Cows

[gunslinger598]

This is a good topic

[Lastmohecken]

When I grow up I think I want to be a cowboy. I was born in the wrong century. <sigh>

You'd soon find that the worst thing about bein' a cowboy is the COWS...

Cowboyin' AIN'T a part-time, whenever-you feel-like-it job. It ain't easy, and it ain't 'romantic' and mostly it ain't even fun.

To quote Mr. Brennan in Monte Walsh: "it is a terrible job, but it's THEIR job..."

If it weren't for cows, what would I do with my cowhorses?

Well, as far as I am concerned, cowboying means a lot of different things to a lot of different people, from different walks of life.

You have Rodeo cowboys, who don't do much, other then Rodeo, but of course some do also ranch or farm, and many are only weekend cowboys. I have been going to Rodeos all of my life, but I was never a Rodeo cowboy, but some of uncles and cousins were. When I was a kid I always wanted to be a bullrider, and I have riden a few bulls, during practice, that my cousin bought just for bucking out. When I was a kid, I always figured I might go to Jim and Marvin Shoulder's Bull riding school, but by the time I got old enough to go, life was pulling me other directions.

But there are lots of other kinds of cowboys. But for me Cowboying was taking care of cows, and and a lot of that, isn't all that much fun. I always had chores to do when I was a kid. And some of those chores included feeding the bottle calves, carrying water for the bottle calves, (damm I hated that chore), and rounding up the milk cows every night for milking. I didn't have to round them up in the morning, as we kept them in a small pasture so the morning milking could be done as quick as possible.

Then you had the haying, and mowing of hay, the winter feeding, pulling calves when a cow was having trouble calving, looking for a cow, who was missing, for any number of reasons, doctoring cows, etc.

Then while I was still in my late teens, and real early twentys, I worked for a lot bigger farm/ranch then my dad owned, and it was a beef outfit, among other things. I spent a lot of time running machinery, mowing, bailing hay, hauling hay, some row crops, and of course taking care of cows. Worming, branding, dehorning, pulling calves, fixing fence, building fence, etc. And in the winter, I spent most of my time looking out the windshield of a truck, it took about all day, just to feed all of the cattle herds, which also often required chopping ice at every waterhole, and including a herd of yearling steers and another herd of yearling heifers, and there isn't anything craizer then a herd of young heifers, by theirselves. We always grained the steers, the whole winter, so that always included dumping the troughs, if they had any water from a rain, before feed could be put out, and of course it was always muddy.

We had horses, and motorcycles, and pickups, and we used them all, during certain roundups. And sometimes we spent a fair amount of time, in the saddle, but most of the work was done, on foot, once the cows were put in the lots. But we had some exciting times, and some tence times, like when driving a hundred head of cows down a public highway, because it would have taken forever to have moved them in trailers, from some areas to others. I have had horses fall on the pavement, on occasion, and it was amonst traffic too, but there wasn't nearly as much traffic back then. I have had horses fall several times, but I was young then and quick, I never had one fall on me or pin me, it seems I always had a knack for getting clear.

But the most painful thing I had happen was on one morning, my boss saddled the horses, including my horse, ( I usually always saddled the horse, espacally my horse, but I was off doing something else), and came back, the boss was in a hurry, and we had a few animals to lot. I took one look at the horse I was going to ride that morning, and noticed that my boss, being in the hurry that he was, only ran the latigo strap once through the D-ring on the cinch and tied it off. I was always taught to wrap it two or even three times, and the latigo strap was a little rotten. But I knew he would yell at me if I redid it, so I stepped into the saddle and sure enough, I when I kicked that old plug into a run to get around some cows, my strap broke, and I came off with the saddle still between my legs. I landed hard with saddle still between my legs, and darn that hurt.

I told him that from now on, I was saddling my own horse, and I alway did, from them on.

At anyrate, lazy days, just sitting on a horse, riding through beautiful country, checking on cows, was not something that happened very often, when I was cowboying.

