Dancey:
Well so far, so good. The herd (if you can call 8 head a herd, LOL) are doing well. We moved them across the county road to another pasture Friday. They all followed me with just a bucket of feed....all except the bull. Aparently he had never seen asphalt before and was afraid to step on it, maybe he had fallen through ice sometime in the past? It took him some time to cross, he tried to head down the road and I had to move quick to head him off...well the grass on the road bank was wet...and I slipped and wrenched a knee. That had me hobbling around for the past few days. He eventually did follow his lady friends into the new pasture.
The cow that lost the calf; I don't think she was a hefer, if she was she was a large one. The sales ticket from when I bought her put her at 900 lb. Maybe it was her first calf, or maybe she was handled rough in shipping or going trough the stock yards. The workers at the stock yard don't have much pity on the animals. She may have been shoved by another cow. I'll see what happens next spring.
Spent the last few days putting up hay. I now have about 500 square bales in the hayloft. Does anyone have a rule of thumb for how many bales to expect each head to consume during the winter? Does 100 bales per cow sound right? The winters here in Virginia are usually mild....some snow, some rain....but never long, deep freezes.
rolled the dice, bought some cows
Well 8 is a good starting herd. ;) Virginian I don't have any idea of how many square bales it will take per cow for the winter feed. Maybe somebody reading these posts will have an idea. We feed round bales during the winter along with grain. Our winters are fairly mild here too. It freezes but warms up pretty quickly.
Hate to hear about your knee. Eww I bet that hurt. It will probably be easier the next time you move the cows and bull. I bet they are munching away on the grass in the other pasture.
We had a three section pole barn built last year. The thing is huge! This year we had the front (facing the road) section closed in with sliding doors and concrete floor. We added a 10' front porch (covered) with a nice sidewalk. The porch front is held up by several large cedar posts. We are so proud of it! I will be keeping a lot of my gardening supplies and tools out there. We will later take the old barn down, clean up that area, and maybe have a new home there someday. The closed in section of the new barn is plenty tall enough for dh to build a loft which he plans to do. We could store a lot of stuff up there.
Lin
It would depend on much winter grass you have but i would think 3 bales a day on 120 days would carry you easily for the winter i think i'm feed them for a longer period that you will need here in SW missouri we feed dec jan and march most years and a week of nov some times
Dave719
Dave:
Three bales per cow?...per day?........or are you saying three bales divided over the group of 8 head?
thanls,
V
three bale for all eight head and may not need but two that is standerd squared bales 60 70 lb.
This message was edited Jul 12, 2006 1:19 PM
Dave:
Yes...that is more in line with what I was thinking. A friend of mine has horses that are around 1000 lb each, about the same weight as my cows. He says they eat about a third to half a bale a day each in the winter. So if I fed three bales a day from mid Oct to mid April (3 x 180 days) that would be 540 bales.
Some of my bales are light. I had better plan on putting up at least a 1000. I already have 600 in the loft, the extra would be insurance against running out.
We feed our cattle some grain too, about 3 lb per head per day. We will probably increase this in the winter.
Thanks for your input Dave.
V
Virginian
I would think that would be plenty and the 500 is going to be close don't know what type of grass you've got but if you have some tall standing in the field it should take you through nov.and i would think you would have some winter grass cattle don't take as much hay as a horse
Dave719
An update to this thread: we had a calf born tonight! Its a heifer. Mom didn't get too upset when I took its picture but she did chase after one of the house cats that got too close, lol.
This message was edited Jan 1, 2007 1:49 PM
Another pic.
WOw! I'm so happy for you! Congrats!
thank you BackyardHens.
Here is another pic.
That's a sweet baby. Congratulations!
It's cool that you had an addition to the herd. I really like calving season and wish there was a ranch to work on down here. (I moved from WY to KS in March) But the up side is that we're going to fence in some of our property and get some bottle babies and start from there.
I read your comment about being up to your shoulder in a momma cow and can certainly relate! Most times there's a bit of a warning before they do something that would be really gross. Not to mention that while your arm is there they're kinda wondering what the heck you're doin! I've pulled several calves...yes...a couple were gone when pulled but most make it.
I hope you continue to enjoy your growing "herd" :-)
what a darling face on that baby! Lucky you! Keep the pics coming, they're wonderful!
here is a new pic. This calf is now 24 hours old.
Are you my mommy?
what a difference a day makes!!! Fabulous!
I have really enjoyed reading your thread Virginian,
I was wandering though? Did you plan to calf this close to winter. Most of my friends time it to calf in the spring so the little ones hae time to heardy up for the winter. They are spread out through Texas and Mississippi. What a cutey she is and congratulations.
