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Calving and goats

R

rancherfred

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 3, 2007
Messages
444
Location
Western Nebraska
Calving is about 75% done and I can actually start to think about other things. Here are a few pictures I took today while checking for new babies.
The last three slackers of my first calf heifers. We exposed every yearling heifer last year through natural service. I turned the bulls in for five days and then hit them with Lutalyse and bred for sixty days. We ultrasounded the fetuses and aged them and only kept the heifers that were bred through the first thirty days. As well as it has worked I think I will use the sync protocol again but only breed for thirty days this year.


A fat pregnant cow.


A fat non-pregnant cow that doesn't really like me that close to her new calf.


Yearling heifers wondering what I am doing.


And now for the confessional, after all the crap I have given H about his goats I have to admit that I also raise goats.
 
Pretty nice looking cattle in great condition. We bought some under fed thin cows on Good Friday at FT. Pierre they were reasonably priced and calveing end of april. They now look about like yours and they were red also. kind of a nice contrast with all the blacks we have here and everyone has had a black calf so far.
 
Are your red cattle straight red angus or is there a touch of something else ? Just noticed the white naval is all either way those are some ripen good cows.
 
Denny said:
Are your red cattle straight red angus or is there a touch of something else ? Just noticed the white naval is all either way those are some ripen good cows.
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I don't see a white naval - - - I think that is a weed in the background
 
When my grandfather got out of the army after WWII he and his brothers purchased some purebred Hereford cows which formed the nucleus of our herd. Through the years we tried various different crossbreeding schemes that used among other things a brief foray into the old time Simmental. We have been breeding Red Angus until we start to loose enough heterosis that we start to notice performance dropping off. Then we try to find another red breed to inject some heterosis back in. When I was a kid we were using some Saler, then we tried a few Gelbvieh bulls, after that we tried South Devon, and most recently we have been using some non-spotter, non-diluter red Simmental. Every time we have gone away from straight Red Angus the problems have outweighed the benefits and we end up going back. My dad has completely stepped out of management of the cow herd and I think that I am going to take the herd in a different direction than has been used to manage it. We have been raising our own bulls out of AI sires and retaining all of our own heifers. Our mindset has always been that we are raising steers to sell and the heifers were a byproduct. I got rid of the last purebred Simmental bulls we had this winter and purchased a half dozen purebred Red Angus bulls. I also have a group of Schuler Rebel sons that will be used for the first time this summer. I am going to focus more on heifer production and selling bred heifers. I haven't yet decided but I am leaning strongly towards registering the cows in our herd that would qualify for at least a 1B registration. I have been selling some commercial bred heifers for several years now and I think I could get a better price if I registered them.

The first cow with an orange tag is a daughter of Basin Hobo 3003 and goes back to PSR Rawhide and Logan on her dam's side. The cow with calf is a daughter of Beckton Halfmann Hustler and she goes back to Above and Beyond and Make Mimi on her dam's side. They spent the winter grazing windrowed sudan grass with a little salt and mineral the last trimester. From the sudan grass they spent about three weeks grazing crop residues and then were about 2 weeks on triticale before going to native range. It has been a pretty good spring for maintaining body condition.
 
I sure like the looks of your cattle. They are deep sisters and in grand flesh. The grass looks beautiful too. Raising good heifers will make good steer calves too.

I can't believe all the heck I have taken from ya, and you have been a closet goat grower the whole time!!! :D
 
leanin' H said:
I sure like the looks of your cattle. They are deep sisters and in grand flesh. The grass looks beautiful too. Raising good heifers will make good steer calves too.

I can't believe all the heck I have taken from ya, and you have been a closet goat grower the whole time!!! :D
Click to expand...

I could no longer keep up the facade. What's worse is that I even run them with my cattle. I am so ashamed. :lol: :lol: :lol:
 
George said:
Denny said:
Are your red cattle straight red angus or is there a touch of something else ? Just noticed the white naval is all either way those are some ripen good cows.
Click to expand...

I don't see a white naval - - - I think that is a weed in the background
Click to expand...

This reminded me of my day today. I was checking some late calvers. Way at he end of the pasture I could see a yellow "foot" coming out of a cow. As I got closer, I found a small yellow leaf had landed precisely at the right spot on the cows hind end. Sure looked like a foot from distance.
 

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