[Lastmohecken]

Now days, I don't even own a horse, just an iron horse (four wheeler), which gets used to check on the cattle. And when it comes time to round up the cattle, we just try to use a system of baiting them with range cubes, calling them, but sometimes it still requires a fast rid on a four wheeler, and some foot prusuit to get them in the lot. And sometimes we don't get them all, if they smell a rat and head for the brush. And that's when I sometimes wish for a good horse and maybe some dogs. But, usually we eventually get them in the lot, and get on with business.

We have about 70 head of momma cows, and assorted calves, bulls etc, these days, and I recond I am a pretty lazy cowboy, or maybe I am just a construction worker who happens to own a few cows, but it ain't no hobby, and if it wasn't for the money and or the tax writeoffs, I wouldn't have a cow on the place.

Instead, I would cultivate the whole farm to draw deer in for better hunting, but I recond I am stuck with the cows for now.

[Travis Morgan]

Shoveling bunks and doing anything with a milk cow are the only things you listed I really dislike. I don't do irrigation ditches, either. That's what backhoes, trenchers, and dynamite are for!

[BigSky56]

Heres a pair to draw too, they still have all their teeth and most of their brains . danny

[rangerider7]

Lastmohecken, What you said is the same for me and I'm 64. It usually takes most of the day. I'm usually ready to kick the wadding out of the last bunch of cows and calves just to get through. We always talk about having a few beers when were through but we just mosey on home because we are so tired. When I was young we would go to the county line joint and raise hell, but not anymore.

[20cows]

Whatsa milkcow? (And why would I want to fool with one?)

[Travis Morgan]

Whatsa milkcow? (And why would I want to fool with one?)

One ranch I worked on had a big holstein for a nurse cow; the boss had a fit when he found out I wasn't stripping her out(making sure there was NO milk left in her bag, to prevent milk fever) Hell, I diddn't know about milk cows, and didn't(don't) care to.

[BigSky56]

Travis one outfit I was on had 2 jersey cows for bucket calves and a jersey bull he was the meanest *** I ever had to deal with, hed put everyone over the corral and if you was ahorseback he chase and try to hook your horse finally the hands roped him and whacked his horns off should of cut him too. danny

[Travis Morgan]

Dairy bulls can be some of the meanest, hands down. Dad always swore the meanest he'd ever seen was a Jersey or Gurnsey.

[rangerider7]

Holstein bulls are the biggest I have ever seen. I use to work a Neuhoff Bros. Meat packing company in Dallas when I was young. The pins were next to the cafeteria and at lunch the older workers would bet the young guys that we couldn't jump over the 6 ft wooden rail fence, where the bulls were always kept, touch the pin floor and get out before getting hooked. The floor was always wet with you know what so it was a challenge. The bet would usually be a few dollars and that would pay for lunch. They would keep all breeds in the pin together. The Brahmas were always mean but the dairy bulls were the ones that would fool us. I didn't do it everyday but enough to take a good look at what "lightning" the head buyer had bought that day before I made up my mind. The old workers sure got a kick out of it when one of us would slip and have to scramble to keep from getting hurt. I can only remember a few times when one of us got hurt very bad, but I remember plenty of torn uniforms and wild looks as we shimmed over that wooden rail.

[Travis Morgan]

When I went to KABSU, the artificial breeding facility in Manhattan, Ks., I was amazed at the size of some of those holstein bulls; the small ones were about 6'2" at the withers!

[Hillbilly]

My neighbor has a Angus bull running the pasture right now who is about the sweetest thing .... I can ride right up to him and scratch his back. We have a 2 year old though... he faces up and paws and snorts... and we watch him like a hawk.

I guess that has always amazed me... one critter will try to auger you into oblivion for sport... the next wants to be a lap dog....

[BigSky56]

With angus Ive found if they have kruger or ambush lineage they are always on the prod and fight you and range bulls in general are usually a little owlly but will get mean when you corral them up guess they dont like being separated from the girls. danny

[madman4570]

Kinda like you danny????? ay

[kimwcook]

My Dad took my brother and I along to buy some bucketheads at a dairy near our place. When we got there Dad said to go out into the feeding corrals and pick up the calves. We hopped the fence and started for the calves. Next thing we knew we were running for the fence for all we were worth. We didn't know they had a bull in with the cows. That big sucker was meaner than a rabid wolverine. We barely made it out with all that manure sucking at our boots. We had a good laugh, once we were on the other side. Did I mention he was BIG.

