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Post by tcranch on Jan 23, 2020 12:45:30 GMT -6
I should have culled last year. I could have easily done it when we weaned & they were caught. And I would have but prices were so low it would essentially be giving away otherwise perfectly healthy, bred cows. Well, earlier this week after one big she-beast kicked the ever lovin' snot outta me, I've had a change of heart, regardless of the market. Buh-buy! And her sister, who is just an asshole & knocks over the feed bucket any chance she can. And any others that so much as look at me cross-eyed.
Calving theoretically kicks off 3/7 - according to the gestation calculator, which is accurate 5% of the time. Really hate to sell any cow when they're so heavy bred so I'm leaning towards selling as pairs in May when we work them - and when they're all caught. Cows will be open, many (or most?) of the calves will be split off. I could suck it up and keep them until weaning next year but going back to selling breds, although probably only in their 2nd trimester. Some on my ever growing cull list are 4-5 years old and some will almost certainly sell as butcher.
Pros/cons of selling earlier vs. later?
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Post by brightraven on Jan 23, 2020 13:46:04 GMT -6
I think it is a common dilemma. I calve in September/October. Breed in December.
By calving season, I identify a cow to cull. Most of the time I do - maybe for bad udder, pedigree does not fit my objectives, etc.
But by the time their calf is weaned, they are four months pregnant. Harder to pull the trigger. But I often find a commercial producer who is not as particular as I and I sell him a bred cow at commercial price. Win-win.
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Post by 11111 on Jan 23, 2020 14:05:14 GMT -6
Glad you made it out of that mess okay. I always try to keep my head on a swivel. We have a 1235 cow that I can't believe we still have. She was nervous calving, she was nervous for 2 days after calving and we kept her penned up with calf because we weren't sure they were pairing well. What a bitch!
We are culling hard this year on our commercials. Guess who made that list?
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Post by M-5 on Jan 23, 2020 14:56:21 GMT -6
Heavy breds here were 900-1100 this week
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Post by tcranch on Jan 23, 2020 16:43:24 GMT -6
Heavy breds here were 900-1100 this week Did the older ones sell as bred? Couple of mine on the list are 8. I'm still traumatized selling a heavy bred 6 year old a few years ago and she sold as butcher. Only thing wrong with her, she was a late calver and I was going back to spring calving only.
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Post by tcranch on Jan 23, 2020 16:47:16 GMT -6
Glad you made it out of that mess okay. I always try to keep my head on a swivel. We have a 1235 cow that I can't believe we still have. She was nervous calving, she was nervous for 2 days after calving and we kept her penned up with calf because we weren't sure they were pairing well. What a Cutie ! We are culling hard this year on our commercials. Guess who made that list? She gets a little fired up when she calves but generally pretty chill. I was standing right next to her, even scratched her back, and I think she saw the wad of netting I had just pulled off a bale in her peripheral vision. But still no excuse and she's definitely never been a fave.
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Post by tcranch on Jan 23, 2020 16:53:04 GMT -6
I think it is a common dilemma. I calve in September/October. Breed in December. By calving season, I identify a cow to cull. Most of the time I do - maybe for bad udder, pedigree does not fit my objectives, etc. But by the time their calf is weaned, they are four months pregnant. Harder to pull the trigger. But I often find a commercial producer who is not as particular as I and I sell him a bred cow at commercial price. Win-win. Exactly! There is a local guy that occasionally buys my breds private treaty, I should give him a call. But his cows also have to really work for a living and while the she-beast is in perfect condition, some of my girls are a little too fat and he won't buy them.
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Post by M-5 on Jan 23, 2020 17:59:24 GMT -6
Heavy breds here were 900-1100 this week Did the older ones sell as bred? Couple of mine on the list are 8. I'm still traumatized selling a heavy bred 6 year old a few years ago and she sold as butcher. Only thing wrong with her, she was a late calver and I was going back to spring calving only. They listed them as ,3-8 on sheets . One I sold was 7+ bred and 5yrs old brought 960.00 it was not what I would have liked but it's better than few months ago.
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Post by angusrancher on Jan 23, 2020 18:02:18 GMT -6
I should have culled last year. I could have easily done it when we weaned & they were caught. And I would have but prices were so low it would essentially be giving away otherwise perfectly healthy, bred cows. Well, earlier this week after one big she-beast kicked the ever lovin' snot outta me, I've had a change of heart, regardless of the market. Buh-buy! And her sister, who is just an asshole & knocks over the feed bucket any chance she can. And any others that so much as look at me cross-eyed. Calving theoretically kicks off 3/7 - according to the gestation calculator, which is accurate 5% of the time. Really hate to sell any cow when they're so heavy bred so I'm leaning towards selling as pairs in May when we work them - and when they're all caught. Cows will be open, many (or most?) of the calves will be split off. I could suck it up and keep them until weaning next year but going back to selling breds, although probably only in their 2nd trimester. Some on my ever growing cull list are 4-5 years old and some will almost certainly sell as butcher. Pros/cons of selling earlier vs. later? How about finding more pasture if you need it and expanding your heard? Get ready for the coming up cycle in the market. Are your running age cows on the cull list that bad? Have you thought about running yearlings? It's amazing how they even up and how well they do after being on good pasture, and even dollar wise how the light end often brings relatively close to as much as the heavier ones. Some of the females not kept for replacements get to looking damn good. You might wish I quit giving my opinion. lol
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Post by the illustrious potentate on Jan 23, 2020 21:18:51 GMT -6
I should have culled last year. I could have easily done it when we weaned & they were caught. And I would have but prices were so low it would essentially be giving away otherwise perfectly healthy, bred cows. Well, earlier this week after one big she-beast kicked the ever lovin' snot outta me, I've had a change of heart, regardless of the market. Buh-buy! And her sister, who is just an asshole & knocks over the feed bucket any chance she can. And any others that so much as look at me cross-eyed. Calving theoretically kicks off 3/7 - according to the gestation calculator, which is accurate 5% of the time. Really hate to sell any cow when they're so heavy bred so I'm leaning towards selling as pairs in May when we work them - and when they're all caught. Cows will be open, many (or most?) of the calves will be split off. I could suck it up and keep them until weaning next year but going back to selling breds, although probably only in their 2nd trimester. Some on my ever growing cull list are 4-5 years old and some will almost certainly sell as butcher. Pros/cons of selling earlier vs. later? How about finding more pasture if you need it and expanding your heard? Get ready for the coming up cycle in the market. Are your running age cows on the cull list that bad? Have you thought about running yearlings? It's amazing how they even up and how well they do after being on good pasture, and even dollar wise how the light end often brings relatively close to as much as the heavier ones. Some of the females not kept for replacements get to looking damn good. You might wish I quit giving my opinion. lol Glad you said it.... but I was thinking it. I cant promise, but the way things ook, I think now's a good time to hold them.
