Hopeful Beginnings
Member
Hello again....It's been about a year since I've been on this forum. I posted about this time last year after my hubby surprised me with a 3 week old calf for bottle feeding (our first, and still only, cow ever). I needed help with all the basics that come with bottle raising a calf. Well...many thanks to all those that helped me then, she is now a year old (actually about 15 months) and we have a whole new set of questions.
All along I have wondered about what breed she is. We were told Angus by the farmer my hubby got her from. Some of this group believed that, others didn't (when I posted her baby pictures last year). I have recently been doing some online searching and I now know she is not Angus nor Brangus although she looks exactly like either one EXCEPT she has cute little horns sticking out the sides of her temples. Any thoughts now as to what kind she is? She has the neck flap, the ears to the side, the blackish color.......
Up til three weeks ago she was kept in our paddock with our horses and our old burro (she bonded with the burro early on). BUT...she wouldn't be quiet! She was only getting fed alfalfa hay (all that's available here) three times a day (and not too much since we didn't want the horses overeating). We only have one acre in the county part of our city. One acre is too close to the animal hating neighbor for a noisey cow (plus hubby hates her moooing). I seperated her and the burro (don't care if the old burro overeats since she's getting to the end of her life). The intent was to fatten her up for the freezer. I free feed the alfalfa hay now and give her two good size scoops of cob/grains two to three times a day. In regards to this thought, I wanted to know how much I should be giving to benefit the meat production and when is too old for good meat quality? She is small....I'll have to measure her height for sure. I was told that being a bottle baby, a heifer, and hay fed that her growth would be much slower than most people would experience. So far she seems like a dwarf cow...shoulders maybe around 40" or so...give or take. I do not know how big she should be for her age and breed (which is unknown). She does have what seems to me like an overly round belly.
My more recent thought is that since the increased feed has quieted her quite a bit (and is making her grow faster), I've thought about breeding her and using the babe for our freezer. But, I know nothing of this........I'd have to go AI since I don't think I'd have access to a bull (and not sure about her size). Not sure what AI is going to cost for one animal. Was told one of our local vets does it but I haven't called to get a cost. I remeber seeing straws listed last year that seemed reasonably priced...not sure how many I will need. I don't know how long they are pregnant. I am assuming that she will pretty much calve easily on her own (but we do have a vet if she doesn't). I don't know much about weaning a meat baby...when or how to do it, but I guess I have time to figure that out. I don't imagine the bulls breed makes too much difference other than to maybe find a smaller breed to make it easier on her. When should I consider breeding her? She seems like just a baby still to me. Some of the breed info I was reading said breeding at 15 months...I just don't know that she'd be ready to handle that. She still crys to me when I go out in the yard and will stand for hours as I scratch her head and tug on her ears and horns. I've tried getting her used to me touching her all over. I pull on her tail, rub her undertummy and pull on her teats. She's good with me, but doesn't trust my husband (could have something to do with him torturing her by pinning her down and straddling her back when she was younger (too tall for that now). Also he likes to chase her when she starts mooooing.
Soooo.....pros/cons.....am I getting in way over my head for a 1st time single cow owner? I don't know if she even knows she's a cow. Should I just resign to butchering her? I don't want to continue to feed her forever without putting her to good use.
Thanks for bearing with me here and thanks in advance for any knowledge and experience you have to share...I know most everyone on this list has larger herds and my single cow questions seems pretty trivial. Thanks....Traca
All along I have wondered about what breed she is. We were told Angus by the farmer my hubby got her from. Some of this group believed that, others didn't (when I posted her baby pictures last year). I have recently been doing some online searching and I now know she is not Angus nor Brangus although she looks exactly like either one EXCEPT she has cute little horns sticking out the sides of her temples. Any thoughts now as to what kind she is? She has the neck flap, the ears to the side, the blackish color.......
Up til three weeks ago she was kept in our paddock with our horses and our old burro (she bonded with the burro early on). BUT...she wouldn't be quiet! She was only getting fed alfalfa hay (all that's available here) three times a day (and not too much since we didn't want the horses overeating). We only have one acre in the county part of our city. One acre is too close to the animal hating neighbor for a noisey cow (plus hubby hates her moooing). I seperated her and the burro (don't care if the old burro overeats since she's getting to the end of her life). The intent was to fatten her up for the freezer. I free feed the alfalfa hay now and give her two good size scoops of cob/grains two to three times a day. In regards to this thought, I wanted to know how much I should be giving to benefit the meat production and when is too old for good meat quality? She is small....I'll have to measure her height for sure. I was told that being a bottle baby, a heifer, and hay fed that her growth would be much slower than most people would experience. So far she seems like a dwarf cow...shoulders maybe around 40" or so...give or take. I do not know how big she should be for her age and breed (which is unknown). She does have what seems to me like an overly round belly.
My more recent thought is that since the increased feed has quieted her quite a bit (and is making her grow faster), I've thought about breeding her and using the babe for our freezer. But, I know nothing of this........I'd have to go AI since I don't think I'd have access to a bull (and not sure about her size). Not sure what AI is going to cost for one animal. Was told one of our local vets does it but I haven't called to get a cost. I remeber seeing straws listed last year that seemed reasonably priced...not sure how many I will need. I don't know how long they are pregnant. I am assuming that she will pretty much calve easily on her own (but we do have a vet if she doesn't). I don't know much about weaning a meat baby...when or how to do it, but I guess I have time to figure that out. I don't imagine the bulls breed makes too much difference other than to maybe find a smaller breed to make it easier on her. When should I consider breeding her? She seems like just a baby still to me. Some of the breed info I was reading said breeding at 15 months...I just don't know that she'd be ready to handle that. She still crys to me when I go out in the yard and will stand for hours as I scratch her head and tug on her ears and horns. I've tried getting her used to me touching her all over. I pull on her tail, rub her undertummy and pull on her teats. She's good with me, but doesn't trust my husband (could have something to do with him torturing her by pinning her down and straddling her back when she was younger (too tall for that now). Also he likes to chase her when she starts mooooing.
Soooo.....pros/cons.....am I getting in way over my head for a 1st time single cow owner? I don't know if she even knows she's a cow. Should I just resign to butchering her? I don't want to continue to feed her forever without putting her to good use.
Thanks for bearing with me here and thanks in advance for any knowledge and experience you have to share...I know most everyone on this list has larger herds and my single cow questions seems pretty trivial. Thanks....Traca
Thanks....Traca
