Well not so. This year has been a little slower than those in the past for bottle feeding calves, but there was still a good number of calves raised on the bottle.
Just last month ten Holstein steer calves was weaned from the bottle and right now there is one Angus heifer calf on bottle. Four Holstein steers have just arrived from the dairy farm.
These four came from the same dairy the other ten did. This has been a new dairy farm that we started to get our calves from. The previous dairy we used went out of business. It didn't surprise me. The price of milk has not been good for the dairy farmers last year. The owners operating the old dairy really made their living by selling real estate.
The good news is this new dairy is a little bigger and can supply a few more calves. We should have no problem with raising full groups of Holstein calves this upcoming year.
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| Just weaned Holstein Steers |
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| Trudy getting some bottle |
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| Trudy still after the bottle |
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| The four new guys |
Glad to hear you are still hanging in there. I have appreciated all the information I have received from you. AH
ReplyDeleteHi Jim,
ReplyDeleteI always love hearing from you and seeing the photo of the new calves. Bet Trudy is a hand full. Brings back the days when my dad an I hand fed some calves. Love the four new guys. Hoping you have a very prosperous and healthy 2013. God bless you my dear friend. Truly, Jeannie Walker
Used to love to run a hand along their front shoulder. Then get a nudge if they thought you had a bottle. Did the same with lambs.
ReplyDeletesounds like your farmers are going through the same things our farmers are. Many have just walked off the land. The calves are so cute.
ReplyDeleteThank you for all your assistance these last 2 years. My holstein/jersey calf grew up with such a personality, and so very healthy since I followed your columns' advice. She was bred by Dad's jersey bull last March, and I now have an adorable heifer with the same small chocolate curly body and long dark lashes as her father. She was born December 30. Now my lessons are how to keep her nursing as I milk her, and how to not compare her tiny size to her mother's bottle-fed healthy size. We don't have any snow here in metro Denver, but the chill has been challenging for her. Thank you for all your wisdom -- it has gotten me to my current bliss.
ReplyDelete