# picky about calves



## rene (Mar 14, 2014)

I am extremely picky about who buys a 2 day old calf. I put an extreme amt of dedication to raising calves. ....


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## rene (Mar 14, 2014)

I was training my friend on bottle feeding , giving them documented info, my experience and all. But their intrest is in$ . So I get upset when I see these calves underweight even after I tell them to worry about perfecting bottle raising. ....


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## rene (Mar 14, 2014)

I have gotten rid of about a dozen ppl I tried to set up with the bottle feeding. It seems that a non cattle farmer believe that profit comes at the beginning. No it's at the end. This is one reason why I choose to do it myself. Work from 9 pm-230am @dairy and 4am-12 pm @ beef far here at home. And on top make time to bottle feed. And get very little sleep


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## rene (Mar 14, 2014)

Well I just got ridd of her . Found out she had gotten someone else to do the job w/o me knowing. He was unqualified in my eyes to handle calves . I pulled the plug on the bottle calf program. After all I could do to give her the tools to be successful in return she attempts to hustle Me . 

I take great pride in raising a fine steer for an individual to have and have great returns on it. Mediocrity is not good enough for me


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## Fairfarmhand (Dec 4, 2013)

Farming is not a get rich scheme. In fact it's not a get rich at all scheme. You can make a decent profit for your work. That's it. By the time you figure in labor and supplies, you will do okay, but you don't do it at the expense of the animal. Healthy animals always make you a bit of money. Just a bit though. 

The only reason to work with bottle calves is because you like the calves and cows. You can make better money with less work elsewhere.


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## rene (Mar 14, 2014)

Yep. I love it. But she worried on how much she can get and not enough on health. I took my bull from our deal but he's 8 weeks old and not in optimum health. now im doctoring him back to health but urge damadge has been done. It will take about 2 months to bring him up to health. He's under weight. I am ill about this. I gave her at least 10 gallons of milk a day to do the job right. These r lil babies who we take on the responsibility to bring them up like if they were our own kid.


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## rene (Mar 14, 2014)

These lil ones is going to be my first group of steers. I've always sold them quick. Not these.im raising them to a year old. And see where it goes


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## Fairfarmhand (Dec 4, 2013)

Are you going to dehorn? Around here you get more at the sales for cattle with no horns. Not sure how it is there.

Are those Jerseys?


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## rene (Mar 14, 2014)

Fairfarmhand said:


> Are you going to dehorn? Around here you get more at the sales for cattle with no horns. Not sure how it is there.
> 
> Are those Jerseys?


Yes jersy and holstein . Yes devalued with horns . They a trial run of an idea of creating my own feel lot with 2 day old calves . I am late for dehorning. not sure if I will do others


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## RanchWife (Jan 31, 2014)

How many two day old calves do you plan on having in a feedlot and where will you be getting them from?


www.calving2014.wordpress.com


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## rene (Mar 14, 2014)

On calving season at work I try to get atleast 4 every 4 weeks. Kinda rotational . Have 4 new ones this month at a month old I start ween down and get the next 4 new ones and get them going. This goes for about Oct,Nov till about Feb . Some sold as ppl want them. Any that got sick r not sold till a year old, if desirable for stockyard the a group. If not butchered. But I still have until Oct ,Nov before the boys r ready. ....


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## rene (Mar 14, 2014)

Right now at the end of the year my goal is 24 steers @-600lb avg.


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## rene (Mar 14, 2014)

I just ordered 2 more except these im going to try feeding 1 bottle every3 or 4 hrs. I need to achieve feeder look on a dairy steer. Ill be happy maxing out at 100 dairy steers and bulls and about 20 head of beef cows 10 dairy cows.


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## rene (Mar 14, 2014)

I think I am addicted to bottle calves I can't help it


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## rene (Mar 14, 2014)

well the little fella I bought 5 days ago. had a bad start. he had gotten wet before I pick him up. He ended up getting pneumonia. and I battled against it for 3 days. Nope, I lost him. yesterday morning he gave me a sign that he was giving up. I somehow knew the results but I work with it hard and very aggressively.


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## DoubleR (Jan 15, 2014)

It's never easy loosing them. Sorry for your loss  Get back on the horse


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## rene (Mar 14, 2014)

I still have one. But out of three years and around 50 calves only lost 6. Ppl say that those r good odds. Not good enough for me.


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## rene (Mar 14, 2014)

So this last calf that got sick quick onme the mama cow ended up getting gangrene. Could this have been the culprit that caused the calf to get sick, eventually nothing helped. Could he not have gotten enough colostrum? Could he have ingested bacteria from her toweaken his system?


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## rene (Mar 14, 2014)

is there a direct connection with the health of the cow and the health of the calf?


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## rene (Mar 14, 2014)

Here is my lil test subject, he is a month old drinkin 1g raw milk 3 times a day. I do belive if i keep this up for 3 months i can blend him in with a group of beef steers . He a jersy bull calf. RATE MY CALF.


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## Dion (May 7, 2014)

Rene he is pretty good for a bottle calf. Pretty calf.It sounds like you are really good and conscientious about raising bottle calves. Good job. I grew up with beef cattle. I raised a few bottle calves later in life then got tired of it real quick. I also found back about 12 years ago that the profitability diminished after they reached 300lb. It may be different in extremely high market that exists right now. It really depends what your local market is doing and what your feed costs are from 300 to 600 lb. Here the price per pound drops dramatically in comparison with beef calves. So to make a profit we would have to have them strictly on grass.


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## rene (Mar 14, 2014)

We notice $ drop over 200lb not much. They like them here about170 to 200 bringing close to 3$/lb


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## rene (Mar 14, 2014)

This is the outcome i sm searching for my calves. This jersy yearlong bull is in pot herd at work. Now lookin at him u can clearly see the jersyhead om a beefy bull. Its not genetics its the depravation and lack of milk that gives them the bony look


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## Fairfarmhand (Dec 4, 2013)

We have a Jersey/Angus steer nursing on a momma cow. He gets all the milk he wants and she's got plenty of rich milk. (He's probably getting a couple gallons a day) He's still not filled out like our beef cows. He's definitely not bony., but he's not got the muscling on the buttocks and ribs like our beefers of the same age. 


(well, at least the beef calves that we just sold. I wish I'd gotten pictures of the calves before we sold them, so I could compare them to one another) 

You do have some good looking calves. I hope you get a good price for them. Unfortunately, around here at least in our market, you just can't get the same price for a dairy type calf as you can with a beef breed. (bonus points for having a black coat.)

If you find out that the beef/dairy distinction costs you, you may want to consider marketing beef directly to consumers, especially if you are able to source organic feed. You can get a decent cut of meat from a great many breeds of young steers. I have a friend who loves Holstein meat.


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## Dion (May 7, 2014)

Rene, it is nutrition and genetics that produce the calf. If you fed a good angus steer and a good jersey steer side by side, you would be able to distinguish between them. A lot of research goes into milk production and a lot of research goes into beef production. 

And when you butcher the steers the difference becomes even more dramatic. Things like conversion rates of feed to beef become more apparent. Actual ratio & size of prime cuts becomes apparent. Other qualities like marbling also become more apparent.

And if you have a steak from both the jersey and the Angus side by side on two plates and you eat them, you can tell the difference.

The buyers for feed lots & and packing companies will easily distinguish between the breeds and the purchase price in comparison will reflect accordingly.

Feed costs must be minimized to make a profit. I would dehorn them as well.


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## DoubleR (Jan 15, 2014)

Dion said:


> Rene, it is nutrition and genetics that produce the calf. If you fed a good angus steer and a good jersey steer side by side, you would be able to distinguish between them. A lot of research goes into milk production and a lot of research goes into beef production.
> 
> And when you butcher the steers the difference becomes even more dramatic. Things like conversion rates of feed to beef become more apparent. Actual ratio & size of prime cuts becomes apparent. Other qualities like marbling also become more apparent.
> 
> ...



