How old should he be to let him free range?

[lilfarmangel]

Hi ya'll.
I have a 2-month-old steer and a 4-month-old heifer (both dairy cross). Right now I keep them in a fenced area close to the barn, then lead them in at night to keep them safe - out again in the morning after they've eaten breakfast. They are eating down the fenced area pretty good and I'd like to let them range a little. We have a lot of coyote in this area and I was wondering at what age - or height - would be safe to let them free range? I do have another steer on the property; he's about a year old. He also is a dairy cross (Jersey Holstein X). Would he be to rough on the younger ones?

 

[Running Arrow Bill]

A 2 and 4 month old? Where's their mama? However, I suppose you have bottle fed and/or dairy type calves. Haven't a clue as to temperament of the dairy types. On the other hand, putting an older one in with them...it will either ignore the young ones, or push them around a little for a while to establish pecking order. However, would obviously be better to have a mama cow with the babies to protect them. I think coyotes and some other predators often run around in evening; however, I've seen yotes in daytime too.

P.S.: You need a Longahorn mama cow! She'll let the others (and predators) know who's boss in the pasture...lol.

 

[dun]

To keep these calves from looking like typical improperly raised bottle calves you will need to continue graining them till they're at least 6 months old. You should be able to turn them out in the morning and have them come up in the evening for thier grain. When they come up for the grain close them in a corral/pen for the night.

 

[lilfarmangel]

A 2 and 4 month old? Where's their mama? However, I suppose you have bottle fed and/or dairy type calves. Haven't a clue as to temperament of the dairy types. On the other hand, putting an older one in with them...it will either ignore the young ones, or push them around a little for a while to establish pecking order. However, would obviously be better to have a mama cow with the babies to protect them. I think coyotes and some other predators often run around in evening; however, I've seen yotes in daytime too.

P.S.: You need a Longahorn mama cow! She'll let the others (and predators) know who's boss in the pasture...lol.

I had the mama to the 2 month old (you can see a short version of my story in the Beginners Board, at the end of "Yup, I'm new too . . .". I agree, it would be much easier if she were still here! I really miss the milk!!!! I am bottle feeding him and he should be off the bottle in about 4 to 6 weeks. The 4 month old is weaned. Both are doing quite well. The older steer is the bum calf's 1/2 brother (same mother and the untold part of the same story of how they came to my care). After the birth, the cow went down and the calf imprinted with the steer. Not sure if it stuck. The area the older steer is in, has a common fence and all 3 cows will lay in close proximity. I'll wait till they're taller before I'll let them go to far. Guess I can put up some more fence and give them a different area to "play" in.

 

[chippie]

If you have a predator problem, you might want to look into getting a livestock guardian dog. We have a Great Pyrenees.
We have a lot of coyotes where we live and haven't had any problems with them bothering calves, sheep or chickens.

 

[lilfarmangel]

If you have a predator problem, you might want to look into getting a livestock guardian dog. We have a Great Pyrenees.
We have a lot of coyotes where we live and haven't had any problems with them bothering calves, sheep or chickens.

Right now I don't really know how big the pack is, just hear them howling in the evening. My neighbor has cattle - much more than I do or ever plan on having. I'm fairly confident that it's being part of the herd that keeps their calves safe. As for the guardian dog, we have that planned. It's our plan for next year. We had a Great Pyr, and she was wonderful, just WAY too much maintenance! We concidered the Maremma but finally settled on Anatolian Shepherds to protect the property.Getting the cows was NOT the plan for this year, it just worked out that way.
However, I'm not too concerned about keeping my calves safe, I have a very secure place for them. My question is; at what age (or height) would be safe to allow them to range with the older steer?

 

[dun]

y question is; at what age (or height) would be safe to allow them to range with the older steer?

As long as you put them up at night they're old enough now. We always turn the bottle calves (when we're unlucky enough to have one) with the cow herd. The learn to interact with the others. We would call thme up twice a day for their bottle and grain then turn thme back out for the night. With the mature cows around we don;t have a problem with coyotes, or dogs for that natter.

 

[lilfarmangel]

y question is; at what age (or height) would be safe to allow them to range with the older steer?

As long as you put them up at night they're old enough now. We always turn the bottle calves (when we're unlucky enough to have one) with the cow herd. The learn to interact with the others. We would call thme up twice a day for their bottle and grain then turn thme back out for the night. With the mature cows around we don;t have a problem with coyotes, or dogs for that natter.

Awesome! That's kinda what I was thinking, but just needed the reassurance. Thank you so much!
Sorry, just one more question - at what age do they stop "playing" - running and jumping around?

 

[Running Arrow Bill]

Don't know about other breeds, but our Longhorns will play, run, jump, spin around, etc., even when 16 or 18 years old in cool of evenings, when something interesting catches their attention, etc. Have also seen some doing this when weather is changing...

 

[dun]

Don't know about other breeds, but our Longhorns will play, run, jump, spin around, etc., even when 16 or 18 years old in cool of evenings, when something interesting catches their attention, etc. Have also seen some doing this when weather is changing...

Pretty much. I've seen a 10 year old cow that's big as a blimp with calf, running and bucking and kicking up her heels. It was cool this morning and it was a race between the calves and the cows as to which could get from here to there and back agian the fastest.

 

[john250]

Don't know about other breeds, but our Longhorns will play, run, jump, spin around, etc., even when 16 or 18 years old in cool of evenings, when something interesting catches their attention, etc. Have also seen some doing this when weather is changing...

Pretty much. I've seen a 10 year old cow that's big as a blimp with calf, running and bucking and kicking up her heels. It was cool this morning and it was a race between the calves and the cows as to which could get from here to there and back agian the fastest.

That often ends with "fence repair" around here.

 

[lilfarmangel]

Don't know about other breeds, but our Longhorns will play, run, jump, spin around, etc., even when 16 or 18 years old in cool of evenings, when something interesting catches their attention, etc. Have also seen some doing this when weather is changing...

VERY interesting . . . thank you again. Have a lovely day :tiphat: