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YOUR #1 REASON FOR CULLING A COW

Temper that is number one around here. I don't care it is our best bull or our best cow if I can't handle them they are out of here. I hate it when you need to walk across a corral and can't because a crazy bovine might take you out. After that it is natural selection, if they have a bad bag, bad eyes, poor keeper I am pretty picky, I'd even hate to be one of our cows!!! :) :lol:
 
This is in big dispute at our house right now. The hubby wants me to cull some of my older cows, but they've had calves every year and keep weight on.

His philosophy is that we can sell them to someone down south and they'll live longer due to the mild winters...

What age do you all start thinking of culling...??? My old cows are some of my best cows and hate to send them on their way and someone else gets the next superstar out of them.

PS.. When we bought bulls out of the salebarn, got a few Saler crosses that were some good buckers...
 
Buckerette,

I would hang on to those cows. If they are still producing good keep them for a bit longer. If they havent got any problems keep them!!
 
We used to mouth our cows, and anything with teeth missing or gone, we sold. A neighbor started buying them from us, and he got a lot more
good years out of those cows. So we quit mouthing them. We let body condition and calf production tell us when they are tired and want to quit.

Keep 'em on a good mineral program and I bet they'll give you
some more good years.
 
I have a neighbor who moves out every cow at 6 or 7 years of age. He does it becasue he can still get high prices for them... Also, the older they get the more chance they have of comming up open in his opinion. I think 10 year olds are just fine personally but...

The way he stores his feed he gets a lot of sand in his feed, old vet said it was heck on the teeth of the animals.
 
Sand. Makes me recall Mr. FH's uncle bought some dandy older cows
at one time. Gee they looked good. Wasn't long til they didn't look
so hot. They really fell apart at his place. Come to find out, those
cattle had been on beet tops. I guess over a period of time, it does
ruin their teeth. They have to get so close to the ground to get the
beet tops that they get alot of dirt and sand in their teeth. Makes them
short-lived cattle that can't do well on regular pasture.

I thought that was interesting as it was the first time I had heard
of it.

In W. Montana there are places where young cattle have no teeth,
due to the old mining practices. Some chemicals interfere with the
absorption of calcium. Cows will rob from their own stores first to
supply what they need. If they need calcium, they will absorb their own
teeth to supply it. Yup, it's true.
 
Thanks guys!!

I've got him talked into at least letting me calve out next year. Figure I'll cross the next bridge when we get there. I do have them on the right now mineral and am a firm believer in it.
 
Yeah.. Well, we have a lot of sand around here.... LOTS.... People don't believe me until I take them up to the Sand Prairie that we have on the place... So over grazed over the years that it is almost 100% sand.. Some weeks, a few bunch grasses and a bucket load of prickly pear. You get up there at the right time of day at the right time of year and it is about the prettiest thing you can find around here... Problem is I have never figured out what is the perfect time.

When we dig in one pasture there is about 2-3 inches of top soil and than pure blow sand... I have heard some stories about when people tried to plow some of these fields about how this old hill used to be way over yonder but now it is over there.
 
At this point in life, I'd say I'd have a real hard time keeping anything that was any combination of black and white.......we've had nothing but problems with these calves!!!!!!!!! :evil:

On a better day, I'd have to say being open, or old.......just my opinion.
 

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