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Nesikep
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I'm still working on finding the right balance of milking well enough for a good calf but not being skin and bones by doing it.. if the cows are fat in the fall then they aren't milking well enough
My 3 bull calves, and some replacement heifer candidates
- Thread starter Nesikep
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farmerjan
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I don't care how fat the cows are in the fall..... I want them to be in good body condition in June and July so they are feeding the calf, and coming in to heat. If they are fat in the fall, then the calf had better be fat too.... if they are not milking enough then the calf will not have the growth and I agree then they are not milking enough. Since some of my black ones have some dairy in them, they milk all the fat off their back and can get too thin.... One good thing if they breed back before they get to milking too much too long.... they will hold the fetus most times, just get thinner, and then as soon as I pull the calf, they will usually start to gain but it takes awhile to get to where I want them to be. I agree that if they are fat and the calf is just average, then they are not milking enough....but I prefer them a little on the fat side.... maybe because I see how it pulls the dairy x ones down . But that is just me.... and I do get what you are saying @Nesikep .
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Nesikep
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I've often found I'm better off exposing the really heavy milkers to the bull early after calving, before they've milked for 3 months and are run down. Prada, the prospect bull's momma is one of those cows, she was *late* (august calf) after her first calf, I shook my finger at her and said she better breed back and catch up.. she caught up 2 months every year, had the first calf 3 times and twins once.. She must have listened to me good!, she'll have the first calf next year too, she was in heat and I haltered her and led her to the bull before the usual bull release date
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Nesikep
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Just realized I didn't updated this when I made my decision on which bull calf to keep..
I went with Pan from Chroma, while he wasn't the biggest, the longest, or the deepest, he was a good balance of them in the fall.
He was out with the herd with no special feed all winter, really started putting the weight on once there was some grass to be had and he shed out nicely. I put him up for sale for $2400 CAD / ~2K USD and got someone coming in a week to pick him up, He's with momma here
This year I kept Zippy's bull calf intact, he's growing well, she's too lazy to get up for feeding time though
Her and her steer from last year, he ain't far from her size
Dolos, Dusty's steer is the bigger of the two
Dusty calved a bit late this year (Apr 4th I think?) so the calf is 2 months old..
I went with Pan from Chroma, while he wasn't the biggest, the longest, or the deepest, he was a good balance of them in the fall.
He was out with the herd with no special feed all winter, really started putting the weight on once there was some grass to be had and he shed out nicely. I put him up for sale for $2400 CAD / ~2K USD and got someone coming in a week to pick him up, He's with momma here
This year I kept Zippy's bull calf intact, he's growing well, she's too lazy to get up for feeding time though
Her and her steer from last year, he ain't far from her size
Dolos, Dusty's steer is the bigger of the two
Dusty calved a bit late this year (Apr 4th I think?) so the calf is 2 months old..
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Nesikep
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Here's Poppy now, I think she's my favorite overall
I might be her favorite too
Java and her maternal sister Hannah, Hannah is raising a nice calf, Java is lacking some butt and bulk in general, might be a good cow just not what I really like looking at that much
Java's bull brother, Java, Barry and Robin.. the whole purebred family in a bit of a pose (momma and daughter were both in heat)
Robin's bull is looking pretty good so far, and also a sucker for attention
Zippy and Dusty together, they're slowly shedding out
Steer fry, my 2 year old steer that'll get to freezer camp here pretty quick, he's a BIG boy, I'd say around 16-1700 lbs
Adidas the freemartin twin, she doesn't have the frame that Steerfry has but she's put on a lot of weight since grass came on and is pretty darned fat now, should be good eats... Hard to believe she was a solid dark red as a calf, she just keeps getting more roan
I might be her favorite too
Java and her maternal sister Hannah, Hannah is raising a nice calf, Java is lacking some butt and bulk in general, might be a good cow just not what I really like looking at that much
Java's bull brother, Java, Barry and Robin.. the whole purebred family in a bit of a pose (momma and daughter were both in heat)
Robin's bull is looking pretty good so far, and also a sucker for attention
Zippy and Dusty together, they're slowly shedding out
Steer fry, my 2 year old steer that'll get to freezer camp here pretty quick, he's a BIG boy, I'd say around 16-1700 lbs
Adidas the freemartin twin, she doesn't have the frame that Steerfry has but she's put on a lot of weight since grass came on and is pretty darned fat now, should be good eats... Hard to believe she was a solid dark red as a calf, she just keeps getting more roan
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Nesikep
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then there's Zecca, the one that didn't breed back because she was milking too hard and looked like a can of smashed arseholes... Well, she put about 500 lbs of weight on in a year and turned into quite a cow
She had Zima on Dec 1st
6 months later, she's turned into quite a heifer.. BOSSY like heck, built like a brick shytehouse, she's beating up on the long yearlings already, and she's getting hard to tell apart from some of the smaller ones. She'll be weaned in about 2 weeks. Momma isn't quite as fat as in the first pic but she's still in good shape, that extra weight put her higher in the pecking order which helped her a lot
For comparison, Pan the bull calf, Lilly, Poppy, (all about 15 months) and Zima at 6 months
Here's Itchy and her maternal sister.. Itchy is a bit on the small side
And here's Scratchy.. she's a bit leggy for me but should be a good cow, just a little on the big side
And finally, Cindy, that had her oops baby last year just had a pretty little heifer, I swear she had an affair with a local buck. Cindy grew alright all things considered. She's not going to win any beauty contests but...
She had Zima on Dec 1st
6 months later, she's turned into quite a heifer.. BOSSY like heck, built like a brick shytehouse, she's beating up on the long yearlings already, and she's getting hard to tell apart from some of the smaller ones. She'll be weaned in about 2 weeks. Momma isn't quite as fat as in the first pic but she's still in good shape, that extra weight put her higher in the pecking order which helped her a lot
For comparison, Pan the bull calf, Lilly, Poppy, (all about 15 months) and Zima at 6 months
Here's Itchy and her maternal sister.. Itchy is a bit on the small side
And here's Scratchy.. she's a bit leggy for me but should be a good cow, just a little on the big side
And finally, Cindy, that had her oops baby last year just had a pretty little heifer, I swear she had an affair with a local buck. Cindy grew alright all things considered. She's not going to win any beauty contests but...
Love Poppy!!
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Nesikep
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She was such a brat as a calf, she's settled down a bit now though
FullCircleWVa
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Nesi you sure are blessed to raise cattle in that beautiful country!
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Nesikep
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Well, the fellow came for him this morning, he loaded up without a fuss, I got some money.. things went well!
