Farmerjan's journal - Weather

[Mini Horses]

Yeah. And moving a few 1K pound cows isn't like a few hand tame goats! Even cooperative ones is a big job.

 

[farmerjan]

Hi and good morning... except it is nearly noon.

26 overnight... up to 48. Sun is out so alot nicer than yesterday's grey cloudy dreary day.

I don't feel all that great today... Cannot get the throat cleared out,,, constant draining.. I am SO SICK AND TIRED OF FEELING SICK AND TIRED. Was off the ivermectin for 3 days, back on again as of today...been reading everything I can on it... and going to do a longer term protocol.... Also the elderberry and echinacea/goldenseal that seems to help with the congestion... rebuild the immune system... besides the vitamins I try to normally take.
I am also going to go back on the doxycycline... try a 2nd longer term round of the antibiotics... something has got to hit this.... do them opposite times of the day so not to interact in the stomach. I had started to feel like I was getting somewhere when I was on it for several weeks instead of the original 14 days...

DS texted and wanted to know how many at the BV /Middle rd pasture... the other group that needs to come to the barn for the vet preg check on Wed...I texted 17 cow/13 calves... he said okay....

Then a little bit ago, DS called and the first thing he said when he heard me say hello is... "God, you sound awful".... GEE THANKS,,,,, but I get where he is coming from. I said I just felt wiped out... and it does not help that I did not sleep good last night.
He said, we got the cows in at Middle Rd... (BV pasture)... but we can handle it... you need to not come down... I said I can if you want... and he said no, GF is there and they are acting fine... he should be able to move them in 2 loads if he pushes a few more in the trailer... sometimes he doesn't put as many in as he can... but the trailer holds 12 adults with no problem... and the calves are less than 1/2 the size... so ought to be able to mix them enough to have 2 full loads... 10 and several calves, then 7 and the rest of the calves... not like they are getting hauled that far either... 1/2 hour to the barn...
They are going to the barn and they will be there so all ready for the vet on Wed...

He said that it would be better for me to stay home so that I would feel a bit better to go tomorrow to drive since he is getting the injections in his spine... so I said okay... I said, I just need to get out and moving around more and he said that I should not try to do too much but maybe will feel better later to get out in the sunshine a little bit...

So that is good... they will get them moved today... not waiting for the last minute to get them to the barn...miracle in it's self...... then he can get the panels loaded on the truck and take them to the Aug Co big pasture... where we will have to get them in, once we get these preg checked and moved around...for their preg check the end of the next week....at least get the panels set up so that when the time comes to get them in, it will already be set up...

So, I am going out in a little bit... I filled chicken waterers yesterday... both the small rubber pans that holds 1/2 gallon, and the automatic waterers... Did not think it was going to get so cold so they would have gotten some ice/freezing... but this warming will thaw them better. The chickens were not all that interested in drinking yesterday as the water was not frozen when I did them before going to the barn to help with working the 3 calves through the chute, and then testing. I did refill the feeders so they have plenty.

I need to make some lunch... got tuna fish made up... so will make a sandwich. Need to pull something out of the freezer to thaw... maybe a chicken... got bread crusts to make stuffing... cook it Monday for a couple days meals...

Need to get the samples packed from yesterday... ready to go to UPS tomorrow on the way down or back from the dr appt...

Well, thinking about it isn't getting it done... Maybe will feel better once I get out into some clean air outside.

 

[farmerjan]

How many cows do you have?

Meant to answer this... We run about 125-140 momma cows... calve about 80m/l in the spring and 50 m/l in the fall. This past year we calved 12 heifers and have another 12 to calve in the spring AND another 12 being bred now... Normally do not calve more than 5-8 heifers a year... BUT we have had so many OLD cows that have been getting culled the last 2 years... I think we have shipped 25 or more in the last 12-18 months. Sent 5 this past Aug that had their "last calves"... not to mention the ones that were open... think there were something like 5-6 that we sold back in the spring...
We keep cows as long as they are productive... have 3 right now that were born in 2011.... going on 15 yrs old... 1 lost her calf a month ago a week after calving, one has injured her hip/leg and that leaves 1 other that will get preg checked with this group. The one that lost her calf will get sold, the injured one will get checked at the vet check... she is with the big group.... it is a toss up on her... she will NOT get sold... she will get made into hamburger if she is not bred... want the vet to assess her... she gets up and down on her own and can walk slow but drags the leg some if she tries to hurry. If she is "very preg"... we may try to calve her out and keep her in the little lot at the barn..she is a good old cow, that is why she has been here this long... born here..... but I want the vet to assess her injury/leg... If she is open, or short bred, she will be hamburger because she will never bring anything in the stockyard with getting around so slow....and she does not need to be loaded and unloaded on a big trailer and go down... Since she does get up and down on her own, it is a better scenario than if she was having trouble even getting up... she gets right in with the other cows to eat the hay he takes out there...
The third one will get preg checked this week... if she is open she will go, if bred, we will see...if bred she stays, and we will assess her teeth/condition and how this calf she has now has done.... may become her "last calf" coming....

Also, we buy and sell some, and sometimes they are a "one and done" type cow... has 1 calf and then gets sold... sometimes they get kept longer... depends on lots of things. With prices, there is not much buying being done now... old cows we would buy for $800-1200 are now bringing in the $1800 -2500 range... NOT worth taking that kind of chance...

But anyway... we were running around 150 cows, then lost a couple of pastures... we have been trying to do a better job of rotating them on grasses, and can actually run more/ per pasture/acre, when the grass is managed better. This past year we were mostly in drought conditions... but with better rotations, actually were in pretty good shape for the number of cows on the pastures. We had cut our numbers through attrition/culling... for a couple years... and did not replace as many heifers for a couple years to not increase our numbers. Luckily, I had told DS that I saw prices looking to go up 2 years ago... watching the cattle cycles... and our culling rates... so we kept more heifers. We normally do NOT calve heifers in the fall.... they need the grass in the summer to make milk, continue to grow AND get bred back... they just do not get the nutrition in the winter like good summer grass gives them... but we did get a group bred, calved out this past fall.... and then bred the next group for the spring... they will be coming home to snyder's pasture due to start in March... and then put another group with the bull out there that have been exposed 60 days already. They will be due to calve starting in Sept...
Then due to the high prices, and not being overly in love with the last group... sold most all the heifers we had left. They were out of the bull we just sold that put small calves on the ground and they just did not grow like we wanted... I think we have 4 heifers that were kept out of that group of 16???? Then there are the 12 hereford/hol cross heifers I got from the farm.... they will get evaluated and some will get bred this coming June with the 4 other ones we kept... some will get sold...

So long involved explanation... but we are trying to stay around 125 momma cows... calving in 2 groups... plus what animals DS buys to put into groups to sell with our steer calves.... These cows coming home now are all going to start calving in Mar/May... so the calves have got to come off and they need 2 months rest... and these calves will get sold in a month or so once weaned and all... The bull calves all got worked before they went to pasture, so are already steers... We will split off the steers and heifers and then evaluate the heifers and sell any that we don't like in the initial "cull"... like the "bottom end" ... then keep the rest and look over good and pick out "keepers/replacements"....

There are about 50-60 fall calving cows that had their calves in Sept/Nov... out with the bulls getting bred back now... 12 of them are first calf heifers, that we added this fall.... and some may not breed back due to them not having the nutrition levels to milk/grow/ and breed back... All according to how their calves grow, if any are open, they will likely get moved back to the next group and get a second chance. Cows don't get that extra chance normally but heifers will.... If they continue to be problem breeders, they don't stay... Sometimes they just put so much into making milk, and their continued body growth.... that they do not cycle. If they do a good job with the calf,,, they get a 2nd chance if they come up open... Sometimes that extra 6 months just makes all the difference in the world... and then they stick around and wind up being some of the "old girls" after 10-12 years...

So... 50 fall calving.... 80 spring calving. Plus all the calves that are here...male and female... he wants to have 50 steers to sell next month... mostly all ours plus some of these few bull calves he has bought and worked into steers to add to the groups... matching sizes is the big job...

 

[drstratton]

I'm so sorry that you're still dealing with the crud. Thought you were finally over the hump.

