Beef cattle......quarter life crisis

[IH 684]

Forget about breeding for the moment. Buy in some decent bucket rearers which you will be able to sell easy enough as stores. Buy in 3-4 get them weaned then but in another 3-4.Go for heifers or castrated bulls. This will gain you experience in handling and getting to know cattle. If you want to initially invest very little money buy in black/whites. But personally I would go for some charolais, or limi crosses. Breeding them with limited experience can lead to tears. Unless you go for a hardy old breed such as Shetland, Irish moiled etc. But then your limiting your buyers. I am sure if you did go for the old breed an independent butcher would be willing to buy them on the hoof

 

[Danllan]

My life-crisis at 30 was starting my sheep contracting business. I'm definitely loving it! Will be even better when I can use the business to get a HiLux (a truck I've wanted since I knew what one was...)

Got my first Hilux when I was 37, can't fault it and wouldn't bother with a Landrover except for play - they are pretty. But... the only reason I got the Hilux was because here in the UK I couldn't get the 70 Series Land Cruisers that I had back in Africa . If you knew them you'd want one instead of a Hilux.

 

[IH 684]

I find them easier than sheep though. They really are a problem on four legs.

We are the opposite. Increased sheep and ended cattle. Found that lengthy work now is limited to certain times of the year. As opposed to constant daily time consuming work with the cattle. Also its easier to plan holidays as we only need someone to cast an eye over the sheep as opposed to daily tractor work and feeding, bedding up etc. At the end of the day it's what suits the individual.

 

[unlacedgecko]

Got my first Hilux when I was 37, can't fault it and wouldn't bother with a Landrover except for play - they are pretty. But... the only reason I got the Hilux was because here in the UK I couldn't get the 70 Series Land Cruisers that I had back in Africa . If you knew them you'd want one instead of a Hilux.

5 years ago I drove a petrol Land Cruiser in Oman, fortunately someone else was paying the fuel bill.

I've never known a 4x with acceleration like it, but you could watch the fuel gauge drop.

 

[Danllan]

5 years ago I drove a petrol Land Cruiser in Oman, fortunately someone else was paying the fuel bill.

I've never known a 4x with acceleration like it, but you could watch the fuel gauge drop.

Ah... mine have all had the 1HZ engine, a straight six 4.2 diesel that is bomb-proof - even has a mechanical fuel pump. I've also driven the petrol versions and they are good, but for bush work I'd choose the 1HZ every time. The Ozzy spec Cruisers with all-round coil suspension give a better ride, but if you need to improvise a leaf spring in the *rse end of nowhere, you can by using bits of tree. Better stop now because I really miss my Cruiser and, anyway, we digress from cattle...

 

[Grass And Grain]

If your out in the daytime doing haulage work then I would think very hard about breeding stock. if you're not there to assist then you're sure to get some deaths, and you'll kick yourself. Doesn't matter which breed, non of them will be foolproof.

As suggested, I would go for non-breeding stock of some sort, unless dad or someone is around day time to watch over them.

 

[unlacedgecko]

Forget about breeding for the moment. Buy in some decent bucket rearers which you will be able to sell easy enough as stores. Buy in 3-4 get them weaned then but in another 3-4.Go for heifers or castrated bulls. This will gain you experience in handling and getting to know cattle. If you want to initially invest very little money buy in black/whites. But personally I would go for some charolais, or limi crosses. Breeding them with limited experience can lead to tears. Unless you go for a hardy old breed such as Shetland, Irish moiled etc. But then your limiting your buyers. I am sure if you did go for the old breed an independent butcher would be willing to buy them on the hoof

I've often thought it would be fun to try techno grazing black and white bulls in a Kiwi style. I reckon the reported weight gains per acre and improved FCE would more than make up for the low price of over 18 months Bulls.

 

[Alex-w]

Think there's some farms do self catering where you get a chance to help out.

That's maybe one way of seeing if being kicked in gonads, landing on your arse in the sh!t, at 2am in the a freezing cold with horizontal sleet, before finally getting the calf out alive but finding it calf won't suck and the heifer doesn't want it anyway, is for you.

