Yesterday I went just up the canyon and bought off a guy four Holstien beef steers that he had listed on the local online classifieds. They turned out to be on average three weeks old, so they should wean around the first day of autumn. We have fed them once now, and I think it is fair to say which one I think is going to die before we get to raise it. He is a brown and white cow, and he has as much interest in his feed as a Jersey. He fell over a couple of times while trying to eat, too. It could be that he was not interested in the change of feed, as the dairyman I bought them from said he has been feeding the cows milk every day from his herd. I have milk replacer, and I don’t think it would be near as good, from what I can tell of it.
The next real trick is going to be getting enough hay to last them the winter. Along with the llamas and goats, there is going to be a real need for it around here. Lucky enough, the llamas and goats are all grown up and won’t require more than they eat now. But the cows will grow and will want more in the early spring than they do at Thanksgiving. On the other hand, come late spring they will be able to go on the back pasture, and hopefully finish out on that, which will be good for both the cows and the pasture.
On another note, my hand is itching where it was stung by a wasp the other day. The swelling was not near as bad as it could have been, based on previous stings. I sure don’t blame the wasp for it, as it had me dead to rights when I went to move that log and put my hand right on it. I think I’d have done the same.
I need to pick up some animal feed today and work out how I am going ot get the hay I need over winter. It’s going to be an expensive year with the extra mouths to feed, and the high cost of hay. I think though that those costs will be passed on to consumers come next year, when they are being absorbed into meat prices. So, I don’t think it is a bad move to have these little guys starting to get ready for the freezer this year. I expect some of their cost to get picked up by others in the family that have expressed an interest in having meat, too. Maybe they will help with the cost or the work in bringing home hay?