[Lastmohecken]

No doubt dairy stock can be mean. I remember when I was a kid, we had some pretty rank bulls, but Angus bulls will often get mad, when you start working them.

Then I remember back in the late 70's, when I worked on a large cattle farm, the owners decided to switch everything over from a Herford/black baldy mix to a Bramah mix. We bought some purebred Bramah bulls, and even a few Bramah Cows, and started crossbreeding them with the Herfords and Angus cows, because back then it was the going thing to do.

And here is what I learned from that, debacle. The Bramahs we bought actually were pretty tame, for the most part. We had one big bull that was pretty tame out in the pasture, and would scare the heck out of me when feeding range cubes. I learned to spot where he was before stopping the truck, and I would get as far away from him as I could, but he would still often be the first one there, and would quite often be right in my face, shaking those horns, before I could get that first bag opened. Needless to say, I didn't mess around and got that first batch of cubes on the ground, pronto.

But we had another bull that could jump a 5 barb fence like a deer, and out run any horse we had. One day I saw him jump 5 fences in 30 minutes, and then jump the same five fences back again.

But those crossbreed calves were something else. They were wild as heck, and got crazy as could be, anytime you started trying to work them. I seen them many times just take off running in a cow lot, and run smack into the fence and crumple up, jump up and run to the other side and crumple up again.

And we had one cow lot that we fed out of, where we would put feed in troughs and the yearlings would come in and eat. The crossbreeds were smarter, and would always be the first in the gate, and they never forgot where the gate was either, where a full blood Herford was stupid and might stand at the fence, 20 ft down from the gate and bawl, wanting to eat, but didn't know how to get in the lot, and that was after we had been feeding them for weeks. But the crossbreeds also were wild as heck and if anything was unusual, if someone did anything out of the normal, they would also be the first to run out of the gate, and I do mean stanpede out the gate, over the slightest thing.

I am not exactly sure when they switched back, but I have noticed not long ago, that the farm that I used to work at, has quitely switched back to all black Angus, at this time.

As far as my own cattle, we are trying to get back to mostly black animals, as those seem to bring the most money, per pound for us.

[Travis Morgan]

With angus Ive found if they have kruger or ambush lineage they are always on the prod and fight you

What's in a name, huh?

The thing I hate with bramer crossbred yearling is the way they'll jump head high, bellyroll, then kick you in the head and shoulders, like a kung-fu movie. I've always wondered where I developed such a strong sense of self preservation; maybe running bramer crosses is what caused it !?!

[Lastmohecken]

With angus Ive found if they have kruger or ambush lineage they are always on the prod and fight you

What's in a name, huh?

The thing I hate with bramer crossbred yearling is the way they'll just head high, bellyroll, then kick you in the head and shoulders, like a kung-fu movie. I've always wondered where I developed such a strong sense of self preservation; maybe running bramer crosses is what caused it !?!

Yes sir, I remember those Bramer crossbreds exactly the same way. And they were darned quick when doing it too.

[Travis Morgan]

Yeah, that's how I learned not to press 'em in an alleyway; I'd run at a cute little ole lop eared calf, trying to get him to load, and, next thing ya know, a coupla ninjas would appear out of nowhere and kick me in the head 14 times, then disappear before I got a loose count on the knots on my head and where I was!




....maybe Herefords DO have an advantage over beefmasters!

[20cows]

I'm pushing my herd the other way with a Charolaise (sp?) bull. All my crazy ones are black (crossed from a black limosine).

[jorgy]

I worked at a stockyards for 10 years. There is usually one reason
why Holstein bulls were consigned. They usually get mean & can not
be trusted when they get over 2 years old. I had a holstein bull break my ankle once at out there. They will take a person right now
with no warning. Beef bulls & angus(I was born & raised on a ranch
in central N. Dak. with 200 head of Angus & black baldie cows) will
usually run from you unless there is another bull close by. I have
seen 2 bulls that don't each other paw & beller at each other all day.
Usually a good fence keeps them apart. I can really relate to this
thread with my background & I still work with work with the dairy industry as a DHIA tester. Thanks for the nice pics.

