An interesting class of heifers. We have four very different types of animals which makes it difficult to judge them; it is also challenging to judge them from a single picture which may not be a true representative of the quality of that animal. Nevertheless I place these animals 4 - 2 - 3 - 1.
When I evaluate my females I am looking for three things; they must be fertile and capable of producing a calf, they must be structurally sound to give longevity and produce a calf year after year for 10 - 15 years, and they must have good carcass atributes because at the end of the day we are in the beef business.
The number 4 heifer goes to the top easily for me; she is a stand out winner as she is the most complete female when I consider those three areas. She is a structurally sound female with a good set of feet and legs and is very moderate framed - not extreme in any way. She carries good carcass attributes with a lot of depth, spring of rib, length and overall capacity, she has moderate muscling but still retains her femininity with beautiful long neck extension, well laid in shoulders, good pelvic capacity and a pronounced female wedge. She is the complete package - structurally sound, moderate framed, beefy yet feminine - a heifer I'd love to have in my herd.
I debated long and hard about which heifer to place second - 2 or 3 - I admire both these heifers and I think I could place them either way but in the end I have decided to place heifer 2 into second place. Again she is a structurally sound, moderate framed female, and it is the moderate frame that gets her into second place over heifer 3, along with her carcass attributes. This heifer excels in her carcass attributes, carrying a very good degree of muscling and capacity. I grant that she is heavier muscled through the butt than heifer 4 above her, however she carries that extra red meat at the expense of some femininity when compared with the heifer above her, she is not as feminine, not as soft, hasnt got the neck extension, a somewhat coarser made and plainer type female, but an honest female who will go on to breed well for the owner. I dont think the photo does this heifer justice.
3 goes into third place but as I said she could stand in second any day. You really have to admire this female for her style and presence, and her broody outlook. This heifer is a calf raising machine. She's structurally sound, she has huge capacity with depth, spring of rib and length of body. She has a huge pelvic capacity, beautiful front end with lovely neck extension and overall she just oozes femininity. Not only that but she has lovely muscling without being coarse. I would love to place this heifer up in second or even first, however to me she does seem larger framed than the other females, and combined with her sloping topline (which indicates she is going to grow out very large), I feel she is too extreme for me, to place higher, which is why I went with the more moderate framed heifers, 4 and 2.
Fourth place goes to heifer 1. This is a lovely feminine heifer with good front end and strong topline, however she is outclassed by the heifers above her. She does not have the capacity of the other three heifers, the depth of body or spring of rib. She doesnt exhibit as much natural muscle expression as the other three heifers. Additionally, she is not as sound in the back end - particularly the pelvis and tail setting. I'd like to see a more laid in tail head and lower pins in relation to hips, creating a very slight slope from hip to pin to aid in calving. Her pelvic composure as she presents in this photo would lead me to worry about calving problems from this female. I'd also like to see stronger pasterns.
All in all, a good group of females. Keep us updated as to how they perform
