Horray Hay

[CrealCritter]

So, why not get a couple of rolls of electronet and a couple of 5-6 wt calves to feed for a few months???? Move the netting every few days or week.... let them eat down all that hasn't been cut. The gain will probably not make you much money as the heavier they get the less per pound they bring.... but it would still make you something....Or better yet, get a couple of 8-9 weights and graze for a couple months and then sell one and eat the other.... You will get about the same price per pound at 7-8 wts as at 9-1100 lbs.... so it would be a gain that would help if you sold one and ate the other.... Just find a place to butcher it first as the wait time here is unbelieveable. You do not have to go usda... just for the meat for yourself.... if you kill deer, and dress them out, then you could do your own... just bigger. Heifers are cheaper than steers to buy and often don't discount as much as they get bigger.... Or get a few that have had "pinkeye" so have white spots or even being blind on one side... they are often discounted heavily at the stock yards... he//, you don't eat their eyes.. so unless they are totally blind, they will still see fine to get around and eat in an enclosed area that they are not being harrassed by other animals so not pushed to try to get loose to get away from other bullies.

We need to talk

 

[CrealCritter]

Th

Looks like there is "some" fence up??? I at least see a wood and a T-post in one pic. Some electric insulators on T....maybe no fence.

10 acres is already fenced in with 2 runs of 14 ga electric fence wire on t-posts. I need to measure how close the t-posts are set. I'll get that measurement to tomorrow. Problem is they didn't brace the corners so they are falling in.

 

[farmerjan]

They make T-post braces for corners.... don't know if TSC has them but google and you can find them. If there is electric up then by all means, call around find a butcher that you can get an appt.... and then either get the knowledgeable neighbor next door to put you in the right direction to a neighbor with cattle, or go to the nearest stock yard and sit for a couple sales and watch. Also, there are guys that are order buyers... many decent and honest... that you can talk to, tell them what you want and the prices that you are willing to pay, and that they HAVE TO BE CALMER CATTLE, and often they can find some. That is a crap shoot until you get to know people.... At this point, for the electric, you need something that is already weaned so they will not want to go looking for momma and go through electric fence. Try to get something that you will not have to feed through the winter... maybe a neighbor that has a heifer or 2 that didn't settle (breed) and is open that you can get reasonable... they make good beef and are ready to kill most anytime. You really don't want one by its self, cattle are herd animals and will be much more content with company.
10 acres ought to feed a couple head for a couple months with a little grain to entice them to stay friendlier and calmer and to put some finish on the beef....
This is the time of year when most are selling off the feeder calves, many are not "weaned" so are what are called trailer weaned or bawlers, and they are taken off the cows, put on the trailer and shipped. They usually run in the 6 wts and smaller. Most over 700 are weaned just because the cows have needed to get rid of the calf in order to have a rest before the next one they are carrying is born. Most weaning is done in the 4-600 wt range.... about 5-8 months old. If you can get an appt, then you want something in the 8-1,000 range to fatten more and finish.
One possibility is some holstein's... they should be over 1,000 as they grow more bone then put on weight.... They will often be calmer or more used to people as they are usually more likely to be raised by someone who is "feeding them" regularly. A good holstein will make good beef, bigger than most beef animals that are raised for home consumption... will be lean and have good flavor. The one good thing is if you buy them for say $.80 to $1.00 a lb at 800 lbs, they will bring near that at 1,000 or 1200lbs. So the weight gain is the plus... Or buy a couple of jersey steers if there are any, they are always cheaper, and they make very good beef. Might be able to sell one on halves or something and you keep the other for your own freezer. Older people who have ever eaten jersey beef will mostly always like to have more and not many raise them as there is not the return for someone who is doing it for the business. They are smaller boned so there is more meat than you think when they are in the 1,000 lb size for killing.

 

[wyoDreamer]

In Wyoming, they hang rocks on the outside corners of the fence to keep it tight, lol. I lost my pictures of that, but it really tickled my funny bone to see a boulder wrapped in wire and hanging off the backside of a wooden post about a foot off the ground. I am sure it is a lot easier to hang a boulder than to try and dig another post hole in that rocky, clayey, granite mess that they call soil out there.

