Cattle Tricks 101

20/08/2024

When there's a job that needs done buckly down and get that job done!

15/08/2024

🤮🤣

08/08/2024

06/08/2024

We’ve all seen those skinny old cows, poor doers, there’s nothing that can be done about them. No matter how much feed you pour into them, they never put on weight.
There are lots of things that can lead to these issues, including Johne’s disease. One possible cause that is usually over looked is bad teeth.

Grazing animals wear their teeth down with constant chewing. To compensate for this they have very long teeth. Cattle don’t have teeth that constantly emerge throughout their lives like horses do. But it’s still important that opposing teeth are there to keep the wearing constant.

When a tooth falls out, leaving no surface to grind against, the remaining tooth wont wear evenly with the teeth that are meeting with other teeth still. As the others wear down the tooth without a partner to meet can come into contact with the gum where a tooth is lacking, causing pain and infection. This makes chewing uncomfortable at best, impossible at worst.

As she becomes less able to eat she will lose condition. Even as more food is given to her the inability to chew makes her unable to make good use of the extra feed.

As I go about checking cows and driving through pastures I like to stop and check out any old bones I find. Looking at dead cow teeth may be an odd hobby but it has shown very interesting results. A few fresher, and stinkier, skulls have still had the lower jaw attached. I have been able to see the missing, usually upper, tooth and get a clear view of the sharp lower tooth sticking into the gum line. In the older skulls I have to look for subtler clues. In the case of this picture we can only see the smooth spot on the bone where the lower tooth ground away at the surface until the holes left by the tooth roots are completely gone. We can clearly see the holes in the areas where there were healthy teeth were attached. I consulted with my veterinarian and she agreed that she’s seen this wearing of the jaw bone often in horses with tooth issues.

That isn’t to say that I find tooth problems in every skull I find. There are lots of possible causes of death. It is found often enough that when a cow is loosing condition badly it is well worth a look in their mouth!

01/08/2024

It's the best way to live life 🤣

31/07/2024

Good fences make good neighbors.

That is true. There are other things even more important than good fences.
Accepting responsibility and good manners are the perfect accompaniment for good fences. Like whipped cream on top of ice cream.

Even with the best of fences cattle get out. It’s a fact of life. So we need to know how to behave, on both sides of the fence, when it happens.

As the one with cattle in your pasture, it can be annoying. You work hard and pay hard for that grass so you can feed your cattle. Seeing someone else’s herd eating it can be frustrating. That is no reason not to be polite. It could easily be your cattle in their pasture the next time, and treating others in the way you want to be treated is important.

If you know who the owner is let them know promptly. If not call around, asking nicely. You can then wait for the owner to come help get them, carefully sort them back into their own pasture yourself and fix the fence, or bring them up to a set of corrals where they have feed and water until they can be picked up.

Fixing fences yourself in order to solve a problem is a big part of that good fences making good neighbors. It may not technically be your problem, but if it’s keep cattle out of your pasture it’s well worth the extra work.

If your cattle are out on someone else’s property the polite thing to do is to apologize and go get them in as soon as possible. Then fix the fence.

Leaving cattle out on someone else’s pasture for extended periods is rude and does cause harm. You are using their resources and possibly causing damage to their cattle. This seems simple enough. It’s polite and accepting of responsibility, acting in a mature adult like manner.

It is never acceptable to blame the person whose land your cattle are out on. Even if you don’t think any fence they are responsible for is up to your standards. If it is your cattle on their land, you should be fixing the fence up to your standard.

The way we deal with fencing issues will affect relations with the people we live around for for years and even generations to come. It is important not to let bad manners when it come to fences cause bad relations with neighbors.

In the US the laws regarding fences and fence maintenance are different in every state. Some states are fence out states, meaning if you don’t want cattle on your land it is your responsibility to keep them out. Others are fence in states, you are responsible if your cattle get on other people’s land. In many states each land owner is responsible for the right hand half of the fence line. Meaning that as you face your own fence, you need to keep up the right hand half. That gives each landowner and equal share that is easy to keep track of and figure out. Knowing your fencing laws can be crucial when there is a dispute involving fence lines.

Keeping those fences is important. Good manners and accepting responsibility is even more so.

26/07/2024

It's another Guinness world record!

Not for us this time. But we're so proud of our fellow bovine.

"It's been a long wait to be able to post this, but it's official! Beef is the new current record holder for the Guinness World Record Tallest Living Steer title!!

We measured him back in December - he weighed in at 2400lbs, & measured 195.87cm (6'5")! He will be 7 years old next month! Hard to believe he was ever small enough to pick up!"
https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/tallest-ox-(living)

https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1061633535967964&set=a.517103377087652

It's been a long wait to be able to post this, but it's official! Beef is the new current record holder for the Guinness World Record Tallest Living Steer title!!

We measured him back in December - he weighed in at 2400lbs, & measured 195.87cm (6'5")! He will be 7 years old next month! Hard to believe he was ever small enough to pick up!

https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/tallest-ox-(living)

Photographer : EmberBees Photography

24/07/2024

Who wants to do housework anyway

18/07/2024

Dapples are said to be a sign of good health.

While that may be partially true, dapples are actually a genetic trait. If a cow doesn’t carry the dapple gene she wont show dapples no matter how good her health is. Dappling is actually the capillaries beneath the skin. Cattle who have the capillaries closer to the skin will have dappling. Cattle who don’t wont.

That said, sometimes a cow wont necessarily show her dapples if she isn’t in good health. On the other hand animals who are severely malnourished can have dapples too.
Any color cow can have dapples. Some colors just show them better than others.

17/07/2024

💜🐮💜🐮💜

10/07/2024

This may be the best thing ever!
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/WPAxHeU5E54MoTTp/

04/07/2024

Happy Independence Day!

03/07/2024

Happy international joke day! Have one on us.

28/06/2024

It's hard to say good bye. Ghost thinks maybe she just wont do it then.

26/06/2024

Ghost has set a Guinness World Record; Most tricks by a cow in one minute
But what does that look like?
Here is the run in its entirety ....

21/06/2024

Does Ghost remember any of her tricks?

19/06/2024

Need we say more?

14/06/2024

Spend quality time with your cows. Get those nails dirty!

12/06/2024

We would have missed this if not for the video a freind caught and sent to us. Ghost made the news 🤣

06/06/2024

Visiting Ghost in the pasture

05/06/2024

It's June!
We are going to spend the month celebrating Ghost earning her Guinness World Record last year. She may not know how cool she is, but we sure do 💜

Ghost, a talented cow from Nebraska, USA, performed 10 tricks in a minute to set a world record.

30/05/2024

Sounds about right to me

29/05/2024

We all put salt out for our cattle. It’s a regular chore that sometimes seems to be done more out of habit than anything. But why are we always putting salt out?

Salt alone can be as effective as hi mag mineral to prevent grass tetany in the spring by maintaining the proper salt/potassium ratio. Without salt milk production decreases, as does appetite and growth. Without access to salt fertility decreases, and joint problems increase. A lack of salt can even lead to death due to heat stress during extremely hot weather.

If we get behind on putting salt out, the way the cattle come running for the salt when we do put it out should be enough to assure us that cattle want their salt! Don’t forget this very important chore.

Salt can be fed lose or in blocks depending on what works best for you. Salt of either type should be fed in some sort of container. Specially made feeders work nicely but many things will do from old lick tubs to tires with a base attached.

24/05/2024

It's that time of year again when the house falls way down the list of priorities. There are too many cow things to do!

21/05/2024

It was just a few calves. Surely we could do it ourselves.

The new bottle calves needed their vaccines. One had been sick since we got him. With care he was feeling better but now a second one was breathing hard. It's hot and dry out. Nothing is enjoying this weather. Better to prevent any more sick as soon as possible to give the calves the best chance.

In the morning after feeding, while the skies were still overcast, the humidity stifling but the heat not awful yet, we ran the calves into the barn.

The children helped get them in with a combination of luring and pushing, mixed with lots of randomly wandering off in circles or the opposite direction away from calf and shed. In the end we corralled them. They went happily into the alley way and we got to work.

There were spider webs. They strongly dampened one child's desire to help push calves up the alley into the chute. She said she'd help me up front instead. That was fine, she could give the nasal shot. The prospect of that nearly sent her back down the spider web infested alley. In the end she decided she could handle filling the vaccine guns.
My son didn't mind spider webs. He was gungho to get those calves up the chute.
He pushed calves. We gave the shots. It was all going very well. He needed a little help once in awhile. The calves were very young and also very quiet. They often didn't feel the need to move. No problem, I could help out a bit.

As we worked one calf over he wandered out to look at the calves in the pen we were letting them out to. Quickly he returned with wonderful news. I hadn't made sure all the gates were shut before letting the calves out that way! Oh joy. Only two of the previously worked calves were where they were supposed to be. Luckily one more was only partially out. In the wrong pen, not clear out into the yard. He shut the gates. We continued with the remaining calves.

I pushed the last of the calves into the chute. They were the smallest and wanted to plant front feet which worked very well to hold them firmly in place. My daughter was persuaded to give the final nasal dose. We were done. Now time to worry about those wandering calves.

Just then my son popped his head in. He had gotten them! He informed us happily. I admit to having some doubt and went to count heads for myself. Sure enough. All the calves were there. He had gotten them in all by himself.

Calves got worked and will hopefully stay healthy. That is the least of the days accomplishments. The children got worked and learned some important life lessons.

They accomplished a job, a real adult type of job. They each performed a task that they didn't think they could do, preparing medication and getting calves in. They were out there doing it. Even if working with cattle isn't something they decide to do for the rest of their lives, these accomplishments are a foundation upon which self sufficiency and confidence are built. Whatever the job that needs done, they are capable of doing it. If they just try.

14/05/2024

Yes, it would be easier to do it myself Heaven knows it would be faster. The waiting is hard. Watching as expensive milk replacer gets sloshed around and spilled, or nearly spilled, has me gasping and holding my breath. I can’t stand to watch. Teeth clinched my husband and I both stand back as the children prepare the milk to feed their bottle calves.

After helping and instructing on how and how much milk to mix, the preparation and most of the feeding is their responsibility. We watch them go slowly and struggle. If we didn’t it would never be replaced by smoothness and skill. Strength will be built in the difficulties, not in taking care of it for them.

We don’t over face them, and are always there to help if really needed. They don’t usually want help. Pride in the ability to do the job and do it well is already setting in. That doesn’t mean they don’t need harried to get to get to work. They’re still children. Nothing wrong with that. They’ll grow up soon enough. I’ll enjoy their childishness while they’re children.

They aren’t strong enough to do everything themselves. They’re building strength though! It wont be long and those hard jobs will be easy for them.
Bottle calves are a perfect opportunity for training children!

12/05/2024

Happy Mothers Day!

10/05/2024

It's good to be different!