SRBeef
Well-known member
I will start with a couple apologies. First to all of you folks with a couple of hundred head and get tired of me carrying on about one heifer. Second, to this "show" heifer who may turn out ok after all.
Maybe she knew we were talking about her, but I was out in the pasture this evening with my cows and heifers. I was checking on them since I put my bull in yesterday and opened up a nice fresh rotation paddock where they'll be real cozy for the first week together...
I was checking them out when I noticed the new heifer with her head down in the grass, grazing aggressively like the others. This is the one that did not gain a pound for 42 days after a 3 week acclimation period. This is the first "show" animal I have purchased so I have no idea what to expect. She did look a lot like what I am aiming for.
It looks like either she finally realized there will be no grain bucket or she got hungry watching the others. she looks like she is getting with the system after all. She still has a lot of her winter coat and has not slicked up like my other cows and heifers but maybe that will come in time also.
As was suggested earlier, maybe she was just pushed hard on grain to make the show circuit and had this lull to get her insides setup for grazing again. While she was ahead of her peer group weight when I bought her, she is now probably right with the others.
Here are some pictures I took of her this evening as the sun was going down in this fresh pasture I've been saving for bull-in week. Next week they go to some over-ripe clover.
All of a sudden this heifer is not looking too bad. The last picture is of a couple of my cows showing their coats for contrast.
Here is what the rest of their coats look like. I like them to slick up quickly in the spring.
Again, apologies for excessive picture posting of one heifer and apologies to the heifer (assuming she continues like this)....
Jim
Maybe she knew we were talking about her, but I was out in the pasture this evening with my cows and heifers. I was checking on them since I put my bull in yesterday and opened up a nice fresh rotation paddock where they'll be real cozy for the first week together...
I was checking them out when I noticed the new heifer with her head down in the grass, grazing aggressively like the others. This is the one that did not gain a pound for 42 days after a 3 week acclimation period. This is the first "show" animal I have purchased so I have no idea what to expect. She did look a lot like what I am aiming for.
It looks like either she finally realized there will be no grain bucket or she got hungry watching the others. she looks like she is getting with the system after all. She still has a lot of her winter coat and has not slicked up like my other cows and heifers but maybe that will come in time also.
As was suggested earlier, maybe she was just pushed hard on grain to make the show circuit and had this lull to get her insides setup for grazing again. While she was ahead of her peer group weight when I bought her, she is now probably right with the others.
Here are some pictures I took of her this evening as the sun was going down in this fresh pasture I've been saving for bull-in week. Next week they go to some over-ripe clover.
All of a sudden this heifer is not looking too bad. The last picture is of a couple of my cows showing their coats for contrast.
Here is what the rest of their coats look like. I like them to slick up quickly in the spring.
Again, apologies for excessive picture posting of one heifer and apologies to the heifer (assuming she continues like this)....
Jim