 

[fuzzi]

Meant to answer this... We run about 125-140 momma cows... calve about 80m/l in the spring and 50 m/l in the fall. This past year we calved 12 heifers and have another 12 to calve in the spring AND another 12 being bred now... Normally do not calve more than 5-8 heifers a year... BUT we have had so many OLD cows that have been getting culled the last 2 years... I think we have shipped 25 or more in the last 12-18 months. Sent 5 this past Aug that had their "last calves"... not to mention the ones that were open... think there were something like 5-6 that we sold back in the spring...
We keep cows as long as they are productive... have 3 right now that were born in 2011.... going on 15 yrs old... 1 lost her calf a month ago a week after calving, one has injured her hip/leg and that leaves 1 other that will get preg checked with this group. The one that lost her calf will get sold, the injured one will get checked at the vet check... she is with the big group.... it is a toss up on her... she will NOT get sold... she will get made into hamburger if she is not bred... want the vet to assess her... she gets up and down on her own and can walk slow but drags the leg some if she tries to hurry. If she is "very preg"... we may try to calve her out and keep her in the little lot at the barn..she is a good old cow, that is why she has been here this long... born here..... but I want the vet to assess her injury/leg... If she is open, or short bred, she will be hamburger because she will never bring anything in the stockyard with getting around so slow....and she does not need to be loaded and unloaded on a big trailer and go down... Since she does get up and down on her own, it is a better scenario than if she was having trouble even getting up... she gets right in with the other cows to eat the hay he takes out there...
The third one will get preg checked this week... if she is open she will go, if bred, we will see...if bred she stays, and we will assess her teeth/condition and how this calf she has now has done.... may become her "last calf" coming....

Also, we buy and sell some, and sometimes they are a "one and done" type cow... has 1 calf and then gets sold... sometimes they get kept longer... depends on lots of things. With prices, there is not much buying being done now... old cows we would buy for $800-1200 are now bringing in the $1800 -2500 range... NOT worth taking that kind of chance...

But anyway... we were running around 150 cows, then lost a couple of pastures... we have been trying to do a better job of rotating them on grasses, and can actually run more/ per pasture/acre, when the grass is managed better. This past year we were mostly in drought conditions... but with better rotations, actually were in pretty good shape for the number of cows on the pastures. We had cut our numbers through attrition/culling... for a couple years... and did not replace as many heifers for a couple years to not increase our numbers. Luckily, I had told DS that I saw prices looking to go up 2 years ago... watching the cattle cycles... and our culling rates... so we kept more heifers. We normally do NOT calve heifers in the fall.... they need the grass in the summer to make milk, continue to grow AND get bred back... they just do not get the nutrition in the winter like good summer grass gives them... but we did get a group bred, calved out this past fall.... and then bred the next group for the spring... they will be coming home to snyder's pasture due to start in March... and then put another group with the bull out there that have been exposed 60 days already. They will be due to calve starting in Sept...
Then due to the high prices, and not being overly in love with the last group... sold most all the heifers we had left. They were out of the bull we just sold that put small calves on the ground and they just did not grow like we wanted... I think we have 4 heifers that were kept out of that group of 16???? Then there are the 12 hereford/hol cross heifers I got from the farm.... they will get evaluated and some will get bred this coming June with the 4 other ones we kept... some will get sold...

So long involved explanation... but we are trying to stay around 125 momma cows... calving in 2 groups... plus what animals DS buys to put into groups to sell with our steer calves.... These cows coming home now are all going to start calving in Mar/May... so the calves have got to come off and they need 2 months rest... and these calves will get sold in a month or so once weaned and all... The bull calves all got worked before they went to pasture, so are already steers... We will split off the steers and heifers and then evaluate the heifers and sell any that we don't like in the initial "cull"... like the "bottom end" ... then keep the rest and look over good and pick out "keepers/replacements"....

There are about 50-60 fall calving cows that had their calves in Sept/Nov... out with the bulls getting bred back now... 12 of them are first calf heifers, that we added this fall.... and some may not breed back due to them not having the nutrition levels to milk/grow/ and breed back... All according to how their calves grow, if any are open, they will likely get moved back to the next group and get a second chance. Cows don't get that extra chance normally but heifers will.... If they continue to be problem breeders, they don't stay... Sometimes they just put so much into making milk, and their continued body growth.... that they do not cycle. If they do a good job with the calf,,, they get a 2nd chance if they come up open... Sometimes that extra 6 months just makes all the difference in the world... and then they stick around and wind up being some of the "old girls" after 10-12 years...

