Hello all,
Have only recently found this forum and think it is great, so thought I would share our little adventure into the cattle "business".
The plan.
To build up a "herd" from more or less scratch, and on a shoestring budget.
With the added benefit of having home produced beef along the way.
The story so far.
March 2006: Purchased 6yo Jersey cow with Charolaise heifer calf at foot for $500 Aus (calf slaughtered and eaten)
We have access to dairy cross calves from a nearby dairy. These calves are usually dairy/Hereford cross. Sometimes the calves are Jersey, sometimes Freisian, and sometimes Swiss Brown, mostly sired by a Hereford bull.
They cost $30 to $40 Aus, depending on how sappy they are.
The idea being that the old girl has 2 calves swing off her for 3-4 months, then they are weaned off and a new pair are purchased.
We started off buying bull calves, which we steer at weaning, but have added a few heifers to have a bit of a bash at breeding. (a weak heart never won a fair maiden they tell me)
The calves are let run with her all day and are locked up in their pen at night. The cow is milked in the morning and then the calves are let on to strip her out, and then run with her all day again.
To date she has raised 10 calves and supplied the house with milk without a freshen.
Jan 2007: Purchased 1x Jersey/Hereford heifer, and 1x Swiss Brown/Charbray heifer. With the idea being that whichever heifer threw the best calf would be the sort of cow that we would start buying/keeping.
May 2008: Borrowed neighbors Droughtmaster bull to serve heifers and Jersey.
March 2009: Both heifers drop heifer calves. (We think they are beautiful)
So at the moment we have,
1 x Jersey cow (due to calf in a week or so to the DM bull)
1 x Jersey/Hereford heifer, (red and brindle with a broken baldy face) with a red broken baldy faced heifer calf by the DM bull at foot.
1 x Swiss Brown/Charbray heifer (dark chocolate) with a fawn coloured heifer calf by the DM bull at foot.
2 x Freisian/Hereford steers (black with baldy faces)
1 x Red Freisian/Hereford steer (red or orange with a baldy face)
2 x Red Freisian/Hereford heifers (red or orange with baldy faces)
1 x Red Freisian/Hereford/Charolaise heifer (white with red patches)
Hence the user name, as the paddock looks a bit like a zoo, eleven cattle and hardly two the same colour.
(oh, to have an even line of cattle. One day perhaps, one day)
Now I know that these cattle are no oil paintings, (cow hocked, pot bellied, post legged, sway backed etc etc, in fact too many faults to mention) but seeing as we have nothing to lose and everything to gain we shall have a bit of a bash at this.
If anybody is at all interested I shall see if I can get the camera working and post a few pics.
Bit addictive this cattle thing isn't it.
Cheers.
To date she has raised 10 calves and supplied the house with milk without a freshen.
Have only recently found this forum and think it is great, so thought I would share our little adventure into the cattle "business".
The plan.
To build up a "herd" from more or less scratch, and on a shoestring budget.
With the added benefit of having home produced beef along the way.
The story so far.
March 2006: Purchased 6yo Jersey cow with Charolaise heifer calf at foot for $500 Aus (calf slaughtered and eaten)
We have access to dairy cross calves from a nearby dairy. These calves are usually dairy/Hereford cross. Sometimes the calves are Jersey, sometimes Freisian, and sometimes Swiss Brown, mostly sired by a Hereford bull.
They cost $30 to $40 Aus, depending on how sappy they are.
The idea being that the old girl has 2 calves swing off her for 3-4 months, then they are weaned off and a new pair are purchased.
We started off buying bull calves, which we steer at weaning, but have added a few heifers to have a bit of a bash at breeding. (a weak heart never won a fair maiden they tell me)
The calves are let run with her all day and are locked up in their pen at night. The cow is milked in the morning and then the calves are let on to strip her out, and then run with her all day again.
To date she has raised 10 calves and supplied the house with milk without a freshen.
Jan 2007: Purchased 1x Jersey/Hereford heifer, and 1x Swiss Brown/Charbray heifer. With the idea being that whichever heifer threw the best calf would be the sort of cow that we would start buying/keeping.
May 2008: Borrowed neighbors Droughtmaster bull to serve heifers and Jersey.
March 2009: Both heifers drop heifer calves. (We think they are beautiful)
So at the moment we have,
1 x Jersey cow (due to calf in a week or so to the DM bull)
1 x Jersey/Hereford heifer, (red and brindle with a broken baldy face) with a red broken baldy faced heifer calf by the DM bull at foot.
1 x Swiss Brown/Charbray heifer (dark chocolate) with a fawn coloured heifer calf by the DM bull at foot.
2 x Freisian/Hereford steers (black with baldy faces)
1 x Red Freisian/Hereford steer (red or orange with a baldy face)
2 x Red Freisian/Hereford heifers (red or orange with baldy faces)
1 x Red Freisian/Hereford/Charolaise heifer (white with red patches)
Hence the user name, as the paddock looks a bit like a zoo, eleven cattle and hardly two the same colour.
(oh, to have an even line of cattle. One day perhaps, one day)
Now I know that these cattle are no oil paintings, (cow hocked, pot bellied, post legged, sway backed etc etc, in fact too many faults to mention) but seeing as we have nothing to lose and everything to gain we shall have a bit of a bash at this.
If anybody is at all interested I shall see if I can get the camera working and post a few pics.
Bit addictive this cattle thing isn't it.
Cheers.
To date she has raised 10 calves and supplied the house with milk without a freshen.