[Don McDowell]

I run mostly Angus cattle now, still have a few hereford and galloway hold outs. Doesn't matter much what the breed they can all have some renegades.
If something gets a little to unruly or highheaded they win an all expense paid one way trip to the sale barn.

20cows adding Char to those limmy cross is sorta like using kerosene in a fire extinquisher if you're trying to get the freakout episodes over.

[Travis Morgan]

Have any of you ever worked with belgian blues? I've only seen pics, but I'd be willing to bet they could snap a few ropes, kill a few horses, and totally ruin a guy's day, in short order!~They look like steroid freak body builders!

[GoatGuy]

What's all this emphisis here on brutish, nasty cow critters. Give up on monster bovines and give cuddly, tasty meat goats a try. Seventy-eight percent of the worlds population can't be wrong.
New Zealand stock raised on Ozark Mountain pasture land. Don't delay, call 555-GOAT today! "KIKO GOATS, THE OTHER RED MEAT" - Commercial over.

[rangerider7]

Cabrito vs Beef Hmmmmmmm......... BEEF!

[GoatGuy]

rr7 - That remark really reminds me of my dad. He was also an old time Texan born and bred. And, I suspect like many other Texans, he had never been south of San Marcos, east of Longview, west of Levelland or north of Ft Smith, AR., until I started moving all around the southwest and southeast US. He never knew what he'd been missin' until then and it by gum shore enough hadn't bothered him a bit!

All that later travel opened his eyes, and he thanked me shortly before he died for giving him an opportunity to see and try new things. Liked his beef he did, but was never skittish about trying new foods. He was 83 when he passed in January of 1994. Quite a guy, ... and I still miss him.

[Don McDowell]

Travis never been around the Blues, but can tell you its plumb easy to trip a Chianina from the ground, but from a saddle horse you got nuttin but trouble if you sling that loop and it grabs ahold of something.

[BigSky56]

When I was working on the res in Az I got to experience some goat cooked by vaqueros working there it was good. danny

[Griff]

Cows = problems.

Yesterday evening one of my neighbor's came by to tell me that one of my horses was on another neighbors property. The wife said that after one of the recent storms, she'd seen some cows in our pasture. "Miss Fits" doesn't like cows... believes they are to be separated and driven... so I figure she chased 'em out... and somehow got on the wrong side of the fence and followed it.

So, in the dark, I walked out across the pasture, spooked something in the deep grass (yet to mow), shined the light ahead of me... and saw one of the scariest sight a grown man can see! A black, fluffy raised tail behind a black body with a white stripe on either side of the backbone!

So, I get to the fence line, step thru, put Missy's halter and lead on... and start to lead her back... wandered around in the trees for about an hour... couldn't find where the cows get in there, let alone Missy. Yep, them East Texas thickets get THICK! So, took the 2 top strands (barbed) down, stepped down on them, and had Missy walk over! She stepped over with her fronts, then hopped over with her hinds... still spry @ 27+! Put 'er up in the barn for the nite, then this morning I took out a bridle and boarded her and searched for the break in the fence. Yep, a blow-down over the fence. So, a little chainsawin' and fencin', and things should be back to normal.

[rangerider7]

I didn't say I didn't like cabrito, I said I like beef better. By the way I have just about covered the U.S.A. and Mexico except for the New England states and that includes Hawaii. I have eaten goat since I was 12, but I Like beef better.

[BRUSHY COUNTRY RICK]

100 degrees in s texas......oak trees like forrest gump had are dying from drought.......Montana mts sure look good. Of course we haven't had but one hard frost in 5 years..........

[20cows]

20cows adding Char to those limmy cross is sorta like using kerosene in a fire extinquisher if you're trying to get the freakout episodes over.

I'm on my second white bull and they have been much more manageable than the black limosine and polled hereford. That hereford bull tried to get a piece of me more than once before I got him to town.