Birth Weights

[ABrauny]

I've been doing some wondering on birth weights and if I bred a group of cows who normally have 60lb. calves to a bull who throws 80 lb. calves should I expect most of the calves to be somewhere in the middle, at the ends of the spectrum, all over the place?

 

[Till-Hill]

I'd expect my cows then to have all 70 or under...

 

[dun]

It doesn;t average out ussually. Anywhere from 60-80 for most with few outliers.

 

[chippie]

What type of bull were they bred to when they had the 60 lb calves?

 

[MikeC]

The difference in the birth weight EPD value between Bull A and Bull B is 4 pounds (5 - 1 = 4). Therefore, Bull A would be expected to sire calves that average 4 pounds heavier at birth than calves sired by Bull B. It is important to recognize that EPDs predict the expected difference in performance, not the actual performance. In other words, the EPDs for Bulls A and B suggest there will be 4 pounds difference in birth weight in their progeny when we mate them to a comparable set of cows. EPDs do not predict what the actual birth weight of the calves will be.