 40 a cow is not bad. I would not change a thing.


Scotty

 

[la4angus]

Never skip on your vacines. Palpations and bull breeding soundness exams are the only two things that will really pay for themselves. 40 a cow is not bad. I would not change a thing.


Scotty

Learn to do your own palpating and if not already doing it, do your own vaccinating. Don't have the vet for everything.

 

[msscamp]

We give every short recommended by every power to be. Last year we spent $8,500 on medicine and vet; with 225 cows that come to approximately $40 per cow! Except for worming, I am about ready to stop everything including palpating.

I would say whether that would work or not depends, to a large degree anyway, on how many cows you introduce each year, what kind of vaccination program they were on, whether your cows are bordered by other herds, how good their owners care for them, how good the fences are, and just dumb luck. That was my grandfather's philosophy and it worked great for him. However it cost us a bundle as he had a nasty habit of bringing home the cheapest open heifers he could find and putting them out in the pasture next to our bulls. I lost count of the time spent rounding up our bulls, time and money spent fixing fence, and how many times we had to treat our bulls for vibrio. Just my thoughts.

 

[milkmaid]

Heard a dog trainer say once, "Being smart and being lucky are not the same thing."

No offense intended; sounds like you're doing good as is.

 

[Bez!]

Seems folks like to spend money - or reccommend we spend money on cattle. I would suggest you sit down and potentially re-think your operation. There is always room to revamp if one looks objectively at how things run.

Genetics, genetics, genetics.

We have never wormed a cow in my life. We vaccinate - Modified live vaccine for Bovine Pneumonia, IBR, BVD, PI-3, BRSV.

8 Way for Black Leg, Dysentry, Hepatitus, Edema and Tetanus.

Tetanus was a surprise to me - it is buried in the Covexin 8 Way - did not know it was there.

I looked the above information up the other day for a friend.

We never creep and we never used store bought sacks of any type of feed - generally we buy mineral and salt. Otherwise it is straight hay and when I feel generous - some corn. Never feed it when the temp is above minus 20 - 30. They simply do not need it. We never spend money on straw - they sleep on the snow and they seem to do very well as long as they are out of the wind.

I figure the total cost per head for meds is less than 15 bucks per head on an annual basis - and we never have had any probs we could not handle - not to say it will not happen, but so far so good.

If you run a closed herd you can cut down dramatically and increase your profits.

Sit down and take a long hard look - you may find you are not committing heresy - you may simply be deciding to raise cattle in the way they were designed to be raised.

Bez!

 

[Saltydawg]

I keep my cows almost the same way Bez does. They live outside and only get basic vaccinations.

I give mine grain in the winter however.

Almost never have any health problems with them...one case of pink eye last year that cleared up a day after treament.

 

[longhorn314]

I'll agree with Bez.I do worm my cattle but I give them there basic shots,I keep salt and minerals out,they have hay in the winter and a little grain every other day. I've been blessed and Every once in while I'll hit a bump in the road but I do really good with my cattle.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

We worm & give every vaccination recommended for this area, we do not have a closed herd. Cows never get any grain, just weaned calves thru winter.
I just checked, we spent $26/hd in 2004 for vet & meds (incl deworm). ($16 meds/dewormer & $10 vet). This does not include mineral expense. Now, we show cattle, so the vet bill is probably 100% show expenses. Do most all our own vet work other than an emergency we can't handle.
I RARELY purchase any meds/supplies thru vet. Most prescription drugs are also purchased thru pharmaceutical supplier (with a prescription).
We do not make enough profit in a beef operation to pay a vet for anything other than his/her experience/knowledge.

 

[aztumbleweed]

We vaccinate only for what is regionally required. I doubt if many of mylittle desert cows make it far from home. Don't have the vet out to palpate if a cow doesn't have a calf in a year she leaves have them pregged at the sale and they are usually still open there. We run bulls year around so anything not bred should get that way pretty quick.This is the first year we bought heifers as ours were worth more than I could afford to pass up but they all got vaccinated before turned into the heiffer trap.

 

[la4angus]

I myself or other friends of mine that have owned cattle all their life cannot fix well they are usually by then to far gone to help anyways and we just put em down.

And what is your herdsman doing all this time.

 

[Bama]

My cows stay outside. I dont feed them grain. They have free choice hay which they eat only about a bail a week. They eat grass and eat their minerals. They get plenty of water as I have waterers scattered in various places around the farm. I vaccinate them in the spring and then again about 6 months later. I would say that maybe we spend right around what bez spends per cow and calf. I rarely call the vet. Nine times out of ten if it is something that I myself or other friends of mine that have owned cattle all their life cannot fix well they are usually by then to far gone to help anyways and we just put em down.

41 cows eating about a bale a week :shock: , what kind of grass do you have and what size bales.?

 

[Scotty]

Never skip on your vacines. Palpations and bull breeding soundness exams are the only two things that will really pay for themselves. 40 a cow is not bad. I would not change a thing.


Scotty

Learn to do your own palpating and if not already doing it, do your own vaccinating. Don't have the vet for everything.

Sorry I did not check back sooner. I do my own vaccinations. I can tell if one is bred but the date is going to be off. Practice practice practice.


Scotty

 

[Caustic Burno]

My cows stay outside. I dont feed them grain. They have free choice hay which they eat only about a bail a week. They eat grass and eat their minerals. They get plenty of water as I have waterers scattered in various places around the farm. I vaccinate them in the spring and then again about 6 months later. I would say that maybe we spend right around what bez spends per cow and calf. I rarely call the vet. Nine times out of ten if it is something that I myself or other friends of mine that have owned cattle all their life cannot fix well they are usually by then to far gone to help anyways and we just put em down.

41 cows eating about a bale a week :shock: , what kind of grass do you have and what size bales.?

Bama this fellow posted his pasture was still green and lush, a bale a week for 41 cows that dog don't hunt., even if they are 6x6's.

 

[MoGal]

msut be a really big round bale.... good thing he has a herdsman to put out bales the rest of the week.

 

[Bama]

I was figuring on about a 6000 pound bale or about 5 normal ones. I wish my pastures were green and lush. I've been feeding since the first of December. Normally I can go a little later than that, but this year wasn't a good year for the grass. Things must be much better a little farther north of me.

 

[la4angus]

Hey Caustic
That's what you need is a good herdsman. What would you do all day then? Sit back on the porch and spit chawing tobacky and drink that East Texas Moonshine.

 

[Beefy]

i'll take one of them herdswomen.