The Aussie Thread

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We've had a nice drop of rain just enough to make it muddy.26mls this past week. Its got cold and windy here tonight. Expect a top of 7C tomorrow with sleet and snow on the higher peaks.Couple more calves born here at home,a SD and a very good Brahman bull and a bull calf out of one of our registered Hereford cows (by our SD sire) She was supposed to be in calf to our good Hereford sire. Never mind its a good looking calf as are all of the SD Hereford crosses.
I'll try and keep warm.
Colin
 
Another cold day here.

Off to work tomorrow, main thing will probably be a bit of halter work with the showies. Clipping showies Saturday and branding steers on Sunday, ready for the sales on Tuesday.

Had 2 calves born this past week, a bull, who will become a steer(not purebred) and a purebred heifer.
 
Weird you guys are putting up with cold and it being so danged hot here now. Around 96 F here today. :shock:
 
Well we got bumped to the third page so thought I better post something!!
Boy did I get a shock, Keren, when I read your post bout Mick O'Sullivan selling up... he will be missed for sure! He's judged a couple of times over here at the Heifer Expo and at Adelaide- I must say I do have a soft spot for him for putting me at the front of the line regularly! :p Lol, but seriously, a very good cattleman and fitter, and I know one of his sons was certainly shaping up to be as good as his father. Yes people have had their differences with him, but you have to respect his knowledge and experience.
I've been flat out at work, had quite a few sanded cows, lost a couple, but managed to save one the other day who we actually nearly shot twice, she was so sick. She calved in the middle of it all but it took her bout 4 days to show an interest in the calf and for any milk to come down.. the little baby is just as tough as her mother!
Trying to get 13 heifers broken for the SA Heifer Expo now... one for me, 5 local-ish kids, 6 kids from a Vic school and one NSW Shortie guy. And of course they decided to start coming on heat this week... I guess the one positive is no-one should come on at the show. But it sure has made my job interesting. Eh, we'll get there. Bloody frustrating that the kids aren't there to help though.
Only taking a small team to Adelaide, 4 heifers and 3 bulls (all juniors) entered, someone will get left behind too. 2 steers entered too, one is possibly the best Shortie steer I've seen... don't want to get too excited bout it tho! Good hair on him too, I'm really looking forward to getting him clipped...
Off to clip some heifers for a local breeder today, for the heifer show.
On a side note, we're not taking a team to Melbourne anymore... can't afford to feed them or go that far. So if anyone knows of any jobs for Melb... let me know!
That's all for now.
 
Been bloomin cold here. Another cold front on the way. Some parts of the Northern Tablelands had a decent fall of snow. I've been having computer trouble so haven't been on for a while.Been busy at work and feeding cattle.Look forward to meeting Michael O'Sullivan.I'm sure it was his family that had a top Poll Hereford stud not far out of Toowoomba at one time.
Keep warm Colin
 
Hi all, I just got back from Armidale where I was at the Intercollegiate Meat Judging Competition. Wow, Colin, I was reminded all over again how much I love the New England area. It really is a gorgeous area. And yes, I believe Mick O'Sullivan does have family up that way.

Carla, you will have to post some pics of the cattle you are breaking in, especially this steer! Is he one you bred? Pity you will not make it to Melb - I reckon the shorty section is going to be fabulous this year, being the feature breed and all. Pity I will not be involved with any shorties this year.

We had 14 ml while I was away, which was a nice suprise coming home to!

I've just been fencing, and will hopefully be picking up my new does in the next few weeks.
 
Long time, no post.

Move on Saturday!

had the state breed show last weekend. Best result was a Reserve Champ, so we were pretty happy.

Might be going to Sydney next year, possibly with Dexters and Senepols, there's a group of studs up here that are thinking about going down, mainly Dexters, but there's one Dexter breeder up here who's thinking of taking the Senepols down aswell.

Got my own steer for next year now. Charolais x Blonde D'Aquitaine. First show will either be Tenterfield or Toowoomba.

Ekka only a month away!
 
Not going to the EKKA with my cattle,but may go for a look. Been busy feeding a fair few of our cattle. Feeding round bales and Nutramix. The usual lick blocks are out too.Cows are calving,good calves of SDs,Hereford and Brahman. Back to work tomorrow after three days off. Been busy mowing the lawn,tidying up and of course feeding the cattle. Beautiful day after a frost and minus two up to 15. Bit of a change to the recent sleet and wind.
Keep warm
Colin
 
Now that has got to be a nice steer, charry X blonde. Post some pics of him when you get the chance. One thing I miss about school (and I dont miss much lol) is my steers . . . breeding stock are just different. Steers are goofy old buggers, there's nothing like them!

Nothing much to say, nothing much to do just e-crastinating at the moment.

Oh, actually, I am pleased to report that I got the amount of rain we had wrong. I did my dyslexic thing again - we got 41 not 14 ml :shock: How good is that??
 
Three big white frosts the last three days,coolish breezy day here today. So far has only got to 11c. We are in for snow down to 700 metres in our neck of the woods early next week. We are at 1,000 metres,so might get a fall. Just got some new hay this morning so we'll be OK for a while. Cattle are hanging on well with the Nutramix that we are feeding them along with the lick blocks and the odd round bale. Our heifers are doing well in the calving stakes,mostly bull calves so far. The cows in the SD stud herd are running at 98% heifers so far. Last year we had 90% heifers.Not good when I get attached to them,makes them very hard to sell. Better if they end up steers.
Colin
 
Been awfully cold here, lots of frosts.

