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Post by Star Creek Dexters on Jun 11, 2010 19:44:49 GMT -5
Hi All! Thought I would share some pictures of our little herd now that they are healed up from the dehorn. We also added two more cows to our little dairy herd. We are very proud!  Lana and Kooper-I have been milking Lana for the last 2 months and she consistently gives 3 gallons a day! And is such a sweetheart to boot!  The is Matnat Madaline. She is a 12 month old dun heifer. Super sweet and trained. We were very excited to ad her to our cow family.  Glory and Leah, our wonderful babies. They are the best of friends and have a bright future as milking girls!  Family portrait |
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Post by dexterfan on Jun 12, 2010 14:06:45 GMT -5
What a beautiful herd! I really love your young red heifer. Wouldn't wanna sell her, huh? Haha! I have the bug! We have a double polled bull from Barb's place. His first calf should hit the ground any time! We are so hoping our bull is homozygous polled as we had 2 calves last year that a vet messed up their de-horning. Now it'll be more traumatic to have em fixed. I don't want the heifer to lose her calf. She's sort of the nervous type. We took her to shows as a young heifer and she didn't like show surroundings - quit drinking and shook with the loud music there.  County ext. Agent recommended not taking her to State Fair as she might stress and lose calf. (pooh.) Will you be showing any of your stock? |
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Post by Star Creek Dexters on Jun 12, 2010 22:39:19 GMT -5
We would love to show later. Right now we are just focusing on getting our herd established and trained. We are specializing in the dairy side of Dexters, small homestead milk cows. So, that is our main priority. Plus, we have little children, which makes showing hard right now. But in a few years....=D Depending on where you arei n TX, I have a SUPER vet that does wonderful dehornings. He has done 4 for us so far, one of them our bull, and all have been perfect. They are cosmetic so it doesn't show like the hole when they just cut off the horns. We love it and it has been great for the cows. The first day they were a little lethargic from the sedation, but after that they were perfectly themselves, no ill side effects at all. Our little red heifer is Glory, she was the first calf born on our place and she's a keeper! We are very excited to raise her and train her as one of our foundation milk cows. Sorry, she's not for sale  Congrats on your bull! Our Leah is out of one of Barb's wonderful bulls, and we just LOVE her! Keeping my fingers crossed for you! |
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Post by legendrockranch on Jun 14, 2010 19:19:35 GMT -5
Kimberly,
Your vet did a great job, I'm taking 2 girls over to him after they calve. Nice looking animals.
Barb
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Post by legendrockranch on Jun 14, 2010 19:24:21 GMT -5
Kimberly, on a side note, what are those yellow flowers in you pasture? I take it the cattle don't eat them. This has been a horrible year for weeds, especially thistles.
Barb
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Post by Star Creek Dexters on Jun 15, 2010 7:53:25 GMT -5
Yes!!! We call it bitter weed, I'm not sure what the technical name is. It is a PAIN!!! We would brush hog it all out, but unfortunately with the surplus of rain we had this spring, we have had an abundance of cactus shoots come up. We have steadily been digging them out again, but we don't want to brush hog and spread cactus all over the place. Oh, the woes of TX! If it doesn't bite you, sting you, poke you or burn you, it's probly not from Texas |
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Post by legendrockranch on Jun 15, 2010 15:06:52 GMT -5
Cactus are a never ending job. We bought Tordon this year to spray on cactus. It's is supposedly the only thing that will kill prickly pear. You need an applicators license to buy and use it. If we ever use it, I'll let you know how it works. Oh, the woes of TX! If it doesn't bite you, sting you, poke you or burn you, it's probly not from Texas That's one I've got to remember, I love it. Barb |
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Post by Star Creek Dexters on Jun 15, 2010 18:04:51 GMT -5
Yes, please let me know how it works! Do you have to quarantine the fields? How did you get the license...details, details =D We have tried everything, and it is so much work keeping it dug out. We try to do most everything organic, but with this stuff, we are getting desperate!
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Post by legendrockranch on Jun 15, 2010 19:37:01 GMT -5
Kimberly, Anything that will kill cactus isn't going to be organic as far as I know. Here's a link to info about Tordon 22k. We plan on spot treating with a blue dye to identify sprayed areas. www.dowagro.com/range/products/torden22K.htm I know plenty of folks that have used it with great success. It is a slow process. In order to get a Texas Depart of Agriculture pesticide applicator license, contact you local extension office. Several time a year they hold classes for it. Than you have to pass a test. If all goes well you pay I think $50.00 and receive a permit that lasts 5 years. Barb |
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Post by Star Creek Dexters on Jun 15, 2010 22:09:21 GMT -5
Thanks Gene! Very good info! We have always just mowed our feilds in the past when it came up, this is the first year that the cactus got ahead of us and the bitter weed jumped in on the race.
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