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- #21
greybeard
Herd Master
I was just kidding with that ear and leather comment. They have plenty it appears. Ear and leather are hallmarks of any cattle with Brahman/bos indicus influence in their breeding. Leather refers to the extra and loose skin in the front..the brisket and chest area.
Probably not too popular in the cutesy/blocky/FluffyCow craze world but yours will do well in your latitude and clime. You'll have to Google Fluffy cow yourself. They are the newest version of the micro pig, which came about right after the Emu thing died down.
They can run like a deer can't they?
Hint..cut down or pull up the tall green stuff in the background before it gets that high in the future..dog fennel it looks like, and pull up any wooley croton (goat weed) you see before it sets seed. Both will come back gang busters next year, especially if it's a really dry year. 2,4d or Remedy will kill both in their early growth stages if you don't object to herbicide. Goatweed, I usually wait till it's about 6-8" tall at the most.
Probably not too popular in the cutesy/blocky/FluffyCow craze world but yours will do well in your latitude and clime. You'll have to Google Fluffy cow yourself. They are the newest version of the micro pig, which came about right after the Emu thing died down.
They can run like a deer can't they?
Hint..cut down or pull up the tall green stuff in the background before it gets that high in the future..dog fennel it looks like, and pull up any wooley croton (goat weed) you see before it sets seed. Both will come back gang busters next year, especially if it's a really dry year. 2,4d or Remedy will kill both in their early growth stages if you don't object to herbicide. Goatweed, I usually wait till it's about 6-8" tall at the most.
Last edited:
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- #23
skeleroo
Chillin' with the herd
Ah. Sorry. Right. Her ears are my favorite thing about her! She's a funny girl.
I am IN LOVE with fluffy cows. I imagine they don't do too well here in Florida...
I am IN LOVE with fluffy cows. I imagine they don't do too well here in Florida...
Donna R. Raybon
Loving the herd life
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Yes, they both look healthy, coat is shining, eyes bright. The red one needs a bit more weight on her, but she looks good!
Do you have some place to pen them up overnight? Since both are young, they are at risk to predators at night. Leave feed there for them and let them back out in day time to pick. The bottle baby will eat grain, get some calf starter grower, and she will get the older one interested. When she is finished taking her bottle, let her suck on your hand with some calf starter grower in it and she will figure out that is good to eat. My calves raised by their momma would start nibbling grain at a few days old and be trying to push momma out of the feeder at two or three weeks old. When they have never had grain, they literally have to figure out it is good to eat. Get a good loose mineral that is balanced for your geographic region, too.
Make sure they have found where the water is, too. By instinct cattle will walk a fence line to investigate a way out. By putting your water, hay, feeder, minerals, etc.... along the fence line they are quicker to find it and use.
Hope you enjoy your cows. Watch out on the bottle baby that she respects your personal space. What is 'cute' now is not so cute when she is +1000 pounds!
I used to halter break all my heifers when they were weaned. Tied them up and carted hay, water, feed to them for about two weeks. After about the third day, I would groom with a leaf rake and gradually work my way up to just a brush and curry comb. Polled Hereford took about a week to gentle. Angus, a bit longer. They were not 'show ring broke' to lead, but as adults, if I got a rope on them, I could lead them in to the barn, no problem.
Only breed I never had any luck with were Charlois. They were as wild and aggressive the day we put them on the trailer for market as the day we unloaded them. Had two of them, and they would attack you if you got in the field and then flee through fencing!!! A neighbor who had a nice herd sold them to me and I know he was quiet and gentle with his cattle.
Do you have some place to pen them up overnight? Since both are young, they are at risk to predators at night. Leave feed there for them and let them back out in day time to pick. The bottle baby will eat grain, get some calf starter grower, and she will get the older one interested. When she is finished taking her bottle, let her suck on your hand with some calf starter grower in it and she will figure out that is good to eat. My calves raised by their momma would start nibbling grain at a few days old and be trying to push momma out of the feeder at two or three weeks old. When they have never had grain, they literally have to figure out it is good to eat. Get a good loose mineral that is balanced for your geographic region, too.
Make sure they have found where the water is, too. By instinct cattle will walk a fence line to investigate a way out. By putting your water, hay, feeder, minerals, etc.... along the fence line they are quicker to find it and use.
Hope you enjoy your cows. Watch out on the bottle baby that she respects your personal space. What is 'cute' now is not so cute when she is +1000 pounds!
I used to halter break all my heifers when they were weaned. Tied them up and carted hay, water, feed to them for about two weeks. After about the third day, I would groom with a leaf rake and gradually work my way up to just a brush and curry comb. Polled Hereford took about a week to gentle. Angus, a bit longer. They were not 'show ring broke' to lead, but as adults, if I got a rope on them, I could lead them in to the barn, no problem.
