Is this cross would make a good family cow?

[greybeard]

The feces looks ok--I've seen that many times in a young calf. At that stage, it's utilizing most all of what it's taking in, so it won't have a "normal cowpie". I'll take that over runs any day.
(possibly a "little" dehydrated but again, not at all unusual to see poop like that)

 

[shawnfisher]

http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/uploads/5723_dscn4071.jpg
http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/uploads/5723_dscn4075.jpg
http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/uploads/5723_dscn4080.jpg
http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/uploads/5723_dscn4068.jpg
http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/uploads/5723_dscn4073.jpg

She's definitely a wild-type colouration, man was I wrong !! Pictures certainly can throw you for a loop at times with the wrong color balance, angle, and other distortions!!

who da man... chalk another one up for him- again...

 

[Symphony]

http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/uploads/5723_dscn4071.jpg
http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/uploads/5723_dscn4075.jpg
http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/uploads/5723_dscn4080.jpg
http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/uploads/5723_dscn4068.jpg
http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/uploads/5723_dscn4073.jpg

She's definitely a wild-type colouration, man was I wrong !! Pictures certainly can throw you for a loop at times with the wrong color balance, angle, and other distortions!!

who da man... chalk another one up for him- again...

????

 

[Farmerboy]

She's definitely a wild-type colouration, man was I wrong !! Pictures certainly can throw you for a loop at times with the wrong color balance, angle, and other distortions!!

So, what color will she be fully grown? Brown? Black? Red?

 

[Farmerboy]

for that money, it had better be half full of semen...

I've bought two used tanks in the last couple of years, and not paid that for either of them. My last tank was 5 years old, and priced to me for half what the guy paid for it-- after he found the receipts. I ended up paying $217 for it, but it also included several straws of semen of some really good bulls. Most of the Angus bull, retail were priced at 25-35-75- and 100 a straw. Granted, i had no use for that semen, and couldn't sell it for that-- but I did end up breeding some cows and heifers down the road for a friend= and got it out of the semen. Almost paid for my tank really...

The thing about tanks, you never know when they'll fail-- and you'll never know until it happens. Gamble we all take. You'll have to pay to get them filled, atleast 4 times a year, and that costs will be something around $150 a year. Right now, my tank is at the neighbors, and we get a 2 tank discount- and I pay just over 100 a year to have my half of the bill filled.

For 3 cows, I'm betting you won't need a semen tank. The thing about not having any cows- is you'll buy all kinds of semen, and eventually you'll not have a use for it. That stuff adds up after awhile. If you have interest in breeding AI- I suggest find a close friend and buy the semen when you're ready for it, and keep it in their tank-- if they'll agree to it...

Thank you. My boss do have a semen tank, but the farm is 13 miles from my place, and he said that it will be no good by the time he gets to my place to breed Bella. But he said that there are people that go around and AI farmer's herds for a fee of $50.00 to $75.00. Might have to go that route, but how to get the semen and put in their tanks, and find those people...

 

[shawnfisher]

for that money, it had better be half full of semen...

I've bought two used tanks in the last couple of years, and not paid that for either of them. My last tank was 5 years old, and priced to me for half what the guy paid for it-- after he found the receipts. I ended up paying $217 for it, but it also included several straws of semen of some really good bulls. Most of the Angus bull, retail were priced at 25-35-75- and 100 a straw. Granted, i had no use for that semen, and couldn't sell it for that-- but I did end up breeding some cows and heifers down the road for a friend= and got it out of the semen. Almost paid for my tank really...

The thing about tanks, you never know when they'll fail-- and you'll never know until it happens. Gamble we all take. You'll have to pay to get them filled, atleast 4 times a year, and that costs will be something around $150 a year. Right now, my tank is at the neighbors, and we get a 2 tank discount- and I pay just over 100 a year to have my half of the bill filled.

For 3 cows, I'm betting you won't need a semen tank. The thing about not having any cows- is you'll buy all kinds of semen, and eventually you'll not have a use for it. That stuff adds up after awhile. If you have interest in breeding AI- I suggest find a close friend and buy the semen when you're ready for it, and keep it in their tank-- if they'll agree to it...

Thank you. My boss do have a semen tank, but the farm is 13 miles from my place, and he said that it will be no good by the time he gets to my place to breed Bella. But he said that there are people that go around and AI farmer's herds for a fee of $50.00 to $75.00. Might have to go that route, but how to get the semen and put in their tanks, and find those people...

no reason your boss can't load his tank up and take it to your house to do the AI work... or no reason you cannot load your heifer up and take her to his house to get bred.

I hauled my tank 40 miles the other day to breed 30 heifers for $15. per head, plus semen costs, which I had been storing in my tank. Matter of fact, in April I made a trip which ended up being about 30 miles short of 1000 round trip-- to pick semen up when I was out bull looking.

