a couple more calves to pick at

[Nesikep]

Well, I've made a shortlist of calves which are replacement candidates for this year, and since the 4 cows that I had kept replacement heifers from last year all had heifers again this year, those are pretty much my list. I only have pictures of 3 of them right now.

This one is identical to her sister of last year, she turned out a little on the skimpy side... this one is wild as the dickens... She'd be the first I discard... Sorry the picture isn't a great one to judge by. #1U Durga

this one is very similar to her sister of last year, maybe a little stouter... nice and friendly, but too hyper to just like hanging out with you, but that will pass with age. #9U Prada

This one is also similar to last year's sister, except for the markings. very stout animal, friendly... My first worry would be a really big frame score (7ish?) when mature #7U Sparta

This one is super calm, would wish for less white, she's considerably longer than her sister of last year, though not as heavy in the hindquarters (yet)... the picture is a couple months old.. I'll get a better one when she cooperates. #6U Roma

And the one I don't have a decent picture of

 

[IluvABbeef]

Nice cattle, Nes, certainly like the middle two.

 

[longhornlover3498]

nice little heifers. what breed are they? they look like a red angus/herford cross to me.

 

[Cross breeder #1]

i like #2 and #4 best but theyre all good heifers

 

[Nesikep]

Except for the last one, they're 1/2 gelbvieh, 1/4 shorthorn, and the remainder is Saler, RA, and Herf, in that order, the last one is 1/2 Gelbvieh, 1/4 Saler, and 1/4 herf/something (simm?)

Here are a few more pics, Roma (#6U) posed a little better this time

And an over-the-top view

with Mom, who's 16

And an over-the-top view of #9U, Prada

Crossbreeder #1, I like the way you think

 

[Nesikep]

Here are pics of some full-blood sisters of last year I kept

Sister to Prada, 9U this year

Sister to Sparta, 7U this year

Sister to Roma, 6U this year

 

[Nesikep]

Got some more pics today, including some of my runner-ups, so here goes

#4U, Kenya, full blooded sister to #4T, Atilla last year, spitting images of each other, she's an absolute tank of a heifer, bound to be a frame 8 and 1800 lbs, and with the pushy attitude she has, I don't think its a good match. Her mother has a lot of conformation problems, especially with the hooves and hind legs, as well as a marginal udder, hence the reason she's a runner-up... Ablsolutely adores people though.
Clickable thumbnails for all these pics


#10U, Xena, maternal sister to a couple cows and the bull we had kept. not a bad animal, but I find she doesn't have much chest or width to her, her mother is an awesome cow, but her sisters are all mediocre... they all looked like beauties at weaning and then crashed and turned sour



#1U, Durga, full sister to #1T, Volta of last year, looks identical to her sister, who isn't filling out as I'd have hoped... I find this calf also appears a bit pinched off at the heart and waist... wild as hell, like her sister was at her age, though she calmed right down at weaning and is a sweetie now, probably the best of the runner-ups though

 

[Nesikep]

And since it was a good day for taking pictures (it wasn't good for anything else at 101F in the shade), here are some updates on the others

Roma


Prada


Sparta didn't want to pose for me today

And I forgot 1 more runner-up, #2U, Vegas, so named because she is the Free-martin heifer who was adopted and her new mother loved her at first sight, rather lucky. Very nice and thick, nice colour... but if there's only an 8% chance she can be bred, the sale barn is going to be her destination... I might get a pretty penny for her too

 

[Nesikep]

I took the weigh tape today.. the replacement candidates are all right around the 500 lb mark right now, give or take 25 lbs. Roma seems to be thickening up a bit more so she's looking more like her sister. The bigger steers are probably in the 550's, while the smaller guys are around 425 and better... all in all, they look pretty good, I shouldn't have any animals drastically off-size except the orphan, and whatever Tizia will give me (due any minute), though I might have her carry the calf over winter and sell it in the spring. She's surpassed being round a long time ago, she looks like she swallowed a 45 gallon drum... sideways... My only concern with this calf is dehydration in the hot weather.. he'll have to learn to drink water in a hurry.