I agree! ^^^^^^^


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## Fairfarmhand (Dec 4, 2013)

Dion said:


> Rene, it is nutrition and genetics that produce the calf. If you fed a good angus steer and a good jersey steer side by side, you would be able to distinguish between them. A lot of research goes into milk production and a lot of research goes into beef production.
> 
> And when you butcher the steers the difference becomes even more dramatic. Things like conversion rates of feed to beef become more apparent. Actual ratio & size of prime cuts becomes apparent. Other qualities like marbling also become more apparent.
> 
> ...


yup. We butchered a Jersey steer after having angus and angus crosses for years and we were SO disappointed in the meat. Jersey steaks were much smaller and tougher. And there were'nt as many.


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## Dion (May 7, 2014)

I wish it weren't so. And that there was easier way to get started in beef production to make some money. The truth is, I have been down that road. I grew up on a farm so I knew about raising beef cattle. But, when I got to the point in my career when I could start a farm and raising some cattle, I found that it was difficult/expensive to purchase a quality heifer. 

So I started out with bottle calves. I found there is just too much labor and too much infrastructure and too large a quantity of calves required to make a consistent desired profit. It takes too long to raise a dairy calf to a desirable size for home butchering. And at some point in age and size you start to reach a point of diminishing returns with regard to feed to beef conversion rate.

And I saw real quickly how much the price per pound diminished as the size of the dairy calf got larger.

I sold some of the calves to some neighbors and friends but I told them they were dairy calves. And to the unknowing, they believe the dairy calves are just as good as the beef calves. 

But you touched on a point I should elaborate on "fair farmhand".

It takes awhile ( and a lot of feed) to get a dairy calf to 1000 pounds. Commercial meat packers optimally desire an Angus beef steer that weighs approximately 970 to 990 pounds so that it fits their preplanned packaging.

I've found that optimally, for my own home use, the best bargain for me is to feed out an Angus or an angus cross steer to 1300 lb. plus. The size and amount of steaks is incredible. And the tenderness is great as the steer is usually about 16 months old.


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## rene (Mar 14, 2014)

Its been awhile since I been on . Well I started on a new milk feed program. I had a jersey bull calf that only weighed 200 pounds. He was dark brown and he got slipped in between the beef Angus bull calves at same weight and I got $2.25 a pound. A month ago I took some that were on a regular milk program before I changed and I got only a dollar fifty a pound. Beef calves had 200 pounds are bringing $3.50 a pound I am only $1 away from beef price


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## rene (Mar 14, 2014)

I agree with the carcass Outlook between Angus and dairy.


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## rene (Mar 14, 2014)

I wonder if I can get a $2 a pound price for a Holstein bull calf.


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## rene (Mar 14, 2014)

Can the heat in the summer contribute to death in a calf?


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## rene (Mar 14, 2014)

Should I not warm the milk ?


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## rene (Mar 14, 2014)

Wat is a 2 day old calf poo like when they don't get enough colostrum? Is it runny and yellowish not solids of yellow


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## rene (Mar 14, 2014)

Is it too late to give colostrum after 2 days?


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## DoubleR (Jan 15, 2014)

rene said:


> Can the heat in the summer contribute to death in a calf?



Absolutely. The heat in itself can cause scours. Dehydration. Overheating etc.



rene said:


> Should I not warm the milk ?



Milk must be warmed to property temp. Day or night. Winter or summer. Doesn't matter when.



rene said:


> What is a 2 day old calf poo like when they don't get enough colostrum? Is it runny and yellowish not solids of yellow



The colostrum gives antibodies. Without it they can't fight diseases and bacteria. You may or may not know it's had or not had colostrum. You won't know via poop consistency.
On mom it will be thick and sticky. On replacer a bit looser usually. 
Runny and either clear or yellow is scours. Can be caused by a lot of different things. Sickness, to much replacer, bad replacer, soy replacer, bacterial infection, heat etc etc etc.



rene said:


> Is it too late to give colostrum after 2 days?



Colostrum is beneficial in the first 24 hours. Within first 4 hours is best, 12 hours is better than nothing.


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## DoubleR (Jan 15, 2014)

rene said:


> I wonder if I can get a $2 a pound price for a Holstein bull calf.



What size calf?


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## rene (Mar 14, 2014)

DoubleR said:


> What size calf?


