What to do with 10 year old cow?

[LibertyWool]

I have this 10 year old belted galloway cow. She is registered, but I never got the paperwork on her. She is bred to a milking shorthorn and due to calve next April. She has calved every year that I've had her (5 years). My friends who own the bull think I should sell her now as a bred cow, but I would rather wait until next fall and either butcher her or sell her open after her calf is weaned. To me it seems like she is worth more butchered than trying to sell her. I know that she has several good years left. So what would you do? The reason for selling her is my lease on a hayfield ran out this year, so I have feed for her this winter, but not next.

[LibertyWool]

Here is an old picture of her with the first calf she had after I bought her.

[Up North]

If you have plenty of hay to get through the winter I'd let her have her calf and raise it. Then I would decide next fall.

[genebo]

My 15 year old Dexter cow has given me a great calf every 11 months. Her most recent is a beatiful bull calf with her genetics. She is way too valuable a calf producer to consider eating her. I can get beef from a cull steer. Only she can give me the calves with her genetics.

[LibertyWool]

Thanks UpNorth and genebo. I was planning on dealing with her next year, but then my friends said I should sell now. I guess no one has a crystal ball about what beef prices will be next year. Either way she will be gone next fall.

[springvalley]

You should get good money for her now as a bred cow, I would sell her now, sell the hay , and take the winter off. > Good luck > Marc

[Gregg Alexander]

Short solid weigh cow. Sale her !!

[mekasmom]

Originally Posted by LibertyWool

The reason for selling her is my lease on a hayfield ran out this year, so I have feed for her this winter, but not next.

If you are contemplating keeping her to calve then butcher later, I would just keep her. She has some years of calves left, and you are already planning on feeding her through winter.

It's a shame to waste a good, proven momma cow.

[G. Seddon]

And just look at that sweet face. I know that should not enter into the decision making, but that is a lovely cow. Have you considered contacting other breeders of Belted Galloways? Might be an option. Wow, she's a pretty cow.

U.S. Belted Galloway Society, Inc.
Victor Eggleston
N8603 Zentner Road
New Glarus, WI 53574 USA
Office phone: 608-220-1091
Home: 608-527-4811
Fax: 608-527-4811
Office email: executivedirector@beltie.org
www.beltie.org

[goodhors]

Not sure of the rules for registering Galloways, but you might contact them about her papers.

I had a Dexter who was registered, and they require GREEN number tattoos in both ears, along with marking the RFID tag number from breeder on the paperwork. So if you checked my heifer, found the numbers, they would be able to tell you anything you wanted about that Dexter!

If the Galloway folks have any such requirements, they might be able to tell you ALL about that cow, and thus raise her value.

[oregon woodsmok]

She's already old enough to be stew meat only, so I'd keep her until she stopped producing. You can always butcher her then. The meat isn't going to get any tougher over the next 5-6 years.

[LibertyWool]

Thanks for all the input.

I'm going to have to find the lady I bought her from. At the time she was having major medical problem, but I think she is still around. I'm sure she doesn't have an RFID. I figured that if I tried to sell her bred as registered Belted Galloway, I might have to discount her because the calf is 1/2 Milking Shorthorn.

All cows looks sweet in pictures. She is not bad, but not loveable either. Very protective of her calves.

Like I said, she won't be here after next fall (or maybe sooner). Good point about selling the hay Marc. If I did butcher her, she would go for ground, which grass fed goes for between 3-4 a lb here. I still am having a hard time seeing that I could get more for her alive. I only paid $1000.00 for her as a bred cow to start with...

[G. Seddon]

Originally Posted by goodhors

I had a Dexter who was registered, and they require GREEN number tattoos in both ears, along with marking the RFID tag number from breeder on the paperwork. So if you checked my heifer, found the numbers, they would be able to tell you anything you wanted about that Dexter!

goodhors, the ADCA requires only a permanent, visible ID on the cow (could be an eartag or a tattoo). And I've seen a number of eartags disappear. RFID is not a visible ID because you need a reader; some people use them, others do not. And if you were able to ID an animal with the registry, it would show you the basics; it will only show PHA or chondro if official test results are shared with the ADCA. There are no photo requirements, and the information is only as good as the integrity of the person submitting it. The green ink in the ear tattoos wears off after a couple of weeks.

[goodhors]

Originally Posted by G. Seddon

goodhors, the ADCA requires only a permanent, visible ID on the cow (could be an eartag or a tattoo). And I've seen a number of eartags disappear. RFID is not a visible ID because you need a reader; some people use them, others do not. And if you were able to ID an animal with the registry, it would show you the basics; it will only show PHA or chondro if official test results are shared with the ADCA. There are no photo requirements, and the information is only as good as the integrity of the person submitting it. The green ink in the ear tattoos wears off after a couple of weeks.

