So sorry about the loss of Penelope!
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Iām so sorry to hear about Penelope.
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Iām sorry that you lost Penelope. Raising livestock can be tough, as you well know.
Iām glad the others are doing well and that Panda and Fiona will be staying with you.
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Iām so sorry about Penelope.
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Of course now Iām wavering. Norman was so cute when I was mowing. He raced me and kicked up. Little squirt wanted to play. Separating him from Panda will be really hard. Perhaps Iāll just sell Violet when heās weaned.
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Iām sorry about Penelope. Poor little critter.
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Sorry to read about Penelope.
At least you gave her a soft landing & peaceful end.
But, I have to ask:
Can Violet be milked?
Or will you sell for slaughter?
Not judging, itās a reality.
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She canāt be milked easily. Milk cow training should start young, plus her udder conformation would make it difficult. Sheās a cow so more than likely, sheāll join someone elseās herd and be bred back to a bull. I think sheāll do fine. We only have room for a few cows and I want to start a small purebred breeding operation.
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What will you do with Norman and Panda if you keep them? Geld them (or whatever the cattle version is called?)
They will become steers. Neither is bull material. We havenāt fully decided which one will be kept. It depends on their temperaments. We want Fiona to have a companion, but we canāt keep rude dangerously large steers. One will probably go in the freezer, but they will be grass fed and not in a feedlot. A pasture life until they come of age. Panda is our choice for keeping. Weāre trying to teach him manners and halter break him now.
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I was wondering about temperament. I know nothing about cattle. Are cows easier to handle than steers?
Personality and how theyāre raised determine temperament. Spooky, bolting cows teach their babies to be afraid. Aggressive animals should never be tolerated. Both cows allowed us to mess with their calves (we knew Fiona would because sheās an old pet). Violet was very cooperative even though she young and isnāt as tame as Fiona. Both cows have good temperaments. Steers can become too tame and bottle calves can become aggressive (head butting people, shoving) in their search for food. Steers donāt have a natural role in a cow herd. Most males are driven off in natural settings. Steers can be very obnoxious. Also, cattle are more dangerous than horses. An easy way to think of this is that a herd of horses will go around you if you are standing still and theyāre running past. Cattle will go over you.
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Thanks. Very interesting. I do know about the horse/cattle comparison. Iāve always wondered why people ride bulls in the rodeo. When you go off a horse, they donāt come back and try to kill you!
I can see why you wouldnāt want to keep a large obnoxious steer. What breed are you planning to raise?
American British White Park. Theyāre white with black ears and a black nose. Up here, their ears and noses will be the only way to spot them in the winter. 
I debated about which breed for years. The answer came from our vet. Who has a healthy beef herd with nicely tempered animals? Hereford and White Park were the answer locally.
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We had a little bottle steer who was semi free range in the yard until he figured out where the bottles came from and followed my little brother into the kitchen. His freedom got curtailed quite a bit after Mom walked in to that scene 
.
There was some consideration of keeping him as a kind of babysitter for the weaned calves, but he ended up getting BIG and too much of a pet to keep around safely and that idea got nixed.
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Panda was following me excitedly after his bottle. I slipped some grain in his mouth and he stopped in his tracks. His eyes lit up as if he had a newfound lover. He hasnāt showed much interest in grain before but he joined his mom at the feeder tonight.
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The Shorthorn was a favorite with a friend of mine. She milked hers and sold the steer calves for meat. Good mothers, easy calving, though most are bred for the beef production, not milking anymore.
Devon cattle are also popular in New England as draft animals, oxen, used for logging and some plowing. Breed information says they now have polled lines, though good horns are needed with the working oxen to keep the yoke on. Multi-purpose breed for milking, beef and as draft animals. Colonial Williamsburg has them for their use in plowing and working the fields. Also as part of the Rare Breeds Livestock Conservancy, showcasing them to the general Public who would never meet them anyplace else. Williamsburg has a LOT of rare breeds on display. sheep, birds, Cleveland Bay horses pulling the carriages and carrying the historical figures of the town.
Nice to hear the progress of the boys!
The Park cattle are pretty, never worked with any.
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I like Devons a lot. Sadly, the breeders are too far away.
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A FB friend of mine is working a conservancy herd of them in Missouri now, brought over from New England.
Had a coworker for a little bit that had the British Whites, he was very snooty about them 
He wasnāt a nice person in general, but the cows looked nice.
My dad and grandfather raised Milking Shorthorns for years before I came around. I think the roans are so pretty.
Someday in the far future Iād kind of like to have a small herd of miniature Jersey. I donāt want to deal with tons and tons of milk, but Iād like to have a wee milking cow.
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Just so you know there can be āissuesā with milking short cows. First is the tiny amount of clearance from floor to udder. Hard to get a bowl, bucket in that space to collect the milk! The one guy I knew milking a Dexter x Jersey, had cow stand on a platform to raise her up (48" tall cow) for milking. Platform was probably 2ft high. This allowed him to milk her while seated, not sitting on the floor!! He emptied bowl into a bucket until he had her fully milked out. She gave a decent amount of milk, with twice daily milking. Canāt remember average quantity.
As cow ages, udder often gets stretched, so teats are easier to step on, get damaged. I did see a very nice udder on an aged (over 12yrs, calves every year) pure Dexter cow. Still high and tight to her body, full of milk with current calf. But she was the exception to aged cows, which was why she was remarkable!
Jerseys have big udders, give LOTS of milk, so udders may not stay tight to the cow as she ages. They are VERY appealing with big eyes, dark faces, pretty cows! Get any bull calves castrated early. Dairy bulls can be very dangerous.
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