Starter Kit for new cattle owners

[Cattle Rack Rancher]

I dissagree, The items in most people's calving box and med box are a necessity wether you have good cows or not.

Perhaps I have just been very fortunate but all I've ever doctored for was a couple of cases of foot rot and some pinkeye but then I have pretty good cows. I've only had to pull a few calves but I'm very careful about choosing lightweight bulls. The vet is not that far away by phone and for a beginner, I would recommend consulting with a vet before treating anything, anyway.

 

[fellersbarnoneranch]

That's a pretty daunting list for somebody just starting out. I would say buy some good cows, and some good fence and start there. Alot of the other items on the list can be bought on an as needs basis. .... Not the best system, but I wouldn't invest piles of money until you see what you actually need.

What are some tools of the trade for a green-horn?

I find a good pair of cutting-pliers extremely handy--cutting ear tags off, cutting warts off, fence repair etc.

What bare-bones meds do you keep on hand?

 

[Cattle Rack Rancher]

What bare-bones meds do you keep on hand?

Well, if it doesn't go away with Liquamycin LA, I usually phone the vet. LOL. Would be nice to have everything right when you are starting but when I moved to the new farm all there was was a perimeter fence. The first year I spent all my spare time building my house. Any treatment of animals I had to do was done with one of those bow and arrow stock doctors. By the second year, I built a corral with a loading chute. Sure alot nicer then chasing them around the field like some kinda Cherokee Chief. Oddly enough, I haven't actually had to treat much since then. The surrounding neighbors have been real good about telling me what is common as far as diseases and how to minimize them. Prevention is way better than treatment but when I do have to treat them, I get on it pretty quick. They get checked everyday in the summer. Of course, now its dark when I'm doing chores so I only see them clearly on weekends but the cold up here sort of helps with the spread of disease in winter. Last year I built a cattle shelter. Mostly gets used during spring calving, otherwise my cattle winter in the bush and eat snow when the dugout freezes over. As long as they aren't feeding calves, they seem to do okay on that. They get pretty good hay and vitamin and mineral supplements which seem to keep them pretty healthy. I know some people try to cut feed costs to save money by not feeding their cows as much but guys like that usually end up with alot of open cows. I'd just as soon have a little extra conditioning on them to help them keep the cold out. We vaccinate in the spring with Cattle Master IV and treat them for parasites in the late fall but besides that, I rarely touch them. Of course some of this won't apply to you but neighbors are a big help and I would just build according to your needs and means when you are starting out. Good Luck.

 

[cattle_gal]

Gosh I forgot the handy way of catching a little calf - the retractable calf/sheep hook.

Here's some info on it.
http://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail.html ... b0d0204ae5

 

[Craig-TX]

Gosh I forgot the handy way of catching a little calf - the retractable calf/sheep hook.

Here's some info on it.
http://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail.html ... b0d0204ae5

Interesting but I'll just stick with a lariet.

Craig-TX

 

[plbcattle]

if you don't swear you soon will.
if it not suppose to happen it will
it seems only bad things will happen to your best cows. the bad ones are healthy as a ox
don't ever say, gee that has never happened to me
cattle salesman are just like used car salesman, beware
not every bull is a lbw bull as advertised and not all cows are 4-5 years old as advertised
listen to some old timers, you can learn a lot by listening
don't short cut fences. you can fence in 1000 acres and jigger rig a 1 foot section and every cow on the place will find that one spot
and last but not least,PATIENCE

 

[samm]

use common sence, and don't loose your head, animals can sense when your freaking out. keep all of your stuff where you know where it is at, so ya don't run all over trying to remember where ya put it up at. one thing i have not seen listed is mud boots, ones that don't leak ;-)