ReluctantFarmer Journal

[frustratedearthmother]

That's fantastic! What a good start - and the m/f ratio is pretty darn good too!

 

[ReluctantFarmer]

That's fantastic! What a good start - and the m/f ratio is pretty darn good too!

Thanks! I’d rather have all little boys since steers seem to bring more at the sale. But they are healthy so I’ll take it

 

[Wehner Homestead]

We are having a heifer year thus far also. 4-2

 

[ReluctantFarmer]

Hi everyone, I’m still here :-D. Thought I’d post an update and another thank you to this group for the advice last winter.

We had 7 calves this year, one in September (2), one in October (3) and the rest very close together in February (4,5,6,7,8). Our 2 bred heifers (56, 57) had no problems and we kept the youngest unbred (58) and bred her this year.

The weather cooperated this year and we had a good hay crop: 35 bales of 4x6 round off of 11 acres, mostly fescue. Now the Johnson grass is coming on strong, so may or may not get a second cutting. Even if we leave it in the field I’ll use it for forage in the late months (Nov and Dec).

A neighbor loaned me a bull on May 25, and we have had him with the cattle ever since.

I’m trying to decide now which animals to take to the sale barn in October. I’ve been trying to keep notes on them throughout the year related to overall health, body condition, coat condition and amount of flies they attract.

I’m trying to get a compact beef animal around 600-700 pounds from an 8-9 month old, and 1200-1400 full size.

Any comments good or bad are welcome on the pics below. I’m still trying to figure this whole thing out.

 

[ReluctantFarmer]

Turns out my picture taking skills favor some animals over others, and I think some are missing, but you get the idea ;-)

Cow pics are below.

This is actually our steer, he will go in the freezer. He is a wooly bugger so don’t really want his babies anyway. I bet he’ll taste fine though.

I think this one may go to the sale.

She’s my oldest, and has a big rump. Vet says wasn’t desirable but she is no muss no fuss

Our biggest cow

One of last winters heifers. I think her body shape is good?

Oldest heifer, bony hips.

 

[ReluctantFarmer]

One more piece of info, since I have 35 bales, was going to keep 8 bred cows and the steer over the winter. I think with the grass, I shouldn’t run out of hay. We don’t typically have much snow covering the grass in the winter, 4-6 weeks at the most usually.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

I've got no words of wisdom for you - I barely know one end of a cow from the other, lol. Maybe @greybeard or @farmerjan will come along and have a comment.

 

[farmerjan]

Glad that you checked back in. A bunch of questions. First it is hard to tell with the grass/pasture being high around their legs as to type. It does look like they are all pretty tame, that's a big plus for you and showing that you took some time to get them to be at ease around people.
I went back through the thread and looked at the couple of pics of the first calves. I wasn't overly impressed with the teats on 77 but from later pics the calf either got the large teats milked down, OR they didn't get nursed and dried up. One strike against her because big teats only get bigger with subsequent calves.
I am not at all impressed with the steer calf. Honestly, I would ship him because he will bring more per pound than a heifer calf ordinarily, and choose a heifer that is growing better for your beef. Any chance he is out of that 77 cow? Maybe didn't get alot of milk? Or look seriously at the cow that had the steer..... she may just not be that good a milker.

I would take a good hard look at the calves as to WHO their momma's are. I would like to see a picture of the 74 cow's udder. She was standing with her leg completely in front of the udder. I also don't like that she seems to have a longer hair coat in the heat of the summer. Could mean she is carrying a worm load when they don't shed off real slick for the summer.

What don't you like of the 75 cow? Also, just because 54 has a little more "bone" showing, you need to look at her calf. She may have put more of her fat into milk and the calf might have better growth. I don't think she is bony, but she is not as "fat" as some of the others.

Are you planning to sell all the heifer calves? I like the rump on 4 in the last picture, and didn't like her in the previous picture so that just goes to show that a different angle will show them in a better or worse pose.
No closeup pics of 6 or 7.
# 2 is okay but I like 4 & 5 better. 8 is the youngest? out of a heifer? So a little smaller. Would really like to see them out on ground where you can see their legs to see how they are "setting up" on their legs. Too straight, too angled... that sort of thing. Believe me, a NICE calf will catch your eye.... overall balanced.

One thing you need to think about too, is to cull anyone that isn't bred. I would get them preg checked before you decide to ship any of the cows. That may make your decisions easy.

The markets here are not great and don't look to get any better. Very best steers in the 5-6 wts are bringing 1.60 when sold in weaned groups of 10-35. Smaller groups, 1-2 to 5 or so are bringing in the 1.40's. Heifers in the 1.10 to 1.25. So that is another determining factor.

It looks like you did good as to not having any problems with the calving, and they are in very nice shape overall. I also don't see any pinkeye problems and that is a big plus. We are having some major problems with it here in Va.

Congrats on your first calf crop. Any questions, please ask. If you get a few pics of them out on flat, grazed off ground where we can see their legs better, would love to see them.

Is this bull the sire of these calves or a new one? He's a pretty nice looking bull . I would pull him out now and anyone that is not bred is a candidate to sell. You want your calves to be born as close together just so that they are more uniform in size, which makes it easier to get a few together in a group. The cows are all in very good flesh so have no reason to not be bred back. Calves bring more in groups of 3's or more, than does a single most always.

 

[ReluctantFarmer]

@farmerjan thank you for your reply, it is amazing what you saw in those pictures! Lesson learned, I need to take better pictures

Your comment about 77 and her big tweets is spot on with what the vet said.

Also, you didn’t hurt my feelings about the steer. So glad we cut him cause he wouldn’t be good at all as a bull. I think part of the issue (aside from genetics) is that he gets picked on. He always walk with his head down, and isn’t the brightest bulb when we are working them. We need beef for the freezer, but there is another younger steer that I may end up keeping instead. Like you said about the groups, since he is an oddball, and doesn’t look great, I didn’t think he’d do great at the sale.

Also your comment about 4, she is one I was thinking about keeping. I’ll have to check to see who her momma is. But she was born with the group of 5 in Feb, but seems to have outpaced the others on growth. Also her coat looked like velvet when she was younger, and she just always has looked like the “best” calf, with regards to sturdiness and how she holds herself. Plus she seems pretty smart, stayed with the herd, and is fairly tame. 2 and 3 always hung out with our oldest cow away from the herd this winter, and were skiddish about wanting to get close to humans, or come up to the corral.

I thought the bull looked pretty good and isn’t absolutely massive. He’s on loan from the neighbor who has other larger bulls he likes to use for his herd. Also he is very mellow, which is good for an unfamiliar animal. He is not the bull to these calves. I don’t exactly know who the dad was, that’s my fault for not paying attention.

I’ll try to take some better pics in a month or so, and post again before we start culling. Thanks again for your advise!