Preg Checked Yesterday

[Silver]

Yesterday we preg checked the cows. Beautiful warm day, and great help. We managed a great test so even though we had decided to cull really hard this year in order to bring the numbers down a bit we will still have too many to calve if we don't make another cut. :shock:
Anyway, we averaged 122 head per hour through the chute despite dealing with a broken sliding gate for a period of time.
Today we sort calves and load trucks.

 

[Soapweed]

Glad your pregnancy rates turned out well, Silver. Those "extra" bred cows should be worth big bucks when you sell them.

Sounds like a busy time for you again today, sorting calves and loading trucks. I am curious why these two days aren't reversed. Wouldn't the calves have less stress and more pay weight if they were loaded on the first day, and the cows worked the second day? Curiosity kills the cat and the far away cowboy.

 

[Silver]

I am curious why these two days aren't reversed. Wouldn't the calves have less stress and more pay weight if they were loaded on the first day, and the cows worked the second day? Curiosity kills the cat and the far away cowboy.

It is a good question Soap, and it mostly had to do with availability of vets, trucks, and sale barn booking. Next year the calves will be sorted off and sold the first, then a few days later preg check and ship cows.

 

[4Diamond]

I am curious why these two days aren't reversed. Wouldn't the calves have less stress and more pay weight if they were loaded on the first day, and the cows worked the second day? Curiosity kills the cat and the far away cowboy.

It is a good question Soap, and it mostly had to do with availability of vets, trucks, and sale barn booking. Next year the calves will be sorted off and sold the first, then a few days later preg check and ship cows.

rapid pace for pregging. What's the accuracy do you think?

 

[Silver]

I am curious why these two days aren't reversed. Wouldn't the calves have less stress and more pay weight if they were loaded on the first day, and the cows worked the second day? Curiosity kills the cat and the far away cowboy.

It is a good question Soap, and it mostly had to do with availability of vets, trucks, and sale barn booking. Next year the calves will be sorted off and sold the first, then a few days later preg check and ship cows.

rapid pace for pregging. What's the accuracy do you think?

He does very well year after year. It is especially impressive as we don't pull our bulls and so we give him a cut off date to work with. Very seldom do we have more than one or two go much past that cut off date. And never had one dry that he said was bred. He is using an ultra-sound machine now and his speed with that has really improved with use. If they are bred he is often only in the cow for a couple of seconds. The empties he often goes in by hand to confirm.
But I'll tell you what, he claims 100% of my heifers were bred and 92% of Dad's, so I guess we'll see in the spring
It is also worth mentioning that no shots or any other activities are taking place during the preg checking operation that would otherwise slow the process. Those tasks will come later in the fall.

 

[4Diamond]

I gotcha, yeah shots and tagging take time.

 

[gcreekrch]

Doing that week after next Silver. Will know what our calves are worth tomorrow when we get the private bids back. Our testing takes 2 days, mostly by choice and a bit because we need to.

Wolves and grizz got their share of these $3 calves. Wonder if they taste better than last year.

 

[Faster horses]

Doing that week after next Silver. Will know what our calves are worth tomorrow when we get the private bids back. Our testing takes 2 days, mostly by choice and a bit because we need to.

Wolves and grizz got their share of these $3 calves. Wonder if they taste better than last year.

$3 Calves???? Oh my, that is wonderful!!! The best I have heard here
is some 550 weights that brought $2.97.

We are happy for everyone that is getting these high prices. I hope they
never go down!

 

[gcreekrch]

Market was sluggish this week at Williams Lake due to shortage of trucks but there were some 520 wt. s/c bring $303.50.

2 weeks ago there were several little bunches of light 3 wt s/c brining in excess of $4.

 

[Silver]

I see show list has been compiled for the show alley tomorrow. By my math the steers averaged 570 lbs straight through. If anyone feels like watching online they should start about noon BC time, vjvauction.com, follow the link to Dawson Creek, then click "view only".
We start at lot 36.
Greek thats terrible to come up short like that, no matter the state of the market. We had a few cows come in without calves this fall, not sure the cause but there are a few short tails. Neighbours had more chewed on than us but I dont know if they are short many.

 

[S.S.A.P.]

Good luck tomorrow Silver - fall run usually brings on pre-sale day stress. We all (well, most of us) will have a turn at it you'll be able to reap the rewards first 8)

 

[Soapweed]

Good luck tomorrow Silver - fall run usually brings on pre-sale day stress. We all (well, most of us) will have a turn at it you'll be able to reap the rewards first 8)

It is fun watching people at the sale barn on sale day as they sell their cattle. Some guys almost need a seatbelt on their sale barn chair, and often you almost see their wife's arm go across to hold them in place, much like mothers did with their kids before the invention of car seats. Even the bidders have their own quirks. Some guys bid wildly so there is no doubt they are in the game, and others hold their hand on their leg and barely lift a finger once the auctioneer has caught their eye. It's always entertaining to observe.