NEW CALVES!!!!!!

[IluvABbeef]

I can't wait to see them this weekend, since they arrived not too long ago.... They're all mostly Red Angus, Red AngusX, and CharX steers (much like that yellow-white face I had last year). I don't think we have very many Limo's this year (I hope... ;-) )

So....I'll post pics of them at the end of THIS WEEKEND...

 

[LimousinGirl]

I don't think we have very many Limo's this year (I hope... ;-) )

Oh, those "Limo's", they are the BEST!!!!! (but that is just me probally!)

 

[haase]

No LimuosinGirl, I agree with you too.

 

[IluvABbeef]

Now I think I kinda went overboard with the title to this thread...ah well. I can live with it. :lol:

Okay, here are the photos.

Half up, half down

#16 looks a might sleepy...or it could be the sun in his eyes (that's dried blood on the fence, btw, from the dehorned calves)

Cute little beggar ;-)

And here he is again

Half of the front bunch sunning themselves

A few Angus, and the only black baldy in the whole herd.

A little too short for the oilers?

Another one of them snot-lickers

And I'd like to introduce you to....Amigo the IV!! ;-) (Don't ask....)

This lil' brockle-faced tyke is either a Red Angus-Shortie X or something else I ain't sure about...

A RWF and a YWF...oh yeah, and of course, the cat...I'm kinda suspicious of the RWF, I'll have to check him next time I'm around home if he's got some nuts on him or not...

And the YWF again only this time it's a lil' RA with him up for a drink...

 

[IluvABbeef]

Been over 12 hours since I posted this and I was hopin for at least ONE post so far...and apparently that hasn't happened at all....Hey, I know thier just steers and there really ain't anything to say about them (other than they'll make good steaks to fry up on the grill..), and of course I like posting pics of them just because I like to show off the new calves...but...

Okay,I'm done rambling...It's a Monday morning...and I'll shut up now.

 

[Angus In Texas]

Nice looking set of calves you've got there. Will you feed them till it's time to butcher or are you preconditioning them for the feedlot?

 

[MissouriExile]

Been over 12 hours since I posted this and I was hopin for at least ONE post so far...and apparently that hasn't happened at all....Hey, I know thier just steers and there really ain't anything to say about them (other than they'll make good steaks to fry up on the grill..), and of course I like posting pics of them just because I like to show off the new calves...but...

Okay,I'm done rambling...It's a Monday morning...and I'll shut up now.

I suspect that some here, like myself, don't have internet access on weekends or they were too tired to comment. Sometimes it takes time.

At any rate I enjoyed seeing your photos and they are a fine looking bunch. Good Luck with them.

Jon

 

[CowCop]

~

Good Looking bunch.

I like your 3 sided run-in shed for your cattle.

We have a similar set up.

How long or at what weight do you sell these groups ?

 

[IluvABbeef]

Angus in Texas and Cow Cop: We do precondition them prior to them going to the feedlot...so that pretty much means that we background them. They are fed over winter to mid-spring and pastured from when the silage pile is cleaned up and the grass is at a good enough grazing height--so typically from spring through to fall. Then they're sold to the local feedlot when they're ranging from 900 to 1000 lbs. So in total thats....almost 12 months of preconditioning/backgrounding til they hit the feedlot.

They are a nice bunch of calves, but time will tell of how much meds we might have to use on potential sick ones...and how many we might lose this year. But I'm getting too pessimistic, they're a real quiet bunch, they settled in pretty quickly, and we've made an effort to check for bulls and dehorn way earlier than usual to limit stress. I did find one of the Angus calves down and seemed to be a little homesick, but last time I checked him he was up and busy eating.

Sure glad there ain't as many Limo's as there where last year. ;-) ;-)

 

[LimousinGirl]

I haven't been on here much latley, just saw the pictures! They look nice. Thats too bad your glad there's not as many Limousin. Maybe I'm just missing somthing, but what is on the red one in the last picture?

 

[IluvABbeef]

I haven't been on here much latley, just saw the pictures! They look nice. Thats too bad your glad there's not as many Limousin. Maybe I'm just missing somthing, but what is on the red one in the last picture?

It's just cowcrap. I think he was laying down when one of his buddies did thier duty on him. It happens. ;-) :lol:

 

[LimousinGirl]

OH, I see. I kindof thought that.

 

[DOC HARRIS]

As a general comment, these calves are a soggy group, and you have a right to be proud of them. What are your breeding protocols for next year, if any different than what these calves represent?

Good, well drained yard and fine corrals and sheds. This kind of management makes for more successful handling of your stock. Lots of work and thought went into this set-up. Good for you!

DOC HARRIS

 

[IluvABbeef]

As a general comment, these calves are a soggy group, and you have a right to be proud of them. What are your breeding protocols for next year, if any different than what these calves represent?

Good, well drained yard and fine corrals and sheds. This kind of management makes for more successful handling of your stock. Lots of work and thought went into this set-up. Good for you!

DOC HARRIS

Thanks Doc. Only your forgetting something. We don't have no cows nor breeding protocols. ;-) But lately, we;ve been getting calves from the same ranches these past few years, and I recognize a number of calves with the same markings as those that we;ve had in previous years. That's probably why you thought we have cows...

Well, the corrals have a few glitches here and there, and the handling area could be updated a bit more, but like you say, it's very functional.

 

[donnaIL]

So many its hard to pick the good ones (none of them look bad to me..but what do I know)... I look forward to seeing them when they are finished... Some good feed and good facilities (like doc says) and they will look great. donna

 

[IluvABbeef]

Thanks. It was hard to see the poor-doing ones too, mostly because they were kinda suspicious and skittish when I was around. I just need to be around them for a few more hours for them to feel comfortable around me... ;-)

 

[KS Cattle]

Have you ever thought about selling em when they get to 800 lbs? You could turn em quicker that way and buy back sooner. You can also catch the markets as they fluctuate. If the market was crummy you could hold on to em a little longer if you had to that way.

 

[IluvABbeef]

KS, that's interesting, and it makes sense too...and to anwer your question, I don't think we've considered going that route. But I think, from what I know, we've kept to selling them between 900 and 1000 lbs is because we also hit the time when (and the market for) the fall weaner calves are being sold. So with selling the 800 lb calves, say buy in October, and with a primary rate of gain of 2 lbs/day on good forage (barley silage and/or hay), they'd be ready for sale by February or March. And then we;d get spring calves, feed them up over pasture, sell them in the fall, and on and on.

So, the main reason we haven't gone the bi-annual-cycle of stockers is mainly simplicity, and minimize cost of meds. And time (feild work...). Sure it'll generate more income, but we just like our stockers to stick around a bit longer.

But thanks for the idea....

 

[Francois]

What is the in weight on these cattle? thanks

 

[IluvABbeef]

Right now, I'd say they're a little over 500 lbs...more like average of 550 lbs.