A couple of chromed up Simmental heifers to pick on.

[jd720]

Here`s a couple of our fall calves to pick on. The first one is a HPF Optimizer X Shorthorn Plus cow. The second one is a TWCC Trendsetter out of a Star Power X Shorthorn Plus cow. The Star Power cow is a half sister to the Optimizer heifer. The third picture is the Optimizer calf with her momma. I have one more Optimizer coming this fall and I`m sure I will use him again.

 

[Bright Raven]

I had a HPF Optimizer bull calf born this week. I got 3 more coming soon. I like the top one. They all look nice.

 

[wacocowboy]

Cute lil boogers. I like the chrome.

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

Purty as a picture.

 

[FlyingLSimmentals]

I Like Them! Cute little gals.

 

[Franke]

The way people on here like Optimizer I might have to try him next year. I do wish he was a purebred though.

 

[Bright Raven]

The way people on here like Optimizer I might have to try him next year. I do wish he was a purebred though.

Agree. 3/4 blood.

I had an Ironhide born Thursday. 86 pounds. 273 days post AI. Bull Calf, hit the ground, was up nursing before he was dry behind the ears. Guy is on steroids!!! Geared for hyper drive. Built like a bulldozer.

 

[Ky hills]

Nice calves, with Simmental and Shorthorn breeding, they should make for some fine cows.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Flashy!!!

 

[True Grit Farms]

The way people on here like Optimizer I might have to try him next year. I do wish he was a purebred though.

Agree. 3/4 blood.

I had an Ironhide born Thursday. 86 pounds. 273 days post AI. Bull Calf, hit the ground, was up nursing before he was dry behind the ears. Guy is on steroids!!! Geared for hyper drive. Built like a bulldozer.

10 days early and 86 lbs, he'd of been a 100+ lbs full term. That's the kind of bull that can cause heifers some real problems.

 

[Nesikep]

TG, what about a 120 lb'er that's gestated 295 days? I get lots of them.. works out to about the same, or less since it's not a linear rate of gain

 

[Bright Raven]

The way people on here like Optimizer I might have to try him next year. I do wish he was a purebred though.

Agree. 3/4 blood.

I had an Ironhide born Thursday. 86 pounds. 273 days post AI. Bull Calf, hit the ground, was up nursing before he was dry behind the ears. Guy is on steroids!!! Geared for hyper drive. Built like a bulldozer.

10 days early and 86 lbs, he'd of been a 100+ lbs full term. That's the kind of bull that can cause heifers some real problems.

You got your calculation right. But my calves average 87 pounds.

 

[True Grit Farms]

Agree. 3/4 blood.

I had an Ironhide born Thursday. 86 pounds. 273 days post AI. Bull Calf, hit the ground, was up nursing before he was dry behind the ears. Guy is on steroids!!! Geared for hyper drive. Built like a bulldozer.

10 days early and 86 lbs, he'd of been a 100+ lbs full term. That's the kind of bull that can cause heifers some real problems.

You got your calculation right. But my calves average 87 pounds.

Bet I can cut your adverage BW down by a 10 lbs in one year, that's a easy one. You can sell a 86 lb BW bull here... barely, but you'd be hard pressed to sell a bull with a birth weight of a 100+lbs.

 

[True Grit Farms]

TG, what about a 120 lb'er that's gestated 295 days? I get lots of them.. works out to about the same, or less since it's not a linear rate of gain

Nesikep, your location and goals are different than mine. If I had a cow that had a 120 lb calf she'd be culled ASAP. You kind of breed towards the goal of having large calves. We breed for low birth weight by your standards, 70 to 75 pounds is ideal for cows and 60 to 65 on heifers. I know it sounds weird to some of y'all, but I don't believe in babysitting my cattle. We were gone for 9 days and came home to 3 beautiful new calves, the cows were only doing what their expected to do, deliver a live calf every year. I'm not living my life around my cows, so birth weight is very important to me as a management tool.