 

[CrealCritter]

Measured t-posts spacing. The are 10 foot apart and about 5' tall sticking up out of the ground. So I think what I need to do is brace the corners add another run or two and we should be good for hooves.

I'm kind of favoring the t-posts corner kit at this point. Only because it's not permanent and looks easy to move when I need to.

More information http://thishappyhomestead.com/2015/04/04/t-post-fence-corners/

 

[CrealCritter]

They make T-post braces for corners.... don't know if TSC has them but google and you can find them. If there is electric up then by all means, call around find a butcher that you can get an appt.... and then either get the knowledgeable neighbor next door to put you in the right direction to a neighbor with cattle, or go to the nearest stock yard and sit for a couple sales and watch. Also, there are guys that are order buyers... many decent and honest... that you can talk to, tell them what you want and the prices that you are willing to pay, and that they HAVE TO BE CALMER CATTLE, and often they can find some. That is a crap shoot until you get to know people.... At this point, for the electric, you need something that is already weaned so they will not want to go looking for momma and go through electric fence. Try to get something that you will not have to feed through the winter... maybe a neighbor that has a heifer or 2 that didn't settle (breed) and is open that you can get reasonable... they make good beef and are ready to kill most anytime. You really don't want one by its self, cattle are herd animals and will be much more content with company.
10 acres ought to feed a couple head for a couple months with a little grain to entice them to stay friendlier and calmer and to put some finish on the beef....
This is the time of year when most are selling off the feeder calves, many are not "weaned" so are what are called trailer weaned or bawlers, and they are taken off the cows, put on the trailer and shipped. They usually run in the 6 wts and smaller. Most over 700 are weaned just because the cows have needed to get rid of the calf in order to have a rest before the next one they are carrying is born. Most weaning is done in the 4-600 wt range.... about 5-8 months old. If you can get an appt, then you want something in the 8-1,000 range to fatten more and finish.
One possibility is some holstein's... they should be over 1,000 as they grow more bone then put on weight.... They will often be calmer or more used to people as they are usually more likely to be raised by someone who is "feeding them" regularly. A good holstein will make good beef, bigger than most beef animals that are raised for home consumption... will be lean and have good flavor. The one good thing is if you buy them for say $.80 to $1.00 a lb at 800 lbs, they will bring near that at 1,000 or 1200lbs. So the weight gain is the plus... Or buy a couple of jersey steers if there are any, they are always cheaper, and they make very good beef. Might be able to sell one on halves or something and you keep the other for your own freezer. Older people who have ever eaten jersey beef will mostly always like to have more and not many raise them as there is not the return for someone who is doing it for the business. They are smaller boned so there is more meat than you think when they are in the 1,000 lb size for killing.

Do you mind if I start a private conversation with you? You can teach me a lot about how to make this farm profitable. My wife and I are starting the planning phases right now and it sure would be nice to have an open dialogue with you to help guide our decisions.

 

[CrealCritter]

You are speaking to the expert. This is what @farmerjan has done all her life and she knows her stuff.

This is Goldie, our steer and future steaks.

Our Steer is Here!

Our steer was delivered today. He was born last October, 2019. He has a slaughter date in March 2021. He is half Charolais and half Hereford. We named him Goldie.

www.backyardherds.com

View attachment 14609

Great looking beefer, Bay. But I'm shocked you didn't name the steer "Sir Loin".

 

[CrealCritter]

Not crazy. Same purple paint on a tree or fence post here in Texas.

On the pig pen, I think a bull dozer is a good idea. Level it off, fill in the low spots and clean it up.

So the purple paint law same in Texas well ain't that something.

 

[baymule]

No trespassing signs get torn up, shot, lost or just gone. Paint is easy, cheap and doesn't fall off.

 

[wyoDreamer]

I like the No Hunting PURPLE. Wisconsin should make that a law also.