So... 50 fall calving.... 80 spring calving. Plus all the calves that are here...male and female... he wants to have 50 steers to sell next month... mostly all ours plus some of these few bull calves he has bought and worked into steers to add to the groups... matching sizes is the big job...

Thank you for the detailed response, really!

I've read a lot of Louis L'Amour westerns, and had a hard time picturing longhorns. I've seen photos but when this video popped up it really struck me how long the horns are, and I said "WOW!"

Do you still have your longhorn?

 

[fuzzi]

I'm so sorry that you're still dealing with the crud. Thought you were finally over the hump.

Agreed. A friend of mine has had the throat/cough crud, did the 5 day protocol, was feeling better. He felt "off" on Day 6, went back on Ivermectin. And is feeling better.

Do what you think will help.

 

[farmerjan]

Yes, I still have Jess... it's short for Majestic... she has had 6 pregnancies... 7 calves... 1 set twins 1 hfr lived... 15/L she just had a tiny heifer calf but is doing good...
1st speckled hfr didn't breed.
2nd blk steer sold
3rd twin blk hfrs... 1 lived... just calved...
4th speckled steer... going in freezer in 2 weeks...
5th black steer sold
6th speckled steer... ready to wean and probably sell
Due with 7th pregnancy in Mar/April?

She had the 1st 5 pregnancies in 4 1/2 years... bull had been left in there longer and she caught back so finally said okay... she is not going to keep having calves every 10 months.... so now the bull goes in to breed heifers and then comes out so she can only have 1 calf every 12 months and get a bit of a break.
Longhorns are known for fertility, and longevity besides the "longhorns"... Her horns will never be like the one in the picture... they tip up more on the ends... but are still pretty wide. And she knows how to move her head to make them fit into places to get feed int he silage feed cart and such...

 

[fuzzi]

Yes, I still have Jess... it's short for Majestic... she has had 6 pregnancies... 7 calves... 1 set twins 1 hfr lived... 15/L she just had a tiny heifer calf but is doing good...
1st speckled hfr didn't breed.
2nd blk steer sold
3rd twin blk hfrs... 1 lived... just calved...
4th speckled steer... going in freezer in 2 weeks...
5th black steer sold
6th speckled steer... ready to wean and probably sell
Due with 7th pregnancy in Mar/April?

She had the 1st 5 pregnancies in 4 1/2 years... bull had been left in there longer and she caught back so finally said okay... she is not going to keep having calves every 10 months.... so now the bull goes in to breed heifers and then comes out so she can only have 1 calf every 12 months and get a bit of a break.
Longhorns are known for fertility, and longevity besides the "longhorns"... Her horns will never be like the one in the picture... they tip up more on the ends... but are still pretty wide. And she knows how to move her head to make them fit into places to get feed int he silage feed cart and such...

She's pretty.

 

[farmerjan]

Yes, I still have Jess... it's short for Majestic... she has had 6 pregnancies... 7 calves... 1 set twins 1 hfr lived... 15/L she just had a tiny heifer calf but is doing good...
1st speckled hfr didn't breed.
2nd blk steer sold
3rd twin blk hfrs... 1 lived... just calved...
4th speckled steer... going in freezer in 2 weeks...
5th black steer sold
6th speckled steer... ready to wean and probably sell
Due with 7th pregnancy in Mar/April?

She had the 1st 5 pregnancies in 4 1/2 years... bull had been left in there longer and she caught back so finally said okay... she is not going to keep having calves every 10 months.... so now the bull goes in to breed heifers and then comes out so she can only have 1 calf every 12 months and get a bit of a break.
Longhorns are known for fertility, and longevity besides the "longhorns"... Her horns will never be like the one in the picture... they tip up more on the ends... but are still pretty wide. And she knows how to move her head to make them fit into places to get feed int he silage feed cart and such...

Her steer on left going to be processed in 2 weeks, her current calf in front...

 

[farmerjan]

Spectacular sunset the other eve. Taken at top of hill to go into pasture at Snyder's. You can see where we drive... Right behind me is 2 strand electric fence to go through.
Picture of Jess was during summer. She is not a big cow, but she's my pasture ornament that is protective and pretty. Those are 2 bred heifers to the left that since calved in Sept/Oct.