I guess I just cheat!

[George]

I feel a tractor ( or truck ) is another tool and to get the most of a tool you need to learn to use it to it's full potential and maintain it.

Yes I feed each morning and to make life easier I have a timer set up so that at 5:00AM a block heater and a trickle charger turn on. I normally feed at 7:00AM and so everything is warmed up including the batteries. If for some reason I get delayed the timer shuts off at 8:00AM but the tractor will still have the benifit of the warmth and will spin like summer time till about 10:00 AM.

Bennifits
1) easier on the starter and batteries

2) easier on me ( I don't like fighting a tractor or truck for several hours to do a 30 minute job )

3) warm cab ( I guess this is easier on me as well.)

4) cattle are used to me and are much easier to handle ( I guess this is easier on me as well.) than if I just showed up once a week.

So I guess the main thought is. Handle your animals as you like ( I enjoy working with mine and so do the dogs ) but you can observe others and possibly make life easier and more enjoyable for all concerned if you try to incorporate the good points you see in others into your routine.

 

[Denny]

I feed everyday that way my wife thinks I'm busy and I don't have to get a job....

 

[Yanuck]

I feed everyday that way my wife thinks I'm busy and I don't have to get a job....

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[Soapweed]

I feed everyday that way my wife thinks I'm busy and I don't have to get a job....

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

You sound like me, Denny. As I mentioned in another thread, Peach and I each go a different direction with our Hydra-Bed pickups. Under the pretense that I am taking on the biggest job, I take the route with the most cattle. The bales on my route are tied with plastic-like twine, and it all has to be cut and gathered. The bales on her route are tied with sisal, so she just cuts the twine and leaves it with the hay as it rots and biodegrades in short order. The bright side of my route is that it takes me close to town so I can go pick up the mail, and hang out for a bit with the boys at the gas station. :wink:

 

[gcreekrch]

We also like to feed every day, I believe that we take more notice of our cattle by rolling bales out and then driving back by them. There may be cheaper ways but they would have to be prooven to us before they were used here.
We feed on the weak portions of our hayland and every time it snows we can go back and feed on a clean plate. Usually the following year there is not much growth but the following years there is quite a difference.

 

[Anonymous]

We also like to feed every day, I believe that we take more notice of our cattle by rolling bales out and then driving back by them. There may be cheaper ways but they would have to be prooven to us before they were used here.
We feed on the weak portions of our hayland and every time it snows we can go back and feed on a clean plate. Usually the following year there is not much growth but the following years there is quite a difference.

I agree- and if the weather is nice- and I'm not in a hurry- I like to get out and walk around thru them--not only looking them over, but letting them look me over and get more used to me...
Really helps out for calving time and when you have to handle them...I can walk around thru them- and almost have to push them out of the way-but when my son, who's not around them as much, walks out there heads go up- and some are watching everything he does....

 

[miocene]

WE HAD THE FIELD MAN COME FROM THE LOCAL STOCKYAEDS YESTERDAY TO LOOK AT OUR YEARLINGS .NORMALY QUIET CATTLE THAT HAVE TO BE KICKED OUT OF THE WAY (LITERALY)WERE ALL OF SUDDEN HEADS UP AND HEADING OFF TO THE TIMBER TO GET AWAY.THIS WAS THE FIRST STANGER THEY HAVE HAD AMONGST THEM IN 45 DAYS SINCE WEANING.MY FEELING IS IT DEFINATELY PAYS TO HAVE QUIET CATTLE

 

[Denny]

We also like to feed every day, I believe that we take more notice of our cattle by rolling bales out and then driving back by them. There may be cheaper ways but they would have to be prooven to us before they were used here.
We feed on the weak portions of our hayland and every time it snows we can go back and feed on a clean plate. Usually the following year there is not much growth but the following years there is quite a difference.

I agree- and if the weather is nice- and I'm not in a hurry- I like to get out and walk around thru them--not only looking them over, but letting them look me over and get more used to me...
Really helps out for calving time and when you have to handle them...I can walk around thru them- and almost have to push them out of the way-but when my son, who's not around them as much, walks out there heads go up- and some are watching everything he does....

I bought some bred heifers in 2002 that came off a place in western N.D. they never got out of the feeding tractor and chased them with dirt bikes to move them.They are/were the wildest bunch of cows I own there were 24 of them and there are 2 that are pretty wild yet and both have been on the end of a rope more than once.Of the 24 only two stand out as great cows the rest are average at best but I've only got 7 of them left they were'nt real productive.

 

[gcreekrch]

Any new cows we buy stay here in the yard the first winter and get used to things going on around them. Can't say as I mind cows that are a little snuffy, they are the ones that bring their calves home from the range. No tolerance for breachy "farmer" cows though.

Our cattle handle well whether we're afoot, horseback or 4 wheeler, the dogs do most of the work anyway. :wink:

 

[Denny]

Oh I don't mind waspy cows keeps things interesting and besides gives a guy an excuse to do some ropeing.

 

[Shortgrass]

Oh I don't mind waspy cows keeps things interesting and besides gives a guy an excuse to do some ropeing.

:lol: :lol: I used to say that same thing, but have certainly changed my mind. I am older, hopefully a little wiser :roll: :shock: . Disposition and handling are very much an economic trait as well as convenience trait. Quiet cattle do better and so do their calves.

 

[George]

I would tell anyone that my cattle have become very calm and are easy to work.

Yesturday when I went to feed the north door ( where I normally go in ) on the barn was frozen :? so I went around to the west door. When I opened the door there was an explosition as 50 cows all jumped up and ran out at once :???: I was sure there was going to be a wreck but the good lord kept them safe.

