December 2010

[WyomingRancher]

Overall, it's been a mild fall, and I haven't had to feed a lot of hay... yet . I guess I only think of posting pics when it snows, so here goes...

Cows trailing in today.

Dylan posted a pic of a grey cow, so I thought I'd put Janet Reno up one more time. She's 12 this spring .

RSL brought up a good point about purchased cows, at least he has a good clue what he bought. I needed a couple of cows last fall ('09), and so I bought a few from a high elevation complete dispersal. Jim and I purchased 6 head total, and once home we discovered two weren't bred, and right before calving, one of my two purchases died :? :roll: . There's a lot to be said for purchasing cattle from a place you know.

This is my one surviving cow, I'm really proud of her :roll: .

I guess Jim felt badly for me, so he gave me two bonus heifers, here's one . The last time he gave me a heifer, she immediately choked on her afterbirth after calving, so lets hope my luck improves.

Here's another free heifer I got from the neighbor . I helped them on a business deal, so they let me have pick of their heifer calves this fall :wink: .

None of these have been given to me , but I thought they made a nice pic.

I wore my new YakTraxs today, and like them a lot... though they needed repositioned occasionally.

Tia does a great job keeping cows away from the tractor if I have to take the core off of the spinner... usually I find a rock to scrape it off onto, but couldn't fine one close by today .

The heifer calves coming in for feed today.

I usually leave them in with their mothers, but it just made better sense to separate them for pasture usage. I've got plans to change a fenceline, and incorporate another 1/2 section into the cow's winter pasture, so perhaps next year I'll run them all together again... they have better manners when I do that :wink: .

My afternoon project, getting this lame cow in before the ground blizzard hits. I'm afraid she couldn't trail to water and feed from shelter very easily if left out.

I've also been looking at potential bulls to purchase . These are mostly Balancers from an outfit in Colorado.

Got Gelbvieh . I need to get some muscling and frame back on these calves, and these kind of guys might do the trick.

Luckily for her, the new snow will replenish Casey's snowdrift... she still won't go near the water bowl :roll: .

 

[per]

Thank you WR for the tour. Everyone has abandoned me here and no one was posting on Ranchers. Those free cows are great and thinks look good down there.

 

[Justin]

well, it's about time you posted some pics. :wink: cows are looking great and it looks like your winter grazing still has some life left. good luck with your bulls, they look good.

 

[Big Swede]

Your picture of the frail cow you bought reminds me of the time that I was told that one of my cows had crawled into the neighbors pasture. These cows were taken in by my brother on a grazing lease and they were from quite a distance away but their type and style was similar to the cow you pictured. I had ridden my 4 wheeler through about 400 head of these kind of cows when from a distance I saw a cow that was built more like I like them, deeper not so tall with lots of capacity. Turned out to be my cow. Made me feel good to know I could pick her out from 200 yards. I suppose if the situation was reversed and the other guy could pick out his cow in my herd he would feel good too. Different strokes for different folks as they say.

 

[WyomingRancher]

well, it's about time you posted some pics. :wink: cows are looking great and it looks like your winter grazing still has some life left. good luck with your bulls, they look good.

Ooops! I didn't mean to imply the bulls have been purchased, I'm just looking at possible candidates... I've edited the wording. I've got a few more breeders to visit before deciding which sales to attend.

Thanks for the compliments guys, and Per, don't feel abandoned, some of us are just lurking more than posting lately .

Big Swede, I know what you mean. Unfortunately it's tough finding cattle out of elevation to buy from... however, after the last purchase experiment, it honestly couldn't have been worse had I tried to buy cattle out of the low ground :roll: . They did make it right on the two head which weren't bred FWIW.

 

[leanin' H]

Your cows should fit your enviroment and would work well out here too. The altitude issue is a big one and can be frustrating to address. But lots of folks run high country summer and winter if you can just find the type of cattle you like and a reputable outfit to deal with. Good luck! Glad to see winter hasnt thumped ya too bad. We have 14 inches of WET snow here and it was bare dirt/mud on Sunday night. Thanks for the picture tour.

 

[Big Swede]

Hey H how much snow are you expected to get from that monster storm hitting California?

 

[leanin' H]

The National weather service says the worse of it has already nailed us. But they also "predicted" 1 to 3 inches total for Monday and today! :roll: Moisture is always welcome out here. What irritates and inconviences now looks pretty dang skippy around August.

 

[RSL]

Good pics. A free cow is one that is almost paid for...
but occasionally costs too much.

 

[Soapweed]

The cattle look good, WyomingRancher, even ol' Janet. :wink:

A bit of Gelbvieh blood will sure add some width, extra beef, and more pounds to your calf crop.

 

[Jassy]

You've got snow! Something we haven't seen much of so far. and that's a good thing.

