Coffee's Ready, Come and Sit on the Porch

[CrealCritter]

If she is sneaking back on the cow then she is not truly weaned. If the cow is letting her, then they have GOT TO BE SEPARATED. No if's but's or anything else. There is a nose flap you can get that has little spikes that when she goes to nurse will poke the cow and she will kick the calf off but they are iffy to use. You can look them up on the internet... anti suck devices, weaning flaps, or something like that will get you some stuff to look at. Jeffers livestock supplies probably have them. I am going to try something similar for these 2 adult cows I have... but one thing DS said was we can move them to other places where they are not with anyone familiar... each to a different place... and most "strange to them cows" will not allow it. I am so P#$$ed off at them......

I see nothing wrong with the mixed breed. I have little or no personal experience with dexters. Had a 1/2 dutch belted and would like to get one or 2 full bred dutch belted for milking. Have had several belted galloways and liked them. I have some semen in my tank for a belted galloway.... I would like a couple of them again. They get discounted badly at the stockyards, but they make fine beef for personal/direct sales.

The calves really need more grain in this cold winter. They could do better if you added some corn to the feed...for the energy as the protein is low. But the calf that is stealing is also doing it partly because it's body is craving more nutrients. They cannot grow without enough protein. A growing calf should be getting about 1-2 % of it's body weight in concentrates (grain) as it is growing. So the heifer should be getting about 3 lbs or more of feed to really grow and supply her nutrient needs. 1/2 that can full just for herself at least.... The hay is not going to supply enough protein for growing through the winter. They are eating to keep up their body heat and require more. Either they get it from the cow's milk, or they try to eat more and more... and that is how so many dairy cross calves get the "hay belly or pot belly" at younger ages. They will grow out of it eventually, but often it will stunt their growth. Remember, if these are Dutch belted/Dexter crosses... they are half dairy animals. Dutch Belted is a dairy breed, not a dual purpose. In beef cattle the calves are left on the cows for 5-10 months. They still will grow better and continue to gain if they are grain fed after that. Once they hit the yearling mark, they are better able to utilize the grass and hay and will grow on that. But if they don't get a good start, then they will not grow like they should as they get older. It will take longer to get them to finish out.
Yes you can just grass finish them... but you have got to have them gaining at least 1 1/2 to 2 lbs a day or the grass is just going to maintaining the body.... a positive gain is what puts the flesh on and creates fat also for marbling.

I am not in favor of just having one feed for all the livestock. There are things in the poultry feed that address the chickens specific needs, especially for laying. Maybe okay for the warmer months when they are getting added protein in bugs and such. Not saying that they will be hurt by the 15% feed... but they will not lay up to their potential. And let's face it, if you have chickens for laying, you want and need to get the best production out of them or else the cost per dozen eggs is just too high. You are better off getting the eggs from the store if you go by simple practicality. I like my show chickens, they do not lay like I want them to. I compromise because I like them... but they are not totally practical. The sex-links and breeds specifically bred for laying do pay for themselves. You can give up some of the "practical" and efficiency but lets face it, part of being self sufficient is to be able to save money and provide for yourself. If it costs you $6 or $8 dozen to produce the eggs... and they only lay for the 6 warmer months, then you are not being practical or efficient. That is not self sufficient, that is just subsidizing..... The whole idea of self sufficient is to produce things for yourself at a cost that is equal or LESS THAN it would cost you to buy it. Some things will not be totally practical... but you also get better taste or healthier food. Still, you have to address the animals needs too.
You don't want to feed the meat birds for 2-4 extra weeks because they are growing slowly... that is money out of your pocket that you are basically wasting.....the cattle will also cost extra if they do not grow well as calves. I feed very little grain to the finishing animals... but they get fed grain as they are growing so they get their growth and size that they need so that then the grass/grazing will be better spent putting weight on the frame that they have grown. If I left them on the cows for 10-15 months and only had calves every 18-24 months, then they would not need the grain as growing calves. But I want and need a yearly calf to make it economical to have these cattle. It is not just about dollars and cents, but it has to be about the most practical way, and economical way, to get the needed and proper growth, or you are waiting for 3 years to get a beef to go on the table.

