Walk about cow

[Dave]

Last week I had a cow show up over in Bridgeport. That is about 15 miles from here by road and it is about 10 miles by road the other direction to where she was turned out. If she cut the corner and went in a straight line it is about 20 miles from A to B. I planned to take her to the sale. B said I should preg test her. Now we didn't have a bull in with the one and done cows. But as B said there was a lot of bulls between A and B. The sale yard vet said she is 6 months. So I passed her out and brought her back home to be a one and done for a second time. She must have started her walk well before the fire.
She does have me wondering. Last year shortly after I started buying cows some surveyors showed up here. They were wanting directions to some place back up in the hills. I took them part way up to where they needed to go. Part way there standing at the Big Rock gate was one of my new cows. She had to have crawled through 2 fences to get there. If she had got through the fence at Big Rock there is miles of BLM to the next fence. I got her back when the neighbor gathered. I don't remember her number but it had to be close to the number on this cow.
She is going to go down the chute and get one of those new ear tags with my phone number on it in case she does this again.

 

[farmerjan]

Great that you got her back... she was probably one you had "written off" so no new "out of pocket" costs to you...
Obviously not one that likes to stay put... but at this point, she will probably be glad to be getting fed... and you will gain an extra calf...hopefully next year she will stay with the group?

 

[Dave]

so no new "out of pocket" costs to you...
Obviously not one that likes to stay put... but at this point, she will probably be glad to be getting fed... and you will gain an extra calf...hopefully next year she will stay with the group?

Cost $13.30 for pass out, preg check, & brand inspection. A lot cheaper than buying a new cow. The one cow I did buy that day cost $1,800 for a solid mouth 6 month bred 1,380 pound cow that is a little to the thin side.

 

[Travlr]

Last week I had a cow show up over in Bridgeport. That is about 15 miles from here by road and it is about 10 miles by road the other direction to where she was turned out. If she cut the corner and went in a straight line it is about 20 miles from A to B. I planned to take her to the sale. B said I should preg test her. Now we didn't have a bull in with the one and done cows. But as B said there was a lot of bulls between A and B. The sale yard vet said she is 6 months. So I passed her out and brought her back home to be a one and done for a second time. She must have started her walk well before the fire.
She does have me wondering. Last year shortly after I started buying cows some surveyors showed up here. They were wanting directions to some place back up in the hills. I took them part way up to where they needed to go. Part way there standing at the Big Rock gate was one of my new cows. She had to have crawled through 2 fences to get there. If she had got through the fence at Big Rock there is miles of BLM to the next fence. I got her back when the neighbor gathered. I don't remember her number but it had to be close to the number on this cow.
She is going to go down the chute and get one of those new ear tags with my phone number on it in case she does this again.

First time I bought a place of my own, the very first animal I bought was a traveler. A Char/Hereford cross that didn't know what a fence was. And in the hills and forests of Arkansas that meant I covered a lot of ground on foot looking for her. But I learned how to tighten up an old fence trying to keep her in.

 

[farmerjan]

Forgot that you ran her through the preg check etc. Still glad she is back for another go round.

 

[redcowsrule33]

You keep getting the vow back, what about her calves?

 

[Nesikep]

Obviously not one that likes to stay put...

She knows finding a bull is her ticket to a longer life!.. sounds like she was successful!

 

[kenny thomas]

Ever consider mouthing and preg checking the cows you already have instead of buying new ones? Here what would be considered older might last several years.

 

[Dave]

Ever consider mouthing and preg checking the cows you already have instead of buying new ones? Here what would be considered older might last several years.

Nope, they all get on the truck. Part of what makes this plan work is the 3-4 months of not feeding any cows. The place they go to for the summer the landowner (a man from California) wants all the cows gone by Sept 1. If we kept them we would have to find pasture for the fall. That would be pretty tough around here. That is why the one and done cows go out over there and why they go to the plant before the fall rush occurs..

 

[wbvs58]

At least you will know where to pick her up from next year.

Ken

 

[Travlr]

Cost $13.30 for pass out, preg check, & brand inspection. A lot cheaper than buying a new cow. The one cow I did buy that day cost $1,800 for a solid mouth 6 month bred 1,380 pound cow that is a little to the thin side.

You didn't mention if you got her calf back with her...

 

[kenny thomas]

Nope, they all get on the truck. Part of what makes this plan work is the 3-4 months of not feeding any cows. The place they go to for the summer the landowner (a man from California) wants all the cows gone by Sept 1. If we kept them we would have to find pasture for the fall. That would be pretty tough around here. That is why the one and done cows go out over there and why they go to the plant before the fall rush occurs..

That explains a lot. For years i bought some old cows with calves in the spring and split them that fall. Worked well because people in this area didn't like old cows. But someone had already taken them through the winter and calved them out so most of the work was done.

 

[Dave]

You didn't mention if you got her calf back with her...

Her calf was the one that showed up in late September. The place they came in at has 1,000+ cows. Calf got pulled when they weaned. Cow wasn't spotted until they worked cows. I guess she blended into the crowd.