Around 200 to 300 lbs. They seem to give more for calves under 300 pounds


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## rene (Mar 14, 2014)

Well I spoke to work where I get my calves from and I explain to them something was happening before I got the little boys loaded on my truck . So they are assigning to me on looking after cows about to calve and giving colostrum that first 24 hours in the field to make sure that they all get what they need
At least on my shift where I work in the middle of the night it's only me and I can see 28 that they got a good start


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## Fairfarmhand (Dec 4, 2013)

rene said:


> Well I spoke to work where I get my calves from and I explain to them something was happening before I got the little boys loaded on my truck . So they are assigning to me on looking after cows about to calve and giving colostrum that first 24 hours in the field to make sure that they all get what they need
> At least on my shift where I work in the middle of the night it's only me and I can see 28 that they got a good start


Do they have access to all the clean, cool water they need?

Do they have shade?

In my experience, heat is harder on calves than cold. As soon as you notice scours, tube them with electrolytes. They can pull through the scour issues as long as they stay hydrated. 

You can also get a sulfa bolus from the vet.

Keep calf pens as clean as possible and isolate sickies ASAP.


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## rene (Mar 14, 2014)

Fairfarmhand said:


> Do they have access to all the clean, cool water they need?
> 
> Do they have shade?
> 
> ...


The electrolytes tube works better than liquid ? Shade and h2o yes. Clean pens yes. I got rotating pens.


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## rene (Mar 14, 2014)

I don't think I am dealing with sick calves only because I would buy two and one would have issues and I would do everything I could and nothing would help. Ive gone and gotten colostrum and their poo had gotten solid like normal and as soon as I would stop the colostrum treatment their poo would go back to yellow running kind of like scours. I would also noticed that the cow that would calve when she is brought into the milking parlor to get milk out she would not have any colostrum . So I am leaning really heavy on the CAF not getting enough colostrum or no colostrum


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## Fairfarmhand (Dec 4, 2013)

Colostrum just means that their immune system is going to be terribly handicapped. They will not have immunity to stuff that other calves will be able to fight off. Also, a young cow will have poorer quality colostrum than an older one. Cows that are heavy producers may have lower quality of colostrum because it is more dilute.

Electrolytes restore the salts and minerals. Kind of like Gatorade or Pedialyte for someone with a stomach bug. They also (IMHO) absorb more liquid. It keeps them from dehydrating as fast. 

When I say tube them, I mean if they won't suck it from a bottle, you need to put a tube in their throat to force feed them the electrolyte. We've saved plenty of calves like this. Sometimes they get too weak to suck anything or have not interest, so we don't give them any choice. I've gotten really good at inserting the tube.


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## rene (Mar 14, 2014)

OK yes I tubed 2 days of colostrum and 2 days of milk and electrolytes . So poo became solid then back watery after the colostrum again. I think all this is startin in the field due to the heat they don't drink the colostrum . I'm loosing them .


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## rene (Mar 14, 2014)

So what can I do when I pick a calf up and don't know whether it got enough colostrum let's say it didn't get enough colostrum or no good colostrum what's the best thing to do to have this calf survive?


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## rene (Mar 14, 2014)

Penicillin...


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## DoubleR (Jan 15, 2014)

Just watch and be ready to treat any sickness. 
We give a supplement am/pm for 3 days on all calves that we don't know history on. 
http://www.selectsires.com/products/docs/2012_CONVERTCalfCare_TechSheet.pdf 
Has proven to us to be a miracle. Also gets rid of scours with no antibiotics.
I almost NEVER recommend giving antibiotics "just in case".


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## rene (Mar 14, 2014)

I am definitely gonna look into this thank you so very much


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## rene (Mar 14, 2014)

Dehydration . A possible cause before i pick up the calves. By the time i get them its just a day or so to chronic dehydration. I used to feed electrolites milk replacer when picking up. I need to reaserch more about the different electrolytes applications


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## Dion (May 7, 2014)

Rene, I haven't looked on here in a while. It sounds like you have been having a hard time. It's rough raising those bottle calves. Milk replacer,electrolytes and medication all cost money and add to the overhead for me. We we started losing calves, it seemed to go in waves. The problem seemed systemic in nature. Like I was doing all the same stuff right, but something else was causing the deaths. I often wondered if bacteria was being left in the soil/pens. It all contributed to me not wanting to bottle feed calves any more. If you have a cheap source of calves then it might be something sustainable. I would save my money from selling bottle calves and buy a weaned beef heifer.


