new to cattle

[newton the goat]

Ya the calf is for meat, I would love to get both.... but .... I'm not even going to bring that up with my father, I know what his answer will be without a doubt. Lol.

 

[cjc]

Ya I would take both . If it's for meat the big guy will be better. His general health is probably going to be better and he will no doubt grow bigger

 

[newton the goat]

Ya I would take both . If it's for meat the big guy will be better. His general health is probably going to be better and he will no doubt grow bigger

Ya likely though I feel bad for leaving the small guy behind... I'll keep giving him (well all of them) all the care I can.

 

[NH homesteader]

Umm I vote 2 cows are better than one! Come on, you're already getting 10 pigs! They will do way more damage than 2 cows.

 

[newton the goat]

Umm I vote 2 cows are better than one! Come on, you're already getting 10 pigs! They will do way more damage than 2 cows.

I wish but my dad doesn't even want one, he's taking one of them out of obligation

 

[farmerjan]

The larger one will most likely be the better one for all around health and doing/growing better. But, there is the argument that you could present to your father that 2 will be happier together, and that you can sell one and help pay back some of what it will cost to raise both. With holsteins, it will not be a big payback, but still you might see a little bit of a return, so the one you butcher will actually be costing a little less. It really is 6 of one half a dozen of another as far as which you choose. Being a smaller twin, he will take a little longer to get full size. But sometimes they will also put on more weight instead of all bone growth...If he doesn't get as big.
Realize that it will take nearly 2 years to get him to butchering size since the dairy breeds will grow more bone and body before they start to put on meat/muscle.

 

[farmerjan]

Halters make an animal a little easier to handle than a neck collar when they get older, but I have several cows that wear neck chains that I can lead them with.

 

[Simpleterrier]

I would ask the farmer Wich one came from a better cow and pick the opposite. The better the dairy the worse it will beef up. Bigger doesn't mean more beef for the money. It could mean more bones alot of big bones and u can't eat bones

 

[newton the goat]

I would ask the farmer Wich one came from a better cow and pick the opposite. The better the dairy the worse it will beef up. Bigger doesn't mean more beef for the money. It could mean more bones alot of big bones and u can't eat bones

Both of them came from. Equally good cows, my friend who is in the beef part of cattle rearing says to keep an eye on their weight for the next week or two and see how they eat and size up. Is that a good way to do it?

Halters make an animal a little easier to handle than a neck collar when they get older, but I have several cows that wear neck chains that I can lead them with.

Would the way they work with foals work with a cow? (The rope tide losely around the back end and attached to the halter to get the animal used to leading) or does that only work on horses? I've been looking for different ways to teach it, and I am able to borrow a calf halter from my friend for the time being. I will likely be trying both methods to see which one I prefer.

 

[cjc]

Ya likely though I feel bad for leaving the small guy behind... I'll keep giving him (well all of them) all the care I can.

I'd feel bad for leaving the small guy behind too but I am a huge sucker and a terrible farmer haha. Half my herd are pets.

Here is a pic of the twin calves that I have. It's hard to see but the one in the back is the calf that was 40lbs, his twin brother in the front was 80lbs. So you can see the size difference, but, they aren't that far off in size. And the little guy is the sweetest calf, very gentle. These calves are Holstein X Angus.