"SCHOOL of HARD KNOCKS"...Contribute if U Can!

[feeder duck]

 I always look at my show cattle crap to see how my feed program is. I was told once "Cattle $#!6 should be the consistency of punkin pie"

 I live by it. If poo happy tummy happy.

Jeff

 

[AStar]

Never put off until tommorrow what you can do today. This one hit hard today. I was going to bring my best donor home from a lease pasture a couple of days ago to start getting her ready for a flush in April. I had plenty of opportunities to get her this week but kept putting it off. I checked cows yesterday and she was fine but today she had cut her leg to the bone all the way around her foot between the hoof and the dew claws. I believe she must have gotten into some loose wire. My procrastination just got me!!!!

 

[hamburgman]

WONDERING IF A NEWBORN CALF HAS SUCKED YET:

I always used to get gun shy wondering if a newborn was actually getting ahold of the teat, making sure it was opened up, and if it was actually getting the milk......(especially on MARGINAL uddered recips).....  A buddy of mine told me to simply lift up with your hand between the flanks (obviously on it's belly) and it should feel full......if your hand goes clear to its spine......obviously it's empty. 

It made me feel STUPID that I hadn't ever thought to do that before....

I try to look for shiny teats, and a quarter that doesn't match in fullness.  Granted we have a small enough herd that we know what all their bags look like at time of calving, so this might only work for us.  Bawling calves at our place means they haven't found the tit either.

 

[kanshow]

Bawling calves at our place means they haven't found the tit either.

There are plenty of newborns that do nothing if they haven't sucked..

 

[Jacob B]

Have to agree with the head thing.  Seems to be one of the first things I look at.  So many different things that you can see from a head.
It is also interesting to hear what is considered to be "SOUND" in one persons eye compaired to another.  I have never seen a footnote about how incorrect an animal is on there feet and legs.

 

[The Show]

Does anyone care to elaborate on the head thing bc I've never heard of it.

 

[kjd farms]

The post about pulling on the flank of a calf that you are not sure if has sucked or not is such a big help.  We had a calf on Sunday that was questionable on whether it had nursed and we tried this and it worked perfectly.  I grabbed the calf tonight after it had nursed and the the flanks were tight, earlier I had  grabbed them and they were like elastics.

 

[frostback]

I wanted to try and get a before and after feel on a calf too. I had one today but the recip had other ideas about me feeling the calf so I will have to wait till one of my shortys calve to get the before and after feel.