Promised Land Homestead

Calf Swap?

No, it's nothing like that horrid show "Wife Swap". 

When I announced Patty's birth on a family cow forum we frequent (I know, there's a on-line forum for everything!) a lady in Conroe, TX was lamenting that we were going to eat a perfectly good heifer while she couldn't get her cow to give her a heifer calf.  Her cow had given her three bull calves in a row.  She floated the idea of swapping calves.  I have to admit I was surprised anyone would want a Jersey/Angus cross as a milk cow, but if she wants it that's her business.

At first I was not keen on the idea.  Why pay gas money to drive 3.5 hours (meeting her halfway) and risk Pumpkin not accepting the new calf for a one-to-one swap?  Then she offered to drive the whole 6 hours here to swap.  Hmmm.  She also suggested waiting until the calves are 6 months-old to make the trade.  That way, if either cow wouldn't accept their new calves, they could just be weaned.  Even though we don't really stand to gain anything from the swap, I figured we'd do her a favor.  All we care about is filling our freezer, so what's the difference?  Besides, in a few years when we're trying to raise a replacement heifer, if Pumpkin keeps having bull calves, we may be begging this woman for one of her heifer calves.  She breeds Dexters, which are a good dual-purpose breed.   They don't give as much milk, but have better meat qualities. 

So, it looks like we'll swap sometime in June.  She suggested we leave the bull uncastrated so that he could breed Pumpkin after her next calf sometime in 2010.  Not a bad idea.  She halter trains all her calves and handles them extensively, so the bull would be used to people.  Plus she added that Dexter bulls are more docile.  I suppose if he started showing signs of aggression we could always castrate him then.

We may still slaughter him before he has the chance to breed Pumpkin.  It kind of depends on how our freezer beef is holding out.  If we stretch it out and eat more "other" meats (pork, chicken, turkey, deer) then it will probably work.

So, barring any mind-changing, the bull calf you see here will come live with us in June.

Calf Swap?

12:10 PM, Monday, December 15, 2008 .. Posted by Anonymous

What an interesting idea. Bartering is an "olden times" business practice that, I am told, benefits both parties. Mom

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12:33 PM, Monday, December 15, 2008 .. Posted by morningsunshine

I was also rather surprised that you would plan to eat a heifer (not that I have cows, or know anything about them personally). This sounds like a great plan.

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12:46 PM, Monday, December 15, 2008 .. Posted by dsw3131

If we had any other cows I would just eat whatever bull was available. But this is our only cow, so whatever gender she gives us is planned for the freezer.

It just seems like selling her would be a lot of trouble given the fact that we'd have to find some way to supplement the beef she was supposed to give us.

We crunched the numbers, and we could maybe make a couple hundred dollars off of raising her, breeding her, selling her, and buying a bull, but is it worth it?