Coffee anyone ?

[RR Homestead]

I would definitely look into leasing a bull for a 60 or 90 period... get them bred in June/July so the calves come in the spring once you are well settled there...
If the jerseys have calved once already, they should be able to handle most any angus bull... yes a "heifer or easy calving bull" would be a plus... but mine get bred to whomever is in the field once they have calved once.
Buying a bull is going to cost you in the $5-7500 range for a decent one with some sort of "record" as far as easy calving low birth weight or something... I would go with an angus or a lim-flex.... angus limousin cross... limi calves tend to be longer and "lean" as opposed to blocky built front ends. I would NOT do a simmental or a hereford.... both tend to be wider front ends .... Salvage value on a bull is about $2/lb around here for 15-2000 pound animals... so about $2500-4000 for a salvage value of the bull.... half of what you paid for him is a good figure to work with.
I don't know how many cows you have but renting/leasing a bull for a set period of time would be preferable... get the calves on the ground all at the same time for uniformity in the calf crop... and anyone that does not catch, then could be bred AI.... OR SOLD.......
Make sure that you have the bull covered by the farm insurance, and have a written agreement with the person leasing him... if he breaks a leg, breaks his penis, wrenches his shoulder or gets stifled.... you will have some responsibility....needs to be written in a lease in case of injury.... we figure the bull is worth $5,000... they lease for $50/cow for 60 days ....or $500/month.... and they feed him obviously... if he gets hurt, then whatever he brings at the stockyard comes off the "value".... and the lessee is responsible for the difference .

Thank you Jan! This is VERY helpful. We had no idea what to expect on renting a bull. Haven't bought one in decades. The liability was a worry on our part. Especially at a new place. I do see several places listed on CL who lease bulls within a few hours of our property. The listings don't say a price but I was thinking about calling and speaking to someone. I'll probably make a couple calls this week. This sounds like the way to go for our needs right now. We've cut our herd so small for the move we'd like to get back to building back up asap.

 

[Baymule]

Coffee is ready. It's 48 degrees this morning. I got 3/4" of rain Thursday and 3/4" on Saturday. Not exactly a drought buster but it helps. Texas needs a hurricane to hit in south Texas this year. Corpus Christi is almost out of water. A direct hit between Brownsville and Corpus Christi would solve a lot of problems, then blow on up to San Antonio. The east side of a hurricane is called the dirty side, as it gets the most rain and damage. But we need to get a little or a lot "dirty" this year.

 

[CLSranch]

Good morning all. I made the drive yesterday and made it to the campground at an almost decent hour. They are out of spots until someone leaves today and the owner still won't be here until 10 a.m. to register. So instead of being at work this morning I'm waiting on him. The owner didn't want me to park, leave the camper and come back after work.

Is it just me or does google and other searches not show what they used to. They started showing more for a while even those places that didn't have websites. Now it seems that they only show a select few. I've had trouble looking some up while knowing of other places near by whether it's motels or campgrounds or what ever.

That and in case of breakdowns is why I used to like showing up 2 days before a job. Time to adjust and not be late. Or at least drive close enough it's a short drive the day before. Now I want to spend that extra day with the family and hope nothing breaks down.

 

[Mini Horses]

@CLSranch do you have time to call ahead for reservations? Or just no list to call? Maybe check yellow pages for campgrounds in town you're near? Walmart nearby? Some of those allow an overnight & that could help for times like now.

It's cooler this week, not bad mid 60 days low 50 nights. We got a little rain yesterday and so it's wet out this morn making it "chilly". Don't see any more rain all week tho. Thankfully the grasses are coming in well, so enough for the smaller goat numbers. Yah -- don't need hay!! Next week I'll walk fences on another section to open, rest another one of these. Fresh grass puts nice condition on them. Now I'm needing to mow the lawn.

Had the "terrible 2" wake up...got a snack & back to bed eventually, so slept until 8. Hate those up times!! But wide awake now, chores done & coffee is my companion. I'll head to work in a short bit. Glad I don't have to punch a time clock.

 

[drstratton]

We drove over 9 hours yesterday, made it to Ogden. Hoping for another 9 plus today. Then it will take about 6 on the final day. It's a 25 hour drive. We want to see the kids before they go to bed on Tuesday. That's why we chose to travel longer days. Waiting for hubs to wake up, surprised I'm awake before him. We'll see how it goes. Hubs has sciatica pain when he has to sit for long periods. He did well yesterday, but it was hurting once we got to the hotel. So travel time is dependent on how he feels. I was feeling good, so could have kept going.

Patiently waiting for my tea...lol

Have a lovely day all!

 

[CLSranch]

@CLSranch do you have time to call ahead for reservations? Or just no list to call? Maybe check yellow pages for campgrounds in town you're near? Walmart nearby? Some of those allow an overnight & that could help for times like now.

Kinda. I Don't always have a big up heads from work on when I need to be there. Last time I made a reservation they charged the card and the job never even happened. Also I got a spot for tonight just have to wait to move and to sign in.

Another problem is the list. That was my google complaint. There could be a nicer, cheaper campground closer to work and I don't/won't know until I get up here. Another reason not to make a reservation.
On the last job I got a week at one campground then found another half the distance and in between a gas station and dollar general. Walking distance for groceries. It didn't show up on my searches then after the week it was filled and I had to stay at the further location.

 

[SageHill]

Is it just me or does google and other searches not show what they used to. They started showing more for a while even those places that didn't have websites. Now it seems that they only show a select few. I've had trouble looking some up while knowing of other places near by whether it's motels or campgrounds or what ever.

The online searches definitely don't show what they used to. A lot driven by ads and other things in the websites.

When we had an RV we had those ginormous books (probably at least 3 inches thing and on almost phonebook type paper) that listed all the campgrounds in the US. KOA was one book and I forgot the name of the other. Obviously those are now a thing of the past and considered <cough> vintage.

 

[SageHill]

Hubs has sciatica pain when he has to sit for long periods.

Would arnica gel help?? Guessing probably not, but tossing it out there.

 

[fuzzi]

Would arnica gel help?? Guessing probably not, but tossing it out there.

My dad had sciatica. He would sit on the floor and slide a tennis ball under the sore spot on his buttocks, then roll around on it so it would massage the spasm.

 

[fuzzi]

Kidney stone hit again last night, then round 2 (3? 4?) this morning. This is getting old.

I left a message for my urologist, and she's usually prompt to reply.