Cattle Lessons Learned

On December 1st, we moved three pregnant cows to our property for our agriculture tax exemption.  We have never had cattle before and there will be plenty of lessons learned through the process.  Some will be relatively small while others will be quite major.  

Lesson 1: Quality Fencing
It is easy to think that your existing fencing will work but when new cattle are added they test the fencing.... especially in the corners.  You really need all sections of fence exposed and confirmed solid.  We had our cattle on our land less than 24 hours before one of the three managed to jump a low section of fence.  We still have some work to make the fencing ideal but there was some stressful working days trying to make sure the fence was right as you don't want to lose an expensive cow being cheap on your fence.

Lesson 2: Hay Rings 
We have an old hay ring which we used for the first bale of hay.  The cows rattled loose or bent several of the six bolts which held it together causing it to lose its shape.  When we set out the second bale, we did not use the ring expecting to fix it and then lay it over the top later

In the week it took me to make it back out to fix the hay ring, the cows had spread the hay bale almost completely out in a 20+' radius.  They stomped the hay into the ground and used the restroom on it such that they would not eat it.  From this point forward, we are always going to have a hay ring in place as it saves money from wasting hay.  

Lesson 3: Use of Feed Trough
This has proved to be important as a place the cattle know we will meet them to feed the cubes.  Sounds strange but until they knew us, we would just drive to find them.  Once they started hearing us and we regularly fed them at the trough it became a place we met up with them to check on them.  

Lesson 4: Cut Bulls Quickly
If you intend to cut young bulls the earlier you take care of it the better.  We waited a few weeks (3.5) and the bull was starting to get larger.  We still managed but it would have been much easier to do when he was younger and put up less of a fight.  

Lesson 5: Record Keeping
I've found it helpful to keep records of when we put out new hay, times we check on them, and the birth records in a single calendar with my ag exemption card.  The information is all then kept together for future reference.  It is also good to keep some business cards in there in case you lose a cow and need to hand out something so neighbors you don't know yet can easily call you.

Lesson 6: Removing Livestock
Adding livestock to your property is considerably easier than removing it from your property.  We did not have a proper fenced in area to move them into to load them onto a trailer.  You really need to have such an area available to treat your livestock, feed at points, and load from. 

On October 5th, we removed our cattle from the land.  We had them on there for the last 10 months.  It was an incredible process to remove them due to a young calf which would run off rather than cooperate.  I'd like to have cattle again as they help maintain the land but there are many things we would need to do first: