rocfarm
Well-known member
Fingers crossed. He has everything he needs to earn his keep, so hoping he'll get it done. Thanks for the comments.
Best Cattle Crosses For Unassisted Calving
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Good deal. Looks like you have the the groceries covered.
Ya the fert test was a must. If he is not that's expensive hamburger.
Hope it works out. You might give him 60 days or so and run him in for peace of mind.
Ya the fert test was a must. If he is not that's expensive hamburger.
Hope it works out. You might give him 60 days or so and run him in for peace of mind.
rocfarm
Well-known member
Missed this question. Supposed to be pure-bred Red Angus.
rocfarm
Well-known member
Unfortunately, I'll be tied up with work for a while. But lots of folks will be checking in on him and the girls. Just no one who can take him in for a test.
Still don't have a squeeze chute, so can't ask the vet to come out. Hoping to get lucky and use some of my first few years of profits to find a used chute, or, put in a head gate.
Being on a budget is not fun, but I still feel it's the way to go, even if things take a while to work out.
Fully aware that I might have bought expensive hamburger. Was trying to buy a yearling black angus from the auction for around 1200$ and go that route, but it didn't work out.
I might just keep the current little red bull I have and sell his mama after next year's breeding season so I don't have to worry about the next one, or, might try to trade this one back to the seller or someone else at age 3 for a younger bull if his calves look good and someone would like to trade.
Can always go the auction route as well, but that seems like it may be a money loser.
kenny thomas
Well-known member
I actually think he will grow into a decent bull.
rocfarm
Well-known member
He'll get a decent chance to perform. Gonna make sure it's his fault if things don't work out. I think he'll actually even gain weight through the winter based on the current diet we have him on. The rancher I got him from had him running with cows and only on hay and mineral. He'd never seen cubes before, and I think he hadn't been exposed to a tub before, either. My cows had all added 100 lbs under this regimen from September to November (excluding the one nursing a calf). As soon as March rolls around I have the feeling that this year we'll have lots of but clover for them as well.
Also, I like red, so I guess that's a plus. Was going to go black because the market demands it, but can't say I'm upset with how things have turned out. Red angus is a good breed and I think his calves have a chance at performing.
Thanks again for the encouragement. I'll try to post updated pictures of him in April to show how he's progressing condition wise.
kenny thomas
Well-known member
If not already done he is at the age that worms sometimes cause them not to grow as well. Deworming is a good thing.
rocfarm
Well-known member
Guess. Could get a bag of deworming cubes.
I thought if you gave them clean grass parasite pressure reduced naturally, though. Is that not the case?
kenny thomas
Well-known member
Not unless you get them cleaned out to begin with. Only way to know for sure is test the poop.
rocfarm
Well-known member
Huh. The stuff I read said it's a matter of overall load. I'll keep an eye on him. If his condition doesn't improve I'll probably take action.
Son of Butch
Well-known member
You paid $1800 for a $1500 bull, no big deal, you needed one asap and got him.
No reason to beat yourself up. Hopefully he'll be a pleasant surprise... it happens.
rocfarm
Well-known member
Yeah. And he was delivered from a neighbor 3 miles away and cattle prices have a good chance of going up over the next few years, so not overly upset. Really enjoyed the exchange with the neighbor. Really nice guy and he helped me out of this pinch. Like I said before, his brother was 2000lbs, so if he will go 1600 lbs after about another year-and-a-half I should get most of it back and just be out the feed and grass.
Have to say I have been pleasantly surprised that I will need fewer tubs than thought. Put out one last August that was 200lbs and the cows still haven't finished it. Bought two more last week, but think maybe one would have gotten me through March.
If I can streamline the feed/mineral outlays I might only be out a bit of grass and 100$ per year of feed/mineral per year on this fellow, which will make the finances look better.
Was told this is his brother, so hoping he will bulk up nicely like big brother.
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Travlr
Well-known member
Worming on a schedule is probably the best money you can spend to make a return. It affects your bottom line.
kenny thomas
Well-known member
In a mature animal it can be overall load but a young animal doesn't need worms if your wanting good growth. Probably cost $10 tops to worm him.
Travlr
Well-known member
Often people think owning cattle and putting them on some grass is going to be easy. You can just leave them to fend for themselves and in a year you get a paycheck.
Close to where I live there are people that use both high management and no management techniques to raise cattle, and you can see it in the animals. The ones that give their cattle endless treats are at the opposite end of the spectrum from those that don't worm their animals, and an animal owned by one is butter-ball fat and won't breed, and the animal owned at the other end looks like a sack full of deer antlers and has no teeth.
