Canesister's 2025 journal - Bushel & Peck Farm

[farmerjan]

He doesn't have any easy calving/small calves semen at the moment.
And I want to check out my 'squeeze chute' & clean up the stalls first.
But I'll certainly be monitoring her backside more closely.

I would not especially worry about easy calving so much. She is a mature cow.. half angus right? any of the ones that I have kept that are half dairy, will get bred to whatever bull we have at that pasture ... AFTER their first calf. Most bulls put 75 + lb calves on the ground that we use for our mature cow herd... We do use an easy calving bull on all first calf heifers... but those calves had better be in the 65-75 lb range.... We do have 2 bulls now that are producing calves in the 60-70 lb range... but they only get used on first calf heifers...

I can see your reasons... I was only thinking that you wouldn't want a calf too late in the year... For very "general" figuring... say 9 months... 1st of Mar=1st of Dec calf... I want all our bulls out by or before the 1st of March this year to stop all these late fall/early Jan winter calves.
The jersey in her will help mitigate the calf head and shoulder size so she should have no trouble spitting it out unless it is mal-presented... 99% chance that will not happen... And for what it's worth... a hereford would be my last choice for a calf on a jersey... maybe an easy calving one will be okay... but the older ones were known for their blocky heads and shoulders.
A good limousin would put a longer, more slender calf on the ground that would grow like gangbusters. I would not use a simmental as they tend to be blockier built too... nice calves... but wider....
I am not sold on the angus / jersey cross... so I am not promoting angus above any other breed.

She should show a clear mucous, sorta slimy, when she is in heat but sometimes you won't see it... and sometimes it will wind up on her tail since they often switch their tail more when in heat... sorta like the picture of the gyrating cow... which is just plain CUTE...... kudos to finding that...

 

[canesisters]

I get all that, and I've mostly gone with angus bulls in the past. It's mostly been "Whatever you've got in the tank that has easy calving characteristics". But since I'm taking a little time to plan this one - and most other things being even - I'd like the chance to get some eye candy for a year. She had 1 other calf from a hereford, little baldy bull calf. He was turning out to be a Very nice little guy. I traded him for some excavator work around the barn, so I never saw how he ended up.
I actually prefer milking in the cold - no flies. And since I've got a nice snug barn to house them in cold, wet weather, it hasn't been a problem in the past.
It turns out that I've only got 1 tech in the area & he's only part time, so my choices are limited to what he has available.

 

[canesisters]

 

[Baymule]

I admire you! A milk cow, raise the calf for beef and milk! I’m not dedicated enough for a milking animal. Might change my mind someday if I get a real barn built, the idea of squatting out there in the weather fumbling for a test just doesn’t sound enticing. You are awesome!

 

[canesisters]

I admire you! A milk cow, raise the calf for beef and milk! I’m not dedicated enough for a milking animal. Might change my mind someday if I get a real barn built, the idea of squatting out there in the weather fumbling for a test just doesn’t sound enticing. You are awesome!

Wow, thanks!!!
It was the good, sound, sensible advice here that convinced me to get her bred again.

 

[fuzzi]

View attachment 114416

I don't know much about cows, but the one on the left is sleek and handsome to my eyes!

 

[canesisters]

I don't know much about cows, but the one on the left is sleek and handsome to my eyes!

That's my Eva.
Her baldy calf Ryder (several years ago) in the background.

 

[farmerjan]

Morning... Since she obviously had the last hereford calf with no problem, I wouldn't worry much about the easy calving but it won't hurt either... Eva looks good in that picture with the calf. I have had a few problems over the years with hereford calves being built like a tank in the front end...
But then many dairy farmers used to use a hereford on heifers for clean up bulls, up north... so that they didn't accidentally keep the calf in for a milker.... that white face is like putting a stamp on the calf... not hard to be sure if the cow caught to the AI breeding or to the cleanup bull they would turn them out to pasture with....These were all holsteins on that dairy there....
In fact, many years ago when I was milking in Conn...., my boss had a red white faced heifer calf born and I bought it and gave it to my father since he loved herefords... closest I would ever be able to afford..... and he raised it and raised some calves on her... then she wound up in Va at my place eventually and aged out of the system eventually when she no longer bred back. They only had a couple acres in Conn.... he figured she would be happier on more land down here and they were getting more caught up with taking care of his mother and they bought the place in NH and just "life".... So Crystal (named after Crystal Gail that my father really liked) wound up in Va eventually.
With the jersey in her, you might get a red or a brindle....

 

[fuzzi]

Morning... Since she obviously had the last hereford calf with no problem, I wouldn't worry much about the easy calving but it won't hurt either... Eva looks good in that picture with the calf. I have had a few problems over the years with hereford calves being built like a tank in the front end...
But then many dairy farmers used to use a hereford on heifers for clean up bulls, up north... so that they didn't accidentally keep the calf in for a milker.... that white face is like putting a stamp on the calf... not hard to be sure if the cow caught to the AI breeding or to the cleanup bull they would turn them out to pasture with....These were all holsteins on that dairy there....
In fact, many years ago when I was milking in Conn...., my boss had a red white faced heifer calf born and I bought it and gave it to my father since he loved herefords... closest I would ever be able to afford..... and he raised it and raised some calves on her... then she wound up in Va at my place eventually and aged out of the system eventually when she no longer bred back. They only had a couple acres in Conn.... he figured she would be happier on more land down here and they were getting more caught up with taking care of his mother and they bought the place in NH and just "life".... So Crystal (named after Crystal Gail that my father really liked) wound up in Va eventually.
With the jersey in her, you might get a red or a brindle....

We lived a couple years in a small town in Connecticut, Coventry ("Kaah-vin-tree"). There were dairy farms all over, with big black and white cows in the pastures, Holstein I would guess. I got used to the sweet smell of manure.

 

[farmerjan]

Conn and Mass used to have LOTS of dairy farms... before that there were quite a few TOBACCO farms in CT.... YES, tobacco... used to be alot of the big barns where they put the tobacco in to hang and dry...
Land got too high, milk prices were too low... farms sold out grew into lots and lots of houses...
Sad, the small farmer just can't make it on 50 cow farms... most can't make it on 100 cow herds down here anymore.