In the eary posts you said you were going to sell in the fall. have you done this and if so how did that fare for you? (Break even)? I have been talking to some of my ag professors and they believe that prices will go up over he next few years because the US imported more food than they exported. this gives the impression that "We The People" are consuming more than we are making and hence the more demand on supply. It makes sense to me but only time will tell!
Any hoo--- I send you a late Congratulations to your new adventure (your have a ranch now, hehehehe) and best wishes for you and yours. maybe someday when I move my family to VA we can meet and greet?
calvin
Calvin:
This wasn't a planned event. The cow must have been pregnant when I bought her last April. I have no idea what type of bull was used. The calf is still mostly black with a red tinge to her fur; it might have been either an Angus or a Hereford. I held off selling any yearlings this Fall. I have enough hay to take the whole herd through the winter so I may just wait till next Fall to sell grown steers. This is what the county extension agent reccomended.
I am currently taking an evening class in beef cattle production. Cattle prices are down at the moment, I guess due to the fact that feed prices are up steeply and people that do summer poundage have put their cows on the market recently. There is a lot of talk that if gasoline prices stay up then corn will be shifted from the feed mills to the ethanol plants. Corn was over $3 a bushel last week. This may cause more cattle to be dumped onto the market.
The way most cow/calf operations work here in Virginia is to try to syncronize the cows to all calf in March. That way the cows lactation peak hits at the same time the forage peaks (usually in June).
If you are ever up to southwest Virginia stop in. I could always use some advice from an experienced cattle man.
Keith
bump
What an interesting thread Keith!!! I can't wait to hear more.
Tam
Very cool Keith, although I'm quite sure I couldn't attend a birth and then part with the calf, so I think I'll stick to veggies and eggs!!
Wish I had enough land for a few cows. Never been around cows much though. They seem so big and powerful. Sounds like a good way for me to hurt myself . Anything that weighs that much and dosen't have an "on/off" switch is probably out of my league. lol. I do well to handle my chickens. Hats off to you guys that are brave enough to do it. Can ya tell I was raised in the city ? LOL.
Virginian, thanks for the bump on this thread. It's such an interesting one. Keep us posted.
you are welcome PeggieK
Yes, cows are big and heavy.....and if they step on you it will hurt. Mine are not mean, even the bull will let you pet his head.
I like having them around......for years I envied people that had a field of cows and calves in the spring. Thats a pretty sight; black Angus cow/calf pairs. We probably won't make any money on this project. Right now I would just be happy for it to make enough money to pay for the fertilizer and fuel it took for the tractors. It has been interesting here for the last six months.
Well hello form San Antonio,
I have been really busy with work and school and family and I have not truly been able to hang out for awhile and read and post. Virginian, so are you still enjoying the care taking? buy now you calves should be looking good and gaining like crazy. Are you able hand feed yet. I am envious. I too have looked from afar and wished and wished when I would see, meet, and/or talk to cattle owners. I am through dreaming now and when I can get out of the suburbs and into the country, I will make the dream come true. I don't want much just my own. I am not looking for a large herd, just one that covers expenses and property taxes and personal food consumption. Well, can't forget to add in the factor for replenishing the herd through birth rates. hehehhee. So glad to here you have started just what I had in mind.
If I ever do get a chance to come up your way, I will let you know. Any objections to my DW and 2 kids taging along?
take care and give some more pictures?
calvin
I just found this thread and am enjoying it. We don't have any property of our own so we can't have our own cows. We do help a friend with his 60 or 70 head. They are angus/herford and limousine crosses. Im my limited experience it is not uncommon to have to pull calves for angus cattle. They tend to have smaller pelvises (sp?) and chunky calves. It is best not to let the cows get too fat before calving. You have to pull more calves then. I like messing with cows. When i was growing up we had brahma and brahma crosses. They were ideal for the south La climate. Don't see many of them up here. They are excellent browsers. I am adding your thread to my watch list.
I finally was able to take some pictures today. Usually we feed around 6:00am so it is not enought light to get pictures. Here is the calf that was born back in October. It is approaching 75 days old. She has begun eating hay on her own and will eat grain and gluten if you put it into a seperate trough for her, away from the other cows and calves.
another view
Remember the calf way back up at the top of this thread......the one in the second post I made to this thread? This is what he looks like now. This calf/steer is approaching one year old.
Calvin:
Feel free to stop in any time. Just give me a D-mail to make sure I will be here.
The idea of having a few cows to pay the taxes and what not......will be a hard thing to do. The margins on beef are so narrow.....I will be lucky to make $200 per head if I sell the steers. So I have to pick what I will pay for with that.....fertilizer for the hay fields, taxes, tractor payment, feed, diesel fuel, replacement stock.....take your pick of one. To make any real money I think you would have to be running something like 300 head. So here is the way I am going to look at it: This is a hobby....the money we spend on fertilizer is going to improve the land, the diesel fuel we burn is going to keep weeds mowed down, the cows keep the hillsides eaten down and make the neighbors envious!
