Our new baby. Mommy is washing the little tyke off with
her warm tongue--this is needed to get the circulation
going in the little one. Later I saw them curled up together
in the corner of the pasture.
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Thoughts from my Big Green Chair
It has been a hard week at our little country church. In the next few days we will have two funerals. We pray for those who grieve.
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; He leadeth me by the still waters. He restoreth my soul. He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His namesake. Yeah, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil for Though art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table for me in the presence of mine enemies; Thou anointeth my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever and ever. Psalm 23
Blessings.
6 comments:
Jean, my husband was asking if we knew this cow in particular, or is this one of the herd cows in general? Has she had babies before? Lynn
No one you know :-).
Not too long ago my dh and I were discussing how to improve our herd without spending too much money. We decided to buy some older cows with great genetics but were being culled because they no longer breed back on schedule due to age.
This is one of them.
Jean
Let me clearify that this cow is 12 years old. The farm I bought her from has an cattle sale every year as a means of selling cattle. One of the ways they manage their herd size is to sell "older" cows like C31. She was an ET (embryo transfer) calf but is getting older so she may not produce many more calves. The calf she produced may be worth what we paid for her when he is 2 years old. If we get a second or third calf so much the better.
Husband in Wisc.
She looks very good for her age. I've breed horses and not cows, but the baby is very pretty and well formed. What happens to the mother as she comes to the end of her breeding cycle. Does she go to market or the home freezer? (We eat meat and are truly curious from a suburban standpoint.) Lynn
This cow is in good physical shape and should have several more years of productive life. I tagged her calf in the afternoon of the day he was born, and he was a very strong and “beautiful” calf. Today he was playing and running with another calf in his group. His mother was not very far away.
Typically, the cows that either cannot breed or have physical problems so they cannot raise a calf are sold to the ground beef market. To sell to a packing plant the animal has to be walking and move on its own. If the animal goes down it will not be used for human food; this is because of mad cow concerns, which only shows up in older animals.
We have a local butcher shop and will have them make ground beef out of a few of our “cull” cows. At times we sell ground beef to other people, but typically these are younger cows.
We have yet to have to sell one of our “special” cows, but I have know farms that have kept a special cow or bull around after their productive years were over.
Husband in Wisc.
Thanks Jean for taking the time. We use Rod and Staff for many things and years ago at used bookstores antique shops I bought a bunch of readers that dealt with city and farm life. We find we are more curious about then and now. Lynn
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