Canesisters 2023 journal - turning my Disasters into Delights

[canesisters]

You have to put a halter on her and snug her head so she can't move it... Put her in the stanchion... halter her, pull halter/head way over to side and tie it off so she is basically immobile. Put one of the "knobs" in one nostril, then pull other nostril as you twist it a little to pop it in...
NOW, if these are for little calves, they will not fit... you need a weaning nose ring that is for bigger calves..
They are very hard to stretch and twist...... because they are not supposed to stretch for the calf to get them out... and they will get them out sometimes...

Because you do not have a way to permanently separate them with no chance of even sucking through a fence, I don't have any better suggestions... The little green kind I don't think will do it. I have some with sharp spikes (plastic) that will cause the cow to kick her everytime she goes to reach up and suck as the spikes jabs the cow's udder and she will kick... BUT... this is no good for you if you are thinking of milking... she will kick you as a reaction...

I'm thinking make an appt for blossom, suffer through her still nursing until then, and process her as baby beef... or sell her...
If you want to milk the cow, then the calf needs to be totally separated at this point... how old is she???

I had to math... yikes! She's almost a year!!! She was born the week before Thanksgiving.
These are the green plastic ones with the screw in the middle.. I'm just going to have to double-down and give it my best try. 'Somehow' she jumped from 8months to a year old!
I'll try it.. and just give up until her appt at the processors (which I still have to make)

 

[SageHill]

I had to math... yikes! She's almost a year!!! She was born the week before Thanksgiving.
These are the green plastic ones with the screw in the middle.. I'm just going to have to double-down and give it my best try. 'Somehow' she jumped from 8months to a year old!
I'll try it.. and just give up until her appt at the processors (which I still have to make)

I don’t know about your area but out here the processors (harvest and butchers) are booked months in advance. At least the good ones are.

 

[Baymule]

Question. Is she worth more to you as meat or selling her as a replacement heifer?

 

[farmerjan]

I can tell you that even being part dairy, she is worth 1.50-2.00 a lb at a year... figuring she weighs in the 6-900 lbs... I am being very "general" here since I cannot see her in person. So let's say 800 lbs... at 1,50 lb is $1200 on the hoof... if she is showing much of the "fineness" of the jersey, she will bring less... but she is only 1/4 jersey right... cow is 1/2 jersey, 1/2 angus?
Not being negative, but "milk fat" cattle will bring less...(because they will lose that fat as soon as she is off the cow and buyers do not like to pay for weight they will lose right off the bat in the beginning....weaned animals that have been 45-60 days weaned are known as "hard" weanlings or yearlings... meaning no baby milk fat... eating at a bunk and not looking for momma).... and they will assume she is not weaned..... so that is a bit against her because she will be what is known as a "bawler".... although at her age, she is mostly eating on her own anyway. Still she will be a bawler and will walk fences and drop off that fat real quick... so they are paying for weight the animal does not have anymore...
There is nothing wrong with her being a nice "chunky" animal... in part from still nursing... BUT... it goes "against the grain" for the buyers.
I got $1.00 lb for my thinner, longhorn x heifer that was mostly white with a few black speckles.... she weighed 700+... I got $1.25 or something (can't remember) for the charolais heifer that was 900+ lbs... and she was a pink nosed charolais, which bring less... and your heifer is BLACK so that is a real plus to start with....
I have seen 6-900 lb heifers bringing over $2.00 lb....

Yeah, you had better check on the processing... waits here are not as bad as they were... but we schedule from year to year top make sure of our dates...

It is hard to put on the nose weaning rings... no 2 ways about it... the older style metal ones looked a little like a bow-tie shape, they were bigger than some they make now, and the nose tongs would open way up and once in (like the nose tongs used on cattle sometimes to subdue them), you would use a wing nut type thing to keep them tightly closed so they didn't slip out. If you have the one with the screw, then you will be able to tighten it down a bit...
She is not going to like it and she is not going to like you putting it in... Sorry, no easy way around this.

 

[Baymule]

Are there weaning halters for cattle like the weaning halters for horses?

 

[farmerjan]

Are there weaning halters for cattle like the weaning halters for horses?

Not that I have ever seen or heard of. Most cattle are not handled like horses so not any call for them. You want to wean them, 99% of the cattlemen take them away... separate totally..... end of problem; they are now weaned.

 

[Ridgetop]

How is the new job? Haven't heard from you for a week or so.

 

[canesisters]

Miss You Guys

How is the new job? Haven't heard from you for a week or so.

MISS YOU GUYS!!!!

I hate these short days. I get home, get everyone fed & tucked in for the night, make a little dinner & my brain clocks out for the night.
An hour later I had to bed & start over in the AM.

Did manage to get a little raking done this weekend.

 

[SageHill]

You've been busy! LOL I'm loving the time change - I can do things when it's light out and not wait for light to get out grazing.

 

[Mini Horses]

Good to hear from you . Maybe you could squeeze us in between dinner & bed -- just a little bit. We miss you. Ms B looking good, how Chaos?

Assume cows are fine. Hey, I just found out the processer I was using closed this Spring...retired! It was a family facility, so over & done . Glad I found out before I bought those pigs!