Newborn calf!!

[Kettle Creek Cattle]

Make him a steer and raise him for the freezer.

Thats the plan!

 

[Kettle Creek Cattle]

She will keep nursing. And like one of the ones I have, if you were to keep her and breed her, she may even nurse the cow while her own calf is nursing. Mine was weaned and totally away from the other lactating cattle for over a year while she was getting bred .... then calved and now we have caught her nursing other cows while her own calf is right with her... She is going....
You can get a "nose flap" and they also make an anti-nurse ring that goes in their nose like a nose lead and it has spikes on it so every time she tries to nurse she will get kicked.... but then the momma might not let the new one nurse. Anything that gets weaned needs to be kept away from any other cows that are nursing/lactating...... Then when they calve themselves, they should pretty well have outgrown nursing. Like mine though, it doesn't always happen.
Weaned young should not run with mature animals that are nursing other calves. They may do it "in nature" but I can tell you there are more cases of yearlings nursing than alot of people think.
Separate her somehow, so the calf gets what it needs.
Give the buyer an ultimatum, and then ship her or pen her separate if they don't come through. Let me tell you from MANY LONG YEARS of experience.... they either want it or they want to hem and haw..... Being the nice guy is costing you feed and time and now it is costing the new calf the milk it should be getting to grow.
Find a stockyard and sell her. Get paid that day, no questions asked. Might not be what you want, might be more than you thought.... but it will be gone and the aggravation will be done.

I talked to the buyer tonight, he's coming out this weekend to get her. I said she had to go by the weekend or she was going on craigslist! It's weird cause the nursing yearling was an orphan drafted on to my cow. Her biological daughter born last year could care less and hasn't tried to nurse. I never really liked the orphan anyway, she's kinda like an ugly unwanted stepchild

 

[Mini Horses]

That calf is handsome!

Amazing how it works when you say ya gotta walk the talk or lose out. Hope they actually DO come get your "ugly stepchild".

 

[Kettle Creek Cattle]

That calf is handsome!

Amazing how it works when you say ya gotta walk the talk or lose out. Hope they actually DO come get your "ugly stepchild".

Thank you! She's definitely going down the road! If they don't take her this weekend then she's going to the sale barn!

 

[Baymule]

We are learning our way around the auction barn with our lambs. We were raising them for slaughter and selling the meat. Had a pretty good thing going, but it’s so difficult to get a slaughter date, it’s not worth it anymore. We took a few last year, culled our flock of just so-so ewes this year, keeping 7 ewe lambs for replacement and took another batch of 6 lambs last weekend. I’m happy with the results and don’t have to fool with so many people.
I hope your buyer shows up, but auction barns sure make it convenient! LOL

 

[Kettle Creek Cattle]

We are learning our way around the auction barn with our lambs. We were raising them for slaughter and selling the meat. Had a pretty good thing going, but it’s so difficult to get a slaughter date, it’s not worth it anymore. We took a few last year, culled our flock of just so-so ewes this year, keeping 7 ewe lambs for replacement and took another batch of 6 lambs last weekend. I’m happy with the results and don’t have to fool with so many people.
I hope your buyer shows up, but auction barns sure make it convenient! LOL

I hear ya! I've been to our local sale barn a few times, swore I'd never buy anything from them...and I haven't! It reminds me of a filthy used car lot, with the fat sweaty, balding salesman in a sweat stained Hawaiian button up shirt buttoned halfway with gold chains and greased back hair...smoking a cigar! I'll have to see what his cut of the sale is first!

 

[Baymule]

The one we go to is filled with an assortment of people of all races and ethnics. It is a slice of America, a melting pot. Buyers and sellers, it is a friendly place, the regulars all know each other, we are just muddling around. We go sometimes just for entertainment and to learn our way around. We’ve talked to buyers and gotten good advice and help.
There is a small animal auction we haven’t been to yet, but have it earmarked, it’s the first and third Friday night of the month. Whoop! More fun and entertainment-for free! LOL LOL

 

[farmerjan]