Only breed I never had any luck with were Charlois. They were as wild and aggressive the day we put them on the trailer for market as the day we unloaded them. Had two of them, and they would attack you if you got in the field and then flee through fencing!!! A neighbor who had a nice herd sold them to me and I know he was quiet and gentle with his cattle.
greybeard
Herd Master
I can walk among my mostly char herd at will with no problems and with the exception of one, even if they have calves at their side. They do all have some Simm mix in so that may account for their docility, tho some simms are also known for aggressiveness.
farmerjan
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Most all our Charolais and the char crosses are very easy to work with. Even the bought ones. All cattle have their own dispositions and some just get a "wild hair" and nothing will work. Just sold a real nice 10 mo heifer calf, off her mother who is a nice quiet angus x. Weighed right at 600 and had her head up from the time she was born. She would have been a keeper due to good growth, nice looking, but the disposition killed it. Thought she might settle down after a few months of being around the quieter cattle, but NOPE...as soon as you got near her in the barn she was looking for a way THROUGH YOU. Not that this should be the reason, but she was out of a Limi bull. Have 3 more out of that bull and they are a little iffy, but not like her. The bull was as quiet as a church mouse. Still, I find that Limousin cattle are among the wilder, more aggressive, more exciteable and "want to get you" cattle I have ever worked with.
There is a reg herd right up the road that my son worked for , for a couple of years when he was younger. They were hard to deal with when the cows calved. Very aggressive with new calves on the ground. We just bought a bull at this years sale because we were/are VERY impressed with his build. Pretty quiet to work around according to a friend that manages the place now. We needed another "cow bull" with plus birth weights as we have several that are minus to use on heifers. So he is out with 14 nice good sized cows and hope that he will put some nice calves on the ground. The previous limi bull came from them several years ago. He developed some health problems and they said they would do something for us if we decided to get another one. We really weren't looking for a another bull this year, but always go to the sale to support them and to catch up with all the farmers we know, eat and visit. This bull caught both my son's and my eye and we wound up with him. They did discount the price some to compensate for the previous bulls' problem. If there are any problems with him, or his calves being too hard to deal with it will be the very last one we use.
Many make comments about angus being aggressive and hard to deal with but I just don't find it to be any more true than saying that every Hereford is a lap dog and easy to work with. Although I will agree that most herefords are very calm and somewhat docile, had dealings with one that was just as ornery as any could be. We have had some angus that were not big babies, and 2 that got more "watchful" as they got older and they were quickly sold. Have not had any char bulls, but a neighbor had one that was fine until you got him in the catch pen and he would go through it, bust it up, just to get back out. The owner wanted to sell him as he was big and getting older, and finally got him in the pen, and directly on the trailer being too interested in the cow in heat in front of his nose to realize what he was doing. Thank goodness for a one track mind. Took them both to town, and reloaded the cow and brought her back home after they got the bull on the scale and in a pen. They penned him in with cull cows to keep him from wanting out too much. He weighed over 2800 lbs. Another friend had char all his life and he never kept a bull that he was afraid to work with. His were working cattle, not reg., but they were used to being around a quiet moving person and the cattle reflected it in their quiet moving dispositions.
There is a reg herd right up the road that my son worked for , for a couple of years when he was younger. They were hard to deal with when the cows calved. Very aggressive with new calves on the ground. We just bought a bull at this years sale because we were/are VERY impressed with his build. Pretty quiet to work around according to a friend that manages the place now. We needed another "cow bull" with plus birth weights as we have several that are minus to use on heifers. So he is out with 14 nice good sized cows and hope that he will put some nice calves on the ground. The previous limi bull came from them several years ago. He developed some health problems and they said they would do something for us if we decided to get another one. We really weren't looking for a another bull this year, but always go to the sale to support them and to catch up with all the farmers we know, eat and visit. This bull caught both my son's and my eye and we wound up with him. They did discount the price some to compensate for the previous bulls' problem. If there are any problems with him, or his calves being too hard to deal with it will be the very last one we use.
Many make comments about angus being aggressive and hard to deal with but I just don't find it to be any more true than saying that every Hereford is a lap dog and easy to work with. Although I will agree that most herefords are very calm and somewhat docile, had dealings with one that was just as ornery as any could be. We have had some angus that were not big babies, and 2 that got more "watchful" as they got older and they were quickly sold. Have not had any char bulls, but a neighbor had one that was fine until you got him in the catch pen and he would go through it, bust it up, just to get back out. The owner wanted to sell him as he was big and getting older, and finally got him in the pen, and directly on the trailer being too interested in the cow in heat in front of his nose to realize what he was doing. Thank goodness for a one track mind. Took them both to town, and reloaded the cow and brought her back home after they got the bull on the scale and in a pen. They penned him in with cull cows to keep him from wanting out too much. He weighed over 2800 lbs. Another friend had char all his life and he never kept a bull that he was afraid to work with. His were working cattle, not reg., but they were used to being around a quiet moving person and the cattle reflected it in their quiet moving dispositions.
farmerjan
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I know this will likely make some people mad, but I have found that shorthorns are the dumbest beef breed I have ever had. And I really liked them for a long time. They were either so quiet that you had to push them out of your way, or so stupid as to not figure out to go around to an open gate to come into a pen. They also were not the hardy cattle that I remember from childhood. The last several I had were hard to get bred, very poor mothers, and just didn't "have it". Used to be they were what everyone wanted as far as crossed into black cattle to make the "blue roans" that were supposed to be such good milkers and raise nice calves etc.
