Latestarter's ramblings/musings/gripes and grumbles.

[farmerjan]

If the square bales were stored inside, and didn't get wet, there is little more loss of nutrients in the second year. Being covered to keep the bird poop off would actually protect from any loss of color/nutrients also. We have had square bales in the barn for several years if we don't get enough sold to get to the back and about every 3rd or 4th year will completely empty out that area to the floor and bare wall to start stacking over again. It will get a bit drier but that's about it. About the biggest problem we have is mice chew through the baling strings and you go to grab the two strings and one comes off and the bale falls apart.
We try to have at least an extra 100-200 square bales left in the spring for a "cushion" in case of bad weather and not getting hay made "right". We also try to carry at least 100 big round bales over.... the possibility of a bad hay season or a drought and having to scrounge to find hay to feed in july or aug is scary. I realize that you all do things on a much smaller scale, but I personally would get my anticipated needed hay in as soon as it is available. And yes at least 10% more so that you are not paying 3 x as much if you run out and there is none available.

Since I am not familiar with Tx hay making I don't know the best to get. Here we mostly round bale and feed our cattle with first cutting due to trying to get it made as soon as possible and the weather patterns to get it down and dry and made. We do some first cut square baling of the two orchard grass fields because we have 2 people who want first cutting. They want a little more coarse hay. The second and third cuttings are usually much "finer" hay.
Around here I have never heard of first cutting being too rich for cattle, and causing any kind of bloat. @greybeard is right about the grass tetany. We start feeding hi-mag mineral in early spring and feed through all of pasture season. Cheap insurance against losing any animals. We are in a selenium deficient area so also feed a mineral that is higher in selenium and it has prevented any kind of problems in the calves born also. We don't have a problem with bloat either. The nutrient content of our 2nd and 3rd cutting hay is higher than the first cutting. We do get some weeds in first cutting which is why most farmers will feed it to cattle so they can pick around the weeds if they want. First cutting alfalfa is too stemmy for my preferences, but then in this area it is not irrigated, so the growth is not controlled as much. Too much leaf loss also. I buy about 150-250 square bales of alfalfa usually 3rd cutting, for the sheep and the milk cows I have that are used as nurse cows and milk for the house. Alfalfa is a demanding crop and we just do not have the flexibility with our full time jobs to get it made at the right times, so it is better to buy it. We have a big enough demand for our orchard grass that we can sell it for nearly what the alfalfa costs and it is more forgiving on timing to make it.

 

[greybeard]

I don't know what goats or sheep do but cattle will just peel the outside layer off themselves.

Late, for steers, I'd think you'd need something taller, that trailer is pretty short height wise. From the picture of the lady standing in it, it's probably 5 1/2 feet tall. Reasonably priced stock trailers are fairly common on the Dallas CL, I see them a lot because Dallas is about 3 hours from me so it comes up on my local all the time.

I've seen those same little squatty stock trailers from the Lawton CL ad at the CL dealer in Livingston..that's an almost new price, and you can buy a new full sized 14' stock trailer just about anywhere for less than what he's asking for that mini-trailer.
https://easttexas.craigslist.org/fod/6081681678.html

Here's a 2010 16' full sized used stock trailer right out side of Sulphur Springs. $2995 asking price.
https://easttexas.craigslist.org/trb/6093675782.html

I know it's cheaper to just rent one, but I've needed one too many times in a hurry and didn't want to miss a sale or have a dead cow because I had to spend an hour+ driving 20 miles each way and 30 minutes doing the rental agreement before I could even start for the vet or sale barn. Then gotta waste more time the next day cleaning and returning the thing.

 

[Latestarter]

Might have to give them a call over there in Sulpher Springs. For a 2010, that trailer looks virtually unused. That's a heckuva deal... The opening at the top at the back doesn't look big enough for a pig to escape through (the opening at the top of the back of my trailer didn't look big enough either )... Of course I could block the pig up front too.

So I believe I can comfortably fit two adult steers in that trailer and be safe towing it. Depending on breed, maybe 3 steers? What do you say @greybeard ?

 

[babsbag]

Why would you need to haul steers? You can put permanent stock panel over the opening.

 

[Latestarter]

Well, when I buy them I need to transport them here, and when I sell/market them, I'll need to haul them to the sale barn or the slaughter house. I hope to buy a couple in the 500-600 pound range and a couple more that are basically just weaned. That way I should end up with a couple ready for sale/slaughter each year and I will just replace those that go with new ones. I was kinda joking about the opening...

