What To Do?

[Nat(wasIxy)]

As this seems to have fallen on deaf ears in the FB group, I’ll try here as it may not get lost in the feed!

Long story short – two yearling-ish steers, one is turning out really good, but the other has not dealt with winter well, despite getting double the feed of the other.  The other is now ready to move on, but I am holding back, not wanting to push the poorer one.  We are also booked to do a show at the end of july, but I don’t want to put the poorer animal through that.  I can always use my older single to do the show, but need a pair for farmwork and my courses, so what do I do?  I have three options:

1)  Ditch them both and start afresh, wasting the talent of the good steer

2)  Feed up the good steer as best I can and try to get he and the older single working together in a yoke – there is 18mo between them and the older one hyas never worked as a pair or in a yoke, but has always adapted surpremely well to whatever I’ve asked of him.

3) Pick out the physical match of the good steer from the rest of this group of beef animals and try to train him.  He’s a year old and has never been on a halter though…..I know him as Star, he seems pretty strong willed…

…what would you do?  I’m genuinely torn between all three.

[j.l.holt]

I don’t know a thing about working Oxen, but if you want to hook two, you will have to take what ever steps necessary to get them.

[Nat(wasIxy)]

Thanks – this is the hardest thing about oxen for me – trying to get a serviceable PAIR!?   I have greta singles all over the place, but never a well matched pair.

Raisin looked a lot perkier today – less like he was going to die.  I’m wondering if it was the heat?  not that that means we’re out of the woods, maybe I’ll have to bring him inside/hose him down?

[CharlyBonifaz]

have you checked Raisin for a chronic foreign body?

I’d go for number 2 and 3 of your suggestions, favouring number 2 …

[Nat(wasIxy)]

He hasn’t lived outside up until the last couple of weeks, so don’t think it’s worms, and we tested for BVD which would cause general ill-thrift and he’s negative.  The farm he came from is clear from most things – not johnes though, but he doesn’t have the squits at all.  Most of our animals have deficiencies this year due to the poor forage from last year, but I have been particularly careful to supplement my beef youngstock, and Rum & Raisin got drenches direct just to make sure.  I put diatom on them and haven’t seen any lice.

[Baystatetom]

Hardware disease?  Eaten something like a nail or fence staple.   I would do both 2 and 3.  Start handling that green steer as much as you can as a back up.  I have never tried breaking one that old, however I did break a team at 6 months and aside from having to plant my heals and brace myself when they tried to run it seamed to go pretty smooth.  Good Luck

~Tom

[Eli]

Blood test for Johnes and put a magnet in him.  But if he is behind for health reasons he will never catch up.  Eli

[Nat(wasIxy)]

Thanks all, yes I hadn’t thought of breaking the other as a backup, but its a good idea!

‘Hardware disease’ is pretty unheard of here?  My mind boggles about it to be honest, either a) our fields aren’t as full of stray metal as yours or b) our cattle aren’t as attracted to stray metal as yours!  Just doesn’t enter our thinking at all!   Very peculiar…I hear a lot about it from you guys though!

[j.l.holt]

I used to feed sled dogs beef scrap..  I have 11 sets of car and truck keys that cows had picked up from the feed bunk…So it might not be a nail or staple.  There was talk one time of finding as 10 in piece of re bar..i would do the magnet thing and see what happens.    A fist size wad of baler twine might cause this as well.

[Nat(wasIxy)]

I just have never known cows to be on the lookout for metal at all?  Not sure how to explain this, but it’s just never an issue/spoken about in england at all?  this is why my mind boggles about it!

[j.l.holt]

That’s how they pick it up..They don’t look for it.   I have also seen  wraps of rusty barbed wire,Like you would see if you picked a piece and wraped it around your hand to through away.  Might of got into the hay or feed bunk from your pocket.  Or through the baler..many ways,,just need to find out at this point.

[Baystatetom]

Guys that work in slaughter houses have all sorts of strange things found in cow guts. I lost a steer one time to a small nail that worked its way through into a bad spot. Its easy for them to get a fence staple or nail that popped out of a board along with a mouth full of grass. A cow magnet cost a few dollars, a lot less then a new steer.
~Tom

[Nat(wasIxy)]

We slaughter all our cattle locally and have never heard anything like? Or from anyone else? It must just not be an issue here but I can’t see why? Baler twine is a good possibility though – they go mad for that, particularly human-reared calves. When I can afford it I’ll get the vet out to investigate that, but for now the good news is that over the last couple of days he’s made a good comeback! I guess ‘Dr. Green’ kicked in? My husband remarked yesterday as we were feeding them that he almost didn’t recognise him!!!

[j.l.holt]

The next time you get around the slaughter house, ask to dump the gut on a couple of cattle..might find something..Or ask them if they ever seen anything.

[Nat(wasIxy)]

Yes I will ask!

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