Should we give our new cow company?

[stano40]

Beautiful calf. I have 13 goats and from experience since the very first goat we bought we did learn that herd animals like goats need a companion, such a another goat to socialize with and learn.

Cattle are herd animals and a calf would probably do better with another of his or her age to socialize with.

May even stick closer to the barn. Do you have a corral for the little one to exercise in?

bob

 

[Royd Wood]

Stubbornhill - nice heifer you had there. I know its an old post and missed it first time round
Hows she doing now ?? Good buddies with your other steers I bet ???

 

[Stubbornhillfarm]

Stano, sorry if I didn't make myself clear back when I originally posted. We do have other bovine and she is, (was going to be) with them. We just weren't sure if when we first put her in the barn to get her used to her new home if we should put one of the others in with her for a few days. It ended up that she was out with the rest of the herd after a day anyhow. (much easier then the first steer we got who went for long walks in the woods, like 4 miles several times to find his mother) No corral at our farm since the first steer. He jumped that 4 1/2 foot corral fence like it was a mud puddle. Then went for one of his walks as mentioned above! So we have the barn and their pasture with electric fence which they all respect.

Thanks Royd, we think she is exceptional! She is super smart, very stocky, has an awesome personality, lets you touch her all over. We believe that she is going to be a big girl and hopefully will be a good mother. We are hoping to have her bred in the fall and from that point on, unless something changes, we will move forward with a small herd of herefords. Out of the three breeds that we currently have, we like every aspect about her the best. She is #2 in the chain of command and I am sure that when we put our Baldie steer in the freezer this fall that she will step up to be the herd leader.

They are all one happy herd! This is the most recent pic of her that we have. Taken about 3 months ago.

 

[stano40]

Glad to hear she is doing fine. Your walkabout steer sounds like my goats jumping a 4'-5' high fence. You would never think it possible until you see it happen.

That last photo you took is a keeper. She is a beauty and should produce beautiful babies.

best of luck with her.

bob

 

[WildRoseBeef]

Stubbornhill, how old is she now? I've been hearing some concerns about high-tail set in relation to problems calving, but there was also talk about high-tail set and a downward sloping pelvis (sloping down from the hooks to the pins) correlates to ease of calving. So hopefully she'll grow to be a good momma, and she's obviously still in the growing stages still.

 

[Stubbornhillfarm]

WRB, she is about 10 months old. Her tail does sit a little higher than our two Jerseys that are roughly the same age. I just though it was because they are a different breed and she is a more solid build then they are. It never occured to me that there may be something wrong. I also hope that she grows into a good momma. She has an awesome personality and as I said, is super smart. We certainly would be happy with a whole herd like her!

 

[Stubbornhillfarm]

Glad to hear she is doing fine. Your walkabout steer sounds like my goats jumping a 4'-5' high fence. You would never think it possible until you see it happen.

That last photo you took is a keeper. She is a beauty and should produce beautiful babies.

best of luck with her.

bob

This is why I say, "If I didn't have to work, I would get some goats." But the truth of the matter is, when I hear all the stories about goats doing goat things, I fear that I just don't have the time to keep a good eye on them. My boss was somewhat understanding when I kept saying, "Sorry I am late. We had to go track our cow through the woods again!" I don't know that he would be as understanding if I kept saying that I was late because I had to track my goats down.

 

[WildRoseBeef]

WRB, she is about 10 months old. Her tail does sit a little higher than our two Jerseys that are roughly the same age. I just though it was because they are a different breed and she is a more solid build then they are.

Not so. I've seen pictures on another forum of Hereford cows with much lower tail head set than your heifer, and it's not due to breed, but rather genetics within the breed.

Some good discussion here: http://www.cattletoday.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=75350

 

[Stubbornhillfarm]

WRB, she is about 10 months old. Her tail does sit a little higher than our two Jerseys that are roughly the same age. I just though it was because they are a different breed and she is a more solid build then they are.

Not so. I've seen pictures on another forum of Hereford cows with much lower tail head set than your heifer, and it's not due to breed, but rather genetics within the breed.

Some good discussion here: http://www.cattletoday.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=75350

Interesting discussion. She is 10 months old now. In the picture she was 7 months. Time will tell!

 

[Stubbornhillfarm]