When you mentioned about your luck in buying 6 cows, don't feel bad it happened to us also...Hubby just bought 6 cows and 2 are lame already..hmmmm We didn't preg em cause they were sold as bred cows, so we shall see come March! :???: He did buy them from a rancher he knew though, so they should be ok...Good luck with your little heifers..they're so much fun to raise! lol

 

[gcreekrch]

well, it's about time you posted some pics. :wink: cows are looking great and it looks like your winter grazing still has some life left. good luck with your bulls, they look good.

That's why those cattle look so good, she's been out there looking after things rather than sitting on her butt in front of the computer like us! :lol:

Thanks for the photos WR, everything appears shipshape.

 

[pdfangus]

I wondered where Janet Reno had trundled off to.

Has she given up smoking the pipe?

 

[Justin]

well, it's about time you posted some pics. :wink: cows are looking great and it looks like your winter grazing still has some life left. good luck with your bulls, they look good.

That's why those cattle look so good, she's been out there looking after things rather than sitting on her butt in front of the computer like us! :lol: Thanks for the photos WR, everything appears shipshape.

overachievers :wink: :lol:

 

[Justin]

well, it's about time you posted some pics. :wink: cows are looking great and it looks like your winter grazing still has some life left. good luck with your bulls, they look good.

Ooops! I didn't mean to imply the bulls have been purchased, I'm just looking at possible candidates... I've edited the wording. I've got a few more breeders to visit before deciding which sales to attend.
Thanks for the compliments guys, and Per, don't feel abandoned, some of us are just lurking more than posting lately .

Big Swede, I know what you mean. Unfortunately it's tough finding cattle out of elevation to buy from... however, after the last purchase experiment, it honestly couldn't have been worse had I tried to buy cattle out of the low ground :roll: . They did make it right on the two head which weren't bred FWIW.

that's good, i didn't like those bulls anyways. :lol: :lol: :wink:

 

[WyomingRancher]

well, it's about time you posted some pics. :wink: cows are looking great and it looks like your winter grazing still has some life left. good luck with your bulls, they look good.

Ooops! I didn't mean to imply the bulls have been purchased, I'm just looking at possible candidates... I've edited the wording. I've got a few more breeders to visit before deciding which sales to attend.
Thanks for the compliments guys, and Per, don't feel abandoned, some of us are just lurking more than posting lately .

Big Swede, I know what you mean. Unfortunately it's tough finding cattle out of elevation to buy from... however, after the last purchase experiment, it honestly couldn't have been worse had I tried to buy cattle out of the low ground :roll: . They did make it right on the two head which weren't bred FWIW.

that's good, i didn't like those bulls anyways. :lol: :lol: :wink:

Well I do since they aren't ANGUS :lol:

Both breeds have a place in this herd, I'm just getting too much Angus at this point, and it's time to swing back the other way a bit :wink:.

 

[Dylan Biggs]

WR, thanks for the post. Cows look just right, and calves look good. I like the red heifer calf. My gray cow 221H is coming 13, I think shes about done though.

Curious as to why you want more frame, are you getting feedback from buyers? The bulls you were looking at look, from a photo appraisal, for what it is worth, look like a good footed and well muscled bunch.
Of the four bulls in the front row I like the looks of the bull on the left. If you can maintain heart girth, rib and flank depth and add muscle to your calf crop go for it. In the photos of your steer calves you posted this fall I thought your calves looked very good. I am always cautious trying to fix what isn't broke.

Tell me more about your dog Tia. I like her type.

 

[WyomingRancher]

WR, thanks for the post. Cows look just right, and calves look good. I like the red heifer calf. My gray cow 221H is coming 13, I think shes about done though.

Curious as to why you want more frame, are you getting feedback from buyers? The bulls you were looking at look, from a photo appraisal, for what it is worth, look like a good footed and well muscled bunch.
Of the four bulls in the front row I like the looks of the bull on the left. If you can maintain heart girth, rib and flank depth and add muscle to your calf crop go for it. In the photos of your steer calves you posted this fall I thought your calves looked very good. I am always cautious trying to fix what isn't broke.

Tell me more about your dog Tia. I like her type.

Thanks Dylan for your comments. You can only tell so much from a picture, and I wish you could see the cattle in person to see what I think I'm seeing :? . Basically, last fall's calves were mostly sired out of completely different bulls than what we have now... and those bulls had a touch more frame. We've gotten some calves out of the current bulls, and they were a bit smaller framed. I just want to stay in the middle of the road . I hope to make it to the feedlot soon, and will try and take pics of examples so you can "see" what I'm talking about.

Tia is from Jim and Patti Chant. She's a Pap x Dixie pup.

 

[WyomingRancher]

One more thought... I'm kinda dipping my toe into the water looking for a different bull source to cross on the heifer calves which will be born this spring. I know, Type A, what can I say! I'm trying to anticipate what those females should cross with, and getting a source in place .

 

[AngusCowBoy]

If you don't mind me asking, who raised those bulls in the picture.