That's Rupert my terrier thing.....use him to train sheep to stand up to foxes. He hates my sheep as they chase him and will knock him about if he's not paying attention.Is that a dead fox, or have they just killed somebody's favourite dog?
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That's Rupert my terrier thing.....use him to train sheep to stand up to foxes. He hates my sheep as they chase him and will knock him about if he's not paying attention.Is that a dead fox, or have they just killed somebody's favourite dog?
Oh, I see.2 hours a season. Do you think we're cray-cray?
We'd be lucky if we spent a half hour per day working on the farm now - but those couple of hours per cow generally payback about $3k extra profit per cow if we sell the calves right; and it means the cows can be fed to capacity without obesity, mastitis, running milk etc
our heifers also calve at 19-20 months to help keep mature cow size down, so if the cows are weaning double their own liveweight per year without feed costs or special genetics then it is 2 hours well spent.
The bonus for us is that we have really good neighbours who keep in contact over calving, so we get the right calves at the right time and that makes it a really straightforward process
skinning is the trick isn't it.Ask the family if they would like to go out to shed to hold the blue alkathene pipe and feed the calves
Jokin aside , did plenty of that in my youth if a cow lost a calf.
Never again, we skin them now and they take them straight away
Yes, never fails with cattle, not as easy with sheep tho!skinning is the trick isn't it.
Do them out in the field sometimes...pick up the still borne, and walk away
Get them skinned saves so much time.Never tried skinning calves. Always put them in the set on crush and do it that way. Will have too give it a try next time we need too!
5 days? Dang! ResultGet them skinned saves so much time.
Skinned a calf once but didn't have a calf for the cow.5 days after had a set of twins.put the skin on it fed the calf an away they went.did help she was still looking for a calf.
Same here don’t think I have ever had a failure skinning calves but cannot seem to be successful with sheep. So much so I never bother anymore.Yes, never fails with cattle, not as easy with sheep tho!
never? I'll often give it a try in the field, if the donor lamb is within easy reach. It's gonna save all kinds of trouble if it goes sweet. First call as a rule.Same here don’t think I have ever had a failure skinning calves but cannot seem to be successful with sheep. So much so I never bother anymore.
Been lambing high lambing % ewes inside for nearly 40 years and skinned a lot and tried many times, if I could get it to work it would be great but sometimes you just have to accept defeat as I am clearly crap at it. Yet I can skin a calf in 10 mins and would never consider not doing it if I have a spare calf to hand, can’t recollect any failures ( but my memory is crap as well)never? I'll often give it a try in the field, if the donor lamb is within easy reach. It's gonna save all kinds of trouble if it goes sweet. First call as a rule.
(Tip...if she's looking like a flight risk...truss the ewe up so she can't huff off)
It’s been written on here before about kiwis chaining calves together to double suckle, 100s at a time.Oh, I see.
Next question...if you can earn an EXTRA $3k per cow...however much is that in total?
You must be making millions.
I thought I was coining it,. but am obviously a novice
Done plenty of lambs, works 3/4 of the time. Although this last few years I’ve not been very bothered if they take or not given the cull values in spring!Same here don’t think I have ever had a failure skinning calves but cannot seem to be successful with sheep. So much so I never bother anymore.
I know, probably a bit of luck in there too.cow was happy an so was I.5 days? Dang! Result
enoughOh, I see.
Next question...if you can earn an EXTRA $3k per cow...however much is that in total?
You must be making millions.
I thought I was coining it,. but am obviously a novice
No, really, how much?enough
Why not ?You do think I'm cray-cray
I wouldn't farm in the UK if life depended on it
Too much of an old-boys clubWhy not ?
Fair enoughToo much of an old-boys club
Too much emphasis on producing livestock too big to really fit the landscape, which then requires sheds and machines and lots of work and extra cost, all to produce steaks that fit trays that fit supermarket shelves
be a damn sight better for the environment to just make the shelves 10% smaller and negate paragraph 2
I like a paid-by-weight system because I like high stocking rates because I like high profitability and improving our land the fastest, as we've discussed there are barriers everywhere to replicating a really low-cost pasture-only system in the UK
and, some really nosey fickers live there