Northern Extremes

[Grassfarmer]

That could be said for any major relocation. :wink:

I have a few photos of when those cows were delivered in July, will try to get photos of the same cows in the next few days and we can do a comparison.

I'm sure we would enjoy the comparison. My cousin bought 50 black cows out of Brooks one time. They were independent and tough and did well on soft and hard grass. You did however need a spotting scope to have a look at them.

These cattle would only require 4x and fit in with most of ours. :lol:
Seriously, other than a couple trotty old darlings they are not wild in my books. The one characteristic that doesn't make sense is they act like they have had wolves to deal with and fight my dogs worse than any bunch of cows we have ever purchased. Our old cattle will be a little high headed if they have been harassed by predators but almost breath a sigh of relief when they know we and the dogs are around. The only other explanation is someone has some terrible mutts that spoiled these cows.

That's funny because I had the same experience with the small group of east country cows I bought last fall - serious for chasing the dog. I was surprised at that too.

 

[hillsdown]

What kind silage are you feeding and what is the protein and energy in it ? Do you use a TMR feed ?

Mixed silage - cereal, canola, weeds, alfalfa. The first sample we took was 12.5 protein and 62.5 TDN. Will take another as we get further back in the pit. Don't need a TMR - we only have the one ingredient. Everything gets to eat a little straw from a ring also for roughage and that lets me assess how much silage they need. Like to have them putting a little pressure on the straw - even the weaned calves.

They should hold condition well with that, even in extreme cold temps .

 

[gcreekrch]

How long do ya suppose it would take one of my sweet young sisters to adjust to the northern tropics of Anahim lake? :shock:

I would guess 50% would still be here after two years. The biggest drawback bringing hardgrass cows to here is the smaller gut capacity. The cows that do the best here look like hippopotamus when they have a full belly. Low quality feed takes a lot more volume to stoke the fires than 20% alfalfa. Can you even get a hardgrass cow to eat 40 lbs of alfalfa on a cold day?
I don't know as I have never tried it but ours will consume 40 lbs + of meadow/swamp hay when the temps reach -40 and colder.
Another note of interest that GF has touched on with his herd is that a cow that is raised here can and will often breed and bring home a calf and stay in good condition into her late teens. It is almost impossible to bring an 8 or ten year old cow here and expect her to stay two years.

 

[leanin' H]

How long do ya suppose it would take one of my sweet young sisters to adjust to the northern tropics of Anahim lake? :shock:

I would guess 50% would still be here after two years. The biggest drawback bringing hardgrass cows to here is the smaller gut capacity. The cows that do the best here look like hippopotamus when they have a full belly. Low quality feed takes a lot more volume to stoke the fires than 20% alfalfa. Can you even get a hardgrass cow to eat 40 lbs of alfalfa on a cold day?
I don't know as I have never tried it but ours will consume 40 lbs + of meadow/swamp hay when the temps reach -40 and colder.
Another note of interest that GF has touched on with his herd is that a cow that is raised here can and will often breed and bring home a calf and stay in good condition into her late teens. It is almost impossible to bring an 8 or ten year old cow here and expect her to stay two years.

If a cow down here ate 40 lbs of alfalfa she'd be dead quick from bloat. We don't feed much 20% hay cause it all goes for big bucks to dairys or horse people. We feed a lot of meadow/grass hay or oats with a little good alfalfa. Most everybody sells choice alfalfa for more money and then buys "cow hay" (rained on alfalfa, weedy, triticale, oats or wild hay). It is also pretty common to find ol' sisters who raise soggy calves into their late teens. Our little desert cows would wilt up north and your cows would starve out here! :wink: We'd best not trade!

 

[gcreekrch]

How long do ya suppose it would take one of my sweet young sisters to adjust to the northern tropics of Anahim lake? :shock:

I would guess 50% would still be here after two years. The biggest drawback bringing hardgrass cows to here is the smaller gut capacity. The cows that do the best here look like hippopotamus when they have a full belly. Low quality feed takes a lot more volume to stoke the fires than 20% alfalfa. Can you even get a hardgrass cow to eat 40 lbs of alfalfa on a cold day?
I don't know as I have never tried it but ours will consume 40 lbs + of meadow/swamp hay when the temps reach -40 and colder.
Another note of interest that GF has touched on with his herd is that a cow that is raised here can and will often breed and bring home a calf and stay in good condition into her late teens. It is almost impossible to bring an 8 or ten year old cow here and expect her to stay two years.

If a cow down here ate 40 lbs of alfalfa she'd be dead quick from bloat. We don't feed much 20% hay cause it all goes for big bucks to dairys or horse people. We feed a lot of meadow/grass hay or oats with a little good alfalfa. Most everybody sells choice alfalfa for more money and then buys "cow hay" (rained on alfalfa, weedy, triticale, oats or wild hay). It is also pretty common to find ol' sisters who raise soggy calves into their late teens. Our little desert cows would wilt up north and your cows would starve out here! :wink: We'd best not trade!

What? And not support our local truckers? It will be cheaper that way. :wink:

 

[RSL]

RSL I wasn't meaning your cows were on welfare - just that I reckon if I started feeding mine I think it would unsettle them from grazing and turn them into truck chasers.

No worries GF. Our cows are pretty independent. We have actually been using the grain for double purposes this winter. We are feeding grain in buckbrush patches and cleaning them out to grow more grass, and we do the same with mineral in a far distant corner.

We don't have many acres of either tame pasture or cultivated annuals, so we have to be pretty careful to graze as long as we can. We don't use silage as we have never been able to figure out the cost and particularly the labour requirements at our place. We actually may have found some additional cultivated acres to lease and may be able to put up enough swath grazing in the future to graze cows, calves and expand all at the same time.

Does anyone have any good experiences (or bad) with grazing corn?