We had around 20 kids so far, and probably another 10 does due in the next few weeks. Tell you what though, our 'goat contraceptive' worked real well (Valbazen drench), only around a quarter of the mature does have managed to hold onto their pregnancy and kid. Makes you mad . . .

Have started the show goats on feed, and begun breaking in the MGs. Show heifer from last year has about 9 days to go till she's due to have her calf, which is all very exciting! We have had a handful of calves in the last couple of weeks, and only lost one due to a deformity - his urine was pooling in his gut - not a pleasant thing to happen to you.

Not much else to say. Hope everyone is keeping warm! Keep smiling :D
 
Just rescuing the thread.

Back at uni this week, and my car is at the mechanics all week - I'm stranded! :lol:

Got a couple of good subjects, and a couple not so much. I spent this morning (just after breakfast) dissecting ruminant guts. I'd done this before, but I did pick up something interesting - when a foetus' stomach is developing it does so outside of the body, around where the umbilical is, then close to birth it is all packed back into the body, which creates the loops of the small intestine. I guess that explains why some (human) babies are born with part of their GIT exposed, and also schistosomas reflexus calves. We also pulled apart a couple of stillborn lambs, a suckling lamb and an older sheep, and it was interesting to see the differences in the GIT at different stages of life (and different nutritional needs).

At the moment I'm just e-crastinating, waiting for my lift to come take me home lol.
 
Been busy working and feeding cattle. Dry as dry here after our big heavy frosts. Could do with about a 100 mls of rain right now. But that amount would be better probably a little bit closer to the end of the cold winter. Getting sick of feeding out round bales. Wouldn't like to swap for life in the city though. off to a Hereford stud sale just south east of Glen Innes on Friday. Need another Hereford bull. Bought most of our Herefords from this stud before and have been very pleased with their doing ability and conformation. Hopefully it will still be mild as it has been the last few days (17C, hot for this time of the year,no frosts for the last three days)Had a freezing day at this sale last year top of 7C for the day with sleet and a hail storm. The sale barn is fairly warm though. Let you know how we fare.
Colin
 
Still darn dry here. No sign of rain. Sick of hearing about El Nino being finished. Doesn't look like it to me.Bushfires about the New England area. Luckily they are in remote type areas. We have to have a permit to light a fire. But over the next few days there is a ban on the lighting of fires in the open.
Sick of feeding cattle. Was meant to be going to Brisbane show but too much to do at home. Too much flu there as well.
Colin
 
Sorry to hear Colin. Dry here too. Winter crops are looking pretty miserable, really havent been suitable for grazing so far. The grass is starting to dry up and the dust is back. It would be good to get another shower soon to freshen things up. We've had plenty of cold, overcast, miserable days but no rain.

We've had kids coming out our ears at work, 22 out of the 27 does have kidded so far within two weeks, and most are okay. One abortion, one mastitis and one cutthroat caesar. One set of quads, three sets of triplets. Havent counted the twins but theres lots of those and a fair few singles. More singles than usual actually.

The show cow/heifer for melbourne calved the other night. Five days overdue, let me tell you I was losing my fingernails pretty quick. You'd never believe she had a 47kg bull calf :shock: and all by herself :shock: :shock: . Never would have guessed. She's got an udder like a jersey and she didnt lose any condition. So it looks like she's secured her spot on the truck.

My car was at the mechanics again this week, because what he apparently fixed wasnt so fixed . . . So I've been driving the 'courtesy bomb'. Got my car back today, I've never been so glad to see it!

My mate was up at ekka for the last couple of days, competing in the national beef cattle junior judging final. She was 5th out of 7, which is amazing considering she's only 16 (you can bet your life on it the rest would have been between 20 and 25).

Have just been breaking in the cattle n goats for melb. The clipper is coming in two weeks time so I will have some photos of them all prettied up then

Till then, hope everyone is enjoying themselves, and all is well.

Everyone has been a bit silent lately.

Where are all the Aussies? lol

Cya
 
Just back from working at the Ekka for two weeks, 85 head of Santas and Shorties. What a great experience!
Will have to get back to you with results etc. Did get to watch the National Paraders and Junior Judging- my friend represented SA in both finals and did a great job. Still can't get over the winner of the Judging.. I had it pegged to be another, must say the standard in both comps this year was pretty average, only 2 or 3 good judges and same in the parader's, quite disappointing for a national final. My friend should have had the judging but she spoke a bit too briefly-as the judge and stewards told her after. What a shame.
Back home now and off to get our Adelaide team ready, and in between all that I've got a fair few schools to go to to clip steers. Looks to be another busy period!!
Catch ya soon
Carla.
 
We've had our grand daughter here for a few days,she's three months old today. Just starting to rain, hope it keeps up. Getting sick of feeding. Hay is getting scarce and costly.Have heard small bales in some place are $30 each. I pay $10 a bale.
Our two new bulls arrive Friday. We put all our bulls out this weekend. Will give me some more space around the place.
Never got to the EKKA,too busy with work at home and off farm. Haven't herad too many results. One of the seven steers that our local high school took up won a first place,he was a Limousin cross. I've given up offering steers to our high school. They always want Limos,Angus or Murray Greys. Shame they don't give a good quality South Devon Hereford a try.
Colin
 

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