what would you do

[m.holloway]

ok, here's one.kitty farmer (he don't know she went boom on this calf) what??

 

[Farmer Kitty]

ok, here's one.kitty farmer (he don't know she went boom on this calf) what??

Meaning the guy he got her from doesn't know she didn't do well with this calf-not enough milk once again.

 

[wynedot55]

she is right boom means she didnt have enough milk again.

 

[CowCop]

I love beefmasters~!

There are certainly some dissapointments when it comes to raising quality beef animals.

Nothing worse than buying a GOOD cow and having her not produce enough quantity of milk to have her calves meet the standard weaning weights.

I hate shipping GOOD cows, for beef, because of this, but I also kick myself when I decide to keep them in the herd too, and have the same repeating low weaning weight the very next year.

So... several years ago, I devised a plan of action for my GOOD cows, so they could still have a "job" and so I could sleep-guilt free..

First, take some really good photos of her and her calf.
Make sure you have a nice clean foreground & background with some color ( trees, hay etc )

You now have several options:

1. The usual---Ship her soon or keep her and feed her on some good Texas grass and then ship her when the price of beef goes up. Which it is sure to do in April.

OR......

2. She may not be the type of cow that fits into your specific breeding program, but she may fit just fine into someone elses, who has lower expectations.
Advertise your cow/calf pair on Craigslist (www.craigslist.com ) and use those good photos~! Its FREE.
Lots of folks are looking for easy calving "experienced " cows to buy to start their own backyard herd. Plus there is a really good market for weaned grassfed calves.

The better the photos and wording of your ad, the more inquieries you are sure to get.

I put ONE ad on Craigslist, with 4 excellant photos, last May and I sold 1/3 of my cows and calves at premium prices.
PLUS I am already recieving calls about purchasing more cattle from my herd in April & May.
I met lots of nice families who came out to the farm and gave them the full tour and explained all the family trees of cows that I have. My cows are very approachable and this made a big impact on all the folks who came out to shop.

The one thing that was emphasized by the people who wanted a pregnant cow was ease of calving and low maintenance. They all started out wanting bred heifers and I encouraged them to consider older more"experienced" cows. I call it the "Auto pilot " cow program. Its a success here, so I encourage you to consider giving your good cow a new job in someone elses backyard herd.

Best of luck,

 

[wynedot55]

if i sale her she will go to the packer.i wont pass on low milkers to any1.she could stay in the comm herd.but i know her calves wont grow off well.

 

[WildRoseBeef]

i have this real nice beefmaster cow.but she seems to not have enough milk to raise a good calf.she has had 2 calves for me an neither grew off good.she is nursing the 2nd calf now.this cow is in great shape.she will weigh 1300lbs or better.her calf is about 4 months old.im leaning toward culling her now.sending her an her calf on the next load going to the sale.an putting her in the kill pen.any thoughts.

Forgive me wyne if this is too late, since you probably did what needed to be done already, but if I were in your shoes I would definately cull her. A cow like her that can't produce milk for her calf is just going to be a hard keeper, and more work because that means you gotta feed the calf extra in order to grow them to a satisfactory weight.

I'd wean her calf early, and put it on creep and her on the kill pen. Just like you said you said you were leanin' on doing.

It's a shame, you know, you get a real nice-looking beef cow that is easy on the eyes, and yet put her in a production setting where management standards state that she produce a growthy, beefy and healthy calf and the next thing you know she doesn't do as well as you intended, no matter if you give her a second chance or not. Goes to show you that looks ain't everything in selecting cattle, particularly beef cattle in this case. :/

 

[CowCop]

And Murphy's Law:

Tha ugliest cow in the herd produces the largest calf~!!

Go figure.

 

[wynedot55]

ive still got her an her calf.i havent pulled the trigger on her yet.im trying to build a seedstock herd.an she just wont work in that herd.now she might work in a stock cow herd if she breeds back an has a calf yearly.

 

[WildRoseBeef]

Wyne, in my personal opinion, I'd still cull her no matter if she's more suitable for a commercial than a purebred herd or vice versa. There's a something to be said when she's producing a little milk--and that means you're gonna get a little calf, which a) will most likely require more attention than the other larger calves in terms of health and feeding, and b) will most likely not give you the bang for your buck when you go to sell it for beef.

But that's just my personal opinion.

 

[Farmer Kitty]

I would also worry about her passing the trait on to her calf if she were to have a heifer. All that would do is give you another cow with the same problem.