I must be in love.

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Sir Loin

Sir Loin

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SE TN
I must be in love.

Last year I got a runt heifer given to me. She was found in the field with no momma and was crying. When I called her she ran to me and jumped into my arms. She appeared to be 3 - 4 days old.
Momma was never identified.
We suspected she was ½ of twins.
I named her Puddin and raised her up for the last 10 months.
She is truly a pet. She comes when she sees my truck or is call and eats out of my hand.
But she has shown no signs of coming into heat while running with a bull for the last 60 days.

Now I would like to give her another 60 days, but if I wait I will be to late to make an even trade for a 3 mo bred yearling heifer who is being shipped on Mon.

My head says change her name to freezer beef ,but my heart says give her more time!
I fear this will be a sleepless night as I must have an answer tomorrow.

What would you do?

SL
 
How much room do you have? How much time? (That's in the big scheme of things, I mean.) The older I get, the tougher I get on some things and the kinder on others, like keeping that old cow who pretends she loves me as much as I do her. I think she might get to retire here, instead of taking a truck trip.

Twin - freemartin?

You say she's a pet. Would you trade the dog?

Just some thoughts. :)
 
I lost my first post. Soo hopefully I won't post twice. Heifers generally cycle for the first time at 10 to 12 months. Even if they are in heat at 8 or 9 months does not mean they are ovulating. I would not want my heifer to get bred at 10 months, 14 months maybe. If you like her give her more time to mature. That's if you like her! I tend to lean toward the "follow your heart"!
 
How about giving her another 4-5 months before even thinking about it. Why would you breed a heifer at 10 months?
 
OK, long story short.

There is a 50/50 chance Pudden is a freemartin and will not come into heat.
As I have no bull of my own and only steers who are to young to be sexually active and my neighbor bought a new yearling bull and was holding him in a small pasture next to his house where he could be watched, I put Puddin in with him to see if he would bring her into heat. He did not.
I had no intent on breeding her at that time ( 8 months ), I just wanted to know if she would come into heat and I wanted her in a place where she could be watched and checked on daily.
She did not come into heat.

We did a roundup of both herds and weaned off 44 calves and put the yearling bull in with the herd when they were returned to winter pasture.
Puddin was with the bull about 60 days with no sexual activity.

Puddin is now with the weaned calves, both steers and heifers with lots of sexual activities. I see a SAG almost every day for the last two week but still no sign of heat by Puddin.

I now have the opportunity to trade Puddin for one of her half sisters, who are already bred, but I must make the decision this after noon, as her ½ sisters are scheduled to be shipped 8 AM Tues. and sorting is this afternoon.

To me as a cattleman it's a no brainer, make the trade. Why gamble when you don't have too!
IMO, as some of her sisters, who were born shortly before and some after are coming into heat, so should she.
I am putting the odds at there is a 75% chance she will not breed.

But as some of you have said, she is a pet!
SL
 
This is just me - If I were to make a pet of an animal I would not be able to trade it, espesially if I didn't know how it was going to be treated. Keep her, fatten her, perhaps she cycles if not slaughter and eat her, that's part of the responsibility of having made a pet of the animal.
 
OK, here is what I decided to do.

This is my Puddin.

IMG_0041.jpg


This is the heifer I was going to trade Puddin for, who may already be bred:

IMG_0043.jpg

IMG_0042.jpg

IMG_0044.jpg


I decided to give Puddin another 90 days to come into heat ---------------- and to buy the other heifer.
If Puddin doesn't come into heat within 90 days her name will be changed to freezer beef.
Case closed!

SL
 
Here are a pic of my neibor's old herd bull. Herfords, Chars and Black Angus

IMG_0037.jpg

IMG_0038.jpg


Puddin and my new heifer are ½ sisters from my neighbors new herd. Black Angus only.
Here is their daddy.
IMG_0040.jpg

IMG_0039.jpg
 
TT,
Re:
Looks like some nice facilities in that pic of Puddin' Sir Loin, yours?
Click to expand...
No, that's my neighbors place, but I can use it any time I need it.
The big problem with it is that it is in a valley and when it rains, like it did last night, it's muddy. It's kind of piece meal but it works.
The chute and head gate were new 2 years ago.

The good news is it has a corral and 5 holding pens and is located to serve both his herds.
By myself I have separated 50 cows from calves and sorted heifers calves from bull calves and steers in about 1 ½ hrs.
SL
 
TT,
Re:
I thought rule 1 for a handling facility was to be on high well drained ground?
Click to expand...
Today yes, but not back in the early 1800s when this homestead was established.
Back then you only built where the water was and here is where a spring runs about 100 gallons per minute and has never gone dry. It was used for drinking and as a milk cooler for many many years.
So this is where the 4 barns were built and all other amenities were added on or built around, while hillsides were being cleared for pasture.
SL
 

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