Farming Chit Chat

pakalasa wrote: »

What's the downside to a system like this? Surely there is one. How do you find them healthwise? Do you get more pneumonia? Do you vaccinate for IBR? How do you find the blonde cows for milk and fertility? Do you think the Parthanaise cows will bring even better calves?
Sorry for all the Q's.

Have to say I agree with legs. Our herd is half ped too. Albeit LM rather than BA or Part. Always get the daintiest calves off those, which exporters love.
First blonde this year and daddy dearest is very impressed. May be more down the line:cool:

(Oh and to all Fathers on here, happy Daddy day)

pakalasa wrote: »

What's the downside to a system like this? Surely there is one. How do you find them healthwise? Do you get more pneumonia? Do you vaccinate for IBR? How do you find the blonde cows for milk and fertility? Do you think the Parthanaise cows will bring even better calves?
Sorry for all the Q's.

second time trying to answer here goes again lost this page as i went into icbf .i vac for everything ibr a big problem if i dont,blonde cow is treated the same as any other breed,some wintered out on a knock if they have bad feet and are back in calf.blonde cows have very little milk,the system i am trying to work is muscle muscle muscle,now if a cow has extra milk its a bonus.i an getting paid for shape and muscle,not size,the fart of a calf that was born last july left me 1460 euros yesterday.and this fact has really focused me on the easy calving blue bull stq.a heifer born on 05/09/11 only weighed 286kgs but made 1200 euro, thats 4.19 a kilo,justin says you need heavy calves to leave you profit for me bullcrap,i have put into the cattle around 100 euros of meal,some of you might say that is crazy,i did not weigh the cattle before feeding but the lads that saw them before and afterwards could not believe how well they had done on average we reconed they put up 50/70 kilos.fertilty would not be top of the class,icbf/calving interval is 286 days calves per year 0.9, number of months calving 11 [think that is wrong].do i think the part will bring better calves no i hope they will just be the same but with more milk and a higher price for the part bull over a blonde bull.

But typing a short reply takes 20 minutes :D

Is it always a blue bull you use to get those export type quality calves? Would blonde or lm or part ever attain those prices off the same cows?

In my experience, inconsistancy, growth rate and structurally unsound calves will have as much or more to do with the dam as with the sire. Too many people will put a BB bull on a cow which doesn't breed well with a CH or a LIM and expect her to have a super calf just because the calf is off a bb. It doesn't work that way. Dam breeding is very important to ensure quality BB calves.

Bizzum wrote: »

I'll throw me hat in the ring so.
Dear Legwax,
Growth rate, inconsistancy in quality, and calves structurally unsound were issues I have had with BB.
Are these issues you have encountered? And if so how are they overcome?
I am open to use BB again infact have a real good BA cow carrying to a BB.

leg wax wrote: »

pakalasa wrote: »

What's the downside to a system like this? Surely there is one. How do you find them healthwise? Do you get more pneumonia? Do you vaccinate for IBR? How do you find the blonde cows for milk and fertility? Do you think the Parthanaise cows will bring even better calves?
Sorry for all the Q's.

second time trying to answer here goes again lost this page as i went into icbf .i vac for everything ibr a big problem if i dont,blonde cow is treated the same as any other breed,some wintered out on a knock if they have bad feet and are back in calf.blonde cows have very little milk,the system i am trying to work is muscle muscle muscle,now if a cow has extra milk its a bonus.i an getting paid for shape and muscle,not size,the fart of a calf that was born last july left me 1460 euros yesterday.and this fact has really focused me on the easy calving blue bull stq.a heifer born on 05/09/11 only weighed 286kgs but made 1200 euro, thats 4.19 a kilo,justin says you need heavy calves to leave you profit for me bullcrap,i have put into the cattle around 100 euros of meal,some of you might say that is crazy,i did not weigh the cattle before feeding but the lads that saw them before and afterwards could not believe how well they had done on average we reconed they put up 50/70 kilos.fertilty would not be top of the class,icbf/calving interval is 286 days calves per year 0.9, number of months calving 11 [think that is wrong].do i think the part will bring better calves no i hope they will just be the same but with more milk and a higher price for the part bull over a blonde bull.

Hi Legwax ,

I see your point in that you are making great money from your bb weanlings and long may it continue and after the day of the sale its not your concern even if they don't grow after or are not great on the feet.

Did you ever get one to go down though or go very bad on the feet before they hit the 400kg mark, I can vouch for 2 show calfs anyway too much muscle to fine bone ratio and down they went like broiler chickens ! Knackery job as couldn't walk into factory either

I probably should be thinking more along your lines than "looks" or height, I kept a blue grey EDJ heifer she calving in January to lim OZS (he has height and muscle) but heifer herself is no bigger than a pig , she long, wide etc and quiet as a lamb but I'm ashamed of her when standing next to other char and red lim heifers in the field.

I'm imagining her calves to be the same way, muscley little stumps but I'm sure I could live with that if I got the £££ per kg that you getting as opposed to growthy yellow char farmers calf that I would prefer to have in the field or mart.

This is why I think crossing the BB with a red limousin is good for hardiness. Maybe not as muscley as the Blonde cows but a better balanced animal. I just hate the heads on those blonde cows, nothing like a Lim cow with fire in her eyes.:D

Bodacious wrote: »

Hi Legwax ,

I see your point in that you are making great money from your bb weanlings and long may it continue and after the day of the sale its not your concern even if they don't grow after or are not great on the feet.

Did you ever get one to go down though or go very bad on the feet before they hit the 400kg mark, I can vouch for 2 show calfs anyway too much muscle to fine bone ratio and down they went like broiler chickens ! Knackery job as couldn't walk into factory either

I probably should be thinking more along your lines than "looks" or height, I kept a blue grey EDJ heifer she calving in January to lim OZS (he has height and muscle) but heifer herself is no bigger than a pig , she long, wide etc and quiet as a lamb but I'm ashamed of her when standing next to other char and red lim heifers in the field.

I'm imagining her calves to be the same way, muscley little stumps but I'm sure I could live with that if I got the £££ per kg that you getting as opposed to growthy yellow char farmers calf that I would prefer to have in the field or mart.

i had 1 heifer that went to the factory, as she was very bad on the legs,no other big problems other than tender on the feet.your heifer sounds like my edj cow she puts her stamp on the calf what ever the breed ,she had a lim heifer by rocky last year and its like looking at a red copy of her,shes got a part bull under her now and hes blocky as well.