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GMN

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First cow I ever had, and ever milked, passed away last night. She was 19 years old :cry2:

She's been retired out of the herd for about a year, but her old bones just couldn't carry her anymore.

She sure was a very memorable cow, that had many a offspring thru her long life.

GMN
 
It won't be the same. I got one that is going to have to die on the farm cause I could never sell her. She is a fixture. Can't imagine what its going to be to go out and her not be there.
 
I worry about Granny everyday and even more so in the winter. 20 this year. I brought her up this morning to a lot right behind the house so she won;t have to walk as far for feed and water.
 
We've got two cows that will never leave this place, an old blue roan that I bought from my father in law and a mixed up red cow that came from the market. The latter is the best cow I've ever owned. Their social security checks really help out.
 
my three lifetime contract cows all died last year...

now i have three more.
 
:nod: I have one of those, she is a black baldy that was a bottle calf from 1991. She has had
the best calves year after year. Two years ago she became retired and lives in a small paddock
with a run in shed, heated water tank,all the hay she can eat and grain every night. She still
seems to enjoy her retirement( i know, its a cow :p ) but her old bones are really getting
stiff and she moves pretty slow. One of these days she will go to that big pasture in the sky(with
a little help from the pink stuff if she needs help) and there is a spot next to the old horse with
her name on it. She deserves to go with dignity, not shuffled off to some sale barn and then packed into a semi--- she would never make it to her destination. I only have a select few
that get to have this grand of a send off. Most are culled WAY before we get to this stage in life.
But, with that said, my past bottle heifers are a special bunch to me. :heart:
 
Very well said Holly. That's how I feel about my oldest beefmaster. When she stops having calves.She will have a place until she passes. Hopefully that's not for along time.
GMN, sorry for your loss.
 
holly heifer":14pw8g3y said:
:nod: I have one of those, she is a black baldy that was a bottle calf from 1991. She has had
the best calves year after year. Two years ago she became retired and lives in a small paddock
with a run in shed, heated water tank,all the hay she can eat and grain every night. She still
seems to enjoy her retirement( i know, its a cow :p ) but her old bones are really getting
stiff and she moves pretty slow. One of these days she will go to that big pasture in the sky(with
a little help from the pink stuff if she needs help) and there is a spot next to the old horse with
her name on it. She deserves to go with dignity, not shuffled off to some sale barn and then packed into a semi--- she would never make it to her destination. I only have a select few
that get to have this grand of a send off. Most are culled WAY before we get to this stage in life.
But, with that said, my past bottle heifers are a special bunch to me. :heart:

Yes this is exactly how I felt. Glad to hear I'm not alone.

GMN
 
I also have a black baldy that I bottled fed in 1992. I have built my own herd with her! She has had 15 calfs and I have kept all her heifers calfs. She is through calving now but she will die here on the farm where she was raised. She is my pride and joy. :wave:
 
One of the biggest regrets I have is selling my very first show heifer. She was a 1986 model, and I sold her in 2002. She was very tired. Couldn't get her onto the trailer, so I had to lead her on. She was the gentlest cow ever, and I regret that I didn't let her die on the farm. Her imprint remains in my herd, have several females that trace back to her.
 
Out of curiosity but why do you guys keep them till they die? I personally just cant follow the idea. Thanks in advance.
 
I had a couple bottle calves that where like pets. Kids had them named "Lucky Charm" and "Caffie" Turned into very good old mother cows, both had 12-13 calves all good, in their life time. Anyway I could clearly see that their productive days were over. Thought about it? cows like that were bringing about .50 per pound and these were over 1300 pounds. Guess what I did. I'm a business man to. To me it didn't seem to make sense to just let them live out their lives on the ranch. Eventually they would need to be put down and probably be suffering, then I would have to go through the work of burying. I have more of these pet type cows that were bottle calves, very tame and easy to have around. They will go the same route. I think in the long run its easier for the cow and for me. I understand people wanting old pet type cows to live out their lives at home. Just not the way I will do it.
 
CattleHand":1ty86lv3 said:
Out of curiosity but why do you guys keep them till they die? I personally just cant follow the idea. Thanks in advance.

In the case of Granny there are 2 reasons. One is that one day my wife commented to Ol Granny "You'll be here till you die" That pretty well sealed the deal. The other reason is she still raises one of the top calves and breeds back first service every year. But she's so old that I doubt she'ld make it through the sale and off to the slaughter house alive.
 
I guess I'm just too tender hearted when I look into those big brown eyes. Have you watched what goes on at the slaughter houses and how they are killed? I won't go there now but I could never send my animal that was like my dog to me to the slaughter house. Me and this cow have been through alot together. Enough said. :)
 
You big bunch of babies! Don't y'all know that this is not what PETA wants to hear.....tough cowboys and cowgirls having COMPASSION?!?
 
I have a cow that was one of my first. Her name is Summer cause she is all yellow. She was just a little calf when we first brought her home 18 years ago. She raises a heck of a calf every year. The herd just wont be the same without her there. I am going to miss the ol girl.
 
We have an 85 model Brahman cow that was a calf out of one of the first cow-calf pairs we bought when starting our herd. She has been the base of our herd since she started producing. We have the 6th generation of hers in the herd. All good cows and top notch producers. She hasn't had a calf in a few years but still helps teach the weanlings the ropes of changing pastures, going through the working chutes and all the other social skills of a good cow. She is the only one we have kept like this, and she will be buried here with the smaller pets!!
 

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