I am a such a sucker

BlackWillowFarm · #1 03/06/10, 08:31 AM

I just paid $75.00 for a supposedly three month old Jersey bull calf from my neighbor. He brought it over in his pickup truck, in the front seat! We were supposed to use my truck with a cap, but he couldn't wait. The calf was covered in muck (manure) up to it's belly and smelled to high heaven. This neighbor is a character so I kind of knew up front how this might turn out. I saw his calves a couple weeks ago, but it was dark in the barn and he had four in a small pen, so it was hard to tell how big or small they were bunched together like that. I'm positive now he brought the smallest one.

This calf was no bigger than a week old calf. It was shivering from the cold, and wobbly on it's feet. He wanted to argue with me about the size of the calf. DH just happened to come in the barn. His opinion of the calf was that it was smaller than our newborn calf we had six months ago.

The calf went straight for the water, drank down a half bucket full and started looking for something to eat. I asked the guy what he'd been feeding the calf. Guess what this calf has been eating for 3 months?
"All the grain he wants." Guess what "all the grain he wants" turns out to be? Four pounds a day! Any hay? No! OMG! I can't believe this guy! He originally told me he wanted $100. for the calf. I negotiated him down. LOL!

I painted a big sucker picture on my forehead, paid the guy and figured I was doing the calf a favor by getting it out of where it came from. It probably would have brought $40 at auction. Maybe. Sucker.

Anyway, I bought this calf for beef, he's doing great in the days since he got here. I've got him switched over to hay with very little grain and as a bonus, he's getting some of my extra Jersey milk every day. I started him off with a quart once a day, now he's getting half gallon, morning and night.

I take pleasure seeing him running around, bucking and kicking and feeling good for probably the first time in his life. I'm think I'm going back to save another one.

farmmaid · #2 03/06/10, 09:26 AM

We raise a Jersey calf every year for meat. We steer and dehorm them and put them in the freezer at 18 months. The best meat you will ever eat!

jerzeygurl · #3 03/06/10, 10:01 AM

Yummy

BlackWillowFarm · #4 03/06/10, 01:54 PM

We raised our first Jersey and butchered her in December. I agree, the meat is delicious and very tender. People are asking me for some. That's why I bought this calf. I already have two buyers for next fall when he's ready.

Rose: I had the same thought. He probably needs to be wormed. That's next on the list.

Oh, and did I mention that when the guy banded him, the pigs in the stall next to him got his tail while he was down and chewed the tip into a bloody mess?

And....how can I tell if the banding job is done correctly? How many days before the 'job' is done? What do I look for if there are going to be problems? I'm not sure if I can trust this neighbor to do it right.

I told the guy to band him, keep him for a couple weeks to make sure there aren't any complications, then bring him to me. He didn't do that. He banded him 30 minutes before he brought him over.

copperhead46 · #5 03/06/10, 07:19 PM

God bless you...............

#6 03/06/10, 07:24 PM

Go save one for me!

LibertyWool · #7 03/06/10, 07:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlackWillowFarm

I told the guy to band him, keep him for a couple weeks to make sure there aren't any complications, then bring him to me. He didn't do that. He banded him 30 minutes before he brought him over.

If he was banded right then, you should be able to see/feel both testicles below the band. The band should be lower down, not up tight against the body. If the calf was not vaccinated for tetanus, you could vaccinate him now and give him Tetanus Antitoxin to protect him until he builds antibodies. The Tetanus Antitoxin is only about $2.00, so well worth the piece of mind. The testicles will dry up and fall off. It can take a while for it to finally fall off. Once it has been dried up for some time, you sometimes have to yank it off. I have to do the same thing with my lambs tails. Just a shot of Bluekote is all it need at that point.

Callieslamb · #8 03/06/10, 07:57 PM

Hey, I think we are in the same boat! For the rest of you- ( BWF knows the story) I took in a rescue calf - minus the mud all over him. His ear tag says he was born 10/13. But he is so SMALL. I wondered if he was a dwarf. He supposedly banded at 2 months....but I see INTACT back there.

Carla: If he starts walking with his back legs close together....something isn't right! I think you do need another cow in your pasture - go buy a 2nd one. Can't wait for mine to get big enough!