I need about 1/2 a day to process this information. But starting this evening my wife and I discussed and decided to increase their livestock commodity to 6 lbs instead of 3. I do know they need to be eased into into the feed. At 6 lbs a day we'll go through a 50 lb sack once every 8 days or so. We'll see how they do with the increase. If they do good, we'll run with 6 lbs for a couple of weeks before we increase again. I also have some whole corn but I want to see how they do with the increase before I start easing them into the whole corn. I don't want a bunch of diarrhea cattle because I became impatient.

At this current time, I'm confident they have enough to eat. They are definitely growing, that I can tell that visually. They are alternating between pasture grass and the hay round. It's when and if the pasture gets covered up with that nasty 4 letter word, is when I may get conserned. But we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.

For the calf... I need to figure something out about her. I've been keeping a eye on that little stinker and haven't seen her on the teet again, she's been grazing along with the others.

Jesus is Lord and Christ

 

[tortoise]

Doing the with thing is a choice, so the bigger question may be if you choose to not do the right thing, what was your motive to do wrong?
Typically is self serving,

Can you just come over and talk to DS14 for me? Because I say this and he give me teenage face.

 

[tortoise]

Shipping containers are blocked up. I don’t think I ever want to do this again! I’m tired and sore. I unloaded 28 T-Posts, 10 treated wood posts, rolls of wire and swept out the truck. Supposed to be raining tomorrow, I’ll work inside doing more painting.

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[The Porch]

Can you just come over and talk to DS14 for me? Because I say this and he give me teenage face.

Ok I fixed my cell phone typeO,

I am sorry he does that, I am sure it is very hard

 

[FarmerJamie]

There ya have it. Feeling much better, but the COVID test yesterday came back positive. Wife had a test earlier today. we shall see, but expected she is too.

 

[The Porch]

There ya have it. Feeling much better, but the COVID test yesterday came back positive. Wife had a test earlier today. we shall see, but expected she is too.

Oh boy, well so you are on the mend still right?

 

[tortoise]

There ya have it. Feeling much better, but the COVID test yesterday came back positive. Wife had a test earlier today. we shall see, but expected she is too.

Sorry to hear that. I hope the worst is over.

 

[CrealCritter]

There ya have it. Feeling much better, but the COVID test yesterday came back positive. Wife had a test earlier today. we shall see, but expected she is too.

Glad you are feeling better, hoping your getting back after it soon

Jesus is Lord and Christ

 

[farmerjan]

I need about 1/2 a day to process this information. But starting this evening my wife and I discussed and decided to increase their livestock commodity to 6 lbs instead of 3. I do know they need to be eased into into the feed. At 6 lbs a day we'll go through a 50 lb sack once every 8 days or so. We'll see how they do with the increase. If they do good, we'll run with 6 lbs for a couple of weeks before we increase again. I also have some whole corn but I want to see how they do with the increase before I start easing them into the whole corn. I don't want a bunch of diarrhea cattle because I became impatient.

At this current time, I'm confident they have enough to eat. They are definitely growing, that I can tell that visually. They are alternating between pasture grass and the hay round. It's when and if the pasture gets covered up with that nasty 4 letter word, is when I may get conserned. But we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.

For the calf... I need to figure something out about her. I've been keeping a eye on that little stinker and haven't seen her on the teet again, she's been grazing along with the others.

Jesus is Lord and Christ

If you can see the growth then they are getting enough. If you up the feed to 6 lbs, see how they do and look. It might be enough if your grass continues to be exposed so they can continue to graze. You have the advantage of not having anything on the grass before this.
Is Oreo able to get the grain along with the rest? She probably does not need as much... and you do not want her to get too "round" (as in fat) so she does not have trouble with calving.
We do not feed the different ages all together as the older animals do not need the increased feed like the younger ones do. Adults need maintenance rations not growing rations. And the adults will get "piggy"....

 

[FarmerJamie]

Oh boy, well so you are on the mend still right?

Yeppers