New to cowing

Digby49 · #1 04/02/07, 06:18 PM

have a calf coming soon when its ready to eat solid food, its a Holstein/herford male,Been repairing for it for two years as The land had to be cleared to provide aprox 1 acre of grass just finished the 2 strand electric fence and was thinking of cutting a 55gal drum in half for his water and as of this time no shelter yet (I'm In Virginia) any help /advice would be appreciated .
I did 4 Hogs last year and made merstakes a long the way but intend to do 4 more this year starting in June Loved every minute of it , tried goats 2 but think they are (for me ) a waste of money and time

Jennifer L. · #2 04/02/07, 07:05 PM

Sounds like you have things lined up. Only thing I can think of to tell you is be sure to worm him ever so often, as worms can hold up a calf's growth pretty good.

Jennifer

JulieLou42 · #3 04/02/07, 07:58 PM

If you have any trees on the land, you may not need any shelter. Where I live in the Inland NW at 3000ft elevation even, most ranchers don't put up shelters for their cattle.

It's the summer heat that they may need to be sheltered from.

They have 1/2" hides, I'm told, plus their fur, which will get thicker in fall as the weather cools. Digestion helps keep them warm.

JeffNY · #4 04/02/07, 08:16 PM

Some have hides up to 3/4", some are thinner skinned. But as a whole, as Julielou said, generally shelter is needed more in the summer. The heat is what kills cattle, cold weather doesn't bother them much, as long as they have feed. With you living in Virginia, your not going to have the cold like we do farther north. But you guys do get hot, and seeing how you also have seen 70's to 80's already, id focus on something simple for him to get under. Doesn't have to be fancy, just has to get him out of the sun, and be open enough to allow for a breeze.

Jeff

Digby49 · #5 04/03/07, 06:23 PM

Thank you all for the help I have shade for Him so it apears Iwe are in good shape

Up North · #6 04/04/07, 12:52 AM

Provide salt and minerals as well as what the above folks have recommended. Also, have fly control of some sort in place before temperature reaches 80F.
Will calf be castrated & dehorned when you get him?

Digby49 · #7 04/04/07, 07:08 PM

the cow will be castrated but Im not sure about the horns I will get a minral block, what about the fly control I tried the smelly bag traps with the hogs last year and not worth a dam !!!

Karin L · #8 04/05/07, 01:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Digby49

the cow will be castrated but Im not sure about the horns I will get a minral block, what about the fly control I tried the smelly bag traps with the hogs last year and not worth a dam !!!

The COW will be castrated??! LOL! I hope you mean the bull-calf, and not the cow!

BTW, sounds like your doing good.