The sale barns exist for a good purpose. If you go in with an open mind and LISTEN you can get a feel for the pulse of the buyers. It is the best place to sell stupid, mean, useless, or used up animals. And not have to bury them. Get some return on your investment in them. You can get good deals if you know what to look for.
The other BEST thing is not haggling with buyers in your yard, not having them "put you off" as yours has, to come get the animal they supposedly want to buy.... and not worrying if the "check will be good". You get your money because the sale barns/auctions/stockyards are bonded.... If the check does not say right on it something to the effect of bonded/insured by the stockers and packers assoc or something to that effect, DO NOT TRUST IT. If you are selling privately, do NOT take a check unless you know them. CASH or certified check or money order...
Buyers have a good reason to frequent the stockyards as they have orders to fill, and that is about the only way to do it, buying in small lots to fill orders. Very few people have the numbers to fill a pot trailer.... but lots of people have a few to sell and the buyers make up the loads for the orders they have.
Some stockyards are better than others. Some get better buyers and more buyers which creates more competition for the available animals, translating into better prices.
Farmers, especially the older ones are a hard bitten lot. They chew and spit, and talk rough, but usually most do not talk much around a lady. It is VERY HARD to break into the fraternity. They respect you if you are knowledgable, but many still do not talk much to a woman. They have a "man code" and you may as well accept it. After 40 years I still get frustrated.... but it is what it is.
They also work hard, and have seen it all. Some are going to "rook you" for being a beginner.... and there isn't one that won't try to put something over on you .... BUYER BEWARE..... but they will help you out in a pinch, and are a wealth of knowledge if you are willing to listen to them.... and not let it go in one ear and out the other.... or act like yeah, yeah, and then go on like you know everything .....
They don't suffer fools and they are past the "touchy feely" BS...... farming is tough... and you have to be tough. You can't feel sorry for every sorry animal.... you have to realize this is a BUSINESS and a way of life and their living. The sickly cannot all be nursed, you can't take all you time and energy to baby along an animal that will never be profitable. Survival is important. I have seen farmers take and do all they can for something that gets hurt.... or bottle feed an orphan that wasn't it's fault. But they are also practical and KNOW when to draw the line.

We sell alot at the local stockyards. Do some private.... but we also have established a reputation that when we sell animals, and say they are "weaned, bunk broke, have had xx vaccinations" the buyers know our word is good. It translates to better prices if there are the buyers and the demand. We walk out with a check and the responsibility ends there. No one coming back 2 weeks later crying that this calf got sick, this one died, this or that; all because they did not pay attention to what we said. Read @misfitmorgan post on the thread that got locked, "when to send to slaughter".... about people who buy things and then don't take their instructions to heart about the piglets, and then get a bad reputation through the BUYERS stupidity of not taking care of the new animals the proper way. I went off on that thread about the stupidity of IDIOTS, all due to a comment that was "relayed" from @Ridgetop from a conversation with her butcher when she took lambs in to get killed and another person posted that we should not judge people.... and to be kinder..... well, since it was a 3rd hand kind of thing, and the city idiots I was commenting about were not anyone specific, I feel that the person that kept saying we should be kinder was being a little ridiculous.... ANYWAY, it was the post that misfit made that was the gist of the matter as far as people who don't know what they are doing..... and DON'T WANT TO LISTEN TO SOMEONE MORE EXPERIENCED AND LEARN, that has many of us getting a little tired of the general idiot public. If you are a bleeding heart, don't go to a stockyard sale. Don't buy from a farmer and think you are doing him a favor.... and quit wasting our time if you are not willing to at least understand some of what we are doing. Learn what you need to to by spending some time OBSERVING, better to keep your mouth closed and be thought a fool than to open it and have everyone know that you ARE a fool.....

I know some of this sounds hard.... and you have shown alot of willingness to learn so don't think I am lumping you in with the stupid people.... because I am not. BUT the sad thing is, you are going to have to grow a thicker skin with your buyers... and maybe you have with giving this buyer an ultimatum.... You are in charge of your animals welfare... and you have to do what is best for the new calf and cow. The fact that she took and raised the orphan is admirable... I have several nurse cows.... but when it is time for the new calf to get it's fair share, you need to make the buyers live up to their promise to buy, or you need to get tough as I think you have done. Good for you.

Sorry, I went off... but you are doing the RIGHT THING , by getting tough with the buyer who keeps putting you off.... and doing what is best for the cow and new calf. Sell or eat the problems.... keep the good ones.

Calf looks REAL NICE.

