heath
Well-known member
Just doing her job. I'd be quicker to sell a cow that was content to chew her cud while I flopped her calf on the ground and held it there bawling.
slaughter barn or bred cow sale??
- Thread starter angus9259
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Douglas
Well-known member
The question was not to sale or keep, the question was how to sale.
bird dog
Well-known member
I would sell her as a breeder. I also would not hesitate to buy her from you. A couple weeks ain't nothing. Just stay out of the way. I have a couple like this. I work their calves at about six weeks and by then they calm down and work with rest of the herd.
greatgerts
Well-known member
I have 2 different instances that I will list:
If she is only that protective for a week or so, I would keep her. Nothing at all wrong with a cow protecting her calf like that.
HOWEVER... We had one that would charge from 10 acres away even when the calf was 3 months old. My uncle had her running with our cows, and he wanted our baler, so we traded that for his cows and shipped the b*tch.
Had another that wasn't nearly as bad. This may sound weird, but if I'm lying, I'm dying... This cow would be protective at birth, but would only be over-protective on her lesser quality calves. She didn't care as much about her better calves as she did the mediocre ones. Ended up shipping her after she came after my sister one day.
If she is only that protective for a week or so, I would keep her. Nothing at all wrong with a cow protecting her calf like that.
HOWEVER... We had one that would charge from 10 acres away even when the calf was 3 months old. My uncle had her running with our cows, and he wanted our baler, so we traded that for his cows and shipped the b*tch.
Had another that wasn't nearly as bad. This may sound weird, but if I'm lying, I'm dying... This cow would be protective at birth, but would only be over-protective on her lesser quality calves. She didn't care as much about her better calves as she did the mediocre ones. Ended up shipping her after she came after my sister one day.
backhoeboogie
Well-known member
Douglas":2auybfk4 said:
My answer is the same.
If she was brangus and he lived close by, I'd make an offer. Then the question is pointless.
Dave
Well-known member
I guess it would depend on your defination of charge. If it is when I get close to her calf or between her and the calf. It is no big deal. Or is it that she comes hunting me when her calf is well away from me. In that case she gets her head cut off.
SRBeef
Well-known member
Dave":16ucmvyl said:
I agree. Most of my cows give me the eye if I try to mess with a newborn calf. If I culled everyone like this I wouldn't have many cows left!
My solution is just leave them alone for a couple weeks. We tag, cut and give first shots as a group in mid May after they are all born, Calves follow momma into the corral when she goes in for a grain treat, I shut the gate and everything gets done by me and the vet - safely. I try to take pictures to ID which calf goes with which mamma. I do make mistakes but they all get an ear tag and if I see a calf sucking off his mama but with the wrong eartag I just change it in Cattlemax and he gets a correct eartag the next time thru the chute.
You can also tell if you do the calves first in the chute. His mama generally comes up right close on the other side and I use that as a check to see if I have the right eartag. In the end a lot easier/cheaper than culling good cows or risking serious injury from a protective mother. jmho.
But they better not show ANY sign of aggression after the first 2 or 3 weeks or they go.
Jim
All my cows "protect" their calves. They're all good mommas. I won't tag or weigh any calves w/o a tractor or protection of some sort - I usually put a hang ring over all calves when working them. They all tend their calves. Only one - this one - will chase me across the pasture even after the calf is out of danger. I'm sure that's not a big deal for a lot of folks. It won't work for me. She's going to sale. The question is how.
TexasBred":3209xc2v said:
Calves get weighed and scours vaccinated at birth for AHIR records and health. I don't go out there just to mess with them. Whether I"m working her calf or another calf, she'll attack. I have a field full of fertile, productive cows. I'm short on pasture. Someone has to leave. She's on deck. The only question is how.
TexasBred
Well-known member
Is she bred??? If not then the "bred cow" sale is out. Let the barn decide how to sale here. They usually do it in a way that gets you the most money.angus9259":3ib1pmtj said:
backhoeboogie
Well-known member
TexasBred":24los4ru said:
Exactly. The more money you make, the more money they make. Most places work off of commission around here.
No need to send her to the kill pen just because she is a good cow, protective, and raises a good calf.
I have bought train wrecks from the sale barn a time or two. This gal aint a train wreck - she's probably a treasure.
