Bennette Pool

Hey thanks for your input.

I just put the calf in with the cow and newborn this weekend while I had time to monitor them.
Of course it all went well. Like you said a little confusion but actually seem to perk the newborn up
having someone to play with.

The young calf went right of to grazing on grass as if nothing had gone wrong.

And your correct on the age. I just took the most youngest possible mathematically age to start with but actually
figured we where closer to 12 months like you said.

My other heifer is expecting late early August.
So this has been a learning experience and I'll be prepared for it.

Again thanks for your input.

Thanks for your quick response.

On the older calf I didn't want to put her in with my other two.
One is a bull and I may not have mention but the older calf as I am describing her as,
is an approximately 10 month old heifer.
I didn't want to run the risk of him trying to mate her.

She is in a paddock at the moment by herself.
She did finally eat some last night and has quietened down some.
I was wondering if it was OK to put her back in with her mom and calf by now.
Or if I needed to wait a little while.
I've even considered putting her in with our kune kune pigs for company.

We are unsure at this moment if we are selling the older calf, breeding her or for meat.

When we purchased the two back in February our plan was to breed the cow and raise the calf for meat.
We where caught of guard as to how far along the cow was in her pregnancy.
I knew we might have issues keeping that calf separated from our bull before she could get big enough for slaughter.
But for the price we paid it was worth the risk.

Understanding no matter what we do the bull could decide to crash a fence and change our plans no matter what we do.

So the question is,  Put the older calf back with mom and new calf... Keep her separated... Put her with the pigs... or take a chance with the bull.

And yes on the books, Constantly reading books and researching and learning first hand all the info I can absorb.

On the vet we have one close by but not completely sold on them a large animal vet. Have found a vet 40 miles away that we have used
and have been very pleased with, But we are trying to get a relationship with the local vet just as a matter of timing.
We also have a good neighbor
with cattle who is helpful. He just happened to be out of town this week.

Oh by the way I was going to ck with my neighbor this weekend but whats your advise on age of castration and technique for the newborn calf.

Thanks

Didn't know if your still searching for info or not. I am not an expert either.
But we have been doing this for 1 1/2 years, something new every day.
I agree with what someone else said I would recommend goats for the milk.
easier to handle and cheaper to maintain.

We now have 4 Lowline-Zebu cross cows.
The meat is excellent!!!

As for the bull. If you spent time with them it should be fine.
Mine is actually more friendly than the cows, But he will be in your back pocket every time your trying to do any work in the pasture.
However he does seem to get frisky at dusk. I have told my wife and even I rarely go out into pasture late evening.
He is a real beast of an animal. Don't be scared of him but always be aware of him.

We got 3 cows over a year ago. A 1 yr old bull 1 yr old steer and 9 month old heifer at the time we got them.
The steer is now in the freezer and the heifer was bred at 15 months (naturally).

A bull will take a little longer to mature than a heifer. So depending on your breed
check ages and stagger them so they become ready at or close to the same time.

As for calves we plan to castrate the calve if a bull for meat later.
Trade or sale if a heifer. that would eliminate any in house issues or to early breeding.

Our bull has been fine, However he does smell or neighbors cows a 1/2 mile away.
We had to beef up the fence line facing our neighbors and strengthen the corner areas in direction of our neighbors
Seems to have helped. He will still go the closest corner to our neighbor of each paddock and gaze in the direction of our neighbors.
Don't have to worry about any fencing on back side away from neighbors. A bull doesn't know how to use a back door.

We also just bought a new cow that is 3 yrs old. She was pregnant and just gave birth to a bull. She will be ready to breed again in June.
Our other heifer should give birth in August and be ready to breed again around November.

The two cows will help to increase the possibility of constant meat in the freezer.
And in the event one is a heifer and we have to trade off or sell.

I think I would like to get them closer to the same cycle but will try this for now.

Again though the bull so far isn't a problem as far as people or other pets. But you can see his strength and I am watching closely
hoping he doesn't destroy any more fences.
He seems to be somewhat content with his tiny heard.

I enjoy the full process and satisfaction of raising them from start to finish.
But I have also figured out it would be just as cheap for me to buy a couple of steers to raise one for meat and 1 to sell.
As compared to raising a bull, cow and calf.
And without some of the headache. But I'm just a gluten for punishment and I enjoy it.