BlackWillowFarm · #9 03/06/10, 08:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LibertyWool

If he was banded right then, you should be able to see/feel both testicles below the band. The band should be lower down, not up tight against the body. If the calf was not vaccinated for tetanus, you could vaccinate him now and give him Tetanus Antitoxin to protect him until he builds antibodies. The Tetanus Antitoxin is only about $2.00, so well worth the piece of mind. The testicles will dry up and fall off. It can take a while for it to finally fall off. Once it has been dried up for some time, you sometimes have to yank it off. I have to do the same thing with my lambs tails. Just a shot of Bluekote is all it need at that point.

Thanks for the info Liberty. I finally got a close up look back there this afternoon. Both testicles are below the band, but when you say "The band should be lower down, not up tight against the body" how much lower should it be? What I saw was right next to the body and it even looked like there were two bands instead of one. I need some advice. What should I do? He's walking like it hurts. He'll take a few steps then pull up his back leg like somethings bugging him. I saw him try to lick back there too. How long will he feel discomfort?

BlackWillowFarm · #10 03/06/10, 08:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Callieslamb

Hey, I think we are in the same boat! For the rest of you- ( BWF knows the story) I took in a rescue calf - minus the mud all over him. His ear tag says he was born 10/13. But he is so SMALL. I wondered if he was a dwarf. He supposedly banded at 2 months....but I see INTACT back there.

Carla: If he starts walking with his back legs close together....something isn't right! I think you do need another cow in your pasture - go buy a 2nd one. Can't wait for mine to get big enough!

I'll keep a close watch on how the calf is walking. So far I think he's just uncomfortable.

I think the guy I bought the calf from might be mad at me. I kind of got after him a bit about the calf. I basically told him whatever he's doing to his calves isn't working and that they weren't designed to eat only grain and well, I wasn't mean, but I had to make a point about it. It's just not right what he's doing and he needed to know it. BUT, I don't care if he's mad, I'm going back for another one anyway.

LibertyWool · #11 03/09/10, 12:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlackWillowFarm

Thanks for the info Liberty. I finally got a close up look back there this afternoon. Both testicles are below the band, but when you say "The band should be lower down, not up tight against the body" how much lower should it be? What I saw was right next to the body and it even looked like there were two bands instead of one. I need some advice. What should I do? He's walking like it hurts. He'll take a few steps then pull up his back leg like somethings bugging him. I saw him try to lick back there too. How long will he feel discomfort?

If he is peeing, then he should be ok. If you bad too close to the belly wall, you can get some of the internal plumbing which is not good. Two bands should be ok. Mine adjust quickly (less than a day). My lambs take longer, a couple of days... I wouldn't worry about the licking....

Callieslamb · #12 03/09/10, 06:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlackWillowFarm

I'll keep a close watch on how the calf is walking. So far I think he's just uncomfortable.

I think the guy I bought the calf from might be mad at me. I kind of got after him a bit about the calf. I basically told him whatever he's doing to his calves isn't working and that they weren't designed to eat only grain and well, I wasn't mean, but I had to make a point about it. It's just not right what he's doing and he needed to know it. BUT, I don't care if he's mad, I'm going back for another one anyway.

But will you be ablel to get the discount? Good for you for speaking up. He's fortunate someone will buy them from him.

collegeboundgal · #13 03/11/10, 01:19 PM

by buying from him you are only rewarding his bad behavior/bad animal care. find someone who has healthy cattle/calves and give them your business.

bigmudder77 · #14 03/12/10, 02:11 PM

id call that in to animal controll and report him but its very hard for them to get off there BUTT around here i called a couple people around here and pretty much got yelled at for reporting them and keep hanging up on me so i keep calling back non stop for like an hour and then told her to find a new job cause i had it and she was getting reported to the state and lets see what they will do and man did that flip a switch with her she was really nice and took the address and said some one will go out today and called me back and said it would be the next day and called me the next day and said there was nothing they can do the calves had a building and fresh water and food when they went there

i still called the state on her and hope she got fired and it must of worked the guy dont have calves any more