Sort of like what has happened to the guernsey breed of dairy cattle. They had to "improve them" and make them more "dairy" from the coarser big old raw-boned cattle they were. And they have bred to vigor out of them trying to make them compete with the other dairy breeds. I don't know if the breed will ever be able to "come back" to the health and vigor they had. I am using guernsey semen on several of my dairy cows to get some calves that have some gumption to live and then breed up using guernsey again. I really liked the old type ones but they weren't dairy enough for the show ring. And they were not milk wagons and for the longest time Quantity was what the dairy farmers wanted and the milk companies did not pay much for the quality and fat and protein. Now it is swinging back but the jerseys have held their niche and the guernsey may never make the comeback. Disposition wise the guernsey is my favorite, but the jersey is a close second.
Sort of like what has happened to the guernsey breed of dairy cattle. They had to "improve them" and make them more "dairy" from the coarser big old raw-boned cattle they were. And they have bred to vigor out of them trying to make them compete with the other dairy breeds. I don't know if the breed will ever be able to "come back" to the health and vigor they had. I am using guernsey semen on several of my dairy cows to get some calves that have some gumption to live and then breed up using guernsey again. I really liked the old type ones but they weren't dairy enough for the show ring. And they were not milk wagons and for the longest time Quantity was what the dairy farmers wanted and the milk companies did not pay much for the quality and fat and protein. Now it is swinging back but the jerseys have held their niche and the guernsey may never make the comeback. Disposition wise the guernsey is my favorite, but the jersey is a close second.
greybeard
Herd Master
He was a sure nuff whopper at that weight!
Baymule
Herd Master
Fluffy cows..... Gheesh.
I second getting rid of the tall greenery in the background of your picture. I have that on my place and I dig it up to get rid of it. Pulling it only breaks it off and gives you a false sense of having got rid of it. It is an underground clump that sends out runners. I dig them up and throw on the burn pile.
Nice heifers. You have gotten some VERY good advice from VERY knowledgeable and respected cattle people here on BYH.
I second getting rid of the tall greenery in the background of your picture. I have that on my place and I dig it up to get rid of it. Pulling it only breaks it off and gives you a false sense of having got rid of it. It is an underground clump that sends out runners. I dig them up and throw on the burn pile.
Nice heifers. You have gotten some VERY good advice from VERY knowledgeable and respected cattle people here on BYH.
greybeard
Herd Master
Too late to dig the dog fennel (Eupatorium capillifolium (Lam.) Small) out this time of year. Seed formation and runners have already begun and unless it is very soft soil it would be near impossible to get it all and disturbing the soil will only permit and encourage new seedlings to emerge.
It is very easily controlled by spraying organic or man made herbicide on the stalk near the lower parts of the plant, from ground level to about 1' up the stalk. That particular plant is very conducive to basal spraying, as the stalk is soft and will absorb the herbicide readily. Goodbye plant...goodbye runners. If you wish, on those mature plants, cut the stalk off a few inches above ground, and immediately (within 10 minutes) spray a mix of just about any herbicide, tho my choice is 50-50 Remedy Ultra/diesel or crop oil (vegetable oil) on each little stump. The plant, immediately after cutting, doesn't 'know' it has been cut down, and will continue to send up nutrients from the roots and try to take down other nutrients from the stalk into the root system. If you wait too long tho, the liquid going up the stump will form a barrier on top of the stump and it will not be able to absorb the herbicide down to the roots. This is true of any plant or tree species that cut stump treatment is going to be used on. Works best if the cut is nice and clean, not all torn up or jagged like when a mower runs over it. About 1/4 oz for each stalk is all it would take for fennel..a squirt or two at the most, covering the little stump top.
Cows usually do not eat dog fennel, but might in a drought stricken area, and ingesting fennel causes a form of milk sickness because the foilage contains a toxin called Tremetol. (sometimes spelled Tremitol)
Caption under this picture:
Above: A stand of Dog Fennel that is about 8' (2.43 m) tall. It is one of our most truculent native perennial weeds. Because it contains low levels of the toxin tremitol (or tremetol). . . it is difficult to extract by hand (tremitol causes dehydration). Tremitol is the cause of Milk Sickness. . . Milk sickness, also known as tremetol vomiting, or in animals as trembles, is characterized by trembling, vomiting, and severe intestinal pain that affects individuals who ingest milk or other dairy products or meat from a cow that has fed on white snakeroot (another native weed formerly of the Eupatorium genus (Eupatorium rugosum).
Next growing season, attack it when it is about 6" tall to prevent seed formation, but even mid or late season growth can easily be killed off without any backbreaking diggin. Dog fennel tends to grow in poor and/or disturbed soil, but once established even in open pasture of good soil makeup, will take over if allowed to stand. Fenel is definitely one of the easier plants to control and get rid of and if spraying the whole plant (foliar application) results and personal gratification are almost immediate. It will wilt down within a couple of hours.
