Welcome to our lil' world, Bubba!!!

[w_r_ranch]

It is so amazing to watch a calf being born… and I never tire of witnessing one. I have seen so many calves born, but I will stop & watch every time I am lucky enough to witness it happening. This time only 50-60' from our back porch... so convenient for pictures!!!

He is now up & sucking, so all is good!!!

 

[finkikin]

Very cool! The cycle of life is pretty amazing. Thanks for sharing. It will be fun watching that lil one running around the Ranch. Have you named it yet?

 

[w_r_ranch]

Heck yeah. That there is 'Bubba'... I call all the bull calves 'Bubba', LOL!!!

I call all the heifers ' Sugar'... always believe in keeping it simple.

 

[finkikin]

Heck yeah. That there is 'Bubba'... I call all the bull calves 'Bubba', LOL!!!

I call all the heifers ' Sugar'... always believe in keeping it simple.

One with a lot of heifers should always keep it simple.

 

[w_r_ranch]

Wish a had more heifers... 95% are bulls. Makes it hard to replace aging cows when you get so few heifers...

 

[w_r_ranch]

Wahoo!!! Another one on the ground!!! Mrs Ranch just notice it with it's mama in the middle pasture!!!

 

[ErnieCopp]

Sam,
You sure pick nice weather to calve in. My neighbor Nick, up North, would calve in February, and he spent many a cold night out in the barn with problems. He finally bought a Longhorn bull to use on his heifers to give smaller calves, but never heard how that worked out for him.

Ernie

 

[w_r_ranch]

Not so nice here Ernie, 106 degrees here & sometimes hotter. Locally they refer to this as "Hotter Than Hell Week"...

I know what you're saying about calving in February up north though... on the plus side, there is abundant grass available by the time those calves are weened.

 

[ErnieCopp]

Sam,
Well, 106 degrees is not good weather for anything, for sure. We lambed in February, but my breed of sheep had been developed for easy lambing, along with other productive traits, so all we needed to do was make sure they were up and nursing. Not anything compared to pulling a big calf.
We have had a cool summer so far, but last year it got up to 109, killed a lot of plants that were not used to that. A few days in the Spring hit 90, but not much over 80 since then.

Ernie

 

[the1honeycomb]

Thanks for sharing those photos!!! beautiful!!! now some of him playing with the others! I am blessed to live in an area that is never (knock on wood) Hotter than hell or colder than a witches &^& I had planned to have a few cows but my city boy dh is adiment against it1!
Again thanks for sharing

 

[finkikin]

Hey Sam, Have a question. As I was driving my daughter home from school yesterday she asked me a question about a cow in a pasture we pass everyday. She asked, "Daddy, why does that cow with udders have horns?" "I thought only the bulls have them?" And I said good question, I don't honestly know, but I will find out. So, why is that Sam? I hope I don't sound ignorant on this but I truly don't know.

 

[w_r_ranch]

Some cows have horns & some bulls don't... it's all in the genetics of the individual animals and sometimes it is a genetic trait of an entire breed...

There are breeds of cattle that do not have horns on either sex, we refer to these as being 'polled'. The most common breed of 'polled' cattle is the Angus. On the other hand, many cattle breeds have horns on both sexes, including our well known Texas Longhorns for instance. In a herd, the horns are used to dominate/intimidate each other, as well as people like myself that have to work them. That being the case, most ranchers de-horn their cattle when they are young.

On a personal note, we specialize in the 'Limousin' breed & have bred them over the years for certain genetic traits, one of which is being 'Homozygous polled'. The follow site will assist you in explaining the genetics to her:

http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/an_sci/extension/animal/news/aug96/aug96-3.html

 

[ErnieCopp]

Generally speaking, when the male animal has Horns, it seems to be possible for the female to also have smaller versions of them, although some do not and some have been removed.

But when the male aninal has Antlers, I cannot think of any females that have them.

Ernie

 

[ErnieCopp]

Thinking more about Antlers last night, i think Caribou and Reindeer females have antlers, but smaller than the males.
Ernie

 

[finkikin]

Thank you! That is very clear.

And Ernie, there is only one female species on earth that can grow horns real fast...female Homo Sapiens

 

[ErnieCopp]

Fin,
That is for sure,

Ernie