Updated PIcs of my calves

[Ashley]

These are my oldest two. The steer is about 3.5 months and the heifer is about 3 months. The steer will get his life spared a little longer then planned as I have another heifer calf who is blind that I hope to butcher next fall.

 

[chandab]

They're looking great. Mine don't look quite that good, but still good for orphans; now if I could just keep the heifer calf in their "pasture", I thought I fixed the hole in the fence, but she is out at least once a day.

 

[Ashley]

These guys have been off milk for about 3 weeks now. They do get about 3 pounds of grain each, each day. They actually do look really good for watusi as they take a long time to fill out. I did have them in another area by the blind calf as well so she had company but there is no electric and only board fence there so Izzy the heifer kept getting out.

 

[chandab]

Mine quit drinking their milk a couple months ago, so they've been on creep feed and pasture.

 

[Ashley]

These guys would still take milk if given the chance. I only pulled them off cause they are eatting grain like pigs and cost factor. IF I go out there I have to carry something with me to hit them when they think they are going to suck and bunt on me. Those horns and me dont mix.

 

[Crabby-Chicken]

They look great .We have a holstien free marten heifer and a charolais X jersey cross. This is the first time we have had cows. They are kinda fun to watch. Trying very hard not to get attached. What type of grain do you feed yours? Mine are about 4 1/2 months was wondering if we could start them on COB. The 14% they are on has a lot of junk in it too, thanks for sharing.

 

[Ashley]

I switched them from a calf starter to a multi purpose sweet feed. The same that I give the horses as a treat. The calf feed isnt much different other then it is medicated (which is toxic to horses) and much more expensive. The grain they get has oats, corn, some other pellet, beet pulp and minerals in it. It is 12% protien and 3.5% fat. I plan to raise them mostly grass/hay fed with as little grain as possible.

 

[chandab]

Mine are just on calf creep feed, I think its 15% protein, and it is medicated, as its all I can get. Around here the calf creep is cheaper than COB or sweet feed; I've paid $7.50 to $9.30/50# bag of creep (paid $12.50 for a bag of steer finisher, its all the CoOp had), the COB I just got the other day was $14 at the CoOp and I think I usually pay around $10-12 for COB at the elevator (straight oats are a little less). I might call again, and check out current prices, as I'm about out of calf creep, if COB is cheaper at the elevator, then I might move them over to that. They are still knee deep in grass where they are at now, so not short on forage.

 

[Ashley]

Ha wish it was that cheap here. Calf feed is $15 a bag and the sweet feed is only $9.50 a bag. That said I think my blind calf will be going off milk soon. I was hopeing to get more pounds on her as she is just filled out but I wont need another 50 pound bag, nor can I find it smaller. She does eat plenty of grain and water so will have to fatten up with that. HOpefully she will be decent enough next fall to butcher.

 

[StarRidgeAcres]

Your calves look great!

I can't "do" calves any more as I let myself get attached to one once. My dad had hundreds of beef cattle every year when I was very young but I never learned anything about them. So as am adult someone offered me an orphan bottle baby and I took him. Had him castrated at 6 weeks. He lived with the minis (I didn't know better) until his mounting them in his version of play became too rough, so then he lived with the riding horses. Nobody told me you couldn't make a pet out of them so I brushed him, lead him around, played run and tag with him each day. He was named baby and was allowed in the yard, ate treats, came when called, etc. THEN he grew up! He was an Angus cross...can't think of the type his dad was, but by 8 months he weighed about 675 lbs. He was up to close to 850 by 10 months and he became too dangerous. He still wanted to play and almost killed me one day at feeding time. Butted me flat out and knocked the wind out of me. My rod went flying so all I could do was roll away from the dropped feed so he'd eat and stop tossing me around. When I could finally get up, I got the heck out of the field and had to make the horrible phone call to have him picked up. It was heartbreaking as I'd foolishly made a very dangerous animal out of him. The guys that came to get him were scared to death as they said an ex pet was a disaster waiting to happen. They were shocked at how he just led out of the pasture right onto their trailer. If he wasn't hungry, he was fine.

So sad. My ignorance is what brought all this on. I will NEVER try to make a pet out of a steer again.

 

[StarRidgeAcres]

Simmental? I believe that's what the bull was. A huge, copperish-brown animal.

 

[chandab]

While I didn't learn my lesson quite as hard as you did, I had an orphan heifer my second or third year on the ranch; thought she'd be ok as a replacement heifer, she grew up pretty decent for an orphan even had her first calf which was very nice. As she had been an orphan and raised around people and no other cows, she didn't know how to be a cow, so when she was put back in the herd, she didn't know herd dynamics and got hurt by another cow and we had to sell her. She was also dangerous for us, as she didn't respect our space and would walk right over a person.

Your calves look great!

I can't "do" calves any more as I let myself get attached to one once. My dad had hundreds of beef cattle every year when I was very young but I never learned anything about them. So as am adult someone offered me an orphan bottle baby and I took him. Had him castrated at 6 weeks. He lived with the minis (I didn't know better) until his mounting them in his version of play became too rough, so then he lived with the riding horses. Nobody told me you couldn't make a pet out of them so I brushed him, lead him around, played run and tag with him each day. He was named baby and was allowed in the yard, ate treats, came when called, etc. THEN he grew up! He was an Angus cross...can't think of the type his dad was, but by 8 months he weighed about 675 lbs. He was up to close to 850 by 10 months and he became too dangerous. He still wanted to play and almost killed me one day at feeding time. Butted me flat out and knocked the wind out of me. My rod went flying so all I could do was roll away from the dropped feed so he'd eat and stop tossing me around. When I could finally get up, I got the heck out of the field and had to make the horrible phone call to have him picked up. It was heartbreaking as I'd foolishly made a very dangerous animal out of him. The guys that came to get him were scared to death as they said an ex pet was a disaster waiting to happen. They were shocked at how he just led out of the pasture right onto their trailer. If he wasn't hungry, he was fine.

