Sorting heavies, February 13, 2009

[Soapweed]

Getting ready to sort out some "heavy" heifers (the ones supposedly closest to calving) so we can watch them better

Getting them into a sorting area

One of my diligent helpers

The gate watchers

The main bunch

As Yellowstone and I pick out what we think are the "heaviest" closest-to-calving heifers, the ladies help to put them around the corner through the gate into where the cut is being held

Later in the day, some of the ones we sorted out

More of the same. Hope Yellowstone did a good job with the selection. :wink:

 

[WyomingRancher]

Looks like Yellowstone did a nice job . I can't get over the black horse's tail...it looks like it's dragging the ground. The black horse I ride has a similar tail .

 

[Soapweed]

Looks like Yellowstone did a nice job . I can't get over the black horse's tail...it looks like it's dragging the ground. The black horse I ride has a similar tail .

It keeps the snowflies off on these cold winter days. :wink:

 

[Faster horses]

"snowflies" :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Cattle look really good, Soap.

Do your lady helpers know about Muck brand boots? They are the
BEST for keeping your feet warm and they have Equine Classics
for riding.

www.muckbootsdirect.net and click on 'equestrian' for the riding boots.

These boots are the ONLY thing Mr. FH has ever found that keep
his feet warm.

 

[Soapweed]

"snowflies" :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Cattle look really good, Soap.

Do your lady helpers know about Muck brand boots? They are the
BEST for keeping your feet warm and they have Equine Classics
for riding.

www.muckbootsdirect.net and click on 'equestrian' for the riding boots.

These boots are the ONLY thing Mr. FH has ever found that keep
his feet warm.

Both of the gals are wearing muck boots. They really like them. Guess I will stick with my Wilson boots and LaCrosse lace-up boot overshoes.

 

[gcreekrch]

Those heifers are sure in good condition for calving Soapweed. How much are you supplementing the swamp hay?
Looks like your weather is perfect to bring on a few calves.

 

[Soapweed]

Those heifers are sure in good condition for calving Soapweed. How much are you supplementing the swamp hay?
Looks like your weather is perfect to bring on a few calves.

The older cows are getting swamp hay, but the heifers are getting better quality meadow hay. Not all of them are eating cake, but I'm trying to give about two pounds of 22% DDG cake per day. Once in a while I give them a few pounds of second cutting alfalfa instead. On Monday and Thursday of this week, they each got two pounds of 13% cake with 500,000 units of Vitamin A added. The four pounds of high vitamin A cake should about equal a 4 cc vaccination of Vitamin A, but it is less stressful on the cows and heifers by giving it in cake form.

 

[gcreekrch]

Those heifers are sure in good condition for calving Soapweed. How much are you supplementing the swamp hay?
Looks like your weather is perfect to bring on a few calves.

The older cows are getting swamp hay, but the heifers are getting better quality meadow hay. Not all of them are eating cake, but I'm trying to give about two pounds of 22% DDG cake per day. Once in a while I give them a few pounds of second cutting alfalfa instead. On Monday and Thursday of this week, they each got two pounds of 13% cake with 500,000 units of Vitamin A added. The four pounds of high vitamin A cake should about equal a 4 cc vaccination of Vitamin A, but it is less stressful on the cows and heifers by giving it in cake form.

I agree with feeding cattle their vitamins and minerals rather than filling them full of holes. Our mineral is fairly high in A and has seemed to do the trick for quite a while. do you add some Bovatec or Rumensin to the pellets to keep coccidial scours at bay or are they not a problem?

 

[Soapweed]

Those heifers are sure in good condition for calving Soapweed. How much are you supplementing the swamp hay?
Looks like your weather is perfect to bring on a few calves.

The older cows are getting swamp hay, but the heifers are getting better quality meadow hay. Not all of them are eating cake, but I'm trying to give about two pounds of 22% DDG cake per day. Once in a while I give them a few pounds of second cutting alfalfa instead. On Monday and Thursday of this week, they each got two pounds of 13% cake with 500,000 units of Vitamin A added. The four pounds of high vitamin A cake should about equal a 4 cc vaccination of Vitamin A, but it is less stressful on the cows and heifers by giving it in cake form.

I agree with feeding cattle their vitamins and minerals rather than filling them full of holes. Our mineral is fairly high in A and has seemed to do the trick for quite a while. do you add some Bovatec or Rumensin to the pellets to keep coccidial scours at bay or are they not a problem?

Guess we have never fed any Bovatec or Rumensin, for the simple reason that I hate to take a chance on horses ever getting some by mistake.

 

[Shortgrass]

One of my favorite jobs. I don't do it much any more. No more than I run, I just leave all the cows together as they calve, and sort the heifer pairs off the heavy heifers as they calve. The most I will calve on heifers is around 20 - 24. You can pack them heavy ol' Wilson boots if ya like, but I, too, prefer the Muck boots. Thanks for the post as always.

