Very odd way to gain a calf

[cypressfarms]

I have a commercial Brangus that is a really good moma, and she has plenty of milk every year. Moma had a calf, decent looking 75 pounder. The same day a calf crossed over from my neighbours fence to my pasture. This calf was a little bigger, but appeared to be newborn as well. For about two days the newborn that had crossed over to our pasture walked back and forth calling for moma. I tried to coax it to go through the fence back to my neighbours; but newborns don't listen well. On the third day, I noticed that my Brangus was letting him, as well as her calf, suck.

I've talked to the neighbour; he's not sure which cow the calf came from - he has at least 100 momas all calving now; ofcourse they are almost all Brangus too.

So now I have a "orphan" calf that my Brangus moma is letting suck - going on three weeks now. The neighbour told me back when it happened to keep the calf; there was little chance of him finding the moma and even less chance of him grafting this calf to the moma. Apparently moma gave up on the calf, because there was never a cow standing at the fence mooing for a calf as you would expect. My nieghbour doesn't have the time or desire to bottle a calf, so now I have twins - but in a most unconventional way. I've lost calves before, that's for sure, but I've never gained calves. The neighbour wouldn't even accept me selling the calf a few months from now and giving him the check.

Very strange indeed!

Anyone else increased their herd in a unusual manner like this?

 

[LRTX1]

Several years ago the neighbors Hereford Bull and Cow got into our place through a downed fence. My bull and his fought for a few hours with a cross fence in between them, tore up about 700ft of field fence and bent dang near every T-post. The nieighbor told us to sell the Bull and keep the cow if we wanted her.

 

[tripleBfarms]

Gained a billy goat once, never any cattle.

 

[1982vett]

Great if your mama can raise two...If not I'd get the $175-200 it would bring at the sale. Don't know if you can increase your "profits" or "rate of return" by keeping it any longer.

 

[dun]

I just gain dogs that way. The old "Mom look what followed me home, can we keep it?" Only now they just kind of show up

 

[tom4018]

Neighbor had a 300 or 400 pound calf show up in the lot with his weaned calves once. I think it was even ear tagged but never did find out who it belonged to. He fed it with his calve for a few months then sold it.

 

[upfrombottom]

I just gain dogs that way. The old "Mom look what followed me home, can we keep it?" Only now they just kind of show up

I have had the thought cross my mind about dropping my kids off somewhere before, I never actually did it, but I have gained a few at times that way.

 

[Keren]

I gained a freezer full of sheep once. Neighbours sheep kept getting through the fence. Let the dogs off to chase em away. They rounded one up and kept it penned up in the yards.

Also took a hereford cow to the sale once. Owner couldn't be bothered coming to get her. Told us to do what we liked with her.

haha, lots of my goats were the type that 'just followed me home'. don't think my mum believed a word of it

 

[dun]

I gained a freezer full of sheep once. Neighbours sheep kept getting through the fence. Let the dogs off to chase em away. They rounded one up and kept it penned up in the yards.

Also took a hereford cow to the sale once. Owner couldn't be bothered coming to get her. Told us to do what we liked with her.

haha, lots of my goats were the type that 'just followed me home'. don't think my mum believed a word of it

Probably didn;t believe for the same reason mine didn;t. That string tied aorund their neck and me holding the other end was a dead giveaway

 

[MO_cows]

My mom had a nice black heifer wander in on her one time. She had been recently widowed and at the time was living alone in a place pretty far out in the country. One night her dogs sounded off in the night but she never could see anything outside and she didn't go out. In the morning, there was a black heifer grazing in her yard. She opened the gate and shooed her into the pasture to keep her from getting in the road and getting hit. She called her neighbors, the sheriff's dept, ran an ad in the paper, etc. Nobody ever claimed her. She was bred, too. Mom sold the place before long and moved closer to town, and she gave the pair to her brother in law.

Our first cow we started with, we won her in a fundraiser raffle as a heifer.

