|
| Ok guys talk to me about implants. In my area we are all cow/calf operations. About 20 years ago quite a few started to implant as baby calves, but quit. If I remember right they talked of a 10%? increase in weight if implanting. I always felt if we added that weight, we knocked it off trailing and working cattle when we trailed them long distances. And it seemed that the buyers didn't want them implanted as 500-600 wts.
In talking with a Schering-Plough rep. this fall, I was told the reason buyers didn't want calfs implanted off the ranch, was because you saw the greatest increase in weight on a calf with the first implant. So they wanted that increase. He told me all cattle are being implanted, and I should be implanting on the ranch. It would be a pain in the butt to give it at branding, the way we brand. We set up on the desert make a makeshift wire pen and corral about 400-500 head of pairs, but there is about 6 differnt brands being branded at any given time. About 7-8 ropers dragging them to the fire and about 15-20 people working the calves, trying to hurry. We can go though about 250-300 calves on a good day in about 3 hours till they quit pairing up. We then have to quit so we don't make mistakes on branding, even at that we still manage to misbrand about close to 10-12 calves a spring out of one 1,200 head bunch.
It would sure be easier to give a implant at the ranch, when we wean them for 45 days. But I doubt if you would see enough gain in 45 days to make it worth your time, only the buyers. It's just like source verification, We've done it for about 3 years now, the first year I thought it brought us more money. This year it didn't. I sold some cattle right off the cows without it and the brought a lot more money than the 45 day weaned calves with source verification. Same vacc. program for the calves.
I see no added benefit for me to source verif. and do any value added practices that don't return a dollar. I can sure see the day if will be a deduct if you don't source verif., just like it is now with vacc. programs, non-vacc. calves do not bring a premium. The vacc. is a no brainer, you can't stand any death loss. Now if you can prove source verif. makes you .01 cent more then it would pay, but I've yet to prove it the last two years.
I've allways felt my money was better spent on genetics (bull power) to increase weaning weights, which I feel is working. But it's tough to do when you run in common with other ranches, everybody has different ideas about genetics and bulls. The only good thing is they are the same breed of bulls. We have been able to increase weights through our cow herd by breeding a separate bunch of cows & heifers for replacements.
By the way does anybody want any of those 30-60 dollar day old hol. calves? They are the ones that are eating my lunch right now. I can't afford to feed them $150 hay, but I've never been one to just hit them in the head when they are born. I've seen too many die over the years, I just can't bring myself to kill them, just because the prices are down. Do you have any answers, I can't even give them away, I even offered them to FFA kids free. | |
|
feeder cattle receiving procedure
