60% weaning weight

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Looks like the calf sucked all the weight off of her, Id say at least 60%
 
:shock: Great looking calf, but what about the next one. Is the cow rebred? Weaning weight averages don't mean much when it leaves you with a skinny open cow.
 
How old is that calf in the photos above? Is the cow bred back? How far along if bred?

I had a couple cows that had big calves on them last fall, not near as thin as yours in the photos, but also carrying a new calf and decided I don't like to see that big a dip in cow condition.

It seems that weaning weight percentage is important but not at the price of maybe shortening the lifespan of the cow as it seems to me pushing her too far might do. You can get WW percent by having a heavy calf and/or a light thin cow. It seem like I don't want to see a bred cow under about BCS 5. This may limit pushing extreme WW percents.

Maybe we should use WW percent based on the "normal" mature weight of the cow?

Nice looking calf. As above if he were mine I'd tell the cow thank you very much and get him off of her and treat her real nice for awhile. Thanks for the pictures. What's that green stuff on the ground??! jmho.

Jim
 
yep, im all for letting moma raise em on her own .... but that extra weight gonna cost you with the next calf ......looks like she does a good job.. to bad she's working overtime
 
No offense but it looks to me like that question should have been answered about a month ago. That way she woulda been able to regain her condition before she calved again.

What is the age of the calf as pictured.

BTW I'm being a smart a$$ I have a cow that did the same thing with her first calf last year and she still looks like crap and is springin again. I doubt she will do it twice in a row and if she keeps this up her career will be short lived.
 
Why is the cow so thin, is she thinner than the other cows and then the million dollar question are her EPD way above breed average? ;-)
 
Looks like better then 60% How old is the calf? Looks older then 7 months. Young cow, second calf? Odds are she will skip a calf.
 
that cow is putting everything she has into raising that calf.an she will wean that calf off at 60 to 65% of the cows BW.i have a cow that does the samething puts everything into her calf.an for the last 2yrs she has had an ave CI of 364 days.
 
Those kind of cows run real strong for 4 to 6 years. If you keep them past ~age 7 they will often either turn up open or turn up dead. That 400 lb swing up and down in body weight takes a toll. One reason why I am suspicious of reg. seedstock herds that unload all their cows before age 6.
 
Brandonm22":22ebifi1 said:
Those kind of cows run real strong for 4 to 6 years. If you keep them past ~age 7 they will often either turn up open or turn up dead. That 400 lb swing up and down in body weight takes a toll. One reason why I am suspicious of reg. seedstock herds that unload all their cows before age 6.
do you mean at registerd sales ........?
 
Well, now that you all have had your fun :lol2: , the heifer calf by Grid Topper is 6 1/2 mos., she will come off pretty soon. As for the cow, she looks like that all the time, 2nd calf, and she is rebred to calve again in Sept., any takers :???: .

This is her last calf for me, I don't like to see them that thin any time. She was a big disappointment and I was waiting for her to have a heifer. That way if the heifer gets that way I can say it was my fault, not hers. I will say that her steer in Iowa did a wonderful job fullfilling her expenses.

Sizmic
 
sizmic":3ojhv3dr said:
Well, now that you all have had your fun :lol2: , the heifer calf by Grid Topper is 6 1/2 mos., she will come off pretty soon. As for the cow, she looks like that all the time, 2nd calf, and she is rebred to calve again in Sept., any takers :???: .

This is her last calf for me, I don't like to see them that thin any time. She was a big disappointment and I was waiting for her to have a heifer. That way if the heifer gets that way I can say it was my fault, not hers. I will say that her steer in Iowa did a wonderful job fullfilling her expenses.

Sizmic

What kind of shape was she in "pre-calving"? Most cattle just don't pull down that much nursing a calf. Calf looks great tho so she must be a good mom. I'd wean it today, give the cow a heavy worming along with a gutt full of probiotics and hope she puts on some weight before calving the next time. Looks like a couple more thin cows standing behind them as well. With all that green grass when were the pics taken?
 
ive gotta say this why in the world would you cull a calf raiser like you posted.that just doesnt make any sense at all.sure she is thin but she is putting everything into her calf.an thats no reason to cull her.i wouldnt cull her till she came up open.
 
I agree - why cull her just cos you dont like lookin at her?

We've got a few cows like that - never get much fatter than your cow, but raise big sappy calves year after year afer year. They are all from the one cow line, we just culled the original girl at 12 yrs old
 

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