spring is a day in May

[jodywy]

cutting string getting ready to feed a bale

1 and 1/2 set of twins
2 far claves are twin bulls, the calf on the red neck cow is a grafted twin.

portable calf shed next few pics

yesterday blizzard today

twins one grafted on the cow above

old one eye cow

Pic all taken 3-9 or 3-10-06 only been calving about 5 days, 3 feet of hard snow, all the drifts are from 6 inches of new snow that fell tuesday.

 

[Faster horses]

We just never cared much for calving in a lot of snow.

I hope you get a chinook, and the sooner the better!!!!

Nice pictures, thanks!

 

[jodywy]

We just never cared much for calving in a lot of snow.

I hope you get a chinook, and the sooner the better!!!!

Nice pictures, thanks!

don't get chinooks on the west slope
My forest permit is for june 6th , so inorder to get use out of my own bulls I calve in march on the snow.... not many bugs that make calve sick live on packed snow. If I had other spring and summer grass I would calve in May.... when I lamb, like to get thouse gals undressed before they start lambing.

 

[Aaron]

Jody, did you build that calf shed yourself, or purchase it? Do you have any plans on how to make one. Really a nice little unit. Can only be much lighter and easier to move than our wooden mammoth of a portable calf shed.

 

[Jinglebob]

Good pictures Jody. Where you been? Haven't seen you post anything for awhile.:???:

 

[jodywy]

Jody, did you build that calf shed yourself, or purchase it? Do you have any plans on how to make one. Really a nice little unit. Can only be much lighter and easier to move than our wooden mammoth of a portable calf shed.

I buy them from a guy here that makes them in his shop. They are on a heavy walled well casing then schedule 80 (maybe 40) pipe for the upright and top. He welds angle iron to the pipe to bolt the 2x6 to then screw the metal to the wood 2x6. Welds a light wide angle iron on the corners so the metal won't be rubbed off. The roof he gets the left over curved metal building pieces he gets from a spud cellar contractor. They are bolted to the strips of angle iron welded to the top pipe. He finishes with a 2x12 cut out to fit the curved metal.
The first one I bought 20 years ago is the far one in the one picture for $800; got a few of them bought one last year he made it higher it was only $1200. My brother uses one for a garage for his small pick up. These are 12foot x 22 feet, but he makes them 14 feet and 16 feet wide. Like the 12 foot to pull thru gates. I go take some more pics and you can see more on how they are built….. Lot cheater then those little curved calf huts and they last for years….

 

[jodywy]

Good pictures Jody. Where you been? Haven't seen you post anything for awhile.:???:

Just feeding cows and helping Mom, Some day Dad can be a handful with his Alzheimer ,then between board meeting for Stock growers(region 4 VP) , predatory board, local land trust board and telling a friend I help him run for state auditor been to too many frickin meetings….

 

[Jinglebob]

Good pictures Jody. Where you been? Haven't seen you post anything for awhile.:???:

Just feeding cows and helping Mom, Some day Dad can be a handful with his Alzheimer ,then between board meeting for Stock growers(region 4 VP) , predatory board, local land trust board and telling a friend I help him run for state auditor been to too many frickin meetings….

Sounds busy. Hope things slow down for you. Sorry to hear about your Dad. I think I will end up with that someday also. I have such a poor memory now.

 

[Anonymous]

OHHHHHHH- I started shivering just looking at those...Cooled down here today- only got up to 36 with a few snow showers- but the wind was blowing 35 mph-- definitely spring.....

A friend of mine has some interesting calf sheds...He got his hands on a couple old large (5,000?) gallon upright fuel tanks which he cut the top and bottom off- then cut out gaps on these, tall enough for a calf to get under, but not a cow... They pull around fairly easy altho he leaves them in pretty much one place....He calves purebreds in Jan & Feb and says that even on real cold days, if the sun shines down on that metal they're like a hot house inside.....

 

[Tap]

jody, you are a tough bugger. I don't think I could deal with calving in that snow. One thing, you don't get the wind we do here on the plains though, do you? Here you would need to really fasten those shelters down, or they would be sailing thru the air like a missle.

We had an unexpected vigorous storm roll thru last evening and it got windy and dropped an inch or a little better of snow. That is the most we have gotten in a while.

 

[HAY MAKER]

Thanks for posting these pictures Jody,makes me damn glad ta live in TX ..............good luck

 

[Big Muddy rancher]

Thanks for posting these pictures Jody,makes me damn glad ta live in TX ..............good luck

Were Damn glad you live in Texas to. :cowboy:

 

[Mrs.Greg]

LOL BMR and Haymaker you give me a laugh! I also get a chuckle out of people who've never had the joy of calving in snow!We actually changed calving from Jan.-end of March because we were tired of fighting the winter weather.Well looks like this year we would have been WAY better off calving in Jan.In the last week we've got alot of snow and doesn't look like its going anywhere soon.! REAL NEAT pictures jodywy!!

 

[jodywy]

No not much wind in this moutain valley. March is usually better then April as snow will stick here some years tru half or all of april and you have more mud and wet ground. April there more rain then snow storm. Most storms in march are snow and for a baby calf snow really quite dry...