 

[Kettle Creek Cattle]

The sale barns exist for a good purpose. If you go in with an open mind and LISTEN you can get a feel for the pulse of the buyers. It is the best place to sell stupid, mean, useless, or used up animals. And not have to bury them. Get some return on your investment in them. You can get good deals if you know what to look for.
The other BEST thing is not haggling with buyers in your yard, not having them "put you off" as yours has, to come get the animal they supposedly want to buy.... and not worrying if the "check will be good". You get your money because the sale barns/auctions/stockyards are bonded.... If the check does not say right on it something to the effect of bonded/insured by the stockers and packers assoc or something to that effect, DO NOT TRUST IT. If you are selling privately, do NOT take a check unless you know them. CASH or certified check or money order...
Buyers have a good reason to frequent the stockyards as they have orders to fill, and that is about the only way to do it, buying in small lots to fill orders. Very few people have the numbers to fill a pot trailer.... but lots of people have a few to sell and the buyers make up the loads for the orders they have.
Some stockyards are better than others. Some get better buyers and more buyers which creates more competition for the available animals, translating into better prices.
Farmers, especially the older ones are a hard bitten lot. They chew and spit, and talk rough, but usually most do not talk much around a lady. It is VERY HARD to break into the fraternity. They respect you if you are knowledgable, but many still do not talk much to a woman. They have a "man code" and you may as well accept it. After 40 years I still get frustrated.... but it is what it is.
They also work hard, and have seen it all. Some are going to "rook you" for being a beginner.... and there isn't one that won't try to put something over on you .... BUYER BEWARE..... but they will help you out in a pinch, and are a wealth of knowledge if you are willing to listen to them.... and not let it go in one ear and out the other.... or act like yeah, yeah, and then go on like you know everything .....
They don't suffer fools and they are past the "touchy feely" BS...... farming is tough... and you have to be tough. You can't feel sorry for every sorry animal.... you have to realize this is a BUSINESS and a way of life and their living. The sickly cannot all be nursed, you can't take all you time and energy to baby along an animal that will never be profitable. Survival is important. I have seen farmers take and do all they can for something that gets hurt.... or bottle feed an orphan that wasn't it's fault. But they are also practical and KNOW when to draw the line.

We sell alot at the local stockyards. Do some private.... but we also have established a reputation that when we sell animals, and say they are "weaned, bunk broke, have had xx vaccinations" the buyers know our word is good. It translates to better prices if there are the buyers and the demand. We walk out with a check and the responsibility ends there. No one coming back 2 weeks later crying that this calf got sick, this one died, this or that; all because they did not pay attention to what we said. Read @misfitmorgan post on the thread that got locked, "when to send to slaughter".... about people who buy things and then don't take their instructions to heart about the piglets, and then get a bad reputation through the BUYERS stupidity of not taking care of the new animals the proper way. I went off on that thread about the stupidity of IDIOTS, all due to a comment that was "relayed" from @Ridgetop from a conversation with her butcher when she took lambs in to get killed and another person posted that we should not judge people.... and to be kinder..... well, since it was a 3rd hand kind of thing, and the city idiots I was commenting about were not anyone specific, I feel that the person that kept saying we should be kinder was being a little ridiculous.... ANYWAY, it was the post that misfit made that was the gist of the matter as far as people who don't know what they are doing..... and DON'T WANT TO LISTEN TO SOMEONE MORE EXPERIENCED AND LEARN, that has many of us getting a little tired of the general idiot public. If you are a bleeding heart, don't go to a stockyard sale. Don't buy from a farmer and think you are doing him a favor.... and quit wasting our time if you are not willing to at least understand some of what we are doing. Learn what you need to to by spending some time OBSERVING, better to keep your mouth closed and be thought a fool than to open it and have everyone know that you ARE a fool.....

I know some of this sounds hard.... and you have shown alot of willingness to learn so don't think I am lumping you in with the stupid people.... because I am not. BUT the sad thing is, you are going to have to grow a thicker skin with your buyers... and maybe you have with giving this buyer an ultimatum.... You are in charge of your animals welfare... and you have to do what is best for the new calf and cow. The fact that she took and raised the orphan is admirable... I have several nurse cows.... but when it is time for the new calf to get it's fair share, you need to make the buyers live up to their promise to buy, or you need to get tough as I think you have done. Good for you.

Sorry, I went off... but you are doing the RIGHT THING , by getting tough with the buyer who keeps putting you off.... and doing what is best for the cow and new calf. Sell or eat the problems.... keep the good ones.

Calf looks REAL NICE.

Well said!

 

[Kettle Creek Cattle]

Well said!

When I decided to start raising cattle I just wanted it to be a hobby, and I intend to keep it that way! I'm by no means an expert on the subject but I am learning all I can as I go. I'm always willing to take advice from others. I only keep a few and my goal, the thing I get the most satisfaction from is raising the best possible cows that I can. By not making my hobby my job I feel like I'm able to do this because I have no "quotas" to make. The rewarding thing for me is when someone with a lifetime of experience says to me "those are some good looking cattle" or something of the like. I appreciate all the information I get from this site.