Hello from Alabama

alan anderson · #1 03/04/14, 02:45 AM

How many are from Bama on here? How many of you raise Dexters? I have 4 Dexter cows,a Holstein heifer and a freezer bound steer.I also raise ADGA Alpine goats,hogs and game chickens.Got a few Kemmer Mtn.curs to make sure nothing alive comes on the farm uninvited.Nothing gets by them.

We have 217 acres on top of a mtn. in Etowah county Alabama.

pigpen5659 · #2 03/04/14, 08:08 AM

Hi Alan,

I'm not too far from your location, over in Georgia. Although I am currently overseas working...I am hoping to get back home someday and start on our little farm. I enjoy hearing about how things are going in our area for our homesteading interests.

Steve

masseyandy · #3 03/04/14, 09:28 AM

Florence, AL Brush goats, 2 cows and a steer, 8 laying hens, and 200 meat birds on the way next month.

alan anderson · #4 03/04/14, 01:09 PM

Got a younger brother name Steve.Where are you at overseas? Spent 3 years in Germany during my time in the Army.

masseyandy,are your cows Dexters?

masseyandy · #5 03/04/14, 01:43 PM

nah I have 2 black heifers and a holstein steer I bottle fed them and am waiting for the payoff of some meat this winter and some calves next year.

farmgirl6 · #6 03/04/14, 06:28 PM

Roll Tide! I live in Huntsville!

dwarf Dexter, dexter Jersey cross, and scottish highland, lowland angusXzebu cross bull, and a giant pet Steer named Norman

alan anderson · #7 03/05/14, 01:58 AM

Roll Tide Roll.

Have you crossed your Dexters and Highlands? How do the Highlands do in this Bama heat?

masseyandy · #8 03/05/14, 09:31 AM

Norman, lol. I love City Slickers

alan anderson · #9 03/15/14, 05:19 AM

Few pics of my cows.White face is Buck the steer.Holstein is "Pet",my grandson loves to ride her.

pigpen5659 · #10 03/15/14, 05:27 AM

Hi Alan,

Just got back on the website...and saw this thread back up near the top.

I'm in the United Arab Emirates, for the time being. I spent a lot of time in Germany, I was stationed there also, long time ago, in a different lifetime.

Take care!
Steve

LaDena · #11 03/15/14, 12:40 PM

Texas here but we do have Dexters. We don't have a website but I have a page for our cows. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hill-...9163312?ref=hl

LaDena · #12 03/15/14, 12:43 PM

Oops, didn't mean to hit enter.
Welcome to the board.

LaDena

G. Seddon · #13 03/15/14, 03:01 PM

alan anderson, do your animals have access to any pasture or hay? I realize it's winter, even in Alabama, but they don't look in the best of condition, particularly the first photo (Jersey/Dexter) and the last photo (Buck the steer?). Trying to be polite here, but they could all do with some groceries.

alan anderson · #14 03/17/14, 03:09 AM

Yes they have pasture,and hay.They are fed daily also.They look good in the pics compared to what they looked like when I bought them.Buck was bought at the sale barn,[12 Oct.2013]we were lucky to save him.I gave .60 cents a pound for him,cost me $195.00.The pic was taken 3 weeks after I bought him.
The dun cow has a calf on her.She's been wormed,vaccinated and still won't gain any weight.She has pasture,hay and 3/4 of a 5 gallon bucket of 12% feed daily.You have any idea's what else I need to do? I'd be glad to hear how to put weight on her.
They also have a 30% protein tub from Tractor supply.

Thanks alot for your concern.I'm trying my best.But I'm not an expert on cows.

G. Seddon · #15 03/17/14, 08:14 AM

I'm glad you explained some things. Just an idea, but you might have a Johnes test done on the cow. A Johnes cow can eat and eat and eat yet still lose weight. There's a lot of information on the Internet about Johnes, and here's a sample: http://www.johnes.org/general/faqs.html#8

How does Buck look now that you've had him a while?

A visit from your vet might be helpful for advice on what to feed and any necessary testing. I know it's an additional expense, but it may be a good way to go!

Another thing to learn about is Body Condition Scoring (BCS); here's a sample with photos; you can also search for BCS on dairy cattle:

http://aces.nmsu.edu/pubs/_circulars/CR575.pdf

Hope this helps! Keep on trying, and I hope some other people here contribute ideas as well!

alan anderson · #16 03/18/14, 02:01 AM

Thanks for the links.I'll get her tested for Johnes.I'm going to put her on a 24% feed for a while and see if that does her any good.It's a mixed feed from a local feed store that I feed to my laying hens.Stuff smells like cookie dough.

Buck looks alot better now.He's still not up to snuff yet but getting better.You can run your hand down his back without feeling each bone.Had some trouble with scours or watery squirts a couple times,I put him up and added meds to his water and have not had any problems for a month or so.

I've also built stalls in the barn for each cow.I'll know how much each cow eats now,instead of them rotating from 1 trough to another.Not concerned about cost to feed them.I can't tolerate anyone saying my cows don't look good.
Thanks again for the help.

G. Seddon · #17 03/18/14, 08:36 AM

alan, I would get the vet's opinion and lab results before changing the feed. If it is Johnes, it doesn't matter how much you feed them, they become skeletal. Is her calf still on her, how old?

Also, what did you use as a dewormer for her and how long ago? Did you deworm all of them? Might get a fecal sample on a couple to see if still have a problem with that.

I like your idea of feeding each one separately, but that gets time-consuming too. After a few days, they'll learn which stall is theirs and go there automatically (it's when one "forgets" that things get screwed up).

Once they get on track and start gaining, you see results quickly. Not with Johnes, but maybe it's not that (hoping it's not).

alan anderson · #18 03/20/14, 05:42 AM

Calf was born May 2013.Still nursing,but leaving for a friends house this morning.Wormed with Cydectin injectable from the vet.Not sure when,probably 2-3 months ago.Yes all 6 were wormed.
Being disabled with nothing else to do,time is no problem.They are learning pretty quick which stall is theirs.The dun cow waste more feed than she eats.Grabs a mouth full and shakes her head from side to side to make sure nothing is close to her.Looks like 1/2 of it ends up on the ground.I'm working on a head catch for her stall.She won't be able to get her head out from over the trough.What she drops will go back in the trough.Horns are coming off today too.

I'll get recent pics of Buck today.

Inthesticks · #19 03/20/14, 06:47 AM

Hello from peach country Chilton co. Potatoes in the ground , onions today and looking for a fattened calf.

G. Seddon · #20 03/20/14, 07:58 AM

alan, 10 months is a long time to leave a calf on its mother, so no wonder the dun cow is looking a little lean. Glad they were all wormed.

Dehorning is tough on a mature animal. Hope the vet is doing it with some good pain killers. Very stressful!