The Calm before the Storm

[Anonymous]

The weather was beautiful today- temp in mid 20's, sunny and no wind...Cows finished off their hay and some went off grazing while others were sucking up the sun... Cows have been getting about 15-18 lbs of grass/alfalfa hay and about 10 lbs of straw a day since the 1st of January...Still grazing- but the pickings are getting slim...But luckily we've had an easy winter... Temps tomorrow night and for the next few days are supposed to be 15 to 20 Below-and snow/wind-- but then they are predicting back in the 30's by about Friday...

Some of the heifer calves kicking up their heels and enjoying the sun....

Someone on one of the sites was questioning running the replacement heifer calves, first calvers, and old cows all together...I've done it for several years now... Here is some of the heifer calves- and they are doing pretty good..
209 in the front is L B B Clair Bear 209 17393699 and 207 in the back is 17393698 L B B Clovanada 207 ....

208 is 17393696 L B B Juanadamere 208

A coming first calf heifer- 17049643 L B B Pidge 125

Another first calf heifer- 17049645 L B B Floret 124

A coming second calver- 16744208 L B B Mary 01X

One of the first calvers with an older cow.

16453096 Cole Creek Juanada Rita 69W

 

[hillbilly]

What is straw worth down your way?

 

[Anonymous]

What is straw worth down your way?

This is all straw we put up-- but I'm guessing $30-$40 a ton... When we were delivering bulls the other day I saw several fields where it was still sitting in the field and hadn't been hauled or stacked...There was a lot of bumper crops in the area this year...
This straw came off some Durum fields we had...

And the easy (warm) winter has allowed the haystacks to go much further...

I'll check with my son in the morning as one of his friends had a bunch for sale and get you a better idea...

 

[Denny]

So do you cake your cows or just the ration you speak of. Mineral ?

 

[Anonymous]

So do you cake your cows or just the ration you speak of. Mineral ?

No cake-- they do get Smart-lic mineral... Tonight they are predicting temps down to 20 below-- with NW winds gusting to 40mph- so when I fed I did roll them out one of the kochia weed bales I have left to give them some more filler and heat...

 

[Black Out]

That cow pictured is out of my bull he has worked good here in the sand hills. Greg's wanting a picture of him for his catalog but I am not much of a photographer and to busy chasing kids to basketball games to try.

 

[Anonymous]

That cow pictured is out of my bull he has worked good here in the sand hills. Greg's wanting a picture of him for his catalog but I am not much of a photographer and to busy chasing kids to basketball games to try.

Are you talking about the Cole Creek Seven Son 67T bull?
That young cow sure is turning into a nice one...
We had a son of hers that we used last year as a yearling- and I sold this fall to some folks over at Frazer, MT...

Here are a couple of pictures of him while hard at work this summer...

West Fork going over to check out Juanada Ritos girlfriend...

A yearling bull- Lazy Bar B West Fork 17049647

We're hoping to get some nice calves sired by him this spring- and some heifers to keep... One of the top qualities I liked about both the cow and the young bull were their quiet dispositions...

 

[Black Out]

Yea 67T he has a great disposition and so does most of his offspring I have raised quite a few sons out of him and used them back I need to move on just not sure what to use next. I have quite a few daughters and they just make better poducers the older they get . I have an 81T yearling son I am pretty excited about out of a Cole Creek cow I got from Greg I wish I would have bought more semen on him. Oh well life goes on.

 

[Anonymous]

Yeah I only have one 81T daughter- but she's a nice little cow....This is her daughter:

Another first calf heifer- 17049645 L B B Floret 124

I saved a OCC Magnitude sired bull calf (Lazy Bar B Old Gabe 16742011) out of her and used a couple of years ago- and some of those heifer calves pictured are sired by him... I ended up canning him as he was snakebit just above the hoof as a calf- and that foot always kept bothering him and I decided not to take a chance with it....

 

[R A]

Nice cattle! I enjoyed looking at them! I really like those huge open pastures.

 

[Faster horses]

So do you cake your cows or just the ration you speak of. Mineral ?

No cake-- they do get Smart-lic mineral... Tonight they are predicting temps down to 20 below-- with NW winds gusting to 40mph- so when I fed I did roll them out one of the kochia weed bales I have left to give them some more filler and heat...

Isn't Smart-lic mineral incorporated in a protein tub or a block?
Last I knew they didn't have a loose mineral.

 

[Anonymous]

So do you cake your cows or just the ration you speak of. Mineral ?

No cake-- they do get Smart-lic mineral... Tonight they are predicting temps down to 20 below-- with NW winds gusting to 40mph- so when I fed I did roll them out one of the kochia weed bales I have left to give them some more filler and heat...

Isn't Smart-lic mineral incorporated in a protein tub or a block?
Last I knew they didn't have a loose mineral.

Yep- they come in 50lb tubs.. With all the mineral, chemical, salt in the well water down here on the river- I can't get cows to take a loose mineral (and I've tried Vigortone) or salt ... They will go to the lic tubs... Sometimes I wonder if I'm wasting my money- as I've had some say if they won't go to the loose mineral and salt- they probably don't need it... My main worry is keeping their magnesium up-- as years ago I had some problems with grass tetany when the grass started greening up...

They will go to the loose mineral and salt when out on pasture at the north place- but that's a whole different water source...

 

[Faster horses]

I thought so....protein blocks.

Not totally true that cattle
won't eat mineral if they don't need it. In the spring,
perhaps when there is so much good nutrition in the grass. Otherwise it is
something like too much salt that keeps them from eating it. If you have alkali
spots that shows a lot of salt and salt is a limiter;one needs to feed a mineral
with way less salt in order for them to eat it. Same with phosphorus. It's a limiter
so if you feed a lot of grain hay, wheat hay, etc. there is quite a bit of phos
in that so you need to feed a mineral with less phos to keep them eating mineral.
They always need the trace minerals--that's why there are so many mineral
formulas--to fit the situation.

Another thing, phos is bitter so if a loose mineral contains too much phos, the
cattle won't eat it. Cattle eat grams not percents. That's why a 2-1 up to even 6-1 cal to phos is recommended by most nutritionists. FWIW

 

[Anonymous]

I thought so....protein blocks.

WRONG!

MinLic® contains no supplemental protein. This product may be fed with high protein grasses or forages.
http://smartlic.com/products/minlic.html

 

[Black Out]

Yeah I only have one 81T daughter- but she's a nice little cow....This is her daughter:

Another first calf heifer- 17049645 L B B Floret 124

I saved a OCC Magnitude sired bull calf (Lazy Bar B Old Gabe 16742011) out of her and used a couple of years ago- and some of those heifer calves pictured are sired by him... I ended up canning him as he was snakebit just above the hoof as a calf- and that foot always kept bothering him and I decided not to take a chance with it....

Your cattle look good oldtimer if I ever get time I will try and get a picture of 67T up for you he got EHD this fall but seems to have come out of it pretty good. I think the 81T was a really good bull to bad he is not still around.