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I did it~ I bought a cow! Pics

Cheryl Marchek AKA JM

Cheryl Marchek AKA JM

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well.....I bought 4 calves actually! And boy I thought I was busy before I took on 4 bottle babies! But aint they cute! All winter I told everyone I sold a snake to that I was gonna buy a cow when I had enough money~ so here are the cows I bought!

The two wearing halters are "Dairy cross" heifers......I think the man said "Jersey cross" but I'm not sure I'm recalling that correctly and I know he never told me what the cross was with. The two without halters are a "dairy cross" and a holstien bull calves that we banded two weeks ago today. The boys will be BEEF some day (named the brown one Burger King and the Holstein Sofa King.......cuz isn't that pelt gonna look great on the back of my sofa next year!!)

spring09_13.jpg

Thats an adult royal palm turkey hen standing there with them

spring09_19.jpg


spring09_9.jpg


This next pic is from last week~ you can see her ribs more in this pic......and a size reference.....those two dogs in the pic are an Anatolian shepherd and a great pyr~ both dogs are are around 100lbs each.
spring09_15.jpg


so~ what do you think? I KNOW I overpaid for them.......but I'm actually pretty pleased with myself that not only are they all still alive but they are doing some running and playing in the pen now too!
 
for one.. that's a big a** bird.. lol.. when it is the same size as a young cow.. I just.. wow..

for two.. congrats, they are cute, and good save!


and random question..
your pyr a pup?
 
Tater (the pyr) is just over a year old~ so a teenager really. He looks smaller because we shaved him down this spring. He is a working dog~ a LGD (Livestock Guardian Dog) who lives with the goats 24/7. The goats live in the woods......so his coat was pretty knarly and nasty after the winter. We shaved him down so he could grow a fresh coat for the summer and hopefully cut down the number of hot spots he'll get this summer. Cricket (the Anatolian) is also and LGD and works with Tater~ she is a bit less than a year old......and she is already a bit bigger than Tater! And her coat is better suited to the job they do for me. We really love Tater and he does a great job~ but I'm not sure we'll be getting more Pyrs for the work in the woods~ the Anatolian is more work to train but her coat is better suited to keep her comfortable.
 
And I was just checking out your site today and saw those pics. I fell in love with ALL your critters...makes me miss West Virginia more & more--except for the snow!
I have been thinking about getting one of the miniature cows (brahma), but alas, I have to wait for the $500+ price to come down. And figure out a way to get my big goofy dog not to hurt it.
GREAT PICS!
 
It's been a year~ they are growing great!
Here is Bessie (black heifer) and Sofa (holstein steer~ planning to beef him next summer)
April10%20019.jpg


Here are Boss (black heifer in front) and Burger (Black steer further back~ we plan to beef him this fall) and a little steer I got last October named Meatloaf~ he's not growing well ~ appears to be a dwarf....there may only be one meatloaf on him!
April10%20021.jpg


And because I just have NO self control and they were SO CUTE....
The new girls~
Freckles and Apples (names are not set in stone yet)
calves%20006.jpg

calves%20002.jpg
 
Yes. I loved those Turkeys but I had to sell them. I don't know what else you keep~ but be sure to read up on the worm that causes "Black head". If it's on your property you'll never be able to successfully breed those turkeys. Apparently mine had built up enough immunity to survive and breed~ but the poults never made it past the first month unless I brooded them in the house. I sold them to a friend of mine who treated them and is trying to breed this year~ hopefully her property does not already have the worm as well.

Good luck~ they are fantastic birds!
rooster%20031.jpg


The chickens, guineas and geese do fine here~ it was just the turkeys that had to be babied along till it became too expensive to keep them. Home necropsy of the livers clearly showed the yellow stains on the liver caused by Blackhead so I finally gave up on them.

Hope yours do better!
 
A friend of mine called me a short while ago and she was giddy as all hell (which wasn't her normal morning demeanor) because the cow she had purchased turned out to be gravid and she was now the proud momma of a baby calf. She was happy she hadn't had it butchered (the momma) as she had planned to.

Nice looking critters you have there Cheryl. :thumbsup:
 
Cheryl Marchek AKA JM said:
Yes. I loved those Turkeys but I had to sell them. I don't know what else you keep~ but be sure to read up on the worm that causes "Black head". If it's on your property you'll never be able to successfully breed those turkeys. Apparently mine had built up enough immunity to survive and breed~ but the poults never made it past the first month unless I brooded them in the house. I sold them to a friend of mine who treated them and is trying to breed this year~ hopefully her property does not already have the worm as well.

Good luck~ they are fantastic birds!
rooster%20031.jpg


The chickens, guineas and geese do fine here~ it was just the turkeys that had to be babied along till it became too expensive to keep them. Home necropsy of the livers clearly showed the yellow stains on the liver caused by Blackhead so I finally gave up on them.

Hope yours do better!
Click to expand...

Yes, I have read about black head and I do have chickens in close to them. So that is a worry. I have some Bourbon Reds, Royal Palms, Blue slate and some Standard Bronze.

I have read that people keep their chickens and turkeys together for decades and haven't had a problem and from others that had all their turkeys wiped out. I'm concerned considering all the poults were housed with baby chicks and chicks were sent with these to help them feed.
 
Ooo, gorgeous birds, and the burgers ain't bad 'neither. I can't wait to move to someplace more open so I can have turkeys. I want some blue slates and lavenders.
 
the cows look great, they grow so fast! (and those are some neat lookin' turkeys), meatloaf! lol too cute!

Back when my grandparents had property (in misery, ahem, missouri) I'd always be out back with the 2 cows. He wouldn't let me name them so just called them both 'dinner'.
 
Dennis Hultman said:
Yes, I have read about black head and I do have chickens in close to them. So that is a worry. I have some Bourbon Reds, Royal Palms, Blue slate and some Standard Bronze.

I have read that people keep their chickens and turkeys together for decades and haven't had a problem and from others that had all their turkeys wiped out. I'm concerned considering all the poults were housed with baby chicks and chicks were sent with these to help them feed.
Click to expand...

I also had the royal palms, the blue slates, and the bourbon reds. Great birds~ great personality. FUNNY! We named a pair of hens "The Troglodytes" because if there was trouble on the property THEY were involved!

Mine did great even in with the chickens.....in the house. It was after I moved them outside that I had a few losses~ not many. Apparently my property had the worms on it already~ so the birds came in clean, brooded in the house and were exposed slowly from contact with us, our water, greens I brought in as snacks. Then when I put them outside I lost a few but not too many until the second year when I tried to hatch. Between the hens and my incubators we hatched OVER 100 turkey poults last year....ONE survived past a month....but died before 3 months old. Home gross necropsy:
(I'm just putting the links in for those who might want to see the innards of a sick turkey)
http://thereddragonsden.com/images/Homestead/09 Feb/blackhead-1.jpg

http://thereddragonsden.com/images/Homestead/09 Feb/blackhead-2.jpg

Thanks for all the compliments on my calves and my birds. I'm very proud of those calves and actually very proud of those turkeys.....you have no idea how hard it is to raise big beautiful birds on property that was trying to kill them from the start!
 
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