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Weaning....

Hanta Yo

Well-known member
Sure isn't very easy on anyone!

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Where' my mommy??!!!

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Unhappy cows

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Got some milk????????????

On the other hand....

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Happy Happy Fall Calvers!!!

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This is our "dogie" calf, our nurse cow feeds him (whether she likes it or not) :wink:
 

C-E

Well-known member
Great pics.

That last calf looks like most of the critters around here, hard to get a good picture cause she wants to be in your pocket.
 

sic 'em reds

Well-known member
Yeah... we weaned our calves on Saturday morning and they are finally starting to quite down. Thank god they aren't close to the house.
 

rowel

Well-known member
i weaned 2 weeks ago on sunday , everything went well, the calves upon seeing me pull into the pasture start bawlling wanting feed, im feeding them 2 times aday right now , gonna dehorn the ones that are horned here soon , dont want to much stress all at once on em, and i honestly dont think they dropped in weight like i though they would have.
how soon does every one else sale their calves , and what is considerations going on in your mind when you finally sale em...... a paycheck, get em off feed, pay bills are it was just time too? just wondering whats on your alls mind when its time to sale
 

Hanta Yo

Well-known member
rowel said:
i weaned 2 weeks ago on sunday , everything went well, the calves upon seeing me pull into the pasture start bawlling wanting feed, im feeding them 2 times aday right now , gonna dehorn the ones that are horned here soon , dont want to much stress all at once on em, and i honestly dont think they dropped in weight like i though they would have.
how soon does every one else sale their calves , and what is considerations going on in your mind when you finally sale em...... a paycheck, get em off feed, pay bills are it was just time too? just wondering whats on your alls mind when its time to sale

Rowel, you are doing everything exactly right!!! Feeders don't want bawling calves; they also like them running up to the feed bunk, knowing there is something good there and also knowing they are current on vaccinations.

Because of the above, your calves are worth more. You sell them to whomever, you just make sure you get at least 5 cents more on the pound for them. Don't back down.
 

Soapweed

Well-known member
Thanks for the pictures, Hanta Yo. It is always nice to see plans that go according to hoyle. Looks like you have the weaning situation well under control. The cattle are good looking and looking good. :wink:
 

Hanta Yo

Well-known member
You know, this is one of the easier weanings....but I knock on wood cuz you never know :?

We bought 26 short term cows in March, calved them out, and they are in with this bunch.

Don't hardly have any money in those short-termers...a few bales of hay and salt/mineral. Calves go sometime this month, short term cows go away sometime next month.
 

PureCountry

Well-known member
Great job Hanta Yo.

Does anyone wean their calves with those plastic nose paddles that keep them from suckling? Does anyone do side-by-side weaning? What are some of your methods?

Past few years, we've weaned the calves when they're on bale-grazing, and put them in large pens with bales on end to graze just as they did along side of Momma. Works pretty good.
 

Northern Rancher

Well-known member
PureCountry I used those plastic nose deals cand they worked ok-we were out on some good regrowth and got some snow and they iced up a bit on the calves though-fenceline weaning works well too. Last year we just left the calves balegraze along with the cows and everybody got along well.
 

PPRM

Well-known member
I have used the metal wean things that go in the nose and they worked for the most part. The only problem was a few very smart calves. I found thier nose deals by the fence where the had gotten hooked and came out. So, I run them back in and literally watch these calves go back to the fence, hook them in the wire and pull them out......

I have moved my calving to where my pairs have pretty good feed through gestation. So,my calves are pretty mature when I wean and it isn't that big of a deal. I still either fenceline wean or take the cows away from the calves, leaving about half te cows on the first draw so there i some leadership inthe pasture,

PPRM
 

George

Well-known member
I weaned on Wendsday - - - went good except we also preg checked - - - all the cows are bred right on sechudle but I kept 8 replacement hiefers and I turned the a bull in with them 3 weeks prior to the cow herd then turned two bulls with the cows and hiefers.

7 of the 8 hiefers are open - - - well off to the feed lot - - - - I just can't understand it the bulls must be have done their job as the cows are bred

With the shortage of feed this might be for the best but I really wanted to expand - - - I will try to pick up a few bred animals over the winter
 

Faster horses

Well-known member
I'm sorry for your misfortune. That's tough to take, whether it be 7 or 70.

What breed are these heifers and how were they wintered. I'm merely curious as to what could have been the problem.
 

George

Well-known member
Four were Angus and four were Charlois / Angus ( smokies) they were fed better than the herd with the best hay and full time mineral.

One of the smokies bred but the rest are now going to be fed out.

This is the first time this has happen to me.
 

Hanta Yo

Well-known member
I weaned on Wendsday - - - went good except we also preg checked - - - all the cows are bred right on sechudle but I kept 8 replacement hiefers and I turned the a bull in with them 3 weeks prior to the cow herd then turned two bulls with the cows and hiefers.



The bull you put in the heifers...different from the other bulls you put into the cow herd? Also, how old was the bull you put in your heifers and was he also put into the cow herd?
 

George

Well-known member
I put a 3 year old rented angus bull with the hiefers then turned him, the hiefers, and a yearling smokie bull with the cows - - - thus the hiefers were at that time exposed to both bulls for a total of 90 days.

It is a mistery to me and my vet - - - - but they will feed out quickly and with the drought I can probably replace then with good young bred cows cheaply.
 

Soapweed

Well-known member
George said:
I put a 3 year old rented angus bull with the hiefers then turned him, the hiefers, and a yearling smokie bull with the cows - - -

On a two-bull herd, wouldn't there be an advantage in using two bulls of the same breed to strive for more uniformity in the calf crop? Just a thought, for whatever it is worth. :?
 

Shortgrass

Well-known member
I use uniform bulls. My theory on heifers is that less cross breedind means more consistency and predictibility in the calves. Angus heifers need angus bull, herford heifers need herford bulls, my char heifers get char bulls. I use easy calving bulls.
 

George

Well-known member
I use Angus bulls on hiefers and then let the same bull with the cows but I put a Smokie bull with the cows as well to get a little kick in the calves. I breed hiefers three weeks early so that they will breed back with the cows second time around.

But the hiefers were with the cows as well so if the Angus was not doing his job the smokie should have picked them up. ( only 33 total breeding females)

Total mistery as to how all the cows got bred but only 1 hiefer.

I have done it this way for several years with no problem but something went wrong this time. It might have been the heat or something but all of my pastures are laid out around a creek so they hasd shade, and water in any of the 8 pastures I rotate through.
 
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