 

[Nesikep]

I don't breed for it, it just happens, I've always selected for lower birthweights.. It's well documented that northern cows will have heavier calves than southern cows, and certainly at least SOME of the difference can be attributed to that.. I don't think many southern cows go through sub zero temps for a couple months of the year.
I do like about a 75 lb calf on the heifers, after that, as long as they don't have trouble, I don't care what the birthweight is on terminal calves. Decent heifers here will usually do about 85 lbs without assistance, if they can't do that, I'm probably not going to keep calves from them or keep them around long

 

[cattleman99]

Not hard to sell bulls with 100-110 lb birth weights in Canada. You see them at sales regularly. I don't want calves lighter than 80-85 lbs. Anything smaller than that born in a cold snap and your just asking for trouble.

That Shorthorn/Simmental cross works great. They wean off heavy weights.

 

[Bright Raven]

If I had a cow that had a 120 lb calf she'd be culled ASAP. You kind of breed towards the goal of having large calves. We breed for low birth weight by your standards, 70 to 75 pounds is ideal for cows and 60 to 65 on heifers. I'm not living my life around my cows, so birth weight is very important to me as a management tool.

Third calf in 5 days just born 2 hours ago. Dam is a heifer I raised. Her Dam is a Hudson Pine/Rocking P bred cow whose Sire is JS Sure Bet 4T. The heifer is one month shy of 2 years old. Calf weighs 78 pounds at 290 days post AI to Uno Mas. Unassisted already passed her Placenta. My cows may be bred better than yours because I have no problems with 90 pound calves for cows and 85 pound calves for heifers. I have had at least 3 heifers I can remember that had 100 pound calves unassisted. This is going on my 8th year. I lost one heifer due to severed uterine artery delivering a 120 pound calf. In 8 years, I may have intervened on 6 births. Probably got impatient on 3 of those and should have stayed out of it.

Personally, I don't want little scrawny calves.

 

[True Grit Farms]

I don't breed for it, it just happens, I've always selected for lower birthweights.. It's well documented that northern cows will have heavier calves than southern cows, and certainly at least SOME of the difference can be attributed to that.. I don't think many southern cows go through sub zero temps for a couple months of the year.
I do like about a 75 lb calf on the heifers, after that, as long as they don't have trouble, I don't care what the birthweight is on terminal calves. Decent heifers here will usually do about 85 lbs without assistance, if they can't do that, I'm probably not going to keep calves from them or keep them around long

It just doesn't happen, breeding cattle is a process, and with the right management the results are very predictable. A cow with a high birth weight will have a calf with a high birth weight, and her calf will have a calf with a high birth weight. With proper management you can do anything, just look at Artesianspringsfarm's cattle and his new bull. Winter and sub zero conditions he lives that every year, 200+ inches of snow every year. His cattle are surprising small, frame 4 to 5 and thick and tender, he breeds to his grass fed beef market.

 

[True Grit Farms]

If I had a cow that had a 120 lb calf she'd be culled ASAP. You kind of breed towards the goal of having large calves. We breed for low birth weight by your standards, 70 to 75 pounds is ideal for cows and 60 to 65 on heifers. I'm not living my life around my cows, so birth weight is very important to me as a management tool.

Third calf in 5 days just born 2 hours ago. Dam is a heifer I raised. Her Dam is a Hudson Pine/Rocking P bred cow whose Sire is JS Sure Bet 4T. The heifer is one month shy of 2 years old. Calf weighs 78 pounds at 290 days post AI to Uno Mas. Unassisted already passed her Placenta. My cows may be bred better than yours because I have no problems with 90 pound calves for cows and 85 pound calves for heifers. I have had at least 3 heifers I can remember that had 100 pound calves unassisted. This is going on my 8th year. I lost one heifer due to severed uterine artery delivering a 120 pound calf. In 8 years, I may have intervened on 6 births. Probably got impatient on 3 of those and should have stayed out of it.

Personally, I don't want little scrawny calves.

The fact is, like it or not low birth weight and CE bulls sell the best, so that's what we breed towards. Ten pounds of birthweight and a lower CE will cost you a $1k on a bull at some sales.

 

[Nesikep]

Everyone is breeding for their market, whatever works for you is great, and smaller cows do seem to fit the grassfed market nicely, but around here the sale barn still wants a certain amount of frame to them.. My old man loves the Frame 8, 1800 lb Shorthorns.. me, not so much, I find a FS5-6 about nice. I do look at the head and body shape of my calves to select for the wet noodle style rather than the cinderblocks.

JD720.. sorry about the derailment!