 

[greybeard]

So I believe I can comfortably fit two adult steers in that trailer and be safe towing it. Depending on breed, maybe 3 steers? What do you say @greybeard ?

You shouldn't have any problem with 3 steers. That's a Parker Co-Hann trailer and tho that ad doesn't give all the specs, I'm pretty sure these are the specs on it when new:

Parker Performance 6'x16'x6'6" Co-Hann Bumper Pull w/2-3500# EZ Lube Torsion Drop Axles, 1 Brake/1 Idler, 2" RAM Coupler, 7k Drop Leg Jack, Treated Lumber Floor, Teardrop Fenders, Regular Slat Sides, 16" Front Gravel Guard, Rear 1/2 Slide/Full Swing Gate, 1 Center Gate, 24" Side Escape Door, Spare Bracket w/Spare, Front Window w/2 Circle Vents, Regular Lights, ST225/75D15 8 Ply Tires on 6-Lug Silver Mod Wheels

 

[AClark]

I know it's cheaper to just rent one, but I've needed one too many times in a hurry and didn't want to miss a sale or have a dead cow because I had to spend an hour+ driving 20 miles each way and 30 minutes doing the rental agreement before I could even start for the vet or sale barn. Then gotta waste more time the next day cleaning and returning the thing.

That's if you can find somewhere that will rent one! I had a really bad time trying to find one to rent awhile back, I actually never did, I had to pay someone to haul for me. Trust me, that isn't cheap at all, they charge by the loaded mile. Not to mention having your own means not having to wash it, just pull the mats out and let it dry - a little dry poop doesn't hurt anything, it's that letting it sit with the mats in all wet that rots them. Another thought about having your own is you aren't spreading disease, what if the one you rented had a horse with strangles (horse distemper) in it, and now your buddies have that nasty crap because it wasn't disinfected? Just hosing it out isn't good enough to get rid of strangles. I don't know if cattle have a similar disease but I imagine they do.

A trailer is definitely a wise investment if you have any kind of livestock, you never know when you're going to have to haul them to the vet or God forbid, have a natural disaster and need to move the critters ASAP. Fires and flooding come to mind.
As it is for me, I can stuff everybody in my trailer if need be. We already figured that if push came to shove, the goats will fit in the saddle compartment just fine, it's big, and we don't want the horses to step on them while being hauled. It never hurts to have a "what if" plan if things don't go right. That could just be me, because I tend to have "adventures" every time I do things, lol.

I think the opening will be less of an issue with a slick wall, versus a wire wall critters can get a foot hold in. A 16 ft trailer is big enough to haul 4 horses, so 3 steers should fit well. That's why I ended up with my new one, the guy I bought it from has Longhorns and they wouldn't fit due to the horns.

 

[babsbag]

I guess that makes sense. I was just thinking that you were raising them for your freezer and my butcher comes to my house...very convenient. So once I get a cow/steer here it won't leave unless there is an emergency and I can get one in my horse trailer. If a fire comes through here we shelter in place; the goats have done a great job making sure there isn't much ground fuel and I would need a BIG trailer to haul 40+ goats.

 

[farmerjan]

In the beginning, renting would be a more economical move. Take some time to look around and something will usually come up when you least expect it. You are only talking a possible few moves a year at most. The goat carrier you built for the back of the truck will be all that you will need 90% of the time. Then you can find a deal like then one greybeard is talking about.
We have 2 gooseneck cattle trailers, one is 20 ft and the other is 24 ft long. We can COMFORTABLY haul 7-8 mature adult cows in the 20 ft one to move them to pasture. We can haul 15-18 4-500 lb feeder steers in it to take to town to the stockyards. They do not need nor should really have alot of room to move around when they are being hauled. Too much shifting of weight, and they actually will have more trouble keeping their footing. We always use the cut gate and lock a small number of animals in the front when hauling so they don't get the weight on the back and cause it to sway.
Unless you have longhorns with 6 ft spread horns, an average 1000 lb steer will comfortably fit in the same space a single horse will. I hauled many head of cattle in my 2 horse trailer, then my 4 horse trailer, then we went to a gooseneck. We don't have to register or put plates on our trailers here if they are used for "Farm Use" and used within a 30 mile radius...but that is pretty lenient if you have a trailer with cattle in it they seldom ever bother you. We do make sure the lights and brakes work but that is for safety reasons.
For future travels, use a rigid gate overtop of the trailer you have, instead of the cattle panels that have some give to them.

 

[babsbag]

For future travels, use a rigid gate overtop of the trailer you have, instead of the cattle panels that have some give to them.

Smart...a voice of experience???