Moos News Archive (2005 - 2008)
This page is dedicated to keeping you informed of what's happening with the herd. So, here's what's happening...
12/30/08 NEWS FLASH: A Calf is Born! This little gal was born today at about 1:00 PM with approx weight of 65 lbs. Click on her picture below to meet this new moo:
12/26/08 Sorry, no new calf yet! Lady is "fluffing up" in preparation for calving but her bag isn't filling out for milking. She's being kept in the barn area and I'll be notified as soon as she goes into labor. Equity is out of her depression since being reunited with Krissy and Lady. And, as you can see in the bottom picture, Stormy is growing out very nicely:
12/02/08 We checked in on the herd today and made a special visit to JohnPaul at Double H Farms in Canton. Stormy has weaned well but mama Equity has been depressed and not handling the separation from Stormy very well. Her picture below (from rear) shows how she's lost weight during her depression. Lastly, Lady is bred to Feltons 621 and is due for a Christmas calf! Below are pictures taken today:
11/11/08 Lady reunited with herd! Lady returned to the Forge Cattle Co. herd on Sunday, November 9th. She was with our friends at Double H Farms (see 2/28/08 Moos News) and is obviously bred for a December/January calf. Lady and Krissy rekindled their friendship as evidenced from these pictures:
Above are Equity and Stormy.
10/07/08 John Michael has been successfully weaned and is ready to be picked up by his new owner, Bill Bedrick, of Terrell, Texas. His wean weight was 650 pounds and both he and mama Krissy are doing well. Here are a few pics of the herd at the Square D Ranch:
09/10/08 A recent visit to the Moos reveals that "the girls" (Equity and Krissy) are fed and bred! Below are recent photos of the gang at the Square D Ranch in Terrell. Also, FCC linked Pedigree information to each animal on Meet the Moos page.
08/12/08 Fire in the hole! Yes, last week a fire broke out next to the LS Ranch. Fortunately, the damage to The Ranch was minimal. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for next door. Below are pictures of the damage done. No cause of the blaze has been determined but it was not due to natural causes.
Regarding the moos, it appears that Krissy took to AI the first go around while Equity did not. Equity was re-AI'd last week, around the end of July. Below are some pics of the gang at the Square D:
07/15/08 Equity and Krissy both came into heat at the same time last week and both were AI'd, Equity with Moler semen and Krissy with Feltons semen. Below are pics of the girls and their calves taken today while visiting the Square D Ranch:
06/26/08 Cattle Drive Week '08 is now officially over. The herd has been moooved to its breeding grounds and 'Da Cowboy now can focus on his transfer to Mary Immaculate Church in Farmers Branch. Below are some pics from the day:
Equity/Stormy and Krissy/John Michael were transferred to Brandi's Square D Ranch for breeding.
06/25/08 It's been a busy week at FCC. Today, tattoo time for Stormy. She's tagged with FCC in the right ear and U102 in the left:
06/24/08 Today, Princess made the long journey back to Rockin' W Ranch in Schulenburg, Texas. She loaded up without problems via the recently installed cattle pen innovation designed by 'Da Cowboy (see pictures below).
Unfortunately, four hours of the trip were spent in the parking lot of "Up In Smoke BBQ" in Hillsboro, Texas, awaiting repairs for a burned up ball bearing cylinder on the right rear wheel (see pictures below). The important thing, though, is that Princess made it to the Rockin' W safely and they will breed her and calve her out for FCC.
06/23/08 Today the new gate for the LS Ranch was installed:
06/15/08 A lot has been happening at Forge Cattle Company: Yesterday Stormy celebrated her one month old birthday. Click Here to see her birthday pictures. Special guests came out to visit the herd. Click here to see pics. The Lone Spur Ranch is completing its makeover as it prepares to house a family to watch over the herd and property. Click here to see some of the changes. And, lastly, today "Da Cowboy" announced to his parishioners at St. John's that he will be moving to a new assignment as Pastor of Mary Immaculate Church in Farmers Branch, TX. The assignment is effective July 1, 2008.
05/15/08 IT'S A GIRL! Last night at approx. 7:45 PM Equity had her Moler AI calf. She has her mamma's pigmented eyes and large stature. Below are pictures taken minutes after the birth. Introducing...
Stormy!
