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More cows vs. Big cows
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<blockquote data-quote="Chuckie" data-source="post: 1032834" data-attributes="member: 637"><p>I lean towards larger framed cattle. I feel if I keep my pastures up and the conditions are good, then I am not out any more money in the summer from March to October. If it were to get dry, I would put out some hay. A large cow or bull with the genetics to hold and gain weight is different from one that cannot maintain it's body weight and must graze continuously. I see it in small cattle as well. </p><p>My cows are Angus, and range from 1.1, 1.0, .9 and 8's. My smallest may be a 7. Then my bull is an .8. I need to measure him and send in the numbers as the heights are off on a couple. They show him as a .4. He passed that a while back as I can't see over his back now. </p><p></p><p>No one has complained about the size of the bulls and I have no trouble selling to commercial farmers looking to increase the size of their calf crop. </p><p></p><p> But I mainly sell bulls for breeding, and I am not getting sale barn prices. That makes a difference. But when I do take a bull to the sale barn, the owner will usually purchase it from me at the price the same age bulls are going. He then places it somewhere they will need a bull. He may be taking it home and feeding it a bit longer, I do not know. I consider these bulls to be, "Would have made a nicer heifer bull" They may have started developing a hump late in life, but the others came out looking like bulls.</p><p></p><p>I had a Belgian and a Quarter horse gelding here one time, and the Belgian was larger, and took less feed to keep fat. So genetics and size play a part in this as well. It depends on the management of the cattle and the up keep of the pasture. If you don't keep the free feed in great condition, you lose a lot of money. If you look down and see dirt and junk grass and weeds,then you are going to spend a lot of money feeding cattle And small cattle need feed too, and putting out feed in the summer time for either is expensive. </p><p></p><p> I figure it out that all 12 of the cows I keep here at the house were fed 1 1/2 qts each, of Distillers grain during the winter, and I kept 60 bales to get me through. Rule of thumb- 6 bales per cow. At the end of the season, I had 12 of the bales left; 3 that I fed were in the Spring when the clover was up, to keep them from bloating. Then my husband picked up 9 of them and fed them at the other farm. </p><p>So, I am not sure how much difference it would have taken to feed out smaller cows of the same size. </p><p></p><p>Chuckie</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Chuckie, post: 1032834, member: 637"] I lean towards larger framed cattle. I feel if I keep my pastures up and the conditions are good, then I am not out any more money in the summer from March to October. If it were to get dry, I would put out some hay. A large cow or bull with the genetics to hold and gain weight is different from one that cannot maintain it's body weight and must graze continuously. I see it in small cattle as well. My cows are Angus, and range from 1.1, 1.0, .9 and 8's. My smallest may be a 7. Then my bull is an .8. I need to measure him and send in the numbers as the heights are off on a couple. They show him as a .4. He passed that a while back as I can't see over his back now. No one has complained about the size of the bulls and I have no trouble selling to commercial farmers looking to increase the size of their calf crop. But I mainly sell bulls for breeding, and I am not getting sale barn prices. That makes a difference. But when I do take a bull to the sale barn, the owner will usually purchase it from me at the price the same age bulls are going. He then places it somewhere they will need a bull. He may be taking it home and feeding it a bit longer, I do not know. I consider these bulls to be, "Would have made a nicer heifer bull" They may have started developing a hump late in life, but the others came out looking like bulls. I had a Belgian and a Quarter horse gelding here one time, and the Belgian was larger, and took less feed to keep fat. So genetics and size play a part in this as well. It depends on the management of the cattle and the up keep of the pasture. If you don't keep the free feed in great condition, you lose a lot of money. If you look down and see dirt and junk grass and weeds,then you are going to spend a lot of money feeding cattle And small cattle need feed too, and putting out feed in the summer time for either is expensive. I figure it out that all 12 of the cows I keep here at the house were fed 1 1/2 qts each, of Distillers grain during the winter, and I kept 60 bales to get me through. Rule of thumb- 6 bales per cow. At the end of the season, I had 12 of the bales left; 3 that I fed were in the Spring when the clover was up, to keep them from bloating. Then my husband picked up 9 of them and fed them at the other farm. So, I am not sure how much difference it would have taken to feed out smaller cows of the same size. Chuckie [/QUOTE]
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