Everything being advised is a crap shoot... and it's up to you how to use the information... but the sweet spot where most people make money is closer to the high management style than the other. Mainly in that they pay attention to their animals, and not so much that they spend a lot of money.
rocfarm
Well-known member
Agree. My cows are BCS 5 to 6.5 right now, except for the mom I got for $450. She's nursing a 200lb calf and probably a 4. Think she might not breed back. My heifers are BCS 6.5s, but research says that's necessary as they will need a bit of extra BCS to breed back after the first calf.
One cool trick I learned to save a tub after a drought breaks is to put salt blocks on top of it if there is good grass. Last summer was horrible so the tub was needed in July and August but September saw enough rain to bring in good growth. I didn't want to waste the remaining portion of the tub I had bought so we put a few salt blocks on top of it in mid September until November 20 then took them off. The cattle drastically reduced their consumption of the tub with the salt blocks on top (but still consumed a bit) then immediately increased consumption again when the blocks were removed. I probably saved about $70 using this method, so was pleased with myself. If the three tubs we bought this year last past March, next year I'll probably just try to put out one tub around July 1st for the summer slump, then put salt blocks on if we get September rains and then pull the blocks off the old tub in November and put one more out in December for the rest of the winter. Could be viable, especially if I wean in summer and have the cows in good condition come fall calving.
I'm trying to get the frequent hunters to give a few less pounds of cubes each time they go, but they like over feeding the cows. During deer season this means those cows can get a bag of cubes per week, which seems a bit much to me. But this spoiling is probably good for keeping them gentle. At any rate, I cut the cubes back to 20% protein instead of 30% to reduce the feed cost at least some. might even go to 12% protein next year if the cows are looking over conditioned.
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Jeanne - Simme Valley
Well-known member
Other than the thin nursing cow. 12% is plenty.
Are you trying to be organic?
Worming is the cheapest MOST IMPORTANT management. At 18 months, your bull LOOKS wormy. Light weight for his age, hair coat appears scruffy.
Your nursing cow probably need deworming.
What are you doing for a health program?
Are you trying to be organic?
Worming is the cheapest MOST IMPORTANT management. At 18 months, your bull LOOKS wormy. Light weight for his age, hair coat appears scruffy.
Your nursing cow probably need deworming.
What are you doing for a health program?
rocfarm
Well-known member
A
So far proper nutrition, calm handling, frequent paddock rotations, and established calving season is my health program. Working on the other aspects. However, every head I've put out there so far has added one or two bcs points to their score within about half a year or maintained their bcs if they were nursing, and the one calf I have from the thin mother is fat as a tick and prancing daily, so not overly concerned at this point.
The bad drought and 105 degree heat seems to have dried out and baked a lot of parasites in Texas over the past year, so not sure central Texas parasite issues are the same as folks in states with rain. Never seen a tick on a cow or pig or raccoon or deer, etc. on my place, for example. Haven't heard of worms being a problem in understocked Texas places that rotate cattle often, either. And the Google scholar stuff I have seen says that letting your animals develop some resistance to parasites is actually advisable.
But will definitely take action if his condition turns out to not be the result of that nasty drought we just experienced.
Thought about going organic, but not trying it yet. I know I need to cut back on feed for efficiency, but kept it high through this winter to try to make sure they could recover from the poorer circumstances they had just come off of because of the drought. Next winter I'll cut back a little.
So far proper nutrition, calm handling, frequent paddock rotations, and established calving season is my health program. Working on the other aspects. However, every head I've put out there so far has added one or two bcs points to their score within about half a year or maintained their bcs if they were nursing, and the one calf I have from the thin mother is fat as a tick and prancing daily, so not overly concerned at this point.
The bad drought and 105 degree heat seems to have dried out and baked a lot of parasites in Texas over the past year, so not sure central Texas parasite issues are the same as folks in states with rain. Never seen a tick on a cow or pig or raccoon or deer, etc. on my place, for example. Haven't heard of worms being a problem in understocked Texas places that rotate cattle often, either. And the Google scholar stuff I have seen says that letting your animals develop some resistance to parasites is actually advisable.
But will definitely take action if his condition turns out to not be the result of that nasty drought we just experienced.
Jeanne - Simme Valley
Well-known member
You have to do you. But deworming can add BCS quicker and cheaper than feeding extra.
IF in doubt, take a stool sample to the vet. Very easy. No guessing.
IF in doubt, take a stool sample to the vet. Very easy. No guessing.
Travlr
Well-known member
I just don't get why anyone would not worm as part of their program to start with. I mean... you can go down the road and tell which people are "saving money" by not worming easily enough.
Worming is like pennies on the dollar compared to feed.
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