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Stupid,stupid, stupid heifers

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We kept some old granny cows with our the cows needed better care and so did the heifers cows nutritional heifers educational worked pretty well.
 
Heifers are stupid. Bulls are worse.

One old-time cowboy in this country had this advice: "There comes a time that you're better off just throwing your leg up over the saddle horn and rolling a smoke." His thoughts were that this gives both the stupid cattle and the distraught cowboys time to settle down and rethink the strategy.
 
No matter how much you study and work on stockmanship, some days the wheels come off and there isn't a whole lot you can do about it but get up the next day and do it all over again.
 
As today's spaying mishap demonstrated. First time I have ever been K O'd. Glad she only weighed 6 and change. They sure can blow back over the gate quick...
 
I'm up, and down and up.. I had just got in from pulling 2 calves out of Hfrs that shat should of had them on their own. Put them mat to help them and they sit down.
Also seemed to have more "angry" hfrs then other years.
 
I've learned over the years that the closer you watch them when calving, the more you have to pull.
 
General consensus locally is bigger calves this year BMR. I know we've pulled more than usual.

Have had a few "angry" heifers too. Ace is a wonderful drug, one still wanted to take me but she did it at a fast walk.
 
Calves seemed bigger this year here too. Made me question my two "heifer" bulls. Had a heifer that absolutely would not accept her calf and she didn't have any trouble calving. We worked with her for 2 weeks. I gave her rompun. I gave her oxytocin. Thought I was going to have a heart attack from the frustration. Last week, a trailer ride to the sale barn took care of her issues. Then, BEEF magazine posted an article on FaceBook sourced from the Angus Association on how to get heifers to claim their calves. It said it could take a month to get them accepting their baby and they may need to be hobbled. Are they serious? If 99% can do it, the 1% that won't needs to go.
 
I have stupid old cows as often as stupid heifers... They're of course the ones that turn into stupid old cows if they just raise calves I have to have and haven't found smarter ones to replace them with
 
I don't believe cows are stupid. I know cows are stubborn. If they are too stubborn to take their calf, I wouldn't want them on my feed bill either.
 
During the heavy rainstorm a couple weeks ago, we had two cows that both loved the same calf, and one calf was shunned. Thinking we knew which cow went with the sad dejected calf, this pair was put together. The cow has never learned to love the calf, in fact she hardly even likes it. She does love sweet horse grain, and she has me figured for a sucker. Every morning and every evening I put a gallon of grain in a feed pan, and she stands still long enough for the calf to suck. The rest of the day the cow has access to hay and water in a corral, and the company of said calf. It's getting old, but it's working and we don't have a bucket calf. The sweet horse feed is probably just as expensive as milk replacer, but I'm still hoping things turn out for the best.
 
Amazing Soap, what we'll do to make things work! I sold the "non-maternal heifer" and gave her calf to the guy who fills my nitrogen tank. He fills it for free. He has two little boys and they thought it was a big deal to have their own baby calf. Everybody went home happy :D I just won't think about the two years of keeping that rip to find out she had a couple of screws loose. Her mother and two sisters in my herd have never been a problem. Can't win'em all.
 
I like about 2 feet of 3/4 poly rope for those non-maternal heifers. Not 100% cure but they don't run too much after their legs get a little sore. Labor is minimal after application too.
 
Soap, you're totally right about stopping, having a smoke or coffee, and letting the dust settle when things aren't working. I often work my cows alone because I have far more control over the 'flow' of things. At weaning time I can usually separate them all out in 20 minutes myself (25 pairs) and there's no excitement about the ordeal.. Get my old man there and there's going to be running and hollering.
For birthweights, this year we had the first C section ever required.. a smaller first time heifer tried to make a 110 lb heifer calf (she was probably only 900-1000 lbs).. If the vet wasn't 4 hours getting here it would have been alive, and it was a beautiful calf... Rest of the calves from that bull were all 75 lbs.. go figure the smaller heifer makes the biggest calf. Murphy's law I guess. Cow is fine now, and adopted one of my milk thief calves so she's got 2 mommas now.. At least she can do something for me while she heals up
 

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