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## rene (Mar 14, 2014)

If i were to buy milkreplacer and feed them a 1 gallon 3 times a day like i do now it would be 8 to 12 40lb bags of replacer at best. Very costly. I get raw milk for this at 0$ thatswhere the profit is at


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## rene (Mar 14, 2014)

Hmm ph levels and acidity.in water soil and animals. I never said i knew it all but i definitely thought i knew more than nothing. I know nothing the more i get into it. Im beginin to see why i was havin problems


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## Dion (May 7, 2014)

I like looking for livestock that provide consistency in performance. Bottle calves are too much of an unknown quantity for me right now. But that makes it good for the people like you that are willing to put int he extra work to make them successful.


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## rene (Mar 14, 2014)

U dont think its posible to get consistency with bottle calves


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## rene (Mar 14, 2014)

I am very dissatisfied With my current bottle calf program. I see many flaws. Scratching out the current and redoin it more user friendly. So i can hire help from time to time so i can get a day off. So far i work 2 jobs and do bottle calves. No time to rest at the moment


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## DoubleR (Jan 15, 2014)

Sounds like a good plan.  Always room for improvement.


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## Dion (May 7, 2014)

*Consistency in beef production*

Inherently, there is less consistency in bottle calves raised for beef production than in, for example, a registered beef calf that you know the ancestry of and have it's expected genetic performance data.

Beef production like that costs more money to get started, but once you are going, it takes less money and effort to maintain per pound of beef produced.


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## smokingsixgun (Aug 12, 2014)

Very good statement


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## rene (Mar 14, 2014)

Well money is a resource i have very little after the bills. The best resource is bull calves 2 days old $30 , heifer calves 2 days old $200 and an average of 8 to 12 gallons of raw milk for $0. These r dairy calves from my job. At an average a calf that had no setbacks like sickness , will bring close to 300 at 2 months of age. My overhead cost is very little u know because of the free raw milk


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## rene (Mar 14, 2014)

I dont seel the heifers only bull calves


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## Dion (May 7, 2014)

Rene, Just for discussion's sake; is your end goal to have a herd of beef cattle, or a herd of dairy cattle, or possibly a dual purpose herd? I'm just thinking about your goals or vision.


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## rene (Mar 14, 2014)

That is a good question. The way I started here on this property the owner couldn't fully pay me what I was worth so he would give me one black beef heifer every year to compensate for the low pay. What ended up happening was every year somehow I had to sell that heifer for x reason. So I was never able to see one have a baby. About 3 years ago I found myself in a bad spot and needed a job and when I search for a job I came across the dairy farm. At the time I was just helping the landowners Ranch the cattle but he was doing a lot of the work. Little by little the owners health deteriorated to where now I am fully running this heard and 70 acres of land. Now my profession for 15 years prior to this was a wood floor installer I had no knowledge of farming whatsoever till six years ago. But now I work five and a half hours milking cows at the dairy farm and the rest of the time is trying to get this beef farm that has been here back into good running running good because it has deteriorated little by little and I have no knowledge so I'm kind of learning. I like the black beef cattle either Simmental Angus Angus black baldies Brangus Brahma. But the best resource I got are these dairy calves. My biggest obstacle is that I do not own any property and all the money that I have made I have squandered in booze and parties now I am left to ponder on my mistake and try to make a future I guess. At these current prices all I need is 8 grown either cows or steer that bring at the sale anywhere between 800 to 1200 dollars each. And they would purchase a small property that I can call my own that is one of the end goals but beef herd with the aid of a dairy herd


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## rene (Mar 14, 2014)

This is the only black heifer I got left she is about a year old and is Brangus


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## rene (Mar 14, 2014)

We have been taking peas and shelling them and all that Pea hull we feeding the cows and they love it


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## Dion (May 7, 2014)

Nice looking heifer from this view point.


