Red Bull Breeder
Well-known member
You sure won't no what and how much they are till you ask. Bill is a nice guy and would be glad to try and help you out.
Opinions on a bull
- Thread starter jallen
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Thanks for the link. Ill be picking out a bill from mr bill within the next two months. They certainly aren't cheap but I'm willing to spend the money necessary. It help when you can tell a fella is shooing straight with you. Thanks again. I'm going this week to look and should have a bull in a couple months.
BC
Well-known member
You also need to heed the comments about being overstocked. In my area, the only way to stock at 1 cow to 2.3 acres is with a lot of fertilizer and rain when needed.
I've had a couple of very experienced farmers look at my place. Their opinion was the place should sustain what I have on drought years. I've been told I could run as many as 15 by a couple of people. It has good grass and is very clean with almost no waste. Consists of fescue and Bermuda and is essentially weed free. It was sewn in rye some time ago and it comes in great in the winter. I've got a line on litter so my fertilize costs won't be too bad. Commercial is high by the way. Thanks for the help guys.
circlew
Well-known member
In your area you should be fine with 10 head on 23 acres. You will have in most years excess grass. Something to look into is stockpiling to shorten your hay feeding time.
Grass-Fed
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Its harder to stock pile large amounts of grass with so few cows, It takes about the same amount of time to stockpile grass with 5 cows as it does for 150 cows. You can rotate the cows around, train them to eat grasses they would not pick to eat on there own. Some types of grasses can be "stockpiled" in there uncut state and the cows can harvest them when other people are feeding hay...
Dont take all of what I say as gospel, There are guys on this forum who could write books on good grass managment.
Dont take all of what I say as gospel, There are guys on this forum who could write books on good grass managment.
salebarn junkie
Well-known member
I will have to agree with the previous post rent a bull or use AI. There is no way to buy a bull with ten cows and make the numbers work.
highgrit
Well-known member
How much does it cost to AI 10 cows?? Around here you can by a 14-15 month old bull for $1750. And he will be ready for light breeding, you can keep him or sell him in 2 years and get your money out of him. And a sound bull will stick every cow that will take, and AI won't without a clean up bull. Best thing I have seen done is 2-3 people use the same bull, my neighbors are doing this with one of mine right now. And they make money off their cows every year, and they keep the grass mowed around the ponds too.
greybeard
Well-known member
...Perhaps so, as long as he gets rid of the calves quickly (or culls some of the mommas)--otherwise he will have 20 grazers as soon as the 1st bunch of calves are weaned. In "good" years I have plenty of grass too, due to gulf moisture coming in--but that hasn't happened in the last 3 years here.circlew":1xxamvbz said:
How much pasture can you realistically set aside for stockpiling out of 23 acres? He'll need some really good early fall grass to accomplish this no matter what, and here, we got virtually no rain in Sept, Oct, Nov 2012. In 2011, the summer drought was so bad, every pasture I saw was in very very poor condition in early fall. Nothin left to stockpile--burned to a dry crunchy mess by the time Sept ended.
Dunno--Maybe Bell County gets more rainfall and more predictable rainfall tho.
I have researched AI and it sounds fine but you still need a bull to come in behind it. I can get a very nice bull for very reasonable from mr bill and sell him within a few years and recoup most if my money. I prefer that over AI. Thanks again for the help.
