Yippee! On grass finally - pics

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Long winter - sure happy to turn out on grass.

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[bigbull338]

they sure look good out on lush pastures.thats 1 heck of a pair you have there.an your flush cow sure looks good.bet she produces alot of herd bulls.

 

[cowboy43]

What do you do with your cattle through winter , when do you take them off grass, and what do you feed them, I always curious in how other people operate in different areas.

 

[robert]

really Jeanne, the least you could've done is photoshop the fencelines out in the top pic! :lol: Calves look like they're really growing though!

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Thanks all - Bigbull, actually she has only given us 1 bull calf & that was steered because of the BW. She makes awesome heifers!
Robert - I really SHOULD have tidied up the pics. Oh well. Take what you get! :banana: Calves are growing like weeds (they're growing too!)
Cowboy43 - we get an average of 120" of snowfall in our area. NY grows grass/clover like crazy - but, we have a short summer. We usually have to start feeding baleage (or DRY big round bales if the weather lets us put some up) by November and continue to feed hay til end of April or first week in May. We were about 1 week later this year.
When we wean our heifer calves in the fall, they go on whole shell corn with a protein pellet + baleage and stay on that until they are bred & turned out on grass. They are still on baleage right now. After they get turned out, they are considered "cows" and never get grain again - unless they are one of the fortunate (or unfortunate) ones to be put in our showstring. Cows get grass in the summer & hay in the winter, plus a great mineral program high in Selenium. Bred Heifers & heifers coming with their 2nd calf get fed seperate from the cowherd. I give them the best hay if there is any difference, and I generally don't let them run out. I let the cowherd run out of hay for about 1/2 day, before I refill their feeders so that they clean up & don't waste much.
Good functional beef cows should NEVER need to be fed grain. We have a topnotch health program.

 

[TexasBred]

Now that is beautiful. I'd be tempted to lay down in that pretty stuff and just roll around and shout. (Be careful not to roll across any recycled grass).

 

[Australian]

Bet your happy with grass after winter. I feel the same when I see nice green grass after our winters, which aren't as bad as you have. We still have grass albeit a bit brown through winter.
Keep enjoying the greenery.
Colin

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Now that is beautiful. I'd be tempted to lay down in that pretty stuff and just roll around and shout. (Be careful not to roll across any recycled grass).

I just hate it when my dogs do that - all slimy green ooey-gooey! of course, they love it!
Aussie - it's so hard for me to even wrap my brain around a WINTER in Australia :shock:
Our daughter spent a year in NZ on an exchange program. Said the locals wore shorts all winter - with knee-hi boots! and they really didn't "heat" the houses - just put on more clothes. HOW NICE!!!

 

[talldog]

Good functional beef cows should NEVER need to be fed grain. We have a topnotch health program.

Now there's a Woman after my Heart !!! This was a reasoning factor for me selecting a Longhorn beef program. People in my area will pay up for a lean piece of meat with good taste !!!!

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

I guess I should clarify. COWS don't need grain. I still believe in grain fed beef for harvesting. I don't finish out any steers here, we sell our feeders to a local feedlot, and when I need beef, I buy back a side of beef (of course I pick out one of our own steers!)
talldog - nothing wrong with you finishing out on grass. Just not my taste/preference.

 

[TexasBred]

Good functional beef cows should NEVER need to be fed grain. We have a topnotch health program.

Now there's a Woman after my Heart !!! This was a reasoning factor for me selecting a Longhorn beef program. People in my area will pay up for a lean piece of meat with good taste !!!!

Have they ever tried limousin beef?? Very lean and also "tender" something you don't always get with grass fed longhorns.

 

[talldog]

I don't believe grain is natural for cattle. I've seen many unnatural problems over the years caused by grain feeding, but---- that's me !! A good grass, plenty of water and good quality hay is my receipt along with a good breed of cattle. Longhorn beef does well on this and taste mighty good to me !! ;-) ;-)

To each his own, said the lady, when she kissed the cow !!!