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## rene (Mar 14, 2014)

this is the look you are looking for?


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## rene (Mar 14, 2014)

My end goal is a beef herd.. My ready resources is minimum 8 gallons of raw milk from work so I intend in perfecting this bottle calf venture . go on to raising replacement heifers. Having a small group of Jersey nurse mama cows to raise Dairy bull calves or dairy heifers that are bought at two days of age. Being that the resource of extra money is a small issue the intention is to use dairy cattle to aid the the growth of my beef herd. I'm sure along the way some of my goals get shifted or arranged as I go through this increase in my black cattle and I have also been thinking about and getting me some charlois


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## rene (Mar 14, 2014)

Holstein bull calf going to the sale today 4 months old drinking three to four gallons of milk a day. I think I can get them to looking better if I try to feed 4 times a day. Right now I do three times a day. I will post this afternoon what his weight is and $


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## rene (Mar 14, 2014)

I thought it would habe done better. There was a consignment sale it eas a bad time to take him. Oh well. He fell in a higher bracket and only brought $1.20/lb @ 325lbs. Hmm. Just cause of color. Like i said i had taken a jersy that weighed 250lb and got 2.25/lb only cause he was dark brown.


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## Dion (May 7, 2014)

Yes, those dairy bull calves can take a beating at the sale barn. But on the up side. It looks like you did a really good job with him. He looked very healthy. Great job Rene!
I like how he doesn't have much of a belly - the way a lot of bottle calves do. I think someone is going to put him in a pasture some where and grow him out.


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## Dion (May 7, 2014)

and directly from the side is the type of photograph I use to evaluate if I only have one.


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## rene (Mar 14, 2014)

Thanks Dion . I have been researching on the reason why they get potbellied and it's a lot of hands on work but the outcome is great I think he looks good but I think I could have gotten him looking a little better with just a little bit more work but yes he does look good thank you


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## rene (Mar 14, 2014)

All this got me into looking into automatic calf milk feeders


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## rene (Mar 14, 2014)

Also what is assessed from this sale was on the Holsteins I would get a better price if I brought them up to the ad 800 to 900 mark within the year which I think if I feed them the way I did I can get very close to that and then I will get more of a beefier price amor fair price on the beef


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## rene (Mar 14, 2014)

Another remark I got for that book I just took was that he was too meaty for breeding. That his rump was too high. I figured for breathing you would want a healthy looking one like this but I am a greenhorn at all this learning as I go so I'm not sure what exactly they were talking about


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## Dion (May 7, 2014)

http://www.thecollegevoice.org/thesummervoice/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/aberdeen-angus.bmp


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## rene (Mar 14, 2014)

Nice bull Dion. I just got word today calf $ at work has tripled to a phycotic 100$ @ 2day old jersy bull. Uhhh nope.


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## Dion (May 7, 2014)

What did you mean Rene?


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## rene (Mar 14, 2014)

Well a few month's ago i was buying 2day old dairy calves for 30$ at work and 75$ else where. Now... 100 to 500. Ppl jumping on the bandwagon of cows have driven prices up on dairy calves thinking they gonna get beef price. I dont do this only because prices up. I do this weather prices up or down. But ...


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## rene (Mar 14, 2014)

At any rate. I bought 2 dark brown jersy/Holstein bull calves. I could not help it . .


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## Dion (May 7, 2014)

Your right Rene. I went to an auction a few weeks ago and I thought the baby calf prices were insane. Especially in my mind when I consider that there will be some mortality rate.


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## rene (Mar 14, 2014)

Wats worse is the price fixin that goes on at stockyards. I saw only one bull calf at 200lbs go for 4/lbs. This is done to bring up their avg sale $. But only done for those animals of a beef look. I say let all these ppl buying cows cause they up on $. Im in selling and buying cows. I did not just got in to this cause the market is up. I started in cows 7 years ago when i moved on this ranch that had about 100head of beef cows and 3.5years ago started workun on a dairy farm. So no im not a band wagoner.