We have been putting a lot back into the land. The fields here had been negelected for at least 15 years. We have put down 80 tons of lime in the last month. Any time it is dry enough we are out mowing or chopping briars and multi-flora roses. We pulled soil samples over 25 acres yesterday and expect to put down around four tons (at $400 per ton) of fertilizer sometime in March. Walked fences yesterday, getting ready to replace around 1000' of fence at the neighbors place. Seems there is always something to do......but it beats sitting around the house.
Seems everytime I walk by a window I have to look out to see what the cows are doing. I like having them in the field where I can see them from the kitchen window......am always ready to run out there and check on one if it looks sick or something. And there are always stray dogs to worry about....they chase cows.....and I wage war on them too. Its an expensive hobby.....but I like it.
CajuninKy:
Thanks for your interests here. I had been following 'JustmeLisa's" thread of them moving to KY from LA. Thats a brave gal. I had seen that you had posted there several times.
More on the idea of making a few dollars raising a few head of cattle: The way the tax laws are you have to show proffit from farming two out of every seven years, so my intent is to throw as much money as I can into the land in the early years (we are in our second year). Also, the depreciation on equipment is greater in the first few years, it is not straight line depreciation. So my intent is to spend what money is needed in the first few years and avoid buying much fertilizer and equipment during the last two years..
Can you try going organic? The prices are so much better. (I have no experience
but a friend left the corporate world and is making a good go of it farming. They started
with a few beef cows and did so well they are getting more now. Organic beef prices
are apparently good & demand very high around here at least).
Tam
I have a good friend in La who raises a breed of cattle from France called a French Blonde D'Aquitaine. They are enormous cattle derived from crossing Charlaise (sp?) Limosine and a native breed of white cattle from the Aquitaine area of France. The great selling factor with them is that they are naturally VERY low in body fat so they are a healthy meat. When she slaughters a beef she only gets 5 different cuts and everything else is ground up for hamburger meat. She takes orders from regular customers and when she has enough to use an entire animal she sends it to the slaughter house/ processing plant. They process the animal, cryopac the meat and her customers pick up their orders at the processing plant. It's a nice operation. The way she gets advertisement for her rare breed and keeps them tame is through the 4H and FFA. She allows the kids to use her calves for their projects. They take care of the animal, house it and do all the work with it. She pays the feed and vet bills and at the end of the year the animal comes back to her. They have a quality animal they don't have to support and she gets a yearling animal that has been handled extensively so it's gentle as a kitten and will follow her around. Makes it very easy to handle for routine things such as worming, ect. She has a good thing going on. I'll try to get her to email me some pictures I can pass on.
I have been enjoying Lisa'a adventure. She lived just a few miles from where we lived. We have been here for about 4 years now. I am used to moving as we are ministers and we have moved a good bit in 27 years. It feels good to settle here and put down some roots with the horses. We bought another brood mare Friday. She is a nice one.
Here is a pic of the calf born back in October. Does she look any bigger? I think she has put on quite a bit of weight, she may weigh as muchas a couple hundred pounds now.
If that's the same calf from your Oct 25th posting, he/she has filled out nicely. Looks sturdier all around.
yep, same calf
We lost a calf Friday. There were no marks on it but where it's stomach had been torn out. It was a coming yearling. We have had problems with coyotes lately so they may be responsible.
Your calf looks great. Do you plan on adding it to the herd or maybe selling it? Cattle prices are up right now. Good luck with it.
Its a heifer and the bull I have now is not the sire so we may keep it. It could be bred in a few years.
Next time we trade bulls we are thinking of upgrading to registered Angus.
Sorry to hear about your calf/yearling. I would have thought a yearling would have been big enough to fight off coyotes.....could it have been bigger dogs? Seems so senseless when dogs/coyotes kill livestock. We had a pair of dogs get into our chickens last year and kill at least 25. I don't think they ate a single one, most didn't even have the skin broken. I picked up two feed sacks of dead birds. We had hatched them in an incubator, they were about big enough to start laying........and poof, dang it.
I keep my calves in a field where I can see them from the kitchen window.....I always like to check on them. Seems like if you lose one then it really sets you back.....a little defeat.
I had thought about it being dogs. The coyotes here are about as big and sturdy as a GSD so I don't doubt one could bring down a coming yearling.
We are considering getting a jackass to keep with the cows. They are great at keeping coyotes on the run and they can be had here for a good price. A Jenny sold at the sale Friday night for $45. She was a bit of a handful but I'm not buying one to ride. LOL
Hey Viginin id think about geting a Chalet Bull my spelling may be Wrong But Lots of The Farmers in your Area Keep theam. i had a few head to when i lived in VA paul