Luck will beat skill any day.

 

[Angus Cowman]

I got a 1000lb black baldie hfr that just showed up one time asked all the neighbors and No one would claim her kept her for a long time
Friend of mine had a simmental cow show up the same way NOBODY claimed her she raised several good calves for him

 

[farmwriter]

My mom had a nice black heifer wander in on her one time. She had been recently widowed and at the time was living alone in a place pretty far out in the country. One night her dogs sounded off in the night but she never could see anything outside and she didn't go out. In the morning, there was a black heifer grazing in her yard. She opened the gate and shooed her into the pasture to keep her from getting in the road and getting hit. She called her neighbors, the sheriff's dept, ran an ad in the paper, etc. Nobody ever claimed her. She was bred, too. Mom sold the place before long and moved closer to town, and she gave the pair to her brother in law.

Our first cow we started with, we won her in a fundraiser raffle as a heifer.

Luck will beat skill any day.

You sound like my rotten brother, lucky thing that he is. He used to say about roping, "I'd rather be lucky than good any day. You have to work at being good."

 

[Caustic Burno]

I have a commercial Brangus that is a really good moma, and she has plenty of milk every year. Moma had a calf, decent looking 75 pounder. The same day a calf crossed over from my neighbours fence to my pasture. This calf was a little bigger, but appeared to be newborn as well. For about two days the newborn that had crossed over to our pasture walked back and forth calling for moma. I tried to coax it to go through the fence back to my neighbours; but newborns don't listen well. On the third day, I noticed that my Brangus was letting him, as well as her calf, suck.

I've talked to the neighbour; he's not sure which cow the calf came from - he has at least 100 momas all calving now; ofcourse they are almost all Brangus too.

So now I have a "orphan" calf that my Brangus moma is letting suck - going on three weeks now. The neighbour told me back when it happened to keep the calf; there was little chance of him finding the moma and even less chance of him grafting this calf to the moma. Apparently moma gave up on the calf, because there was never a cow standing at the fence mooing for a calf as you would expect. My nieghbour doesn't have the time or desire to bottle a calf, so now I have twins - but in a most unconventional way. I've lost calves before, that's for sure, but I've never gained calves. The neighbour wouldn't even accept me selling the calf a few months from now and giving him the check.

Very strange indeed!

Anyone else increased their herd in a unusual manner like this?

Now a brimmer calf will survive when all others die. Brimmer calves are at Luby's when they get here.
Being as I know you, I would keep a sharp eye from now on to where you are slipping them calves under the fence. There has got to be some drag marks somewhere. :lol2:

 

[E in PA]

my paps farm was next to the dutchies. we "gained" all kinds of stuff. a chicken, two sheep, cats and a elkhound boyfriend for our blue healer. pap loved that one. half the puppies looked like healers the others looked like mini rottweilers. the sheep were in some of the thickest briars you would ever see, but the amish caught em!

 

[cypressfarms]

Being as I know you, I would keep a sharp eye from now on to where you are slipping them calves under the fence. There has got to be some drag marks somewhere. :lol2:

Now thats funny!

Caustic this is the same neighbour that bought a bunch of high priced Angus bred heifers from the big outfit in Kansas (I can never remember their name). A few years ago he bought 10 or 15 bulls from the same outfit that were about 16 months old. All fine looking with bright white freeze brands. Two of them got into my front pasture where my Angus plus bull was wintering. I had to move the big boy out; he would have killed the youngsters. You know young bucks like that have to strut their stuff. I could tell that my bull was about to hurt him some registered high dollar bulls. I had to seperate them and put my bull with my cows to keep him "occupied", so he wouldn't want to tear the young boys apart.

It's not always good when you find new things in the pasture from the neighbour. Any day I suspect to have a quarter horse come over - he's by himself and lonely. My group of Arabians looks like good company to him. He's tore the ground up pacing back and forth. At least he's a tame gelding.