How many of you have fewer than 20 head total?

[BARNSCOOP]

I am just interested it see how many people are like me with very few cattle. I have five cows, three heifers, four new calves, four steers ,one bull and two calves yet to be born. I would also like to know how many people keep a bull around for such a small herd? If you don't have a bull what do you do?

 

[tobytonya]

I have 3 cow, 1 heifer, and 2 steers. Just had our calves; 1 bull-calf and 2 heifers. We breed by AI, there are a number of people around me that do this, I give them $20 bucks + the cost of the semen ($20-25).
Alot cheaper and easier than keeping a bull around. However you really need to watch your cows to get them breed at just the right time. In the last two seasons we have been 100% with AI!!
We also have access to a "clean-up bull" or field bull. We take our cows to their house and leave them there for 30-45 days.

 

[garseer]

I have 2 grown cows, 3 heifers and 3 bulls. I just bought 1 registered brangus bull 14 months old and 2 registered heifers. I will get more as soon as I get more pasture fenced in as all the fence on the place I bought needed new fencing. 1 bull is in the pen fatting up to butcher and the other bull is a young angus bull about 5 months old that will go to the sell barn in June. I will have more pasture fenced in soon and plan to add a couple more.

 

[dieselbeef]

i got 15...

 

[Bez+]

I own none - hate them - dammed things cause a tonne of trouble and make you no money.

I will never own a cow.

Wife owns a bunch though. She makes me work them.

She has owned several hundred at times - but last I checked she was down to around 30 or maybe 40.

I want her to get down to around 5 by this fall when I get home. Working on it now.

Bez+

 

[VtMapleGal]

I have 14 and 2 more expected this fall.

 

[hillsdown]

I own none - hate them - dammed things cause a tonne of trouble and make you no money.

I will never own a cow.

Wife owns a bunch though. She makes me work them.

She has owned several hundred at times - but last I checked she was down to around 30 or maybe 40.

I want her to get down to around 5 by this fall when I get home. Working on it now.

Bez+

Then what are you going to do with all of your spare time ??????? You will probably so bored out of your mind you won't know what to do with yourself.. :lol2:

 

[LoveMoo11]

I have 5 registered Angus cows (aged 2-8), 1 registered Hereford, a bull calf, and a heifer calf (both Angus)! My grandfather and I used to have 40 or so but we downsized this winter because of his health and me being away at school-these 8 are my foundation for my future

 

[Bez+]

I own none - hate them - dammed things cause a tonne of trouble and make you no money.

I will never own a cow.

Wife owns a bunch though. She makes me work them.

She has owned several hundred at times - but last I checked she was down to around 30 or maybe 40.

I want her to get down to around 5 by this fall when I get home. Working on it now.

Bez+

Then what are you going to do with all of your spare time ??????? You will probably so bored out of your mind you won't know what to do with yourself.. :lol2:

After being away from home for a year - other than a couple of weeks on R&R - at the compliment of the feds - I figure to do a little drinking, a little hunting, a little fishing and a whole lot of XXX!

When I get bored of that I am sure she will find something for me to do.

I want to be one of those folks who has the time to do what he wants and spend the day riding around in a shiny truck, wear some clothes that would go with my big fancy belt buckle (won fair and square many years ago), wear that nice white hat, wear those fancy boots with a nice shine on them and maybe even have a pair of nice leather gloves in my back pocket. ;-]

Right now I run around in a rusted out truck that is about 12 years old with four different tires, have never had the clothes that I could wear my bull dogging buckle with, own a schitzen covered ball cap, wear boots that needed serious help several years ago and have hands that do not know what the inside of a pair of gloves looks like.

And THAT is why I want to get down to the size that we are talking about on this thread!

Probably never happen - but I can dream.

Be that as it may - I do not own any cattle!

My best

Bez+

 

[TMRwife]

We have 13 cows and 2 bulls - seems like 50 this calving season though. Had been a very muddy and cold spring! Will be glad to have this over with.

 

[BARNSCOOP]

Now Bez+,

Maybe for tax reasons YOU don't have cattle but I have a feeling we would be seeing posts from Mrs. Bez+ if you really hated cattle and they were all hers to herself. They're a strong addiction and after you get down to 5 you'll look at your place and wonder how you can utlize that land better.....of course all with you new truck , boots, leather gloves , hat and that bulldog belt buckle you earned.

