Straw for bedding

[grassfarmer]

Quite agree nicolaas, it's about picking what suits the conditions and climate. If you wish to calve bare skinned cows in February on the prairies you are going to need bedding. Yet if we mention cattle with a good haircoat we are the focus of derision. Strange.

[FRENCHMAN]

I think It would also depend on the condition of the cows as well.

[cowman]

Well I've always preferred cattle with a good hair coat. Also cattle with a thick loose hide. The hereford breed has about the thickest hide of any around...ask any butcher?
Most legs don't have a lot of hair or fat on them? They come in contact with frozen ground? How comfortable is that?
Now I might be prejudiced because basically my straw is free and besides I rely on the cows to eat a lot of straw so like to give them lots to root around in. Don't have the straw in any one place but put it out all over the field. It can be a bit of a pain in the spring at times but a pass or two with the harrows spreads it fairly decent.
Lots of straw on the ground mixed with the manure eventually will bring you some different grasses and break up the darned june grass that dominates.
If you don't spread the straw around but just leave it where you bedded them in a couple of years it will be broken down with tall lush grass starting to grow. Dig down in there and you will find all kinds of earthworms! That is telling you something is happening that is right! You are building top notch soil!

[grassfarmer]

Cowman, "Well I've always preferred cattle with a good hair coat.....
most legs don't have a lot of hair or fat on them?" - do your cows shave their legs ;o)
Mine have hair on their legs - right down to the hooves. It's shorter, thicker hair than on their sides but hair and insulation none the less.

[grassfarmer]

How many of the guys that insist cows need bedding calve in the winter? Calves born in the winter are getting a far tougher deal than cows bedded in snow calving in May onwards. A 1300lb cow can stand a lot more than a 70lb new, wet calf.

[grassfarmer]

my cows calve in late February/March but I calve them in shelter pens so they are always full of clean bedding. The cow herd has straw or greenfeed as bedding just in case somebody decides to calve outside, and of course they have bedding other times as well.
This year I haven't used nearly as much because they were out grazing and lying in the field most of the time instead of bedding down near their feeders.

The time producers choose to calve their cows is a management tool, much like the breed of cattle they raise.
I hate calving in April due to mud. I have found that its a lot easier to drag a calf in if necessary on the snow than hauling one through the mud.

We have had 4" of nice fluffy snow here overnight, so the bedding that I put out yesterday is nowwhere to be seen !

[PureCountry]

With us calving in June/July, the calves were on the cows swath-grazing from the 3rd of Nov to the 1st of Feb, then bale-grazing until they got on the truck today at 3pm. They bedded down in brome and native grass in the bush and did just fine all winter. Damn fine. Heaviest set of calves we've ever weaned. No frozen teats on cows either. Mother Nature is alot easier to work with than against.

But, common sense ain't for everyone.lol

I know, I know, summer calving can't work for everyone with seeding or whatever. But I work off the farm and lead a fairly busy schedule and it works real good for us. Cows will amaze you with what they can do, if you give them the chance to show it.

But go ahead, keep 'em locked up and calve 'em in pens in cold weather. Treat their feet, treat their calves, pull their calves, rush 'em to the vet at all hours of the night for a zipper installation. Drench the weak ones and hold up the big dumb ones with no instinct to suck.

Go see your 'friend' at the equip dealer and have him 'help' you into a tractor and shiny bale processor. While you're in town, pick up that new silage cutter, and don't forget the 2nd tractor for it.

Well, I think I'll quit now before I step on everyone's toes. He, he. Have a good night all.

[grassfarmer]

I have a debate with my neighbour once in a while - he calves in February. When I ask if they would consider calving later he insists they couldn't - the corrals are too muddy in April. Fair enough I ask but is there a need to calf in corrals? Is there a need to calf in April?

Of course we all know the old story "I must calf in January because I've got purebreds and you must calf then if you are to sell bulls". Why? as an example Soderglen are calving in July now and they seem to be able to sell bulls. People are so set in their ways - it amazes me coming to one of the coldest countries in the world and finding people calving in the coldest months of the year. As Purecountry says it's good for the input suppliers - heat lamps, calf sledges, calf shelters, calf ear muffs. Good for the input suppliers - poor for the producers.

[redcountry]

we use lots of straw all spread with a idot stick, our yearly supply is about 1200 bales.

All animals are housed under roofs
2 cow/calf barns 85x120
1 calf barn 45x80
1 feeder barn 55x110
1 multi use shed

we start calving march 15 to end of may and again sept to end of oct

the fall calves never need attention of any kind but in the spring it seems like we are always running.
we are moving more cows to fall calving every year.

[cowman]

Well we went to April calving two years ago and it is a lot less work than January I will admit.
The trend is later calving...just like the trend was early calving about the mid seventies? The trend is away from the bigger exotic cows(high management cows) to smaller cows(low mangement)...and that makes sense with the poorer returns? If the market ever returns to the days when you got paid for that big exotic calf...the trend might go the other way?
Don't forget, no matter how you cut it, you are getting a lot less net profit per cow than you were 15 years ago? I think Cam Ostercamp laid that scenario out in his paper...and he was right on the money! The actual net return on a cow has become so poor it doesn't really pay to put a lot of effort into raising big calves. Sort of like raising tropical fish or something...no money in it but a lot of fun!

[Willowcreek]

Cowman- You mention how the trend was to earlier calving in the 70's--there was also a trend then for many of the young people to come back to the farms and ranchs- something that isn't happening now....Many of those are now in their 50's- 60's...With the average age of the rancher/farmer increasing yearly, I think many have had to look for easier ways to do the same things...

[cowman]

Well that is definitely true Willowcreek! Somewhere along the line you start to just run out of gas? When I think back to a lot of the stuff we used to do....well I just don't know how my Dad and uncles did it as they got older!
Things have changed a lot since the 70s up here. At that time Canada was a net importer of beef and there was a lot less cows around and a lot more grain. Most people had cattle, some hogs and grain. The grain business has become very consolidated due to many reasons, including poor returns, the loss of the CROW freight rate, and the high cost of machinery. The small hog farmer has dissappeared completely and the same thing is happening to the small cow/calf guy and the farmer feeder.
It is getting hard to keep the boys down on the farm, if you will, when there is so much opportunity in construction, the trades, and the oil patch. Pretty tough to calve out a bunch of cows in the winter when you are working away from home.