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## rene (Mar 14, 2014)

Jersy bull @ 2 months old weighed 190lbs --$1.95/lbs. This pic was @1 month. It was ok


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## rene (Mar 14, 2014)

Jersy/holstein bull @2month 220lbs--$1.40/lbs. This was @ 1 month. These I have to raise to sell weight. Something like6month old. Not sure wat that would be. But im keepin some for a year to see


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## rene (Mar 14, 2014)

I got this fella this was 3 weeks ago. Today is about a month and a half old


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## rene (Mar 14, 2014)

This little fella he's a week old. Jersey bull


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## rene (Mar 14, 2014)

This little boy is also a week old. But he has some health issues I don't know barely drinks any milk but I keep him going I know they will come out of it I just don't know what it is. Also the only one that doesn't have horns


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## DoubleR (Jan 15, 2014)

Posts moved to proper thread.


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## rene (Mar 14, 2014)

I'm still trying to figure out how to hide the pin bones at cost effective method price something I don't know


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## rene (Mar 14, 2014)

So far right now I feed 3 times a day 1 gallon per feeding and I try to have the longest period between feedings being less than 12 hours. I was asking the boss at work What if I went to for feedings not more milk but more frequent feeding would I be able to get a beefier look you didn't know so I'm going to try and this one of them. I know it's a lot of work but I really don't have nothing else to do but work and raise calves.


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## rene (Mar 14, 2014)

My latest subjects.


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## DoubleR (Jan 15, 2014)

The look very healthy! Nice calves!


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## rene (Mar 14, 2014)

Thank you doubleR . Its alot of work but well worth the result. The creamy jersy is 2months and a half. The 2 dark one are 2 weeks and the other is from thanksgiving .


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## rene (Mar 14, 2014)

This guy is also from thanksgiving he had a rough start but he is comin out of it.


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## rene (Mar 14, 2014)

Im gettin them from about 50lbs @birth (if that) up to about 200lbs in 2months. Now wat I understand is that the industry goal is to double the birth weight by the end of their 2month. But im gettin a much greater gain. Is this normal


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## DoubleR (Jan 15, 2014)

It can be. We have really good gains by more smaller feeding of milk based replacer daily. 
A huge portion of results are based on getting as close to "normal" as possible. 
Calves nurse all day long, smaller portions. That's what their guts are designed for. 
By mimicking this to the best of our ability gives a more normal calf. Less pot belly, more growth and less sickness.
Looks to me from the photos you've got it down pretty good.


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## rene (Mar 14, 2014)

when I started bottle babies I used to give them a lot of milk and through the time and a lot of research I came across a man called Tom earleywine he is the nutrition Research Specialist for Land O Lakes. I started hearing his podcast and and one of their podcast he had expressed that the most a bottle calf needs a day is about 2 gallons of milk a day but he also stated that it wasn't the amount of milk that you feed that calf but the amount of frequent beatings even if you feed them less milk per feeding it takes more frequent feedings to get a good looking animal. The pot belly look has part to do with that. So I went to a higher plane of nutrition that's what they call it. Astounded with the results but I still have a lot of kinks on the windown process to get them off of milk that part I still have some kinks to work out figuring out or whatever but , this man, early 19 explained it the best way I can understand it and that was you can have or short fat potbelly calf or you can have a tall lean cow I prefer the tall lean animal with good hip size being that dumb most costly me comes from the butt


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## rene (Mar 14, 2014)

Correction "beatings" feedings
" dumb most costly me comes from the butt" the most costly meats comes from the butt area

Sorry folks my phone wacks out every once in awhile


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## rene (Mar 14, 2014)

Just picked up a lil jersy heifer. She did not cut the com dairy . She in rough shape. About a week old.


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## rene (Mar 14, 2014)

She is a bit rough but I know I can turn her around


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## rene (Mar 14, 2014)

Her gums was white. They startin to get some color pinkish. Her poop has started to change. And her urine was clear now urine beginin to get a light yellowish.