So sad. My ignorance is what brought all this on. I will NEVER try to make a pet out of a steer again.

 

[Equuisize]

There is some very good info in this thread.

We've considered getting a calves but I am totally incapable of not making a pet out

of everything.

I can make a pet out of a loaf of bread while standing in line at the grocery store

Years ago when I had a big 4-H club there was a family that their kids also showed calves in FFA.

The kids did get attached to their show calves.

They'd worked out a plan with another FFA family, up the road, to exchange meat at butchering time.

Then at dinner time, the kids were not eating their friend.

I've kept that in the back of my mind but your stories have disuaded me. Guess it's

grocery store meat for us, forever.

 

[dgrminis]

Ashley,

Your calves look great!

Parmela,

Your story is VERY good advice for why people shouldn't make their pet cows to friendly... We have a longhorn heifer calf that is a pet. My husband bought her for me for Christmas and she was just a week old - so I bottle fed her - she is friendly enough that she will eat out of my hand if I sit still but also wild enough that if I flap my arms at her she will jump back and run away. Alot of people that have been out here have wondered why we didn't "tame" her and your story is exactly why we wanted her the way she is... Wanted her to be calm enough that I can go in her pen and feed and clean up, etc. But not so friendly that she wanted to squish me or trample me for her food (especially when her horns get longer)....

My husband has been around cattle his life but I hadn't so I also had to learn the hard way -- not as hard as you thankfully but the first year we lived together he brought me home a little bottle baby (was a heifer that we called JR) - she was the sweetest little thing but when she got to about 400lbs she started getting pushy like yours did but she wasnt only pushy about feed - she was pushy anytime we went in the pen. I am only 5'3" and then was only 105lbs but one day it was raining and I went out to feed and I went in the gate and turned around to latch it and she came up behind me and headbutted me so hard it knocked the air out of me and squished me between the gate and her.. Thankfully for whatever reason she backed away instead of continuing to push and I pretty much just laid in the mud for a while to regain my air... Next day while I was at work Josh loaded her up and took her to the sale barn as he knew I wouldn't want to sell her but he also knew I couldnt keep her either...

I love Lunar (the longhorn we have now) but we decided before she ever came home that if she got agressive with us ever that she would have to go so I have tried VERY VERY hard to not make a pet out of her and so far it has worked very well.

 

[chandab]

There is some very good info in this thread.

We've considered getting a calves but I am totally incapable of not making a pet out

of everything.

I can make a pet out of a loaf of bread while standing in line at the grocery store

I've kept that in the back of my mind but your stories have disuaded me. Guess it's

grocery store meat for us, forever.

Trust me, once they've knocked you over, sending them down the road isn't a problem.

We don't usually eat our bottle fed calves, we send them down the road, we keep a cow-raised steer calf and leave them out with the herd (whole herd when they are babies, then in the with the replacement heifers when they are older). Then I don't get attached, as I'm not handling them everyday. And, it also helps when you name them things such as: hamburger, turkey, chocolate, etc...

If you have room for a whole steer in your freezer, there's always purchasing a fed out steer from someone, costs a bit more, but you won't get the attachment. Or, going to a local processor/butcher and buying a half a steer on the rack. Our homegrown beef is so much better than grocery store beef.

 

[Crabby-Chicken]

Good advice everyone.

We have never raised cows. And I am trying really hard to to get attached to them. When we brought them home, they lost some weight and I had them on the calf starter with antibiotics. They don't have ribs showing at all now. They are now on a sweet 14% feed. I do want to get them on a grain only. That is whey we bought them to have healthier meat. And when I read what is in the sweet feed, not sure that is what I want to use. But COB is more than the other feed. The guy we got them from said that cattle feed is allowed to have dried chicken feces in is since it is mostly protein. YUM.

So my cows are about 4-5 months old. Would it be bad to switch them to pure grain? Will they lack vitamins to grow or anything? Thanks for the help.

 

[Helicopter]

You do realise, of course, that in the third photo it looks like one calf is standing on the other calf's back.

Great photo.

 

[Ashley]

The heifer will be a breeding cow to hopefully breed back for steers. The steer is the bigger pain in the butt. I am not sure why he is so friendly other then it is the nature of a watusi. I do take a wip in with me to help teach him to back off.

 

[Crabby-Chicken]

Ashley how big are your calves now?

 

[Riverrose28]

Parm your story is so much like mine, back in the 80's hubby brought home a beefalo, that is half angus half bufaloo! He was black as night and had to be bottle fed, i instantly fell in love, as any mother will do with a new baby to feed and care for. I named him Cyclone as he could surely turn on a dime. At the time I also had a welsh arab mare that thought she was a quarter horse, whenever Cyclone would escape his paddock, I'd jump on her and she would round him up, all on her own, I was just along for the ride. I did get attached and didn't want him killed, but relented when he started snorting and pawing at me. He sure did taste good. If we had proper cattle fencing I'd certainly get another.

Ashley your avator picture is beautiful! Your calves look very nice.