|
|
Post by Julie on Feb 9, 2014 21:58:42 GMT -5
Awww! So tiny! Congrats!
|
|
dexterlady
member
Wife, mother of two daughters and five grand children
Posts: 647
|
Post by dexterlady on Feb 10, 2014 0:28:02 GMT -5
Congrats Gene...Cute little girl...And the birds even like her!....
|
|
|
|
Post by lakeportfarms on Feb 10, 2014 8:40:59 GMT -5
Congratulations on a nice little heifer, nice of her to be born on your mother's birthday to give you the opportunity to give her your mother's name.
|
|
|
|
Post by Fran on Feb 10, 2014 9:06:34 GMT -5
Congratulations!
|
|
zephyrhillsusan
member
Caught Dexteritis in Dec. 2009. Member of this forum since Oct. 2013.
Posts: 1,502 
|
Post by zephyrhillsusan on Feb 10, 2014 9:34:40 GMT -5
She's lovely! Good things come in small packages, right? Good idea to show the birds next to her because otherwise it's hard to see how tiny she really is. I sometimes use our Pyr, but then she's bigger than all of them. Maybe I'll develop my own dog scale and take photos next to the closest-sized dog: Pyr, Akita mix or Sheltie.  |
|
|
|
Post by ssimons on Feb 10, 2014 21:07:01 GMT -5
Wow Gene. If I have any calves that small I'm going to have to re-fence the whole property. This place was put together with full size rough stock in mind, and I've already had to plug a few holes. I hope the calves come in a bit bigger "package" than 25lbs.
|
|
|
|
Post by ssimons on Feb 11, 2014 0:25:24 GMT -5
Don't get me wrong, I love the little calf size, one reason I got into Dexters. I just hadn't thought that far ahead, or in terms that small. Then I saw the pic of that darling little heifer, next to the other animals for perspective, and then it hit me. Heifers , or bull calves , that size cold run at full speed in almost any direction and probably not even have to slow down to get through the fences and into the street and neighborhood around the place i'm using. Most of the fence is five rail panels fastened to railroad tie posts. Fortunately I have over a year until the first calf hits the ground. Looks like I have some work to do , and some money to spend........honey, (not you Gene) can I use your check book?
|
|
|
|
Post by ssrdex on Feb 11, 2014 2:43:47 GMT -5
Lovely calf Gene, congratulations on another heifer!
|
|
|
|
Post by lakeportfarms on Feb 11, 2014 6:33:11 GMT -5
Don't get me wrong, I love the little calf size, one reason I got into Dexters. I just hadn't thought that far ahead, or in terms that small. Then I saw the pic of that darling little heifer, next to the other animals for perspective, and then it hit me. Heifers , or bull calves , that size cold run at full speed in almost any direction and probably not even have to slow down to get through the fences and into the street and neighborhood around the place i'm using. Most of the fence is five rail panels fastened to railroad tie posts. Fortunately I have over a year until the first calf hits the ground. Looks like I have some work to do , and some money to spend........honey, (not you Gene) can I use your check book? Gene is right, be careful what you ask for! We have consistent 23-35 lb. calves around here out of our main bull and they seem to hit the ground on their feet they're up so fast and nursing. But your 5 rail fencing sounds more than adequate so your spouse can rest easy  Though for the first few days if you have them in a small area I'd suggest something like a field fence, after that we turn them into the pasture with 5 wire hi-tensile and they steer clear of it. It does have to be hot down low though. We have 7 wire hi-tensile that we're experimenting with in the calving area now and it seems to work just fine. |
|
|
|
Post by wvdexters on Feb 11, 2014 10:51:13 GMT -5
Pretty little Lady Gene. Congratulations!!! And Ssimons, Yes we came to the same conclusions after I had to chase down Little Esther Lynn a couple times last Spring (with Caitlyn hollering the whole time I should add) We have the pastures set up now so the smaller ones around the house are field fencing for calving. The larger ones in the back are wire (cheaper)and will be rotated in when they are older. As for the checkbook. Oh I have been there so many times. LOL |
|
|
|
Post by Dahdo on Feb 11, 2014 11:11:08 GMT -5
Nice calf and a wonderful tribute to your mother Gene. I have two calves due on my mom's birthday this year, so odds are good there will be a "Joan" on the farm come May.
As for fencing and calves, I would never rely only 5-rail panels to contain babies. Even though our calves have been 40-45 lbs, for the first couple of weeks they can easily slip though the rails on our panels. If I have to use panels, and I sometimes do to confine a reluctant momma with calf, I "line" the 5-rail panels with 36" hog panels. The worst thing that can happen here is that baby gets out where she cannot be protected by the herd. The other piece of advice I would give is, train the calf to a hot wire while she is still in a confined area. We have a small paddock enclosed with filed fence where I keep mommas and calves for a week or two before they go out to pasture. I put out a 10 ft length of hot wire about 18 inches off the ground in the middle the area so the calves can get acclimated to the polywire that we use for rotational grazing.
|
|
zephyrhillsusan
member
Caught Dexteritis in Dec. 2009. Member of this forum since Oct. 2013.
Posts: 1,502
|
Post by zephyrhillsusan on Feb 18, 2014 10:53:27 GMT -5
Cute video of her playing with her food, though I didn't actually see any eating going on. |
|
