My Kids' 4-H Calves

[randiliana]

Monday is achievement day, so today was the day to clip and wash them. They have been handled since last fall, but not really cleaned up. I tried for some before and after pics, but got busy with the heifer before the before pic.

My daughters heifer. Daughter is only 6 years old (she is a cloverbud), so we did a lot of the work on the heifer. I know, I know , poor choice of clothing. She was supposed to put pants and shoes on, but slipped by us in the busy-ness. The heifer is purebred (commercial) Shorthorn. A 1/2 sister to our son's last 4-H steer. She is pretty quiet. Could be in better condition for the show, but she doesn't like grain that much. Oh well, she isn't that bad, and should hopefully go on to be a good cow.

Before (mostly)

And After

And the son's steer. He is 11 years old, and this is his second steer. He is a Junior. The steer is out of a commercial Shorthorn/Angus cross cow and a Angus/Simm bull. I figure he is weighing in around 1150 lbs right now. Still has a month to go before the district show and sale. I think he is a little on the short (length) side of things, but he has a good hip, and a fairly good loin.

Before

and After

 

[K2011]

I like the 2nd one

 

[showmomof2]

Lookin good. Tell them to keep up the good work and good luck with them!

 

[r and s peckman]

Looks like your children have done good. Keep up the good work.

 

[t&d farms]

best of luck and keep up the good work

i wish our cloverbuds could show animals,

 

[Chris H]

The steer is looking pretty good but you might want to have his hooves trimmed.

That heifer cleaned up better than I thought she would after looking at the 'before' picture. If she's calm, she'll be a really nice calf for your daughter.

 

[randiliana]

best of luck and keep up the good work

i wish our cloverbuds could show animals,

Thank you,

The cloverbuds here, could always show an animal. For a while it was a yearling, then they changed it to a baby calf (current year) and now they can show either or. For a while they could only show in the local achievement day, but now they can go to the district.

 

[randiliana]

The steer is looking pretty good but you might want to have his hooves trimmed.

That heifer cleaned up better than I thought she would after looking at the 'before' picture. If she's calm, she'll be a really nice calf for your daughter.

Thanks,
I do see that his hooves could use a trim, but I can't see it happening. No one in the area does it, and if they are anything like the horse farriers, I will be lucky to find one that can come before the end of the year.

She is a pretty decent heifer, I think. She is pretty calm, although we will have to see how she handles the excitement. I am a bit concerned about how she will handle it. But, we can help Jordan with the heifer if there is a problem.

 

[L Weir]

Your daughter is cute with her blue shoes, even though they aren't proper for working with cattle. My daughter used come out bare footed or flip flops to work on her steer. she got her foot stepped on by her heifer one year that fixed the shoe problem quick. Both animals look nice.

 

[*Cowgirl*]

I like that steer. I think the heifer will look pretty decent after she fills out some too.

 

[Daisy452]

Ok, I raise market steers as well but how is it you can take a heifer of the pasture and work her a couple weeks then give her to a younger sibling about 9 or so years old and the heifer is just fine? How do you train them?

I walk mine twice a day for 20-30 mins, I'm down there 3-4 times a day playing a solizing the steer, but they never turn out good walkers, they dont want to walk. Or they drag me around. Does it come with experience? Ive only been raising for the past two years. My angus was the best walker he did everything for me, but my Angus X would stop and not go anywhere.

Any tips for next year cattle?

 

[KNERSIE]

Ok, I raise market steers as well but how is it you can take a heifer of the pasture and work her a couple weeks then give her to a younger sibling about 9 or so years old and the heifer is just fine? How do you train them?

I walk mine twice a day for 20-30 mins, I'm down there 3-4 times a day playing a solizing the steer, but they never turn out good walkers, they dont want to walk. Or they drag me around. Does it come with experience? Ive only been raising for the past two years. My angus was the best walker he did everything for me, but my Angus X would stop and not go anywhere.

Any tips for next year cattle?

The best advice I can give is spend less time walking them and more time having them tied up. They must really get thirsty and then you lead them to water, lead back to feed and reward by untying them. Nothing will teach them to lead as well as having them tied up for long periods at a time.