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Post by tcranch on Jan 24, 2020 6:16:25 GMT -6
I should have culled last year. I could have easily done it when we weaned & they were caught. And I would have but prices were so low it would essentially be giving away otherwise perfectly healthy, bred cows. Well, earlier this week after one big she-beast kicked the ever lovin' snot outta me, I've had a change of heart, regardless of the market. Buh-buy! And her sister, who is just an asshole & knocks over the feed bucket any chance she can. And any others that so much as look at me cross-eyed. Calving theoretically kicks off 3/7 - according to the gestation calculator, which is accurate 5% of the time. Really hate to sell any cow when they're so heavy bred so I'm leaning towards selling as pairs in May when we work them - and when they're all caught. Cows will be open, many (or most?) of the calves will be split off. I could suck it up and keep them until weaning next year but going back to selling breds, although probably only in their 2nd trimester. Some on my ever growing cull list are 4-5 years old and some will almost certainly sell as butcher. Pros/cons of selling earlier vs. later? How about finding more pasture if you need it and expanding your heard? Get ready for the coming up cycle in the market. Are your running age cows on the cull list that bad? Have you thought about running yearlings? It's amazing how they even up and how well they do after being on good pasture, and even dollar wise how the light end often brings relatively close to as much as the heavier ones. Some of the females not kept for replacements get to looking damn good. You might wish I quit giving my opinion. lol Expanding? Nooooo. The cows aren't bad, just a few that get a little too testy when they calve and since it's really just me tagging/working the newborns I'm not on board with attitude. There is one 10 year old that has a bad udder and I'll still probably cull the one I re-treated for anaplasmosis, even though she's doing great & putting on weight (she's 7). I shouldn't have so many in the central pasture but I could get creative and utilize other pastures by moving the bulls & retained heifers. Dunno. I really just want to make things easier.
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Post by tcranch on Jan 24, 2020 12:31:55 GMT -6
I think it is a common dilemma. I calve in September/October. Breed in December. By calving season, I identify a cow to cull. Most of the time I do - maybe for bad udder, pedigree does not fit my objectives, etc. But by the time their calf is weaned, they are four months pregnant. Harder to pull the trigger. But I often find a commercial producer who is not as particular as I and I sell him a bred cow at commercial price. Win-win. Exactly! There is a local guy that occasionally buys my breds private treaty, I should give him a call. But his cows also have to really work for a living and while the she-beast is in perfect condition, some of my girls are a little too fat and he won't buy them. Thanks for the suggestion - he's coming out this weekend to look at them.
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Post by tcranch on Jan 25, 2020 9:46:46 GMT -6
Dangit! Definitely not one on the cull list, which at the risk of being insensitive would be easier to stomach. Beautiful bred heifer due 3/17. Fine yesterday, begging for extra cubes when I fed, no signs of pneumonia or anything "off". Doesn't look like she was trying to abort, very little discharge anywhere, can't find any visible trauma, no toxic plants in that pasture plus this time of year they're generally at the bale & not grazing.
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Post by brightraven on Jan 25, 2020 10:47:21 GMT -6
Dangit! Definitely not one on the cull list, which at the risk of being insensitive would be easier to stomach. Beautiful bred heifer due 3/17. Fine yesterday, begging for extra cubes when I fed, no signs of pneumonia or anything "off". Doesn't look like she was trying to abort, very little discharge anywhere, can't find any visible trauma, no toxic plants in that pasture plus this time of year they're generally at the bale & not grazing. That is discouraging!!!!! You have my sympathies. Sad!
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Post by M-5 on Jan 25, 2020 17:08:39 GMT -6
Dangit! Definitely not one on the cull list, which at the risk of being insensitive would be easier to stomach. Beautiful bred heifer due 3/17. Fine yesterday, begging for extra cubes when I fed, no signs of pneumonia or anything "off". Doesn't look like she was trying to abort, very little discharge anywhere, can't find any visible trauma, no toxic plants in that pasture plus this time of year they're generally at the bale & not grazing. That sucks , I feel your pain . It's been a rough year here too.
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