TBH I love cattle and miss my sucklers (homebred Galloway, WBS & Bluegrey) a lot sometimes. If I had a big enough area I'd have a couple of native, dual purpose cows, probably Whitebred Shorthorn because 1 I'd like to keep the local native breeds going in my own small way.

Just love your so apt description of livestock farming!

 

[KMA]

Just love your so apt description of livestock farming!

Henry Brewis was my hero, told it like it is

 

[Roy_H]

Henry Brewis was my hero, told it like it is

I was just going to say that your description of "The slings and arrows of outrageous agriculture" was worthy of Henry Brewis! I remember David Richardson saying that he started his farming career with suckler cows, not just any suckler cows mind you but Galloways, that were apparently as mad as hatters.

 

[simmy_bull]

Buy some dairy X calves or even dairy bull calves to start with

Do you know of any for sale!

 

[Old Spot]

Meadow Quality or Livestock Link tell them what you want they deliver, you pay simple.

 

[KMA]

Have had some quite nasty run ins with Galloway 1st calvers in my time (they went straight down the road with me) and remember a cow putting dad over the dyke many moons ago, when he was feeding them. WBS are nice to work with, noisy as feck could use them on ships as onboard foghorns, and way too bloody clever (can undo knots and latches). Bluegreys are my favourites, probably because I built our herd up from scratch.

Back to the OP, if I were going to start from scratch with no experience I'd hang around the suckle calf sales and buy up to half a dozen native crossbreed calves as they can quite be picked up for next to nothing.

 

[multi power]

Do you know of any for sale!

No sorry
@Headless chicken night know

 

[Headless chicken]

No sorry
@Headless chicken night know

Plenty of dairy x's here but a bit of a way to travel.

Meadow quality is the way I would go though

 

[Weasel]

Have had some quite nasty run ins with Galloway 1st calvers in my time (they went straight down the road with me) and remember a cow putting dad over the dyke many moons ago, when he was feeding them. WBS are nice to work with, noisy as feck could use them on ships as onboard foghorns, and way too bloody clever (can undo knots and latches). Bluegreys are my favourites, probably because I built our herd up from scratch.

Back to the OP, if I were going to start from scratch with no experience I'd hang around the suckle calf sales and buy up to half a dozen native crossbreed calves as they can quite be picked up for next to nothing.

How many bluegreys have you got?

 

[Ducati899]

I know of a man that always has some good polled Hereford X dairy calves about [emoji6]

 

[bigg6480]

Have you ever heard the saying about slow horses fast women and beef cattle?

 

[KMA]

How many bluegreys have you got?

Used to have 75 Bluegrey, 45 Galloway and around 12 WBS calvers plus followers didn't bull the heifers until they were around 26 months to let them grow properly, meant they had longer productive lives, reckon them holding them off the bull got me around 4 more productive years at the end. With the exception of 'Queenie' I put them down the road at 16ys old regardless.

Queenie was a bluegrey who was a total embarrassment to look at - scrawny, flipper feet, long thin head with a bit of a moptop, only got bulled the first time because I was a bit short of bullers that year, she produced a decent calf and somehow never made the cull wagon the next year or the year after that, for all her f'ugliness she consistently produced the best Xcalf every year of her life no matter whether it was to char, lim or angus........go figure

 

[Weasel]

Used to have 75 Bluegrey, 45 Galloway and around 12 WBS calvers plus followers didn't bull the heifers until they were around 26 months to let them grow properly, meant they had longer productive lives, reckon them holding them off the bull got me around 4 more productive years at the end. With the exception of 'Queenie' I put them down the road at 16ys old regardless.

Queenie was a bluegrey who was a total embarrassment to look at - scrawny, flipper feet, long thin head with a bit of a moptop, only got bulled the first time because I was a bit short of bullers that year, she produced a decent calf and somehow never made the cull wagon the next year or the year after that, for all her f'ugliness she consistently produced the best Xcalf every year of her life no matter whether it was to char, lim or angus........go figure

Were they home bred as you had WBS? I've got 40 of them bought from Newcastleton but always wanted to buy a few galloways and breed my own. One of our oldest was 21 and still had a calf. Hardy old sods like. Great cows.