 

[show steer up]

Daisy
I understand where your comming from. Can your mom or dad walk the animal around for you? If dad can help, that would be great. He is a lot stronger than you and can keep the steer from pulling down and getting away. Once the animal knows they can get away from you they will try to do this to you a lot. If a steer pulls away from my daughter......thats when I take the steer and give it a cumming to Jesus meeting. Ill fermly tell him no, walk him around the pen, give him back to my daughter and then she will tie his head high on the pipe fence for about 30 min. It's kinda like training your dog, they do somthing bad you tell them no and with a steer you take it one step further....tie them up.
I also bought a hot walker which we now call a steer walker and we walk them one mile twice daily on it. This way my daughter can work the steers with their heads held high and keeps them from getting heavy headed. There is nothing worse than trying to hold their head up in the ring for ten to fifteen min. If her steer acts up no matter what he does they can't get away from her. This also works great with setting them up and takes a big heavy load (the steers head) off of you while training them to keep their head up. This is also the time you can work with your animal with the show stick.
If the steer wont walk forward, mom or dad will be stronger than you and can make them walk. When your walking the steer it is a good idea to have someone behind the steer and when he wont walk they can help you. This is also why we use the rope chain halters, all my kids have to do now is snap the chain a few times and the steer changes his mind and starts to walk.
I hope this has been helpful This is what we do, maybe you can use some of this advice.

 

[randiliana]

Ok, I raise market steers as well but how is it you can take a heifer of the pasture and work her a couple weeks then give her to a younger sibling about 9 or so years old and the heifer is just fine? How do you train them?

I walk mine twice a day for 20-30 mins, I'm down there 3-4 times a day playing a solizing the steer, but they never turn out good walkers, they dont want to walk. Or they drag me around. Does it come with experience? Ive only been raising for the past two years. My angus was the best walker he did everything for me, but my Angus X would stop and not go anywhere.

Any tips for next year cattle?

Well, to begin with, we have been working with this heifer (and the steer)since we weaned last fall. Nothing works quite like a tincture of time. Lots of time tied up, and lots of handling. This heifer has only been out on pasture for a couple of weeks. When we feed them their grain, we lead them into a pen and tie them up. Plus, you pick a quiet, calm animal. I would never pick a high-spirited animal for a young/just learning kid. Would rather they have a poorer quality, but quiet calf, than a gorgeous one that they cannot work with. Another thing to consider, is to have strangers (various friends) come up and see your calves as often as possible. This gets them used to seeing different people. Some animals really have a hard time with that.

As for walking, it depends on the animal. Some are more stubborn than others. First thing they need to know is to give to pressure, that is where tying up comes in handy. Then, if they are still stubborn, make a halter with a finer cord and a chain. This heifer doesn't always want to lead, lots of times she would rather just stop and stand. I made up a halter (looks just like a show halter, except with rope instead of leather) with 2 rings and a length of cord. Just tie it up so it fits the animal, then add a chain under, and then when you are having trouble, use it. It bites under the chin, and also behind the poll. They learn to give to pressure fairly quickly.

 

[Anonymous]

I really like that steer. He'd do well here.
That heifer is going to make you a pretty handy cow one day too.

 

[milkmaid]

The steer is looking pretty good but you might want to have his hooves trimmed.

Thanks,
I do see that his hooves could use a trim, but I can't see it happening. No one in the area does it, and if they are anything like the horse farriers, I will be lucky to find one that can come before the end of the year.

I don't know how rural you are, but if you have a paved road out front, I've found that just taking them for a walk on asphalt several days a week will often get the long pieces to break off and keep their hooves worn down a bit. Easier than having someone come out and trim 'em, that's for sure.

 

[Diamond G]

Nice bovines
I enjoy seeing the kids working with them

 

[randiliana]

Thanks, everyone, for the comments. Today is the big day (well the first one). We weighed them on our scale last night. The steer was 1145 lbs and the heifer was 850 lbs. I will let everyone know how they do.

 

[Daisy452]

I do tie mine up, 30 mins to an hour every other day. I would spend more time tieing them up but I am 17 and have college classes to attend. Walking them is easier for me and less time consuming.

And no I can not let my parents walk them when I am training. Once the steers are trined I allowed my mother or father walk my smaller angus but that was becasue he was a good boy.

My mother had back surgury three years ago and had metal in her spine, one wrong fall can be disatrous. And my father would love to help but he has a bad neck, he has a buldging disk and one wrong move on him can paralze him for the rest of his life.

Plus when others break your steer for you, that steer loses that respect for you and gives it to another.

Thank you for the advice! :wave:

 

[Keren]

I really like that steer. He'd do well here.
That heifer is going to make you a pretty handy cow one day too.

Agreed.

I think that heifer is going to look flash with a bit of bloom on her