But to answer your question. To the temperament of the bull toward you or your wife, that will be the least of your problems.
Enjoy it....... I know I do.

Please bare with me if I'm in the wrong place or not. I am somewhat new to these type forums.

I have two (2) questions.

We recently started a very small hobby farm in central Alabama.
We had 3 cows, now 2. Had a steer we put in the freezer in January.
The others are a 2 yr old bull and heifer.
She is expecting in August.
They are a lowline- zebu cross.

We are just learning on the fly.
After doing the math we figured by the time the steer in the freezer is depleted
our heifer would have just calved and we would be without meat for a while.

So I began searching and found someone who had the same type cows that we did just across the Tennessee line.
The farmer had just passed away and his remaining family lived in Georgia and couldn't travel or take care of the cows.
So another local farmer helped to sell them for them.

We picked up a cow calf pair and was told the calf was 6 months old and most likely the cow was bred back.
We have them in another paddock separated from our other 2 cows.
We where going to take the calf and raise for our next meat. Which was going fine.

However the health of the cow was poor. We assumed from the farmer passing that she had been neglected for awhile and had been giving all her energy to the calf.
Over a 1 1/2 months time she begin to put on weight and looked better.

Then we discovered they where way off on their age by several months.
Just three days ago she had a beautiful new bull calf.
Everyone is doing well with no problems health wise.

Never calving before though I was unsure what to do.
At first the older calf was curious and seemed to be getting in the way of the mother and newborn.
The newborn calf would keep going to the older calf confused as if thinking it was his mother.
I separated the older calf to keep from confusing the newborn and so he didn't accidentally get hurt.

Even though the older calf was weaned from milking she has never been separated from its mother.
Now the older calve isn't eating.
He was eating feed, hay and grass before.
But now not eating feed and constantly looking for its mother and occasionally eats grass.
They have been separated now 3 days.

So these are my questions

#1.) Now the mother has bonded with the calf and they are doing fine.
Can I now put the older calf back in with them hoping he begins to eat again or do we keep them separated longer in hopes of him being totally independent.

Question #2.) We considered trying to bottle feed new born calf but we cant put that kind of time into it right now.
But we wondered if the newborn would accept both the bottle and her mom in hopes of us bonding better with the calf and also to help the mother gain some some strength and energy to get back into better condition.
Don,t get me wrong she is not sickly or anything just trying to improve her body condition better.
Yet didn't know if the calf would take to both her mother and bottle.

Any help, advise or criticism would be appreciated. Thanks

Hey Wayne; If I re-read correctly you are only hypothetically wondering
if your possible two (Future) calves are heifers how to protect them from your single bull?
I don't see it being that big of an issue from what I understand you have.
First off your over thinking a hypothetical issue.

But for the fun of it lets assume you have 2 calves that are heifers

Idea 1.)You mention you could rotate bulls with your father in-law.
Perhaps you could also swap out heifers.

Idea 2.) Unsure on your Charolais but most likely the earliest the calves cant breed isn't until around 7 to 12 months or even later.
You mentioned you had a finishing pen.
And you mentioned you could make more paddocks.
I assume finishing pens are smaller so be sure and bull proof them.
Possibly build 2 finishing pens.
Assume finishing pens will hold for 1 to 3 months.
So maturing age and finishing pens takes care of 1 to 1 1/2 yrs. of your two year problem
So in between of that leaves 6 to 8 months of any concern.

You said a couple of your paddocks where bull proofed.
Well then that's the time to use them.

Then build more paddocks, the more the better even if not just for the time for pastures to regrow.
Keep the two calves together in 1 paddock and Bull and 2 cows in another,

And yes the electric fence will work.
Not knowing what type fencing you have but I keep 1 strand of barb wire higher then the rest of the fences
only on my neighbors side where my bull goes to the edges and corners closest to his cows for when he is thinking of going next door.
So put an extra strand on sides going into adjacent paddocks on your property.
He's not going to go out the back door to what he thinks ahead of him. he can only think straight ahead.

Also on my corrals or holding pins have 1 x 6 boards slightly above the reach of head, he seems to know he cant jump it and can lean on the fence to pull it down.

Idea 3.) You said you had Charolais and working toward tax break. Each State is different on requirements for tax advantages.
But why have you chosen Charolais?
You don't sound like your into it for cattle sales and profits but more for tax break and self sufficiency.

