Just what is your problem, Hoss? There are better words to describe your "nature" than "inquisitive" or "forwardness". Sounds like I am giving examples of other people's cattle instead of my own?!! Sounds like hell, it is there in black and white print, when I talk about cattle I owned and examples of other people's cattle I am familiar with. Like the exchange with KY Hills regarding traits of Chi-Angus cows: I told of my experience with other Chi-cross cows and heifers I have raised calves from , and the Chi-angus bulls I have used. But, I never fooled with many Chi-Angus cows for any length of time, so I commented on some experience that clients, friends and/or neighbors have had with them. Why does that bother you? Not that anyone really cares what you think.
How many cows do I own? What possible business is it of yours? And what difference would it make? This forumn, and others, have members who are farm managers, ranch foremen, vets and vet techs, auctioneers, stockyard mangers, feedlot operators... a lot of folks with a vast knowledge of, and decades of experience with, cattle. Some may or may not own cattle right now, and some may never have owned any. So?!!!! You think that you might know more than them, just because you have bought a cow?!! ROFLMFAO. Well, I will answer your question Karen. The answer is, it depends on what day it is. My goal is to never own any for more than a day or two. Anything I buy these days, has a place to go before I buy them. Or, I am buying them for other people. About 2013 or 2014, I started selling off my cattle, and hay equipment, and letting go of a lot of leased farms. By 2015, I sold my last cow and my last piece of hay equipment. Since then, the only time I ever own and keep any cattle at all, will be 6-8 Corrientes, or about the same amount of weanlings to yearlings, depending on what kind of horse I am fooling with.... ropers or penning/sorting. And that is only when there isn't someone close with an arena that has practice nights or jackpots.
I always made money buying and selling horses...raising them., not so much. Even though I kept a stallion or two ( I get my money in a few minutes standing a stallion), I never raised many foals.. just maybe a wife, daughter's or gf's mare or two. I always loved raising cattle, and for some reason, enjoyed the hell out of growing hay. Two things happened in 2006, when I was 50. I had a pretty big bermuda hay operation, with many horse clients I sold to. We had a hell of a draught in 2006, and instead of the usual 4-5 cutttings, I got one. I started buying truck loads of 3x3x8 and 4x4x8 bales of alfalfa and alfalfa-grass hay to service my equine clients. Giving $35 or $40 a bale, plus shipping, and selling it for $120- $145 a bale. Hell of a lot more profit than growing my own, even in good years with no equipment breakdowns. Every year, for every place in the country they have draught and hay shortages, there will be areas with a bumper crop and hay will be cheap there. I also broke my back in 2 places in 2016 ( and ribs and an arm). Each year after that, it became harder and harder for me to fool with hay, and cows, and fencing, etc. So like I said, by 2015 I was out of the business. I kept a tractor with a loader,. and a couple of trailers... to unload and load and deliver these big bales with. I had discovered that. just like horses and hay, I made more money with a LOT less work, buying and selling cattle.
Any way, if you have anymore problems with my posts, just use that little wheel on your muse, to scroll on past.
You'd raise bigger and better steers than you could with any other cross out there, even Simmental. And, you could probably sell your heifers as replacements for more than they'd bring through the weigh pen. If you still want some black baldies, breed some of both kinds of cow to a registered BB Black Hereford bull a time or two and see if you like them.