To see more pics of this "purdy girl" Click Here
04/14/08 Breaking News: This morning the Forge Cattle Company herd relocated to the FCC Lone Spur Ranch. The mooove was coordinated by commercial rancher Bill Bedrick, who has been a huge benefactor of the Forge Cattle Co. A big thank you to Bill for all his support and for assisting FCC in so many ways! Click Here to see pictures of today's transfer.
And on other good news, FCC received word today from our friends at Rockin' W Ranch that they will retrieve Princess and attempt to breed her through their breeding program. If they are unsuccessful after six months, they will refund. A big thank you to Rockin' W for going beyond the terms of sale and for extending a helping, benevolent, hand to a fellow Hereford breeder.
03/14/08 Latest news from Forge Cattle Company is that John Michael got his first, and last, tattoos today. No, not a heart tattoo with a "Love Mom" scrolled across it but his identifying tags instead. The tattoos are in lieu of the traditional flesh burning, mind searing brand on the hide. His I.D. tags are: Right Ear-FCC; Left Ear-U101. The FCC stands for "Forge Cattle Company" not "Federal Communications Commission." The U101 stands for: "U" is the code letter for year 2008, "1" is the code number for Spring ("2" is Fall) and "01" is the code letter for the first calf born for FCC in "1" (Spring). Below is a picture of JM after his traumatic experience:
Below are a few pics taken last week after a rare light snow for Terrell, Texas:
02/28/08 Happy Birthday Katrina! :) Today Lady was moooved from Terrell, TX to Canton, TX. It's time to get that girl bred! She will be exposed to Feltons 621 at Double H Farms and hopefully we'll have a new Hereford on the ground next December or January. Go to John Michael to see recent pictures of our newest show bull prospect.
02/20/08 IT'S A BULL! This morning the world (and FCC) was blessed with a new Hereford bull calf! On this day, my fourth year anniversary of being at St. John's in Terrell, Krissy calved Johnpaul's first progeny to hit the ground. Below are pictures taken at 8:30 AM today. Introducing....
JOHN MICHAEL!
Click Here to see more pictures of John Michael
02/14/08 I know it seems that not much has happened at FCC the past couple of months but believe me, life has been going on. Krissy and Equity were both palped and both are bred. Princess, unfortunately, is still open. After several tests it was determined that the reason she keeps aborting is "inconclusive." There's no obvious reason, scientific or otherwise, why she won't carry past five months. We'll see if our friends at Rockin' W will reimburse or replace.
Also, see "The Ranch" for recent photos and information about what's been going on out there.
The exciting thing is that Krissy should be calving sometime THIS MONTH. Here are pictures of her in all her pregnant gloriousness:
Here's a recent picture of the entire gang:
From left to right: Equity, Princess, Krissy and Lady.
11/20/07 A lot has happened this past week at Forge Cattle Company! Last Thursday a new heifer was added to the herd. Her name is Lady and you can see pics of her by clicking on her name in this text or by going to Meet the Moos and clicking on her name or photo. Also, yesterday, Godzilla was sold. He was purchased by the veterinarian that helped bring him into this world, Dr. Dan Turner of Reisinger Veterinarian Services here in Terrell, Texas. Godzilla's wean weight was 538 Lbs. Not bad for a six old month steer! See the final pictures of Godzilla by clicking HERE or going to Meet the Moos and clicking on his name or photo.
Here's hoping everyone has a Blessed and Happy Thanksgiving!
10/08/07 Well, the good news is that Equity is bred to Moler, via AI, but the bad news is that Princess is in heat and, therefore, she aborted. Equity and Godzilla returned to home base this week but Princess was getting jumped by everything that can jump.
9/10/07 BREAKING NEWS...Forge Cattle Company acquired a modest ranch house and adjacent acreage with which to run its cattle operations. The deal closed today and places FCC in a position to continue to provide quality care to its herd of Registered Polled Herefords. To see pictures of the Ranch, Click Here
8/18/07 Well, it's been a while since I've posted any news but that doesn't mean there's no news to report. Here's what's happening: "the girls" (Krissy and Princess) spent summer camp in Canton at Double H Farms. They returned to Terrell last month and all signs indicate that they are bred. Krissy was exposed to Johnpaul and Jedi and Princess was exposed to Jedi. Both girls will be palped in a month or so to determine for sure that they are bred. If so, we should have a couple of new calves next spring. Meanwhile, Equity and Godzilla have been sent to Double D Simmentals here in Terrell. Brandi's getting another chance to breed Equity with Mohler semen and Godzilla is being converted into a steer via the rubber band technique as I write this. Lastly, Forge Cattle Company is in the process of securing a small ranch with which to run its operations. Closing date on the ranch is set for September 7, 2007. Sorry I don't have pictures for you at this time. They will follow shortly.