For some reason we love to play with cattle that cost us money. When we earn some back we think we are a success!

Can I ask again do most of you have your own bull, lease a bull, or A.I.?

 

[LoveMoo11]

We have used a bull in the past but we are doing A.I. now that we are down to so few cows. We could just as easily get a bull probably and it would probably be cheaper...hm.

 

[Bez+]

Now Bez+,

Maybe for tax reasons YOU don't have cattle but I have a feeling we would be seeing posts from Mrs. Bez+ if you really hated cattle and they were all hers to herself. They're a strong addiction and after you get down to 5 you'll look at your place and wonder how you can utlize that land better.....of course all with you new truck , boots, leather gloves , hat and that bulldog belt buckle you earned.

For some reason we love to play with cattle that cost us money. When we earn some back we think we are a success!

Can I ask again do most of you have your own bull, lease a bull, or A.I.?

Tax reasons? Hah! You have to make money to pay tax.

As for your question - which I highlighted in bold the answer is we have done, and still do all of the above - it simply has to fit the immediate operational requirements at that present time - and those requirements naturally will change from time to time - plus there will be bull failures - and there will be AI misses that keep animals open, and finally there will be times you need to put a cover bull in with the herd to catch those that MIGHT be open.

So we are always careful to never close any doors. Flexibility is the key to a successful operation.

My best

Bez+

 

[dieselbeef]

i have abull because i want sporadic yr long calfing for ability to sell or markt calves at whatever age i need em for whether its saleing r butchering

 

[hillsdown]

Now Bez+,


Can I ask again do most of you have your own bull, lease a bull, or A.I.?

Tax reasons? Hah! You have to make money to pay tax.



Bez+

That is what ticks me off the most when people want your money and use the excuse "It is tax deductible .." You have to make money first to pay taxes on it and to get deductions back..

I started with 27 head and in 6 years moved to around 75 cow pairs (not including the flush Holsteins). Each year my culling regimine gets stricter. If I had an extra set of hands I would gladly double my herd but at this time it is not feasible. Everyone has to start somewhere. I AI as many as I can and then use clean up bull(s) to stay in a 60 day calving season .

 

[TexasBred]

We AI everything, registered and commercial. # 1 reason I feel my wife is probably the best AI Tech in the country ( :clap: )....And I just don't want a dang bull on the place. We are 100% hobby cattle people now and have the time to watch for heats, catch and breed so it just works very well for us.

 

[Loch Valley Fold]

3 x Purebred Highland cows
2 x Jersey x Friesian cows
2 x Angus heifers
2 x Fullblood Highland heifers & 1 x Purebred Heifer
1 x Murray Grey cow & 4 x Angus cows
1 x Bull
Cows & 1 Angus heifer start calving from June /July '09 brought a bull because I have never seen my Highland cows in heat to Ai. Looking to buy another young bull calf (white & only a week old) to replace the old bull in the next 18mths or so. Have been tossing around the thought of going away from the purebred Highlanders & using either a Lowline or Square Meater (Murray Grey) bull over the cows

 

[T Diamond]

My family has 4 total- Chi/Angus Cow, Chi/Angus Heifer, PB Angus Heifer, this year's baby out of the cow. The steer makes 5 but he is for our county fair. The cow and 2 older heifers will be bred this year and hopefully we will have 3 babies on the ground. The cow will be bred to Lautner's "Milkman", The heifers will be bred to this year's heifer's daddy which a Shorthorn/Lowline bull. No bull for this little herd, cost to much to feed for only a few months use. I use A.I on my girls, easier to pick bulls and get semen shipped.

 

[spinandslide]

Small timer here..one cow and her calf, one heifer and one heifer coming in July(being bought)

I am going to be AI-ing. perhaps if we expand more, we will look into a bull, but right now, Im content. I dont need the headache of a bull.

 

[Anonymous]

I have 9 mommas, 9 babies, and 1 borrowed bull, I'm lucky that I have cattlemen that live around me that allow me to feed their bulls(use their bulls) during the time they don't need them, last year ,at different times I had 3 different bulls, all regestered angus. I will sell my calves in July, we have a program in Mississippi where they are letting you borrow money at 2% interest to buy cattle on a 7 year pay-back plan, me and my son are planning on buying 21 more head