Unchained Preppers
General Category => Sustenance => Topic started by: JohnyMac on January 15, 2015, 08:07:03 PM
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Sunday morning of this week our neighbor’s Dexter cow Trixie had her calf. It is a bouncy bovine boy whose temporary name is Sully.
My neighbor found Sully in a pile of fresh hay at about 1000 hrs Sunday. As I have reported on in the past, the Dexter Breed (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dexter_cattle) are a hearty one and really do not need any shelter even in the coldest of times. However, due to the single digit temperatures he picked Sully up once Trixie had cleaned him up and brought him into the barn where the temperature was warmer.
Trixie followed my neighbor and her son into the barn which she had never been in before.
By mid-afternoon Sully had gained his feet and started butting mom’s utter with his head. I have just learned that this is normal and basically a signal to mom to start delivering her milk. After a few annoyed looks from Trixie towards Sully, she acquiesced and allowed him to nurse.
The next day, Trixie showed signs that she wanted out of her stall in the barn so our neighbors let her outside into a holding pen but Sully didn’t follow her. I guess he figured out the whole temperature thing and decided he liked the min 40’s in the barn. Trixie mooed and mooed trying to coax him out but he held firm in his love for the barn.
After a short time she walked back in and returned to her stall and Sully.
It has been reported to me that Sully likes trying to play with the sheep who also are occupying the barn during the cold nights. Although curious, they have absolutely no interest in him. The goats absolutely refuse to go into the barn and spend the cold nights buried in straw in an outside shelter.
Our neighbor built a milking stage for Trixie. It is a bit elevated because of the shorter stature that Dexter’s have. In the past he milks his cow twice a day. Later this week he is going to try to milk her once a day and let Sully have the second milking. This should be fun to watch as Trixie was never milked by her previous owner.
Our neighbor’s wife sdoon1, will start shopping around to hopefully trade Sully for a similarly aged female Dexter cow. The plan is for raising Dexter’s for the milk not the meat although they are known as a dual purpose cow.
Attached is a picture.
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I do drink milk, about a gallon a week on my own, but a good beef steak is . . .. Well you know. But if you do not, I cannot explain it. Like owning guns or riding motorcycles.
Nemo
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So JM,
You going to be supplementing your firewood with cow chips?
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:lmfao: DMC!
Nawwww, we gotz plenty of wood from the thousands of acres around us. With that thought I have to start dropping some tree's for next winter. It;s good to do in the spring as there is less sap and hence less drying involved by next fall/winter.
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What a face!
For those of you who don't know, there is nothing in this world as sweet as a calf. They are like living, breathing, shitting sunshine.
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Right on TG! :thumbsUp:
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Just a quick follow-up:
Our neighbor is milking Trixie in the morning. He was only getting about a Qt. of milk. So after a quick google Sdoon1 found out that cows can hold back milk and was likely doing so to save all of her milk for Sully which he does not need all.
The google article suggested splitting up mom and calf over night to stop this behavior from mom. Volia` it worked.
So let it be known that if your cow will not give up her milk, separate mom and calf and this behavior will stop ;)
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So cute! :)
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So cute! :)
A face that only a mother could love..... :drool:
And anyone at Ruth's Chris, J. Alexander's, Fleming's or Jimmy Kelly's. For you guys up near Jmac, that'd be Peter Luger, Bogie's Place or Barclay Prime... :cowboy:
but a good beef steak is . . .. Well you know
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but a good beef steak is . . .. Well you know
And if you do not know, I cannot explain it. If you do, I have no need to.
Nemo
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Well if they can't trade Sully, they will castrate him and raise for the freezer in two years.
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Wait till he is 3-4 months old and go with the rubber band method. Thats what we did with the 3 steers we have. Sirloin is in the freezer and tastes pretty good.
Rib Eye and Post Roast are still feasting in the field.
Be sure to name him like that so it doesn't get to dayum, I got fuzzy freddie on my plate, I cannot eat him. Wahhh Wahh! I miss Freddie so much. He was such a friend.
Nemo
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My neighbor once had a steer named Chuck.
You got it:
How was that chuck this evening?
How do you like ground Chuck?
And my favorite...
What do you want for dinner? CHUCK!