If the north door is still frozen this morning I will start singing as I go around and hopefully they will not repeat. They are used to my singing and are not vocal critics

The cattle shed is on the south side and when I come in and start the equipment from the north they can all see and hear me so I can duck thru and walk all among them checking but they were startled to have me appear from a new direction. I love quiet cattle 8)

 

[Soapweed]

I would tell anyone that my cattle have become very calm and are easy to work.

Yesturday when I went to feed the north door ( where I normally go in ) on the barn was frozen :? so I went around to the west door. When I opened the door there was an explosition as 50 cows all jumped up and ran out at once :???: I was sure there was going to be a wreck but the good lord kept them safe.

If the north door is still frozen this morning I will start singing as I go around and hopefully they will not repeat. They are used to my singing and are not vocal critics

The cattle shed is on the south side and when I come in and start the equipment from the north they can all see and hear me so I can duck thru and walk all among them checking but they were startled to have me appear from a new direction. I love quiet cattle 8)

That is kind of the same situation as approaching a horse from the rear. If they know you are there, they probably won't kick. If you come in from their backside without them realizing you are there, you might get kicked clear across the barn.

One time when my dad was young, he was invited to a neighbor's place for supper. As it was only three miles away, he decided to ride a young horse over as transportation. When he came into the ranch across the hills silently on his horse, he heard quite a fight going on as the man and his wife were milking the cow and doing chores at the barn. Dad started singing loudly as he rode up, and the fighting stopped. The man and his wife were all smiles and everything was hunky-dory as they had supper. :wink:

 

[Blkbuckaroo]

I feed everyday that way my wife thinks I'm busy and I don't have to get a job....

:lol: :agree: sept' i have to take any outside work,if someone calls :x Going to the yard to sell a couple culls this morning,she likes it when i sell cows :wink:

 

[theony]

I like feeding cows everyday, some days I like it a lot more then other days. I work on disposition and look over the replacement heifers real good. Walk around among them, any with a wild look of any kind will get a ride. And any cow that gives me a hard time during calving or moving goes at weaning time.

 

[sic 'em reds]

I like to get out amongst the cows as much as I can so they get used to me. I also like to have my dogs around as much as possible too since they do most of the work. I think it makes things alot easier to have calm cattle. Where we run on 1 electric wire on 99% of our ground, having calm, fence broke cattle means the world to me.

I have 25 bred heifers out on 75 acres, with only a small panel pen to catch them if I have problems. I have 3 in the group that I know are going to be butt heads and they will also probably be the only three that have problems, thats just how my luck is. So I have been feeding them to get them used to me being around. If these three give me any grief, they will be put on the short list.

With having a full time job and the cattle being at least 10 miles away, I do everything I can to have a nice easy working, working for me cowherd.

 

[Shelly]

We always fed ours every day with the tractor and bale processor, then I'd get out and walk amongst them. Always got to have a good look at the cows when they were eating, could see who was getting close to calving or who maybe had some sort of problem. At night, when I checked, as I walked by them, I'd run my hand along their backs so they'd get used to human touch. I feel spending time with them makes for a lot quieter animal, and that was a BIG plus in my book.

 

[Denny]

I feed everyday that way my wife thinks I'm busy and I don't have to get a job....

:lol: :agree: sept' i have to take any outside work,if someone calls :x Going to the yard to sell a couple culls this morning,she likes it when i sell cows :wink:

I do to but with this economy the calls are pretty few.

 

[Juan]

We also like to feed every day, I believe that we take more notice of our cattle by rolling bales out and then driving back by them. There may be cheaper ways but they would have to be prooven to us before they were used here.
We feed on the weak portions of our hayland and every time it snows we can go back and feed on a clean plate. Usually the following year there is not much growth but the following years there is quite a difference.

I agree- and if the weather is nice- and I'm not in a hurry- I like to get out and walk around thru them--not only looking them over, but letting them look me over and get more used to me...
Really helps out for calving time and when you have to handle them...I can walk around thru them- and almost have to push them out of the way-but when my son, who's not around them as much, walks out there heads go up- and some are watching everything he does....

O.T.You sound a whole lot better to me on this forum than you do on political bull

 

[Anonymous]

We also like to feed every day, I believe that we take more notice of our cattle by rolling bales out and then driving back by them. There may be cheaper ways but they would have to be prooven to us before they were used here.
We feed on the weak portions of our hayland and every time it snows we can go back and feed on a clean plate. Usually the following year there is not much growth but the following years there is quite a difference.

I agree- and if the weather is nice- and I'm not in a hurry- I like to get out and walk around thru them--not only looking them over, but letting them look me over and get more used to me...
Really helps out for calving time and when you have to handle them...I can walk around thru them- and almost have to push them out of the way-but when my son, who's not around them as much, walks out there heads go up- and some are watching everything he does....

O.T.You sound a whole lot better to me on this forum than you do on political bull

Well- theres a whole lot more to life than politics....
Up here we have fun discussing/arguing on politics and arguing differences in opinions- even arguing cattle down to best breed- best size- and best color....But its all done in good spirits with no mean intent...Then we'll buy each other a drink.....I'm finding out that apparently isn't so in other areas :roll:

Like me and old rkaiser used to say on the BullSession- after arguing Canadian cow and US cow policy til we're both blue in the face and our fingers are worn out -- if we had the authority, and the two of us could set down for a day with a quart of good Canadian whiskey- we probably could solve all the cattle trade problems between the two countries hundreds of bureaucrats have been working on for years :wink: