I just got cows!

483 Views 28 Replies 9 Participants Last post by murphranch, 14 d ago

caliberbob

Discussion Starter · 29 d ago

So I’ve been working with a guy who is leasing land two properties down from mine. Talked to him a while back about running some cattle on my 2 acre field and he was game. Originally had considered letting him run cattle in exchange for 1 beef per year or something like that. Instead he talked me into just buying my own cows. He used a lot of his own materials and put in even more time than me in putting the fencing up. Helped me clear things out. So what we agreed on was me buying only cows and heifers and letting me breed them with his bulls. He took me Sunday in his truck and trailer to just north of Wichita to pick up three head. His property he's leasing backs up to my field so he put in a gate and now we can keep bulls and cows/heifers separate until we’re ready to breed them. He’s been super generous and has been teaching me a lot. So I am officially a cattle owner and I love it! Here are my 3 head.

Working animal Liver Terrestrial animal Fawn Bull

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caliberbob

Discussion Starter · #21 · 16 d ago

dennishoddy said:
Our summers in Colorado are similar to yours I'm sure. The cattle are just let go in the mountains with brands. In the fall before the snows, cowboys on horseback go up, round up the cattle and bring them to pens where they are sorted by brand and claimed by the owners. No fences anywhere.

Out in Easter Oregon I used to hunt on some friend’s property outside of LaGrande. Often times you spook or be spooked by free range mountain cattle. Seen a couple bulls that made me feel quite small. Cool to see though. A way of raising cattle that I’m sure has been done for hundreda of years

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Bullbuster

· #22 · 16 d ago

caliberbob said:
Out in Easter Oregon I used to hunt on some friend’s property outside of LaGrande. Often times you spook or be spooked by free range mountain cattle. Seen a couple bulls that made me feel quite small. Cool to see though. A way of raising cattle that I’m sure has been done for hundreda of years

I know the LaGrande area. I was born and raised in SE WA in the Tri-Cities (Kennewick). Spent a lot of time in that part of the Blue Mountains of OR.

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caliberbob

Discussion Starter · #23 · 16 d ago

Small world man! Been there many times on my way to Spokane. Last time I went through there we had a massive family reunion at a Bible camp way up north by the Canadian border. Went through the tri cities and Spokane. I like the seclusion out there.

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diggler1833

· #24 · 14 d ago

Bullbuster said:
I know the LaGrande area. I was born and raised in SE WA in the Tri-Cities (Kennewick). Spent a lot of time in that part of the Blue Mountains of OR.

That explains why you're strange.

I'm from just north of Spokane myself 😄.

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diggler1833

· #25 · 14 d ago

3 head for 2 acres is going to require more feeding than one might think once they get big...as in year-round.

I'm in a pretty fertile area, and I'm at about 5 acres to the pair (that includes the land necessary for hay production).

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caliberbob

Discussion Starter · #26 · 14 d ago

diggler1833 said:
3 head for 2 acres is going to require more feeding than one might think once they get big...as in year-round.

I'm in a pretty fertile area, and I'm at about 5 acres to the pair (that includes the land necessary for hay production).

So I am going off only what my cow friend is telling me. These are mid-size Herefords and he said they get about half the size of a full size cow and eat about a third. So he was telling me in the two acres he’s leasing he won’t have to supplement at all. So between the two of us we have four acres of pasture with 10 cows (my 3 his 7). 🤷‍♂️

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dennishoddy

· #27 · 14 d ago

caliberbob said:
So I am going off only what my cow friend is telling me. These are mid-size Herefords and he said they get about half the size of a full size cow and eat about a third. So he was telling me in the two acres he’s leasing he won’t have to supplement at all. So between the two of us we have four acres of pasture with 10 cows (my 3 his 7). 🤷‍♂️

You folks get more rain that we do. Gets pretty dry during the summer with not much pasture growth around here. That number per acre wouldn't work here without lots of cake and supplemental hay feeding if they were expected to gain the weight they should.

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caliberbob

Discussion Starter · #28 · 14 d ago

Yeah and that’s what my friend said. If this was western Oklahoma we’d have 3 head total. But man, I’m not used to grass growing this fast. Let alone growing in the summer.

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murphranch

· #29 · 14 d ago

dennishoddy said:
You folks get more rain that we do. Gets pretty dry during the summer with not much pasture growth around here. That number per acre wouldn't work here without lots of cake and supplemental hay feeding if they were expected to gain the weight they should.

I give a cow calf pair 12 acres. Could probably get by at 9 or 10 but to quote my dad “son, your in the grass business not the cattle business. You can lose all your money and all your cattle but if you still have good grass you can get the other two back. “ I save a lot of money and hay if I have good dry matter going into winter. If my country was fescue and Bermuda I wouldn’t be scared to give a pair 4-5 acres as long as I sprayed and fertilized it.

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