Preg testing/weening

[CowboyRam]

Today was a beautiful day for preg testing. Had one open cow out of 62 checked. I don't think the cows are to happy with me, they got poked and prodded, and the babies taken away; calves are on the other side of the electric fence.





Once turned out into the weening pasture the calves went right to grazing.

 

[GoWyo]

Will be waiting for your damage assessment in the morning.

 

[CowboyRam]

Will be waiting for your damage assessment in the morning.

All were in until my dog chased a calf through the fence. Spent probably an hour trying to get calf sorted off from the cows; ended up with a cow in with the calves. Maybe I will get her sorted off tomorrow. I did get my exercise in for the day. It seems that dad on the ATV was always in the wrong place today.

 

[simme]

All were in until my dog chased a calf through the fence. Spent probably an hour trying to get calf sorted off from the cows; ended up with a cow in with the calves. Maybe I will get her sorted off tomorrow. I did get my exercise in for the day. It seems that dad on the ATV was always in the wrong place today.

Conclusion from this old guy: Maybe keeping that dog on the ATV with the dad is the solution. But of course I may have missed something.

 

[bird dog]

ended up with a cow in with the calves

I have done that before on purpose with a old cow going to town. Leave her with the weaned calves for a few days brings some security to the calves or so they think. It works well. The weaned calves have some good hay and creep and the old cow will benefit when she ships.

 

[farmerjan]

We ALWAYS leave a cow, or a couple of cows, with the weaned calves. Like @bird dog said, it brings security to the calves as a whole... Cows usually will come to call, so will lead the calves into the barn to the feed bunk and they learn much quicker... and it is usually cows that will be shipped or are behind on timing at the preg check..... the only ones that will make a little more noise, later, are the ones that the "shipped cows" are on... but they have also learned to come in the barn to the bunk so get over it by hanging out with the ones that have accepted the weaning...
We started doing that and it made weaning nearly stress free.... seriously. Seldom ever have a calf trying to get back to the cows now... A week or 2 later, or whenever we decide to do something with the cows in there, no one seems to get too upset...

 

[CowboyRam]

The calves are starting to get things figured out; they came in pretty good this morning, but it also help having that cow in with them. I think I will leave her in there for a couple more days. Most came up to the bunk to feed this morning. Still have a couple dozen cows hanging on the fence; they came running once I started moving the calves out of the weaning pasture.