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## rene (Mar 14, 2014)

Im gettin this girl today. She will be perfect for nursing


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## rene (Mar 14, 2014)

2 weeks ago I got her and she was a week old. Ive been takin her with me to work at the dairy at nite. It's been alot of work keepin her alive. Barley 1/2 a bottle a day. Progressively hydratinher back. This morning the first time in 2 weeks she wanted a bottle and a half. Yea! Poo is still pasty yellow. Im sure that will change as she gets better. Still cant get up on her own . But once I stand her up she will walk on her own for hours before laying back down


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## rene (Mar 14, 2014)

Oh my she took her milk at lunch. Yea! She had an upset stomach on top of whatever ails her. So I gave her a shot oraly of course of peptobismol yesterday evening. It done the trick. Lets hope recovery is wats ahead


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## Markwright (Dec 21, 2014)

*I love your spirit rene ( and u got a good eye )*

PLUS a heck of a lot of common sense.

i'll tend to use good smooth yogurt with the pepto. they like strawberry, peach, black cherry, etc ( generally same flavors I like )

add a shot of old crow on the real sickies.

that jane works ( just get her thru things now ) she's gonna make a Super Cow. MO

she'll Love You Every Day and Never Forget too.




rene said:


> Oh my she took her milk at lunch. Yea! She had an upset stomach on top of whatever ails her. So I gave her a shot oraly of course of peptobismol yesterday evening. It done the trick. Lets hope recovery is wats ahead


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## Markwright (Dec 21, 2014)

*She's a WOW Cow. MO*

Jersey is an "open breed registry."

soooo as long as performance is there...they are a Jersey.

getting to be some stein and swiss etc., blood in em, no doubt.

1 of THEE Perfect big range ( run 7 to 10 cows per Section ie or 640 acres ) stock cows is 1/4 Jersey x 3/4 angi.

The Jersey base is Frugal ( Nothing makes more efficient use of rocks and scenery ).

Highest Marbling propensity breed in the usa IS Jersey ( Red Angi is 2nd, Black Angi is 3rd ).

granted I Love the Longhorn X, Corriente X and Criolla X cows too.

cut a cow's horns off or feed em hay ...you might have just wrecked a great range cow.

if you ever happen to get all the longhorn/corriente bred out of em...then your gonna start having cow problems. MO.






rene said:


> Im gettin this girl today. She will be perfect for nursing


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## rene (Mar 14, 2014)

Yea there is a particular attitude I look for in jerseys. I like the ones ive kept they got a beefy attitude. All so I can integrate them into the beef herd. Im more interested in the offspring of the brangus bull here and the dairy dams or cows


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## rene (Mar 14, 2014)

I just lost my little heifer . She was fine 30 minutes ago and now she's limp. Idk. Losing this one is pretty hard I am mentally drained out. I tried my best.


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## DoubleR (Jan 15, 2014)

I'm sorry for your loss. All of us who's raised them have lost them. Especially when the deck is stacked against them when we get them.
Chin up.  You've saved others and will continue to save more.


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## rene (Mar 14, 2014)

Yes. Thank u. Ive lost a few but this one was a hard one. She had a rough start. Thank you Double R


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## Markwright (Dec 21, 2014)

*rene, you tried,*

keep in mind some things are worse than death.
the heifer was in pretty tough shape.





rene said:


> I just lost my little heifer . She was fine 30 minutes ago and now she's limp. Idk. Losing this one is pretty hard I am mentally drained out. I tried my best.


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## rene (Mar 14, 2014)

@Markwright wats worse is caring for an animal and person who is dieing doin all u can to aid and help but the end result bieng the same. Im not a quitter. I fight for life because iwas born fighting for life. I do fight for the ppl and animals in my carewho dont have the energy and power to fight for life. This heifer was tough only because for the first week this heifer was born I fed her at work and saw a problem but my suggestions were passed on by because it was just too much attention on one calf when they got 100 or so other heifers. But she was not mine yet. I belive no matter how many u got every calf matters. They had also said the moma was not so good cow. The problem started in the field before she got brought in to the calf barn. But through alot of research I figured how to get one goin even if colostrum intake was low or not good enough. This can be done naturaly with out injecting any serum, vitamins ...etc . Also who ever fed calves during the day is something thats out of my control.


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## rene (Mar 14, 2014)

Im done with this thread. Thank u all for participation and yalls ears.


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