looking at a bred heifer - even More questions added! About $$$$$$$$$

[SuburbanFarmChic]

Looks good! So glad she's so sweet, it sounds like you got a great starter cow

 

[Stubbornhillfarm]

She is beautiful! Congrats! Sounds like she is fitting in well. I get the whole DNR thing and I'm sure you do have Mountain Lions. I KNOW and when I say I know, I mean I KNOW, that a few years back I saw a wolf when I was hunting. I've been in the Maine woods for many years and I know what a fox and coyote look like. This was a wolf! Like you, doesn't matter to me who believes or not, I know what I saw. Also our very good friends down the road have a picture of a Bobcat in their driveway. We don't have those around here either! Sorry, got off topic!

Anyhoo, I hope that she continues to blend well on your farm. Sounds like she has a great start!

 

[PattySh]

She is adorable and looks very tame. Definately a plus for a family milk cow. CONGRATS!

 

[kelsey2017]

The horns have to go though. They make me nervous. It doesn't matter how careful I am they are dangerous. In the two days shes been here I have found that I move her with them. I know that is bad because of the 'move into pressure' response. I am going to make her rammy, but it is just hard to not want to know where they are. I need to carry my riding crop for nose bops, I was using my hand to bop her on the nose so she wouldn't crowd me in the barn. It doesn't hurt their feelings like it does a horse, it's just a reaction to an action for her so as long as I am consistent she should learn to respect my space. I am going to leave the horns on until she knows us better and the flies are froze out.
I am leaning toward having my vet do it. I think they are too big to band and I don't want to do the cut-into-the-skull thing to her unless she is sedated. Sounds like a LOT of blood. Besides I am not that much of a farmer that I can start cutting open LIVE animals- eeeeeeech. I'll take it slow with my "merit badges". Besides when the vet comes out she can ultrasound her and give her any vaccines or blood tests. I know she has never had any of that before and I want her to at the very least get a rabies and tetanus.

 

[Stubbornhillfarm]

I think you are wise with having her horns removed after the flies are gone, by a professional. We will be having our Jerseys horns removed some time in the next month or two. We too decided to wait until after fly season and the vet will scoop them. No need to do that before the flies are gone and risk illness. Just keep doing as you are and know where to horns are. One of my little guys must have bumped me a few weeks back. It obviously wasn't bad because I don't even remember it happening, but all of a sudden a had a huge ugly bruise on the back side of my thigh. Apparently I am delicate!!

 

[herfrds]

Need a squeeze chute and a head catch to knock them horns off. Too big for the cups. Vet will have to wire cut them off and burn the cut area. Not pleasant, but it gets the job done.

We had to have the same thing done on some bull calves we banded.

 

[kelsey2017]

I feel bad that it didn't get done when she was younger. I am thinking her calf will be horned too because the bull had horns. When I breed her next time, if I make sure to use a polled bull the calf won't have horns, am I correct?

 

[WildRoseBeef]

I feel bad that it didn't get done when she was younger. I am thinking her calf will be horned too because the bull had horns. When I breed her next time, if I make sure to use a polled bull the calf won't have horns, am I correct?

Correct. Horns are always going to be recessive to the polled gene, so yes, the most natural way to knock any horns off her calves is to put a polled pull on her. However, that bull has to be homozygous polled, not hetero. If he's hetero you could have a 50% chance that she will throw a horned calf.