I buy light 3 wt. calves weekly so I figure few are weaned. My starter lot is 200' X 300' and located
next to my working facilities. It has a couple of shade trees, a big water trough, a hay feeder and
a line of concrete troughs. I pick up calves a couple of evenings during the week and unload directly
into the lot. I feed a high-fiber feed and keep the troughs full. Some calves will get off the trailer
and get a drink of water and go to eating, and some will walk the lot for a day or two before they
really get to eating, but most will eat hay until they learn what feed is. I try to keep my weekly
numbers to 20-30 head. I work the calves on Saturday morning and I pull back tags, eartag, brand,
vaccinate and give antibiotics. On Sunday I turn the calves into a 5 acre trap with a self-feeder and
they stay there for 3 weeks, at which time I booster upper-respiratory vaccination, blackleg,
castrate and dehorn. After this time I sort cattle into load lots and move to new larger traps with
self-feeders and what grazing is available.
I try to drag my lot and starter traps weekly and I clean water troughs at that time. I also like to
keep a few longhorn steers and I usually put one in with each new group to help them teach the
calves where water and feed are. The lot and smaller traps help when I have sickness and make
it easier to pull sick calves. My wife and I do the work, and I think keeping the calves as quiet as
possible really helps with the stress.
Lane