 

[Nesikep]

Anyone know what the official name of that free-martin heifer test is called? I'm thinking it might be worth it with this heifer I have this year... she's a really nice girl

 

[Floyd]

So is it king of the rock in the corral like it's king of the manure pile in a feedlot?

 

[denvermartinfarms]

i like 2 and 4 the best by far

 

[Nesikep]

I do like #4, but she has attitude problems... she's incredibly pushy, and she's going to end up being a frame 7 or 8 I think, which is a bit tall for my liking. Her heredity also points to her having bad hooves, udder and rear posture problems. All that being said, her line makes TONS of milk.

#2 is one I really do like, but since it seems that freemartin heifers have a less than 10% chance of being viable cows, I'll have to pass. My herd is at capacity, so I'm not pressed.

Meanwhile, as the calves generally mature, I'm finding I'm liking #1U more than #7U.... I am finding that 7 is becoming really potbellied and is losing eye appeal... maybe its just my eyes

 

[greybeard]

Anyone know what the official name of that free-martin heifer test is called? I'm thinking it might be worth it with this heifer I have this year... she's a really nice girl

I didn't read it all, but ya can probably find it in this thread:

viewtopic.php?f=19&t=58590&start=0&st=0&sk=t&sd=a

 

[Kingfisher]

Hi! How is the cat hunting shaping up this fall? I have only been hanging out here on this forum for a couple 2 years and before I go look again I think your cattle have come a little further along for sure! They looked good before and they they look really awesome this year. I'm happy for your work and your post on this forum!

 

[Nesikep]

cat hunting? haven't been doing much of that.. more the "big black dog" hunting right now.

Thanks for the complement on the herd... I think this years heifers look great, but they lack the uniformity in colour I had last year and the year before.. This year I only have 1 really nice all-red heifer.


if you missed it in my other thread, "she's done it again", my late calfer had a great bull calf, I went for a nap at 2 pm after checking on her, and when I woke up at 4:30, she had a 135 lb bull calf who had already gotten up, nursed, and the two were laying down... Meanwhile he gets to keep his nuts, I'm going to have a DNA test done on him, and a friend of mine is buying him as a bull next spring.

That being said, the vet says you can determine a bull's birthweight with a DNA test on some hair... how accurate is this? I'm not too concerned that this bull's offspring will have high birthweights like him because it's only after the cow missed calving for a year that her BW's went through the roof, so I don't think its a genetic trait, her first heifer was 80 lbs and she was 26 month old at breeding (we were doing that for a while) The pics of the bull calf were when he was about 18 days old, and the weigh tape is putting him at 270 lbs at 31 days.

I'm also glad that someone like my rambling posts


Oh, and thanks for the link to that thread Graybeard.. I posted in it and I'll be keeping an eye on it now

 

[jilleroo]

I enjoy your "rambling posts" too Pesikep....and also looking at the magnificent scenery in the background of your pics!
See if you can get a bit more of it in...... (love the cattle too though)

 

[Nesikep]

Are you the Jilleroo from Williams lake or Australia?... I can never remember

I'll try and post some pics of the scenery sometime

BTW, it's Nesikep, not Pepikep lol

 

[Nesikep]

I think i've pretty much made up my mind on the 3 heifers I'll be keeping, I think it'll be #1, 6 and 9... if I wasn't pushing my capacity I'd keep 7 as well, but she's getting pretty potbellied and certainly has lost a lot of eye appeal. #1U is a spitting image of her FB sister of last year (1T), who's turned out pretty nice, #6U is very different from her sister (11T), both in character and build, she's a little bit more stretched out, which isn't bad, her sister was the stockiest thing I've ever seen, and could use some stretching. Her 17 year old mother amazes me at the heifers she can still make. #9U and her sister (8T) are quite similar, same nice solid deep red colour and full chested though not as stocky as some perhaps, they don't eat much for what they produce, which is something a guy can appreciate as well.

I

As of right now, all my replacement heifers are from 610-640 lbs and they about 180 days

 

[Nesikep]

Here's a couple pics I took of the herd in general
Prada...

Her sister

Joules the steer, 18 months and about to go to a "new home"

and 2 more of the fat bred heifers

And since everyone likes it so much, here's some scenery
A rather fantastic morning

The invasion of the Jellyfish