- Location
- Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
Pretty sweeping statement . Mine aren't , sorry you had a bad experience
Tell me about Ruby Red/North Devon
- Thread starter Jerry
- Start date
Pretty sweeping statement . Mine aren't , sorry you had a bad experience
Cows 'n grass
Member
- Location
- Modbury, South Devon
The last Angus bull I had was a cow killer. He was only here one year and left a trail of c sections and dead cows behind. I know you can get that in any breed but it put me off AA.
What generally sells better? AA or Hereford? I'll still be AI to BB because they're the only thing that can really put shape on a jersey but I need something to catch the tail end cows.
- Location
- mid devon somewhere
Hereford cross calves are fine, we buy black hereford heifer calves in and bucket rear for replacements. I would guess yours are out of Jerseys or cross bred free range cows and I wont touch them with a barge pole, neither will any of the calf buyers. Slow growing and lack of conformation are no good to a beef farmer.
The same would go for AAx calves, you can't dress mutton up as lamb!
Had another chap telling me about problems calving South Devons today, looking to change breeds. It's becoming a familiar story, though I realise there's often a lot of difference within a breed.
Hungry is another thing I hear against them.
But I mustn't say any more cos I'll upset @egbert . He must have a much better strain.
The red ruby makes a lot of sense @Jerry . Like any livestock purchase, buying from the right breeder probably as important as the breed.
Look, it's simple.
If your river runs into the English Channel you need South Debons, an if your river runs up to the Bristol channel, you need Roobies.
Seriously...(and I've nothing agin Rubies at all, but they fall between 2 camps here)
My SDs (mostly) winter out at 1000', in about 90" of rain.
The majority of them live happily on a 4' round bale a day/ to 18/20 at a round feeder with rough run back. Bales mostly from pasture untilled since WW2.
(I can't do it much cheaper)
Out of 40-45 cows, I'd expect 3-4 not have reared a calf in any 12 month period -these either get hung up, or retained to rear a buster on stored condition.
1st calvers are always struggling to hold condition/grow on/rear a calf...and take the bull again...but that's the nature of the ground.
Adult cows just go about their business without any inputs beyond a fluke drench.
Calving difficulty? This year we've calved one - a heifer with an AA calf breached.
The only reason the 1st calvers aren't with the SD bull is that we've held onto one for a year or two extra he's been so useful.
However......
A few years back, a pal had lost custody of his sucklers in a divorce, and returned to his family farm.
He was clearly pining for cows, so I lent him my draft cows for a few years.
(at the time, they were worth £220 as OTMs...but would easily go on with easier ground)
Using a bull after which I'd hardly seen a calf born, my pal had one or two horrendous calvings.
(this is on old cows who'd done it all for years without issue)
His ground is better, no doubt, but it's not that good. He didn't feed them too much. They just 'did' better.
My own replacements currently spend 12 months on much lower pasture, and I reckon it's put 100kg on the adult cows.
Galloways?
It's a zen thing.
I've known SDs as bad newly calved as any Galloway.
I'm currently tagging the new calves alone, in amongst the cows.
(but then, there's folk who leap off high bridges tied onto a bit of glorified knicker elastic....)
It's the same as anything....kill the worst, and don't teat them like wild animals.
We lead ours on and off a 25,000 acre common, on foot.
Cows 'n grass
Member
- Location
- Modbury, South Devon
I'm not expecting to make a fortune out of them but every cow needs to calve.
My jersey X BB will comfortably make R grades and kill at 300 from rough grazing and no housing. A few yesterday
gone up the hill
Member
- Location
- Devon
AA calves sell the best either as calves or strong stores if you get caught with TB and have to hold them.
With any breed you can get a bad bull but you shouldn't let one bad experience put you off trying another of the same breed.
Very little premium with Hereford cattle currently.
- Location
- Devon
Is anyone doing a scheme for Hereford sired cattle currently?
Woolless
Member
- Location
- Berwickshire, Scottish Borders
The Co-op, Waitrose? Dovecote park kill them (iirc) and anything there is premium.
The red Devon’s are akin to Dorset horns in sheep.....ie easy, docile but not so productive as other breeds. Run to fat easy with a small carcass weight. Not much demand as store cattle £200 down against a continental cross at 10 months.
The cows are quiet but get overweight v.easy so take a lot of farmer focus to keep fat off them at calving and bulling time.Can be stubborn and dopey at handling time.......but in a well subsidised conservative SW grazing project with local organic meat box sales they might be a breed worthy of consideration but they need subsidising more than Angus or continental choices.
The cows are quiet but get overweight v.easy so take a lot of farmer focus to keep fat off them at calving and bulling time.Can be stubborn and dopey at handling time.......but in a well subsidised conservative SW grazing project with local organic meat box sales they might be a breed worthy of consideration but they need subsidising more than Angus or continental choices.
- Location
- Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
Thought about you when I was posting that ......... Trouble is your Nom de Plume would be exposed .......
- Location
- Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
- Location
- Devon
primmiemoo
Member
- Location
- Devon
The Rubies I've had people tell me were sparky had Salers in their background. Best check the breeding.
A traditional cross (as related by my Grandpa) was SD on a RR. RRs were true dual purpose, but tended to being small, and the dairy type SD brought some size to them as needed.
Apparently, cream and butter from RR milk was better than Channel Island.
Thought you'd got confused and was tailing him too @egbert
No, he's got inherited wonky balls from maternal grandsire.
I did get em both in the end, slippery little beggar.
Camera operator also witnessed another tagging, in which the calf wriggled like an eel, and 3 cows did their level best to intimidate me.
Assistant came in nearer, threw the tag pliers at me, and ran away. sorry, no vid.
- Location
- Devon
A calf I caught to tag today blaaared out (how else do describe it?
) like I was killing him - his lim x mum intimidated me enough to let go! Maybe I should've held my nerve, maybe not. It always winds mum up when they do thatI did him after moving them in the gateway and he and her were somewhat calmer then.
primmiemoo
Member
- Location
- Devon
A calf I caught to tag today blaaared out (how else do describe it?
He either helved or he belved. Some calves can both helve and belve!
NB. "Bowlved" is a very rare Exmoor pronunciation of the word belved, if anyone's heard it in relation to mimicking the sound of a red deer stag.
With Galloways the question is can they catch you?