 

[Faster horses]

I have to say that you can't just add Rumensin or Bovatech to keep from getting coccidial scours, per se. It has to be ingested at the right amount. That's something that is often overlooked.

FWIW

 

[Big Muddy rancher]

"snowflies" :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Cattle look really good, Soap.

Do your lady helpers know about Muck brand boots? They are the
BEST for keeping your feet warm and they have Equine Classics
for riding.

www.muckbootsdirect.net and click on 'equestrian' for the riding boots.

These boots are the ONLY thing Mr. FH has ever found that keep
his feet warm.

Both of the gals are wearing muck boots. They really like them. Guess I will stick with my Wilson boots and LaCrosse lace-up boot overshoes.

I got a pair of Bogs Ropers for this winter. I thought they were the same as Muck boots but I guess not. I really liked the Bogs and they did fit the stirrup pretty good but the pair i have cracked just above the ball of the foot. Right where they bend when walking. The company has been good to deal with but I am a little disappointed in how they last.

 

[Soapweed]

One of my favorite jobs. I don't do it much any more. No more than I run, I just leave all the cows together as they calve, and sort the heifer pairs off the heavy heifers as they calve. The most I will calve on heifers is around 20 - 24. You can pack them heavy ol' Wilson boots if ya like, but I, too, prefer the Muck boots. Thanks for the post as always.

It is always challenging to see how accurate of a sorting job a feller can do. :wink:

I like wearing boots and overshoes because when I get back to the house, the overshoes come off and I get to keep wearing the boots. That way if I kick the bucket while sitting in my easy chair, they can at least say, "he died with his boots on."

 

[gcreekrch]

The older cows are getting swamp hay, but the heifers are getting better quality meadow hay. Not all of them are eating cake, but I'm trying to give about two pounds of 22% DDG cake per day. Once in a while I give them a few pounds of second cutting alfalfa instead. On Monday and Thursday of this week, they each got two pounds of 13% cake with 500,000 units of Vitamin A added. The four pounds of high vitamin A cake should about equal a 4 cc vaccination of Vitamin A, but it is less stressful on the cows and heifers by giving it in cake form.

I agree with feeding cattle their vitamins and minerals rather than filling them full of holes. Our mineral is fairly high in A and has seemed to do the trick for quite a while. do you add some Bovatec or Rumensin to the pellets to keep coccidial scours at bay or are they not a problem?

Guess we have never fed any Bovatec or Rumensin, for the simple reason that I hate to take a chance on horses ever getting some by mistake.

According to the folks I have talked to, Bovatec has no ill effects on horses. On the other hand, if Rumensin was used properly there would not be a wild horse problem.

FH, I would not feed my livestock something I thought was detrimental to them. My mineral-bovatec mix is made up by a well respected company and is designed for our specific operation, based on thirty years of feed samples.

 

[Blkbuckaroo]

Soapweed,is that red trailer in the background a old cattle hauler?And do you fill that silo up with corn?

 

[Les]

"snowflies" :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Cattle look really good, Soap.

Do your lady helpers know about Muck brand boots? They are the
BEST for keeping your feet warm and they have Equine Classics
for riding.

www.muckbootsdirect.net and click on 'equestrian' for the riding boots.

These boots are the ONLY thing Mr. FH has ever found that keep
his feet warm.

For the canadian readers...http://www.muckbootscanada.com/

 

[Faster horses]

...dying with your boots on...Soap, you are just too funny!! :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

And gcreek, I hope you didn't think I was picking on you. In my business I run across people all the time that think just because something they feed contains rumensin, it will automatically keep cattle from getting coccidiosis, when in reality, the cattle MUST ingest the right amount for rumensin to work. It was an opportune time to make a point. I hope I didn't offend you as that was not my intention.

 

[Big Muddy rancher]

Soapweed,is that red trailer in the background a old cattle hauler?And do you fill that silo up with corn?

I noticed the old bull rack as well. But i had to take a second look to see the "Silo" when I think of a silo it is a big blue steel or a concrete or cement stave structure that holds silage or maybe high moisture corn. Up here we would call a grainery .

 

[Blkbuckaroo]

Soapweed,is that red trailer in the background a old cattle hauler?And do you fill that silo up with corn?

I noticed the old bull rack as well. But i had to take a second look to see the "Silo" when I think of a silo it is a big blue steel or a concrete or cement stave structure that holds silage or maybe high moisture corn. Up here we would call a grainery .

Everyone around here call em' grain Silo's,not many folks around here have the bigger version :wink:

 

[Soapweed]

Soapweed,is that red trailer in the background a old cattle hauler?And do you fill that silo up with corn?

Yes, it was the first semi truck that anyone in this part of the country had. Our neighbor made a windbreak out of it when the truck outlived its usefulness. We bought his ranch in 1986.

The other building is a circular grain bin. We just use it for storage.