“These are the times that try men's souls.” | I have a dairy and run beef cows as well, the only problem you will find is they will be like oil and water when in the pasture. They will segregate themselves when grazing, but if you stir them up they will come together and bunch. Holsteins will walk more in a pasture situation vs. beef breeds, they won't gain as well grazing at least that in my experience. I would just keep them sized up frame wise when co-mingling them, don't throw 350 wt. Holsteins in with 500 wt. beef calves at the feed bunk.
Will you have a chance to breed any of the dairy cows to a beef bull before you quit milking? I've gotten some good calves out of a using Red Angus, Black Angus and Polled Shorthorn bulls. I will breed a percentage of dairy heifers to beef bulls and sell calves as graft calves in the spring to beef guys or will feed them myself. When prices of Holstein heifers soften, I will breed a few to beef to get better prices as I don't need all the Holstein heifers I raise. In fact I have a pen of black dairy calves right now I bred a calving ease Red Angus bull I had last spring to a pen of Holstein heifers. They are great calves, some of them will fit right in a black calf contract.
I tell people the racism deal will never be resolved in our lifetime, just turn a pen of Holsteins and beef cows in a pasture and watch them segregate themselves. If animals can't get over it, how can humans? |
Running beef and dairy heifers together?