5/21/07 See recent pictures of Godzilla! Click Here
5/16/07 IT'S A BOY! The bull calf was breech and was rushed to the vet for a 9:30 AM delivery. Birth weight was an incredible 144 pounds! Amazingly mama and calf are doing well. Click Here for story and pictures. WARNING: Some pictures are rather graphic! For non-graphic photo's Click Here.
5/12/07 Well, in the midst of two separate baptism celebrations scheduled during the day I managed to check on Equity's progress a couple of times today. I thought for sure she was in labor all morning. She's very uncomfortable, her tail was whipping aggressively, she was extremely swollen and her bag is very full. Click Here to see for yourself. But, alas, today was not the day. Maybe tomorrow!
5/10/07 Today we transported Krissy and Princess down to Double H Farms in Canton, Texas, in order to get them bred. Live bulls will be used this go around, as opposed to the Artificial Insemination (AI). Krissy will be bred to our very own Johnpaul. Princess will be bred by a bull named Jedi. Click here to see pictures of both bulls.
5/02/07 This just in: NO CALF! But, to find out why not click here and get the full story!
4/26/07 Well, this is getting a bit old but...NO CALF YET! Equity continues to grow in all areas but still no immediate sign of calving. Stay tuned...
4/15/07 One week later, which means one week closer to calving for Equity. Still, however, don't know when that will be though. Based on the Hereford gestation table, Equity's due date is tomorrow. Is she ready? I don't know. Check these pictures taken today and you be the judge: Click Here
4/08/07 HAPPY EASTER!...unfortunately, it's not as happy as I had hoped. No, Equity did not calve today. But, "hay" that's okay. It's a little too cold outside (50F) for a calf anyway. Stay tuned...
4/02/07 HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOHNPAUL! Today, FCC Johnpaul turns 1 year old...Equity continues to prepare for calving. Click Here to see recent pictures and see for yourself. I'm still hoping Easter Sunday!
We have received a significant amount of rain (approx. 8 inches) over the past couple of weeks which has really greened up the place! Thank you Lord for the rain!!!
3/28/07 NEWS: Well, it looks as though my inexperience and excitement have combined to create a premature estimate calf delivery date. We probably have a couple more weeks to wait. Her bag hasn't changed much the past couple of days. Here's an interesting possibility: Easter Calf! You know, Equity's first two calves were both born on Easter Sunday. Of course, Johnpaul was born on the first anniversary of Pope John Paul's death and Lobo was born a week after Easter. This year, Easter Sunday is April 8th. But, that's only 11 days away. Stay tuned...
3/27/07 NO NEWS TO REPORT TODAY, other than that Equity is fine. Her bag size hasn't changed since yesterday. I'm still saying within seven to ten days we'll have a baby calf!
3/26/07 URGENT NEWS: IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Equity is about to calve! Sometime within the next seven to ten days we will have a new member in the Forge Cattle Company herd! Go to Meet the Moos and/or click on Equity to see recent pictures of this pregnant mama moo.
Equity was AI'd* on July 2, 2006 with semen from a popular bull named Moler who is co-owned by DeShazer Cattle Company and Barber Ranch.
Our AI specialist, Brandi, brings years of cattle nurturing experience to the breeding process. Placing the elite semen straw (tube of elite semen) in the right place at the right time, she (Brandi) was able to impregnate Equity with the sacred substance.
We couldn't fit Equity into the cattle chute so here's a picture of Brandi palpating** ("palping") Princess two months after she (Princess) was AI'd:
Not a pretty sight...nothing personal Brandi!
By the way, Princess was also AI'd by Brandi, and she took (got pregnant), but unfortunately she later miscarried. :(
*AI = Artificial Insemination. Yes, AI'ing is okay for cattle according to Catholic teaching, but it's not okay for human beings! See, Mission of Forge Cattle Company.
**Palpating = Checking for impregnation, via the anal canal, by feeling through the wall membrane if a fetus is developing.
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