C&D Farming..oh what a life!

[farmerjan]

Yeah, I can just see you eating either or both in 2 years..... and buyer beware..... the swiss will take longer to finish as they grow bone and frame before they put on weight. Unless you are feeding silage, you will be hard pressed to get him "finished" with enough flesh and fat to marble properly, before 3. The hol/angus will finish much better. That is why the swiss are discounted at the stockyards.... they get too big and take too long to get to good butcher weight, so are not economical. And they can eat..... I have had a couple as steers, and several swiss/holstein cross cows. Not my favorite. I won't raise the steers anymore. The best thing with swiss is to feed as veal.... pour the milk to them and butcher in the 3-400 lb range.

One other thing, band the bull calves so you aren't dealing with bulls on top of everything. Swiss aren't known to get mean until a little older, but they are stubborn and thick headed. They will grow with a better attitude if they are steers. Since Chris is of farming background, I am assuming that you realize they will be on milk for 6-10 weeks, twice a day every day, and then grain and hay and a little grass but they won't be getting much nutrition from the grass this year, and with your long winters they will eat a BUNCH of hay before you can get them out on pasture next year. That is when they will do real good on grass for you if they have enough grazing. The cows will not eat the weeds and things the goats will though. They do good as complimentary grazers because they prefer different things.

 

[farmerjan]

As for the chicks, why not let the hen just raise them? If you take them away, then she will most likely go into a molt due to the summer heat, so she won't be laying eggs for a couple months anyway. If she found a secure place to set on them, then let her just raise them; she obviously feels pretty safe. No guarantees but..... or sell the whole family. I would buy the family but not just the chicks if I was close enough.

 

[Duckfarmerpa1]

Well, I have 70+ chickens...just bought more. And peeps are a pain. One lady did ask to buy the mom..I have noooo problem with that! I’ve got so many broody hens...I keep the breaker cage right in coop! Ugh! I have mom and peeps separated because, from what I’ve read, the other hens could hurt the peeps? And I didn’t want the hens eating their feed,....

 

[Duckfarmerpa1]

Well, I have 70+ chickens...just bought more. And peeps are a pain. One lady did ask to buy the mom..I have noooo problem with that! I’ve got so many broody hens...I keep the breaker cage right in coop! Ugh! I have mom and peeps separated because, from what I’ve read, the other hens could hurt the peeps? And I didn’t want the hens eating their feed,....

About the calves..ugh, the Swiss is goin* to take that long?? We don5 want to wait that long to butcher...noooo way. Yes, Chris and I have been told to keep them on milk for up to 3 months. We’re keeping them out of the heat..and giving them water in a bottle during the day. The one little guy gets a tad bit of scours..nothing serious...but he’s only 3 days old...so, it could be all th3 changes...were not giving him as much milk as Charlie..the Swiss. Got kicked in the knee...plus...accidentally wore flip flops in the pen yesterday..CharLie stepped on my foot twice...ugh... dumb move on my part! So, @farmerjan ...I know we do the bottle for a few weeks, Mike actually tries the bowl....when do we introduce grain? CharLie is already tasting hay and grass. And now I have to change tge feed for Busty..since she’s knocked up...she used to love her alfalfa pellets...but now she gives me a rough time, and kicks the bowl. Plus I know her milk will slow down a bit. On a better note..two people asked..right on th3 inter..if we were turning into a petting zoo....and I made som3 stupid joke about ...when we get paid BIG bucks...meaning..never! A lady called on tg3 phone and asked to bring her kids up...I asked if she was buying anything...meaning..bunnies...she asked to buy my goats! How dare she?? . I said the new kids will be for sale when they are born..and left it at that.....

 

[chickens really]

My goodness. Instead of downsizing and enjoying your animals your collecting more.
Those cute little calves will turn into awful yearlings and hopefully you have good fences to contain them. You must have won the lottery in order to feed all those animals. I know my feed cost and I don't have much here to feed.
I would sell Momma and her Chicks together. I definitely wouldn't take them away from her now. Put her in one of your empty rabbit tractors for now till she goes.
I hope you are getting more sleep but I'm thinking your probably not slowing down at all. Sounds like your even more busy than before.

 

[farmerjan]

At this young stage of life do not feed extra water during the day. At 3 days old they cannot utilize anything but the milk. I would keep water in a bucket for them, but all they get in the bottle should have nutrition in it, meaning milk. The water can cause the scours because their systems are not designed to be drinking water at this point. They will try it when on a cow, but a couple of sips is all they will bother with if they are nursing. They need all the nutrition they can get from the milk (replacer) and too much liquid can cause their upset. The "true stomach" that is doing all the digesting now is designed for milk absorption. They do not sweat, and if too much water and getting scours, they will dehydrate faster than if you never gave them any water. You need to understand the developing gut tract in a calf in order to feed it properly. Hot weather is harder on a calf than cold. Dehydration happens in hours. Water alone will not solve that problem but make it worse.
You can offer a little grain in a bucket and they will play with it a little but don't expect any significant consumption until they are 4-6 weeks. They will eat a mouthful or so and it gets them trying it and then they will develop a taste for it as their digestion system starts to evolve. I am offering some to the 3 calves on the nurse cow at night after I turn the cow out for night grazing. 2 are 4 weeks and the third is almost 3 weeks. They won't really start to look for it much before 6-10 weeks. They will pick up and chew a little hay but again, they are not getting any nutrition from it. They are designed to get 99% of their nutrition from milk for the first 6-12 weeks of age. And then you cannot take them off milk if they are not eating at least 2% of their body weight in grain or they will lack the protein and fat that they need to grow.
You do realize that you will not be killing the angus cross until at least 18 months at the very minimum, right? There won't be any significant amount of meat on the frame until it has done the better part of it's growing. That can be accelerated a bit by feeding something more concentrated like silage..... but there is no hurrying it past a certain point. If you read @Mike CHS journal, you will see how long he had his steers, and they were not bottle babies when he got them but weaned and well adjusted to grazing.....
I don't kill my jerseys before 25-30 months and like to do it when they are coming off lush pasture where they are in a gaining mode. Any animal has to grow frame and size and bone structure before they can put on much meat, and to MARBLE to properly finish.
You would have been better off to buy a couple of steers @ 500 lbs or more, and then they would be able to utilize the grass and hay better and you would only have to keep them for another year after that. You are looking at a 2 year project if you feed them properly and get them to a weight where there will be enough meat to make it worth it and to be edible. Anything with dairy background..... and I am assuming by looking at it that the angus cross is actually half holstein and angus, or half swiss and angus (?????); will take longer to grow and put on weight (meat) due to the physiology of the dairy influence.
If you were to raise them for veal, as I used to for a very small but niche market, by the time they were 3 months they were drinking 5 gallons of milk, TWICE a day.... and they were "milk fat". Mine also got some hay and about a handful of grain a day, they were not white veal but a pink veal. True veal is iron deficient, and they get nothing except milk and sometimes straw for the fiber for their digestive tract.
And fences are imperative if you want them to stay put. Yearlings are like teenagers.... always looking for somewhere else more interesting and inviting to be.