Have to disagree with you on that. Heifer was a yearling when purchased, and the required Michigan RFID ear tag is white, round with number on both sides to read. Never tried it with a reader, but very visible. Yeah, I hear about folks taking them out for weird reasons, seems kind of silly. Ear tattoos were required, from paper rules I read, with a different one on each ear. Forgot what they were or stood for, but it was spelled out in reading the rules when I looked and both ears being tattooed is required on the Registration application.

http://www.dextercattle.org/registration.htm

We found the tattoos by accident, checking her ears for bugs, then came across the rule in the Dexter information. She was registered with hair sample for DNA testing. I would believe this shows parentage to be as listed, along with any possible genetic issues of the breed she might carry, listed under her name. Dexter folks have been very open about knowing what animals carry a problem, listed on the registrations, so owners and breeders can work around the issues without surprises.

Perhaps the green tattoos are a newer thing, but the green was VERY visible and stayed that way over a year from purchase. As mentioned, having the hair sent in with registration paperwork, puts all that information into the big "file" for later use by anyone asking about this cow, by RFID tag number or ear tattoos. As a good breed speciman, she looks like other dun, Dexter cows, no special markings. Like little, uncooked gingerbread cookies!

The RFID tag did come in handy when she got loose recently. The farmer got her locked in his barnyard and called the Sheriff. He read the RFID tag number to them, they traced tag to original breeder, who gave them our phone number. We gave the purchaser's phone number to the Sheriff's Office, who then called owners. We didn't hear anything more, so presume the cow was taken care of. With her being a Dexter, the farmer thought she was just a calf! Told that to the Office as a description, "brown heifer calf, about 600 pounds". When Office called us, we said she was full-grown! Just a small breed cow. We both got a good laugh on that, but farmer never heard of Dexters. So RFID tag helped get things untangled and locate her owners. She had only walked around the corner, very short distance. But farmer didn't know those people even had a cow behind their house, and she had been there a year!

[G. Seddon]

goodhors, Michigan requires RFID tags.
http://www.michigan.gov/mdard/0,4610...7059--,00.html

The ADCA requires only ONE ear tattoo for ID purposes; the red asterisk means you must identify in WHICH ear the tattoo has been placed. I've been registering Dexters for 12 years and I'm sure the registrar would have told me if I were not doing it correctly.
http://www.dextercattle.org/genTattoos.htm

The other ear tattoo and tag (right ear) would probably be for bangs (brucellosis) vaccination, done by a vet usually between 4-12 months of age. The tattoo and tag consist of 9 letters/digits. Owner, vet, and state get a copy of the completed, signed form with this info on it, as well as the breed and age of the animal. Not everybody vaccinates for this.

Whoever registered your cow probably did genetic testing (genotype, chondro, PHA, color profile) voluntarily and authorized the ADCA to place this information on the pedigree. NONE of these things is required on females; genotype is all that is required on males.

Unfortunately, most Dexters' pedigrees don't reveal test results. It would indeed be wonderful if all Dexter breeders shared this information, but sadly that is not the case. Only 128 animals are listed as PHA carriers! You have only to read some other forums to learn of the problems this is creating.

Your cow was located because of the RFID tag. You got lucky!

[RectorFlyer]

Originally Posted by oregon woodsmok

She's already old enough to be stew meat only, so I'd keep her until she stopped producing. You can always butcher her then. The meat isn't going to get any tougher over the next 5-6 years.

Agree. Good producers are valuable.

[Gabriel]

The U.S. cowherd is as small as it's been in the last 15 years, and it's projected to be even lower next year. I can see nothing on the horizon that will lower cattle prices, excepting massive deflation in which case your purchasing power will be constant. I say keep her.

[Jackie]

If I was closer I would buy her in a second. Her age doesn't scare me.

[doublemuleshoe]

Here, in Missouri, everything thru the ring, except for under the age of 5 (& even some of them) that's not in the 3rd period is going as weigh cows. Like someone else said, prices are only going to go higher (unless madcow happens). She has lots of good years left in her (of course anything can happen any given day), so if it was me, I'd keep her & just keep on producing those calves. If you want to sell her, I'd either wait until 3rd period or else calve her out than sell her after you take the calf off of her. Prices aren't that high here right now due to all the cattle out of Texas & Oklahoma being sold due to the drought but come spring, they should be sky high (or at least that's what the big boys at the coffee shop say - maybe $1 a lb weigh cattle). Hay may me an issue for you so that may make a difference in your decision as well. Best of luck whatever you chose. (By the way, have been on the forum for many years in the past but had to set up a new account as no longer had the old email account & forgot the info so am not trying to be a bossy newbie)