putting hefiers in calf.

valtra8150

all right i am in all bullock farming and when i sell to the factory 3 times a year i always have to replace this time of year. and as ye all know cattle are gone crazy made dear i was just woundering what if i went in to buying a few heffiers this year maybee 5 or 7 and putting them in calf this year to see how i get on. what do ye think and is there much hard ship involved in it. if i was going to do that i would have to set up a shed with like pins so that she could stay there for a few days after being calfed i was woundering what size would each pin have to be so that the cow and calf would be comfertible. thanks

john mayo 10

putting in pins ourselves at the moment for the same purpose in a old cubicle shed.we concreted in the channel in the middle of shed, cut out the few remaining damaged cubicles and have devided up one side of the shed into pins 12 foot by 10 foot and the other side is to be used for when a cow is for calfing. we have a removable crush set up /ie 2 8 foot gates approx 3 foot apart to hold a cow in if u have to pull a calf etc

valtra8150

wa but my shed is 30 foot long and i was woundering what sixe would each pin want to be for the cow and calf to have comfert

Joe the Plumber

I'd say breeding or rearing stock bulls is the game to be in. It seems like the next supply demand situation going to arise next year and the year after given the building up of herds thats going on.

Just a thought.

blue5000

Joe the Plumber wrote: »

I'd say breeding or rearing stock bulls is the game to be in. It seems like the next supply demand situation going to arise next year and the year after given the building up of herds thats going on.

Just a thought.

What breeds would you reckon Joe?

Joe the Plumber

blue5000 wrote: »

What breeds would you reckon Joe?

I suppose the big 4. Limo, Char, Angus, Sim. maybe.

Just a guess. I know from my own experience rearing a couple of Angus bulls as a sideline to the main sideline (sucklers) prices were cat in 2010 and this year they were mad dear again.

Milk prices are good so the dairy man wont be chancing his bull on for another year, too much to loose.

A lot of part timers like myself after getting interested in farming and when your working as well you need a stock bull to pick up repeats and ones you didnt spot for the AI man.

If you think about it there has'nt been a run on the bull market yet.

blue5000

Ya this was a good yr for the angus alright as everyone was bulling heifers, tried looking for one in may and I'd left it too late, bought an aubrac instead.

Not only have you to pick the right breed but you need to get the timing right as well, bbs seem to be well down in price this yr. If grain stays dear then there will be a swing to easy finishing cattle like whiteheads maybe? You'd need a gypsy with a crystal ball to guess what will be wanted in the beef trade in 4 yrs time:cool:

Kovu

blue5000 wrote: »

Ya this was a good yr for the angus alright as everyone was bulling heifers, tried looking for one in may and I'd left it too late, bought an aubrac instead.

Not only have you to pick the right breed but you need to get the timing right as well, bbs seem to be well down in price this yr. If grain stays dear then there will be a swing to easy finishing cattle like whiteheads maybe? You'd need a gypsy with a crystal ball to guess what will be wanted in the beef trade in 4 yrs time:cool:

Cross my palm with silver:D

john mayo 10

valtra8150 wrote: »

wa but my shed is 30 foot long and i was woundering what sixe would each pin want to be for the cow and calf to have comfert

you will get three pins 12 x 10 in a 30 foot long shed along one side of it leave the other side free for cows calfing cos they like to move around and you dont want them calfing in a pin that if somethings goes wrong u cant get at them properly

1chippy

just think of the lenght of the cow with a calf half out and a jack swinging round for the calving pen. We just got calving gates in so hopefully this year there will be less shoutin and fewer gates tied off gates with reams of baling twine.

Bizzum

valtra8150 wrote: »

all right i am in all bullock farming and when i sell to the factory 3 times a year i always have to replace this time of year. and as ye all know cattle are gone crazy made dear i was just woundering what if i went in to buying a few heffiers this year maybee 5 or 7 and putting them in calf this year to see how i get on. what do ye think and is there much hard ship involved in it. if i was going to do that i would have to set up a shed with like pins so that she could stay there for a few days after being calfed i was woundering what size would each pin have to be so that the cow and calf would be comfertible. thanks

There can be plenty of hardship, but if you have a decent set-up and routine it can be minimised.
Our calving pen is 15' X 22'. Sometimes there would be 2 or even 3 cows in but usually just 1. Once calved out they go into pens of 6 cows on slats with straw bedded lie back through a creep gate for the calves. I'm always amazed how quickly the calves pick up the habit of the creep gate to get to the cozy bed/ the milk!

sh1tstirrer

All this talk of calving pens, won't you have to put the heifers in calf first. What breed are you getting and what will you put them incalf to? Will you be keeping them as Sucklers or selling them on?

valtra8150

well i want to have pins organised before i put them in calf and i will be keeping all of them for the first few years and hopefully then selliing on half of them or so after. i will probly be using charlais for the first year anyway as i have got 5 charlais all ready.