2018 Spring Calves

[jmf3460]

So calving season is over for us this year. A year without much drama, and 7 healthy calves and mommas thank goodness. Here are some pictures of our brood this year. I am so proud. This brings our herd up to 17 total, and we will have 2 steers and one heifer (the full black) to sell this fall, we will keep the other females. The mommas are either registered shorthorn or baldie, and the bull is baldie (Hereford x angus)
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[jmf3460]

and one more
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[Kirbs]

Nice Jacklyn!

[Second Hand Pat]

You have a fine looking crew Jacklyn :)
Pat

[jmf3460]

Thanks Kirby, thanks Pat. It is really fun watching them grow up and learn to play and run and play fight. They headbutt eachother in the pastures its so cute and funny to watch them learn to be cows.

[RogueDiscus]

Of your 17, how many will you keep to continue building your herd? The ones you sell, I assume the steers are for meat, but someone would buy the hefer to raise and calf?

[jmf3460]

we will keep 14 of the 17, at this point we are still building our herd so we will keep all the females except the solid black. we just bought 44 more acres and are in the process of fencing in 8 acres now so we will have that property to grow as well. the two male calves born we will sell, one of them may go on to be a show steer hopefully and yes the solid black heifer calf will go to someone likely wanting to grow her up to become a herd momma. She would make a great momma with her genes. there are tons of people (the majority of beef cattleman actually) that prefer solid black cows, but we do not

[RogueDiscus]

Thank you for indulging my ignorance. I grew up in the suburbs of Wisconsin dairy country. Always wished I could have been more of a farmer/rancher. So your remaining herd is all female? Is that the norm? Maybe I remember you posting about the dads, but do you have your own bulls, or do you pay for service?

[jmf3460]

That is the norm with a cow-calf operation Steve. Build your herd up to a group of high producing momma cows, then sell the calves each year. we're still building so we are keeping females at this point. We have a bull that comes for 4-6 months out of the year, hot rod is our bull for the last 2 years and will be once more this april. he is a rotational bull, meaning the farmer who owns him needs him gone for a while and we happen to need him for a while so we swap. our bull's name is hot rod, he is owned by a friend of ours so there is no money exchange, just the unspoken rule that whenever our friend needs help (he is a big time farmer) we help him for free. here is hot rod the bull.

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[jmf3460]

he really is a gentle giant, you can rub his head and feed him bread, he loves bread. the farmer that owns hot rod says he will be getting rid of him soon because he has kept too many of hot rods daughters, and indeed we have too (but we have a second property to take his daughters when he comes back) so it may come a time that we consider buying hot rod, but we still wouldn't keep him year round.

[jmf3460]

Update: All calves are doing well, we are bottle feeding one as its momma couldn't keep up with the milk production. Here are some new pictures
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[Altum Nut]

I'm amazed Jacklyn with you and your hubby. Being a city boy all my life I can only dream about a lifestyle in the country.
Farming in general whether live stock or crop I could only imagine the heavy work load 7 days a week which is why you get a thumbs up :thumbsup: from me.
The photos clearly show the rewards in the end.
Maybe one day when I retire a little mixed forested/open land property with some chickens.

...Ralph

[jmf3460]

I'm amazed Jacklyn with you and your hubby. Being a city boy all my life I can only dream about a lifestyle in the country.
Farming in general whether live stock or crop I could only imagine the heavy work load 7 days a week which is why you get a thumbs up :thumbsup: from me.
The photos clearly show the rewards in the end.
May one day when I retire a little mixed forested/open land property with some chickens.

...Ralph

Wow Ralph thanks so much for those kind words. I agree with you 100% that it is a full time 7 day a week job, and it is very physical and tough work, lots of blood sweat and tears have gone into our little herd, but it is all worth it in the end. I love every minute of our little country oasis.

[gunnerschh2]

Living the LIFE!!!!!!!!!! Harry

[jmf3460]

well our calves are nearly 6 months old. we will be weaning them in August and looking to sell a few as well. This will be the first year we will have calves to sell and possibly make a little profit on our cow calf operation. We already have a buyer lined up for two of the shorthorn heifers and possibly a buyer lined up for the shorthorn steer to become a show calf which makes me so proud!! below are some grow-up collages I put together for my husband
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SHORTHORN STEER, HOPEFULLY SELLING TO BECOME A SHOW COW


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SHORTHORN HEIFER, ALREADY PRESOLD TO A FAMILY FRIEND


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BALDIE HEIFER, WE ARE KEEPING HER TO BECOME A HERD MOMMA


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SHORTHORN HEIFER, ALREADY PRESOLD TO A FAMILY FRIEND, SHE WENT FOR PREMIUM PRICE

[RogueDiscus]

Nice work Jacklyn and congratulations.

