Just broke our bull streak!

[firesweepranch]

Just gotta say, I am excited this morning! We had nothing but bulls in the fall, and so far this spring all bulls (very sad because two of our embryo calves were bulls when the girls wanted heifers). This morning, our Shoal Creek heifer, SC Natalie, broke that streak and gave us a very heavy boned, heavy muscled heifer calf! She looks clubby, so I am a bit surprised (for a heifer). I have not weighed her yet (just found her 20 minutes ago), but I would say in the mid 80's. Natalie is sired by Dominator (shoal creek red bull - sire to the good red steer we showed last year and won a bunch on), and the sire of the heifer is Ellington Dominator (sired by Olie - http://abs-bs.absglobal.com/beef/simmental.asp?CodTouro=29SM0422, no relation to the sire of the dam). I am just tickled pink at getting a heifer  ;D The cool thing is she was due next week, so we had her up in the calving pasture, but she had a very little udder and not much softening in the rear so I figured we had at least a week to go. I went out this morning to heat check and herd check, and walked upon the placenta and panicked! The heifer was at the hay ring, and I could not find the calf, so I then got real worried. I finally found her hiding in the hay in the round bale hay ring!!! Warm and cozy. How she got there I am not quiet sure, since it is half full so she had to climb, but she figured it out to stay warm!!!

Here she is. I brought her into the barn on straw to make sure she is nursing... Now to think of a name.... it should have something to do with dominator in it because both sires are named that!

 

[AAOK]

Congratulations! 

We had to girls who both Showed Heifers. The most cows we ever had was 12, which really made calving time tense to get at least 2 Show quality heifers. I feel your pain.

 

[ploughshare]

(clapping)  congratulation!

 

[easttex]

Congrats! I'm wanting bull calves for steers and have only had 1.
(lol)

 

[pweaver]

We just can't be satisfied with a healthy calf, can we! LOL  We started with a bull and have alternated with six on the ground - bull, herifer, bull, heifer, etc.  I hope the next oner breaks that chain.  We've got our good Kadabra bred to Monopoly due today and I hope it's another high dollar hyeifer like 2 years ago.  There - I guess I'm not satisfied either.

 

[firesweepranch]

We just can't be satisfied with a healthy calf, can we! LOL  We started with a bull and have alternated with six on the ground - bull, herifer, bull, heifer, etc.  I hope the next oner breaks that chain.  We've got our good Kadabra bred to Monopoly due today and I hope it's another high dollar hyeifer like 2 years ago.  There - I guess I'm not satisfied either.

This business started because the kids wanted to show heifers. So, naturally, we bred those show heifers and have built our herd from there. Our main goal is to produce nice breeding stock cattle, with heifers being icing on the cake. We have about 10 fall calving cows and 10 spring calving cows, so getting a few show heifers out of that is not hard.  The kids are building a nice savings account for college in the process. So, with this being our first time getting all bulls in the fall and started spring with three bulls, my oldest daughter has gotten pretty upset at each calving (the sale of the bulls and steers money goes back to the ranch to pay feed, semen, embryos, and supplies). She knows she is not making money, and has teased several times that she wants to renegotiate her contract  she goes to college in one more year...

 

[leanbeef]

We just can't be satisfied with a healthy calf, can we! LOL  We started with a bull and have alternated with six on the ground - bull, herifer, bull, heifer, etc.  I hope the next oner breaks that chain.  We've got our good Kadabra bred to Monopoly due today and I hope it's another high dollar hyeifer like 2 years ago.  There - I guess I'm not satisfied either.

This business started because the kids wanted to show heifers. So, naturally, we bred those show heifers and have built our herd from there. Our main goal is to produce nice breeding stock cattle, with heifers being icing on the cake. We have about 10 fall calving cows and 10 spring calving cows, so getting a few show heifers out of that is not hard.  The kids are building a nice savings account for college in the process. So, with this being our first time getting all bulls in the fall and started spring with three bulls, my oldest daughter has gotten pretty upset at each calving (the sale of the bulls and steers money goes back to the ranch to pay feed, semen, embryos, and supplies). She knows she is not making money, and has teased several times that she wants to renegotiate her contract  she goes to college in one more year...

I think it would be AWESOME to sit down with her and "renegotiate her contract" due to the circumstances. It's her last year, the circumstances are kind of extraordinary, and it would be a great experience for her to practice negotiation skills she'll need when she leaves home. It's fun to shop for a new show heifer, especially when you can justify the purchase based on the fact that you don't already have one at home in the lot! She would learn a lot in that process as well that she may have been too young to really understand the last time you bought her a heifer. I see this as a great teachable moment.