When your heifer is full grown, i would expect her to be the same color she is now-- maybe slightly redder in the summertime, and blacker in the winter time. She will change colors though-- but her black ears, muzzle, and the line down her back-- will always remain black...

 

[WildRoseBeef]

http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/uploads/5723_dscn4071.jpg
http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/uploads/5723_dscn4075.jpg
http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/uploads/5723_dscn4080.jpg
http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/uploads/5723_dscn4068.jpg
http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/uploads/5723_dscn4073.jpg

She's definitely a wild-type colouration, man was I wrong !! Pictures certainly can throw you for a loop at times with the wrong color balance, angle, and other distortions!!

who da man... chalk another one up for him- again...

Easy now. I wasn't giving you any confirmation that you were right or wrong, just said I made a mistake due to the way the picture was taken.

 

[Farmerboy]

for that money, it had better be half full of semen...

I've bought two used tanks in the last couple of years, and not paid that for either of them. My last tank was 5 years old, and priced to me for half what the guy paid for it-- after he found the receipts. I ended up paying $217 for it, but it also included several straws of semen of some really good bulls. Most of the Angus bull, retail were priced at 25-35-75- and 100 a straw. Granted, i had no use for that semen, and couldn't sell it for that-- but I did end up breeding some cows and heifers down the road for a friend= and got it out of the semen. Almost paid for my tank really...

The thing about tanks, you never know when they'll fail-- and you'll never know until it happens. Gamble we all take. You'll have to pay to get them filled, atleast 4 times a year, and that costs will be something around $150 a year. Right now, my tank is at the neighbors, and we get a 2 tank discount- and I pay just over 100 a year to have my half of the bill filled.

For 3 cows, I'm betting you won't need a semen tank. The thing about not having any cows- is you'll buy all kinds of semen, and eventually you'll not have a use for it. That stuff adds up after awhile. If you have interest in breeding AI- I suggest find a close friend and buy the semen when you're ready for it, and keep it in their tank-- if they'll agree to it...

Thank you. My boss do have a semen tank, but the farm is 13 miles from my place, and he said that it will be no good by the time he gets to my place to breed Bella. But he said that there are people that go around and AI farmer's herds for a fee of $50.00 to $75.00. Might have to go that route, but how to get the semen and put in their tanks, and find those people...

no reason your boss can't load his tank up and take it to your house to do the AI work... or no reason you cannot load your heifer up and take her to his house to get bred.

I hauled my tank 40 miles the other day to breed 30 heifers for $15. per head, plus semen costs, which I had been storing in my tank. Matter of fact, in April I made a trip which ended up being about 30 miles short of 1000 round trip-- to pick semen up when I was out bull looking.

When your heifer is full grown, i would expect her to be the same color she is now-- maybe slightly redder in the summertime, and blacker in the winter time. She will change colors though-- but her black ears, muzzle, and the line down her back-- will always remain black...

Well, I have asked my boss about that, and he seems not willing to help me, and we do not have a trailer to haul the cows around. Besides I am quitting that job for several reasons, so it would be pointless to ask him for help on anything.
I had called the local animal clinic to see if they know anyone who does AI on cows, and they gave me numbers for two guys, called both of them and left a message. Hope they call me back soon.

So, the base color of Maybelle is dark brown? But will have the black markings? That will be really pretty!

 

[redtailgal]

Farmerboy.......

The vet that I work with keeps his own tank and AI system for use with his clients.

If a client wants to AI, he/she orders the straws and has them shipped to the clinic. Then Doc will bring the tank and the straw out to the farm to do the AI procedure. We also have a semen collection service, so if the bull/stallion that you want is within distance, the semen can be collected and tested without the need for shipping.

Call around to the local livestock vets, there may be one with a similar service. If that doesnt work, trying running an ad in the paper, stating that you need to AI a cow, and need someone familiar with the procedure that has some equipment.

 

[Farmerboy]

RTG- Thanks for the advice. I can try the ad if I can't find any vets to help me.


While I am looking for someone to help me AI Bella, I am looking on Select Sires for good Guernsey bull's stuff. Here is the link for all the Guernsey bulls available- http://bullpages.selectsires.com/bu...DtrRel=3&outputmode=1&caption=Guernsey Lineup
Now, I need to pick out the best bull, and to my limit experiences in dairy cattle, I have narrowed down to these 3 bulls. Which is better?

What I am looking for is a bull that is A2A2, good hand milking lines.

http://bullpages.selectsires.com/pages/webpagegen.dll?cmd=showPage&AniID=7GU428&lang=Eng

http://bullpages.selectsires.com/pages/webpagegen.dll?cmd=showPage&AniID=7GU394&lang=Eng

http://bullpages.selectsires.com/pages/webpagegen.dll?cmd=showPage&AniID=7GU402&lang=Eng

And how to find the prices? I don't want to find the one that I really like, but is out of my budget.