[jmf3460]

two more
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SHORTHORN HEIFER, WE WILL KEEP HER TO BECOME A HERD MOMMA


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BALDIE STEER, WE DO NOT KNOW WHAT WE WILL DO WITH HIM YET, THIS IS THE ONE I HAVE BOTTLE FED AND SO I AM QUITE ATTACHED

[jmf3460]

More pictures guys sorry for the photo spam but I thought it might be interesting for some to see the headgate process. Saturday we vaccinated, wormed and ear tagged all the calves. This was their first time being caught in the headgate and it is a very nervous time for cows but they all did really well.
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[brewmaster15]

Jacklyn,
Great livestock here...beautiful!

We are some issues with the uploads though..Were these capture with a smart phone, if so what kind? Could you try and repost them? could you also email me the pics? I want to see exact image you are uploading before the forum software resizes it. Thanks. (brewmaster15@comcast.net)

al

[jmf3460]

Jacklyn,
Great livestock here...beautiful!

We are some issues with the uploads though..Were these capture with a smart phone, if so what kind? Could you try and repost them? could you also email me the pics? I want to see exact image you are uploading before the forum software resizes it. Thanks. (brewmaster15@comcast.net)

al

sent you an email Al. I will try to repost now.

[jmf3460]

Jacklyn,
Great livestock here...beautiful!

We are some issues with the uploads though..Were these capture with a smart phone, if so what kind? Could you try and repost them? could you also email me the pics? I want to see exact image you are uploading before the forum software resizes it. Thanks. (brewmaster15@comcast.net)

al

sent you an email Al. I will try to repost now.

[jmf3460]

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[jmf3460]

and from this weekend while having them in the headgate

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[RogueDiscus]

Who wouldn't be nervous in that position?!

[jmf3460]

Who wouldn't be nervous in that position?!

it doesn't hurt at all Steve, the gate doesn't actually do any squeezing around their necks. its mainly there to keep them still while we do our work. The ear tag doesn't really hurt either as their ears are mostly cartilage, a few didn't even flinch when we did it.

Now comes the hard part of this whole job, selling. I have a habit of getting overly close with these calves. This year we didn't name them, just assigned them numbers. Secretly in my head they have names though, but I don't tell my husband.

[Second Hand Pat]

They are gorgeous Jacklyn. :) I can see it being hard to sell them. Way to easy to get attached to young animals.
Pat

[RogueDiscus]

I was imagining this was also their position before slaughter. Better to have them used to it. Sorry if that's offensive, just thinking. I buy grass fed beef from a local rancher.

[jmf3460]

They are gorgeous Jacklyn. :) I can see it being hard to sell them. Way to easy to get attached to young animals.
Pat

Thanks Pat, I am really liking my role as a cattleman. Looking forward to next spring when we will have 12 calves (providing everything goes well) Its hard to believe that we started with three cows, 3 years ago and next spring if all the calves make it we will have 30 head.

[jmf3460]

I was imagining this was also their position before slaughter. Better to have them used to it. Sorry if that's offensive, just thinking. I buy grass fed beef from a local rancher.

no offense taken Steve.

[Altum Nut]

So happy for you and your husband Jacklyn. They all look wonderful and as I was viewing the photos my daughter standing behind me said she wants one...however not possible I told her living in the city.

...Ralph

[jmf3460]

So happy for you and your husband Jacklyn. They all look wonderful and as I was viewing the photos my daughter standing behind me said she wants one...however not possible I told her living in the city.

...Ralph

thanks ralph

[Kwiege]

If you are looking for a new bull, we have a great beef breeder in our area. Riley beef. They have awesome beef!! Im in Wisconsin, but I know they sell all over the country. Great looking calves!!

[jmf3460]

UPDATE: as of last sunday, all the calves were separated from their mommas and are now one week into being weaned. The first two days/nights were rough, but all has settled down now and the calves only holler when their moms are in eyesight. As for the moms, they took it very well and seemed to be over it within a day. Check out this stud:
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uV__UsKNZ3k
here he is eating a treat from my hand.