If that's so then Again let me tell you about low-line cattle.
You can carry more cows per acre, giving your bull
a larger herd to keep him busy.

You still have quality meat to eat and or sale.
The extra number in cows would equal out on the weight and or lbs per meat of the larger Charolais and could also exceed your current amount.

Depending on your pasture and how much work you want to put into it but you could easily double your heard 1 bull and 5 cows with not much extra work.

If you manage your pastures and add in paddocks you could carry even more.
You can carry 3 on 1 1/2 acres if you paddock off and maintain good pastures thru weekly rotation.

Plus I would also assume the temperament  would be better relieving some pressure of the bull issue and fencing problems.

Don't know if I've gotten off track of your ideas and issues or not. But hopefully this helps.

What is the purpose of your venture?
Is it for profit, growing your on food or just the enjoyment?

I ass/u/me your bull will be the one breeding your breeders. So once they are bred they wont be coming back into cycle.
Then ass/u/me you have 2 new calves.
If they are 2 bulls, just have them steered.
If 1 or both are heifers sell them off.
Or keep one up until around 1 to 1 1/2 yrs and take to slaughter.
There's no set in stone age or weight to slaughter. Its up to you and what ever your goals are.
If you sell off the heifers as calves I would assume your profits would be close to the same since you saved on feed for those 2 yrs.

On your pasture not sure of your size or grass but I had similar situation.
I started setting aside areas for cover crops to improve soil and also extra grazing.
Even if the plants don't have time to fully develop if your rotating in and out it will eventually help.
If you don't have a lot of land even just a small strips at time will help.

I used pearl millet, buckwheat and peas that grew great in the peak of summer when other grasses where scorching from August heat.
In the fall planted rye, peas, turnips, wheat and barley.

This helped greatly on my soil and kept feed cost down in winter.
The cows where able to graze on into the winter months cutting hay cost way back.

Are you going grass fed or finishing on grain?

What type cows do you have? 2 yrs is probably a good average.
A lot depends on breed of cow and condition.
Look for good rump fat around tail area, thick brisket and wider leg stance all good signs of good fat.
I think the big question is what are you going to do with the bull once all the girls are gone?
I keep 3 animals. A breeding pair and then sale or slaughter the offspring depending on time and sex of the calf and how much meat is in the freezer.

Hi, I'm new to this posting type communication so bare with me. Didn't even know if you are still monitoring this blog or what ever its called. Just trying to get into the conversation to try and give advise and find advise. Our situation may be similar. I have only 1 acre and run 3 cows, 2 pigs, 12 chickens and 4 ducks. I've been doing this for 1 1/2 yrs. I'm like you I've research Salitan and everybody elses opinions. usually I try to take a small thing from everybody and mix it with my situation and come up with my own solution. So here is what I've done that works, hopefully it helps you. I currently have 1 acre broke into 3 paddocks, rotate out every 7 days. Cut grass every second time grazed. with it only being 1 acre I can irrigate daily if needed and fertilize as needed. Seems to work fine for us. This year I did set a 1/4 of a section aside and planted millet, buckwheat and bermuda. Seems to be working well. Both millet and buckwheat can be hand sowed and work. So I've gradually been spreading thu-out the rest of the paddocks. In Sept I will begin to do the same with some cool season crops, I'm going to try wheat, oats, barley turnips and rape. We will wait and see how that works. Also use hay from Novemeber to March. I do have one steer that I am finishing him out on grain. Here chickens are $3.00 a chick so I can afford to lose some and no harm. We do have coyotes but the fencing of the paddocks seems to have confused them enough to keep them out. Also out neighbor does have horses. I've been told Donkeys help keep coyotes out. We let out chickens free range no issues for 1 1/2 yrs. roosters are the best for spreading manure in paddocks, they all seem to want to impress the hens by finding them food. I'll get several in early spring and by fall once there grown I sell or trade off or put some in the freezer and keep the hens for egg layers. They have completed their job by the end of summer. Oh yeh my biggest thing to let you in on are my cows. We have low-line cows. 1 bull, 1 steer and 1 heifer. Its plenty of meat for me and my wife. Less strain on the pasture and fencing. a little pricey to get started as compared to regular cows. You can also research miniature cows for jersey, herefords, zebu and dexters, depending on what you want them for beef, milk, lawnmowers or pets. Don't laugh. research them. they are perfect for small farms. Hope this has helped. perhaps we can share more information later. Good luck