 

[Duckfarmerpa1]

Ok, @farmerjan ...I guess we now have to ge5 Hotwire too? I have a lady that cleans for us,she said we need to band them at 2weeks because she was mounted by a calf.....hmm? But our other friend has has..about 8? He has not done this yet? I’ll tell a Chris about the water. Mike is doing better. When I said scours..it’s just a tad bit? And Charlie..he Tinkles a ton!. They are both very active. As for butchering...yes, w3 both are realizing , that thes3 guys are going to be around much longer than we thought. I’m ok with it..except for the fact that I’ve now lost my storage barn. As for @chickens really ...not sure I& we won the lottery or lost our minds?. I just know w3 are having a wonderful time....and we don’t worry about money....don’t have too..God has been good
The chicks found a home..but the girl insists she doesn’t need the hen. She said she has 3 broody hens. I told ge4 I don’t thin’ it works tha5 way? That’s why we wanted them gone! I was afraid the other hens woul$ hur5 them. So, I have momma hen I a separate pen for a day..if she changes he4 mind? But I don’t know if the hen would want them then? I’m not going to worry about it..got wayyy too much othe4 stuff!
So, today we got to pick up two rabbits for my breeding program. Very exciting! I got anothe4 black tort Holland lop doe...Won two legs at shows and makes great colours...and I got a show lionhead buck..blue tort..has one leg..his kits have won legs too! So, I’m very pleased. Chris is very sick of driving for rabbits..but w3 usually have them delivered..but this was an exception. In my nest box I have a broken cream Holland Lop..keeping it no matter wha5 sex....and another black tort...might keep if it’s a buck?
I also bought another goat..a kinder goat...just like my Busty...and agouti! But they were more black. And since she is pregnant, Chris said let’s roll the dice and hope she has an agouti doe? She had two agoutis last time..but bucklings. Can’t keep a kinder buck..too big. But a doe would be awesome! Not very many people in this are have them...and everyone loves the ears! Meee tooo! I’m a sucker for those big flappy ears!

the min8 piglets go home next week and then on the 29 and 30th..then we don’t have anymore due till September.
I need to sell one of our boars..he’s a great pig...but he’s not what we need, but Chris loves him, so I doubt he’s going anywhere. I was going to list him for $100..Chris was upset and said $300. Yeah right! He’s a skinny mixed breed pig! He’s very sweet and gentle...was a house pet...but, no one is going to pay that much! Chris jus5 doesn’t want to sell him. Which is probably goin* to be me when the goat kids pop out..... I have to start my kidding thread...but, I’m ...overwhelmed......

 

[farmerjan]

Calves will try "mounting" at any age, it is a way to play. At 2 weeks there are NO HORMONES causing it. I have little heifer calves that will try "mounting" as calves too. Have one that tried to "mount " her momma at about 3 weeks while momma was laying down. We do like to wait for the calves to be a couple weeks to be sure that the testicles descend as sometimes they don't right away. Plus, they can "draw them back up" real easy. But don't wait for them to be 6 months or older, you will have to use a different bander and it is more traumatic.... mostly for you. We wait longer because we have the callicrate bander which does a very good job on "bigger sets" , but it takes a little more experience, costs more, and is not suggested for novices. Get them done before a month in most cases, it is a little more sure proof that you will be able to get both and they won't be able to draw them back up.

 

[Duckfarmerpa1]

Very quick. We lost Mike, the angus mix calve to pneumonia. Heart breaking. Next, our one mini pig got mastitis, and the other dried up! Had to take all the piglets inside! One is..not too well. I feed her every 2-3 hours. B12 shots every 6. The others are doing well but making such a mess with the goat milk! We put plastic downin the den! . Sold the chicks..tge next day Chris gave another broody hen 12 eggs! He said he loved the peeps!. Here we go again! Ok, that’s all I have time for

 

[chickens really]

That's sad. Poor little fella. I hope your luck changes and things get better. Raising animals definitely isn't as romantic in real life as we imagined them to be.
I'm still thinking you should lower your numbers and concentrate on a specific species instead of trying so hard to have too many animals.
Their health and your health are being over looked because your so busy doing stuff for animals all day long.
Your running around like a Chicken with its head cut off and it should be a few of the chickens in that condition.
I hope I haven't offended you? Not my intentions at all. ..I know you love the animals and care for them daily.
Have a good day and don't stress out.